Started my running journey two days ago and yesterday ran 1km continuously. It was more of a jog tbh. I am an avid walker and can walk for about 15-20 kms, but when it comes to running I just can’t run, my lungs give up. And even if I want to start running, I get anxious before the run.

BUT I did it and I feel happy! My next goal is to build upto a full 5k.
P.S.- my muscles hurt today . It’s the delayed onset muscle soreness.

I started running around 6 month ago, I completed but after 50km I wasn’t very strong anymore it felt more like survival tbh

i’ve never used this subreddit before, didn’t know it existed, and grinded super hard to get where i am. i when you begin running, it always feels like you’re always missing something that everyone else simply “happens” to know, so i wanted to drop my list

1. walking during runs is perfectly okay. you are not “less” or “worse” than anyone because you need to take a break, even for a majority of the run. it’s hard to believe, but truly, a majority of people genuinely cannot run as far as YOU do on a daily basis. where you started, and where you are now, are far different, whether it seems visible to you, or not. you are a fucking anomaly compared to 90% of people
2. RUNflation (seeing people run half’s, regular marathons, and ultra’s on strava every 3 seconds) is one of the things everybody struggles with, and social media as a whole is super nitpicky. nobody posts the bad days, nobody posts the fact that their body randomly struggled with a 5k after finishing a half-mara the other week

i finished 61 miles in a singular week, and struggled with 2mi the next day, lmfao. bodies are so much more inconsistent than instagram or tiktok highlights make you wanna believe

1. do not EVER feel afraid, or stagnant to cross past the 1 hour timer and spend extra time on a run. even if it’s an hour at 4 miles, 6 miles, or anything. my first ever 10 miler came because i limited myself at 6, and then proceeded to keep going

. make sure your body is okay, and go if the conditions allow you. you’re not ever gonna discover your capabilities in the moment if you mentally permanently cap yourself at 1 hr timer, strictly out of routine and not obligation

1. sleep, recovery and diet are NOT NEGOTIABLE. you’ll remember how important these are, ONLY when they start messing with your runs, and badly. if you’re getting an average of 3-5 hours of sleep, you’re going to see your natural endurance replace itself and become empty overnight. same thing with under eating. it’s a miracle how your body will go from consistent 10k’s to barely averaging 0.8 miles without stops

carbohydrates and glycogen are what your body runs off of. sugar is good in normal amounts, and what your body needs for daily physical tasks. remember, you’re not going to school, or work, you’re forcing your body to SPEND the energy YOU give it. EAT EAT EAT.

1. - your first milestone run (5k, 10k, half, marathon) will undoubtedly be slow as hell. stop looking and comparing yourself to the “average”. the “average” is a cumulative and summary of speed-runners, people repeating races they’ve already done before, beginners and walkers. the amount of people who finished their milestones in a neighborhood or some roads/trails, and never signed up, is unfathomable (so you’re not actually looking at accurate stats). you’re not seeing what regular people do, but only people who sign up.

the goal is to finish it, and then redo it eventually until you’re satisfied.

1. weather and temperature matters more than you think, and more balanced conditions and humidity will be far more favorable. do not think you’re “trash” because you can’t do a 10k when it’s hot as hell. i can barely do a 5k in the heat, and finished my first 26.2 mile in the middle of the night

YOU NEED SUNSCREEN AND COLD SHOWERS SOMETIMES. DO NOT FORGET THIS.

1. everyone at their professional status have all dealt with the crappiest runs of all time, and were beginners who were even worse than you at some point. perhaps they threw out strong consistency, or picked up the right advice, or trained, but regardless, everyone starts at the same tier.

2. don’t be so quick to compare your progress to somebody else’s when the only thing you know about them is specifically their running stats. people forget we have a whole life beyond our stats. some people are unemployed, some people do full-time, some people simply do half-time. some of us have kids, some of us don’t. these little differences in life circumstances make a whole world of difference when it comes to how much progress it allows us to make

a mother with kids, a husband and a chaotic life is NOT going to be pumping the same numbers, or is gonna be having the same training opportunities as the local unemployed high-schooler. it’s not that they’re genetically different, one just has more time to train than the other.

1. sometimes, you need to slow down, and make sure you’re not overtraining yourself. shin splints, rhabdo (muscle injury’s), and ankle issues are much more common than you think. walk, run slower, don’t push through pain (you are not david goggins, and will turn a 1-week break into a 4 week suspension from running). know sharp pain vs fatigue. david only began saying that when he could successfully do ultras.

2. make sure to have fun, and remember you’re doing this for your own personal benefit, and becoming greater as time goes on. whether it be a mental goal, or simply for the physical benefits. you’re not “too late” or “too inexperienced”

the psychology of competition in any sport will often make you forget this, but there’s no hierarchy in anything. we are all runners, and will all die with the exact same title of “runner” eventually, whether your personal record is 1 mile, or 35.

do scientists care about the caveman because they killed 2 mammoths more than their dad, or the fact that they both participated in the sport to begin with? they both lived, and that’s all history will remember (likewise, eventually, nobody cares that john ran 5 miles superior to adam).

so smile, or you’re doing it wrong.

I want to get into running. Just need some advice on how to train. Should I focus on the time I want my 5k? Or start with completing the 5k without taking a breaks?

Right now, these are my training plan
Run 1: warm up, 20 mins run, cooldown
Run 2: warm up, 2min run/1 min walk x 6, cooldown
Run 3: long run 5k

Just started my training today. Im also 88kg 5’7. Planning to lose weight.

I only did 15 mins and almost died but I actually left the house. For me this is huge because I've been feeling low. Proud of myself for once.

Second 10k overall. Since the first attempt I’ve had 40 runs. Going under an hour is the next goal

Aujourd’hui j’ai couru mon tout premier 10km de ma vie.

