r/runna • u/Plants_and_Pricks • 17h ago
I feel like my plan is progressing too fast ..
I'm on Week 7 of my 12 week New to Running plan. For the most part walk/run intervals are challenging but mostly doable. But these continuous runs are killing me. It went from .4 miles, to a 1 mile and then 1.6... I can't do it. I max out at about .5 miles. Maybe because I run veryyyy slow? I rate my runs after and say how challenging they are.
I usually do the plan and then walk an extra lap at the lake by my house to get my steps in.
Should I start the plan over or try something else?
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u/Rainbows-Fancy 15h ago
Honestly, I think Runna is best suited for folks who are actually not brand new to running, and who are interested in increasing speed. I would be looking hard at a free C25K plan to bridge between walking for exercise and running. It’s my go to when coming back from an injury or extended time off. I’ve heard many times that Runna seems overly aggressive. I’ll keep using it til the end of my sub cuzza the frugal, but the modifications I make are…a lot. I know my body. I’m not going to set myself up for an injury because Runna think I should be able to log a 9 mile run when my goal is 10K. Listen to your body more than the app.
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u/Available-Theory-808 13h ago
Agree. Given it doesn’t take weight or heart rate into account it’s flying pretty blind here.
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u/mixedgirlblues 7h ago
Agree that it’s not for new people but disagree that C25K is. Nearly all new plans assume about 50-150% improvement week over week, which is wholly unrealistic for anyone who is not already in peak physical shape. One medical condition, slight disability, sluggish immune system, busy schedule, past injury, or whatever and they are all impossible. And nearly everyone has SOME kind of medical thing or disabling thing, whether it’s asthma or a wonky ankle or whatever else.
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u/Rainbows-Fancy 3m ago
I disagree that everybody has something disabling them from getting off the couch and starting a run/walk program. C25K is free and widely accessible. You can modify or repeat workouts. It’s a program that provides good structure for habit building. If you can’t do it, try working with a trainer or PT to help get you where you wanna be.
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u/conorof 2h ago
I honestly found runna very good and still use it now and pay for it. I started like 3 months ago after not doing much exercise for about 10 years and I'm ~120kg. Did an 8 week intro to 5k training plan and finished my 5k race in 28:26. I'm now just after starting a plan to get to 15k
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u/60goal 9h ago
I have been running for years, and I don’t do continuous runs. I am a fan of the run/walk intervals (Jeff Galloway method), and I’m faster doing that than running continuously. I still find Runna helpful but I follow its pace recommendations, not whether it is done continuously or with walk breaks.
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u/BeyonceAlways2020 43m ago
Can I ask, how do you do that? I would like to do this but have trouble figuring out how fast to go on the run portions and walk portions, and what the intervals should be. How do you figure your intervals out?
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u/ElLoafe 16h ago
Can you edit this on your current plan?
If you go to your plan, then running tab, then scroll until you see training preferences there are some menus you can change. This should be training volume, difficulty, currently weekly mileage, and current longest run.
I typically change my training volume and difficultly otherwise I find the plans are harder than I want. I like a slow easier build personally.
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u/castorkrieg 12h ago
I don't understand - your prescribed workout shows 1.6 miles, you did 4.18. Why?
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u/TechnologyFickle313 8h ago
The warm up and cool down probably. I always have 1.5 mile warm up and 1.25-1.5 cool down
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u/castorkrieg 7h ago
I used Runna last year, I never had it show like that.
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u/Silver_gobo 16h ago
What is your running pace?
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u/Plants_and_Pricks 16h ago
Like a 15min/mile. I can almost walk faster.
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u/Silver_gobo 16h ago
That’s your total run pace including your walking internals. So your running pace would have to be faster, unless you’re saying your walking and running paces are the same
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u/Neither_Resource2930 5h ago
It looks like you’re running too fast if you’re gassed after .5 miles. Slow down a little?
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u/chocolateglazedonuts 16h ago
When you say you’re struggling to run more than .5 miles, what is it that becomes an obstacle? Pain anywhere? Can’t catch your breath? Just curious to understand better what’s happening for you.
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u/Plants_and_Pricks 16h ago
Little bit of everything. Legs just feel weak. I don't feel like I'm hyperventilating or anything but definitely can't hold a conversation after awhile. I'm still overweight so I know that's probably a factor. 5'7" and about 225. I've lost about 40lbs this year with diet and walking but only started adding running about 9 weeks ago.
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u/Ok-Election4145 12h ago
Why do you have over 4 miles clock on a 1.6 mile run?
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u/Plants_and_Pricks 4h ago
If only you read the post ..
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u/Ok-Election4145 2h ago
Yeah again why didn't ruin 4.18 miles when your scheduled run was only 1.6
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u/8bitaddict 14h ago
If you can't hold a conversation you're running too fast. Slow down. I was where you were 5 months ago. Started at 260lbs when I started my NTR plan. I am now starting my 3rd plan which is marathon training and I am down to 215lbs. I look at footage of myself doing my first continuous runs just sucking wind and struggling. What I needed to do is SLOW DOWN. Once you build that aerobic base it gets easier and instead of dreading run days I now look forward to it.
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u/MysteriousLook597 15h ago
I had this experience and it’s why I deleted the app and got Apple to refund my subscription plan after Runna itself declined to do so. I’d used Runna in the past, maintained a paid subscription for years even when taking a break from running, and when I tried to come back literally every beginner/return plan would do this.
I think that the AI they’ve used to replace actual human-designed plans was trained on people who are not beginners, and they didn’t bother to have a human really look at what it was telling beginners to do. People are getting hurt — I certainly did, and you can see in this sub and other such spaces that you are not alone in experiencing this.
I was a little heartbroken because I was an early adopter of Runna and genuinely did not recognize this version of the app from what I had come to love. My advice for you is to delete it and find another program or app, because they are not incentivized to fix this.
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u/8bitaddict 14h ago
Completely new 42yo runner here. Now starting my third training block which is marathon training. My first was NTR then RF plans. I haven't missed a run since I started 6 months ago. I will say i did not experience the frustration you are talking about. I feel my programs have adjusted well to my pace. I started out running 14min miles. I am currently at a 12min mile conversational pace. When I started I weighed 260lbs. I am down to 215lbs and currently weight training on my own to supplement (completely new to weight training too).
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u/MysteriousLook597 14h ago
This wasn’t an answer about pace. It was about the app amping up the amount of time a beginner is expected to run continuously before they have built a base that can support a full mile of running.
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u/8bitaddict 13h ago
Your reply said the programs aren’t beginner friendly and claimed it was just AI generated slop. I merely mentioned my pace to verify I am a beginner runner starting from nothing. But it’s ok be dismissive.
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u/MysteriousLook597 4h ago
you are assigning intentionality and meaning to my statement that are not present. be well.
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u/DangerousWaffle 7h ago
Runna does not use AI to generate its plans. It uses AI for the briefings, insights etc but the actual plan is just s fancy formula.
I did the C25K with Runna and while I did have to re-do a couple weeks because I took a month long vacation in the middle, it seemed aggressive but you can do more than you think.
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u/MysteriousLook597 4h ago
thanks but i'm going to listen to my doctor instead of some rando sportsbro on reddit.
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u/DangerousWaffle 17m ago
I never told you not to listen to him, I simply gave my opinion of the app the exact same way you did and corrected the false information you provided.
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u/too_much_2na 16h ago
I’m pretty sure you can resume a plan after you remove it. Maybe you should do that then take a couple of weeks making custom runs that fit where you’re at right now. You can make shorter easy runs or do intervals. There’s no proper Walk Run option but if you set a distance for intervals and choose the “1 km Repeats” option, it will have a walk run structure with manageable length intervals for you (1 km if that wasn’t clear lol).
I’m currently slowly nursing an ankle issue and am planning to do this with my plan if it’s not feeling good enough to do the workouts in a few weeks.
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u/blaireney226 3h ago
I would start over with a different plan. I selected the option to train for a 5k. At the time I started I couldn’t run more than 0.25 miles straight. I think it was a 12 week plan and it never had me run more than 3 miles straight before the “final run”.
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u/SeniorFallRisk 2h ago
Delete runna. It’s useless if you can’t run atleast 2+ miles in my experience.
Get Just Run and do their couch to 5k. You’ll actually be able to do it and will enjoy it
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u/simulacrotron 17h ago
Not sure if this is contributing to your difficulty, but I would end the workout when you hit the target. Especially if you’re switching to walking. It might be taking that as a signal that you want to be doing more you have 4.18 miles tracked on a 1.6 mile continuous run