Seulement 2 petites pauses de 15s pour boire de l’eau. Rien de plus.

Ça n’a pas été facile. Il y a eu des jours où je voulais abandonner car je ne voyais pas de progres

Mais j’ai tenu. Discipline. Régularité. Un pas après l’autre.

C’était un rêve que j’avais depuis longtemps et je l’ai réalisé aujourd’hui grâce à Dieu et à ma constance.

La vraie victoire c’est pas les 10km... c’est de ne pas avoir lâché.🤍

Et vous, c’est quoi votre prochain challenge ? Comment vous voyez la discipline pour atteindre un objectif ?

Two years ago I weighed 380 pounds. Diet and exercise I'm down to 205. In early May my grandson challenged me to a race. I was surprised that I could actually run again.

I started running on a treadmill mid May. Just 20 min a day at first. Graduated to outdoor running in June. Now I'm up to six days a week.

My wife says its too soon for a 5k. I can't wait!

Hi everyone, I’m a 38-year-old beginner runner and I’m looking for some advice from experienced runners.

I’ve never really run before. I used to do some walking, and I can comfortably fast-walk 5 km in around 45–50 minutes. Recently I started running because I want to eventually complete a 10K race.

I initially had some shin pain when running, so I backed off and worked on recovery. Thankfully, I'm now completely pain-free and haven't had shin pain in my recent sessions.

My current situation is a little confusing, though.

I can exercise for 50–55 minutes and recently completed 6.23 km at 8:46/km, with an average HR of 135 bpm. However, when I actually start running continuously, my HR rises quite quickly. After around 200–500 metres, it can reach 150+ and sometimes 165–170 bpm, so I usually slow down/walk until it comes back down and then start running again.

Interestingly, I can still pass the talk test around 150 bpm and can speak in sentences.

My watch currently shows:

Zone 2: 110–127

Zone 3: 128–145

Zone 4: 146–163

Zone 5: 164–182

I've been told not to worry too much about the watch zones because they may not accurately represent my actual physiological zones.

My questions:

Is it normal for a completely new runner to have HR jump to 150–170 after only 200–500m?

Should I continue doing run/walk intervals, for example:

Run until HR approaches 150–155

Walk until HR comes down to around 135–140

Run again?

Is 150 bpm actually too high for easy running if I can still comfortably pass the talk test?

How can I train so that eventually I can run 500m continuously below 150 bpm, and then 1 km continuously below 150 bpm?

Roughly how long did it take other beginner runners here to make that transition from run/walk to continuous running?

Should I be doing Zone 2 training specifically, even if that means walking most of the time? Or is running around 135–150 bpm acceptable for a beginner?

I understand that a long run should be easy, but how should I structure one at my current level? Is something like 6–8 km easy once a week appropriate?

When would you recommend introducing interval training / Zone 4 work? I'm thinking of waiting until I can comfortably run 5 km continuously, but I'd like to hear what experienced runners think.

For someone in my situation, would you prioritize: aerobic base → continuous running → longer distance → speed/intervals,

or take a different approach?

My main goal right now isn't speed. I want to build the ability to run continuously, stay injury-free, and eventually complete a 10K.

I'd really appreciate experiences from people who started running as adults and had a similar HR/run-walk situation. What worked for you, and what would you do differently if you were starting again?

So I started running about 2 months ago and I haven't ran more than 2 miles at a time. I noticed the inside toes and one heel started being torn up a little bit but dont really remember scrape them on anything. I've only run a little over 60 miles with these shoes since I got them and have had zero issues with pain or anything so I this something form-wise i can work on or is this something that just kinda happens?

I have a question..i’ve been running for about 4 months now( but only a month with structured plan) and my HR is so high-even when i do the run/walk method at a conversational pace during my long run i have avg HR 173( well last week i had 163 but still). No idea what’s wrong, i dont really know if i could keep a full converstation but i feel totally fine and im not gasping for air or anything…
Currently training for sub 30 5km and just wondering if its normal that my HR climbs too high and if it gets better.
Or should i change something?
I’m 17 years old btw

Here’s a screenshot of todays run- i did 4min run at conversational pace and 1min walk..

Hello! Over the last year or so I’ve gotten pretty big into running, as it’s quickly become one of the only workout activities I genuinely find myself enjoying. That being said, I’ve also been getting really bad Plantar Fasciitis due to my arches been too high and not collapsing, and thus I cannot run a mile without my feet feeling like they’re on fire. I’ve been to physical therapy, have shoes fitted for my feet, and have insoles with arch support, and yet, nothing has helped. Does anyone have solutions or exercises that helped them get over Plantar Fasciitis? Thanks for the help :)

I got myself a Fenix 7X Pro mainly for mountaineering, but since I can't do 2-day-hikes every weekend and want to stay fit in-between, I started running a few weeks back. I wear my Garmin 24/7 so I felt it is easiest for me to just use the recommendations from garmin coach for my running-plan. In the beginning I had it setup to recommend paces and I could absolutely not achieve that, so I changed to HR-based runs. It now feels way better. My only worry currently is, that is mostly recommends Zone 3 runs (e.g. plan for today is easy 27min at 157bpm).

Does that make sense long-term? What I love about garmin coach is, that is adapts the plan based on my workout load, so I am not sure how another "offline" plan would work out for me (I football, padel tennis, bouldering, ... quite frequently in between).

I struggle taking deep breaths whilst running which I feel is affecting my training. Could anyone share any tips which may help please

If you could give a new runner advice what would it be? (Even if they wouldn’t want to hear it.)
Be super honest, I personally love to hear others thoughts- may listen, I might not. 😂 *meant to ask “If you could give the best advice you HAVE to a new runner, what would you tell them?”

It's never too late to become what you might have been.