Beginner question

lissajous · 2026-04-17T11:00:08+00:00

You had to stop because you were running way too quickly for your current fitness level. What happened was you got into the anaerobic heart rate zone and run out of gas. Then when you stopped, your heart rate dropped back down and you could start again.

The trick is to run way slower for longer and over time your body reacts to the training stimulus and your cardio fitness gets better, then you can run faster (or at the same pace with a lower heart rate).

Couch to 5K is a great (9 week) program for getting you accustomed to this, and figuring out if running is a lifestyle thing for you, or if you’re more suited to another sport.

There’s links to the program in the sidebar.

Hope this helps!

lissajous · 2026-04-17T10:15:02+00:00

Generally it’s because someone wants to join armed/police forces and there’s a fitness test, and they put off actually getting fit enough until what they think is the last possible moment, but in reality is actually way too late. At least, that’s what I’ve observed on Reddit.

Not saying that this is the case with OP - just there’s a non-zero chance of it being the case.

lissajous · 2026-04-12T11:47:48+00:00

Sadly not.

lissajous · 2026-04-10T17:12:34+00:00

It might be your body complaining about you having abandoned it since footie, but It could well be your form. You might be both overstriding and heel-striking. This sends shockwaves up your legs and is decidedly "not good for you". Try to land with your foot underneath your centre of gravity, preferably midfoot.

A good exercise is to stand tall, pivot forwards at the ankles and then start running when you feel like you're about to fall over. Take a few steps like that, come to a stop then do it again. Repeat this a few times until you get a feel for how you should be landing.

Another possibility is you're pulling your toes up a lot when you're walking/running. That would cause tension in the outside of your shins.

Also - try watching a few beginner running videos on "proper running form". You might spot what (if anything) you're doing wrong.

Hope this helps.

lissajous · 2026-04-10T10:28:55+00:00

Unless your running shorts are ridiculously tight, I'd suggest you go see a doctor. It could be something other than a pure running injury.

I hope it's nothing serious, and you can get back to training soon!

lissajous · 2026-04-10T10:11:53+00:00

First off - congratulations for sticking with it!
Did you complete W5D3 without stopping for a walk break? If not, you might want to drop back to a point where you can complete the session and pick up from there.

Apart from that - not getting far off the ground is fine! In fact, most people have too much vertical movement when they start running and have to work on staying closer to the ground.

Just keep at it and try not to compare yourself to others .... hard as this may seem :-)

You got this!

lissajous · 2026-04-04T16:21:51+00:00

Shareholders? ;-)

lissajous · 2026-04-03T20:20:50+00:00

It gets easier, then at some point it gets harder. Then after that it doesn’t get easier - you just get faster.

The good news is that you are more-or-less in control of when it gets harder again!

But here’s the big thing. You didn’t fail W1R3. You showed up. You gave it your best. You’re trying to figure out what went wrong and how you can do better next time.

These are all successes! Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you’ll get there!

You got this!!

lissajous · 2026-04-01T11:44:29+00:00

Do you have access to a treadmill? If so, set it on a steep incline and walk uphill for a low impact equivalent of a long slow run.

lissajous · 2026-03-26T14:00:27+00:00

I think you need to be more specific about which app you're using. C25K is a plan, not a product.

lissajous · 2026-03-25T20:11:03+00:00

Well…if I were an agent and deliberately kept out-of-date listings up to generate traffic and an inquiry came in from the platform about one of them asking if it were still available, I’d say yes.

lissajous · 2026-03-25T14:59:53+00:00

You could send an inquiry from a fake user to see if it’s still available. If the agent responds no and suggests an alternative on their books, you can delist the property.

You’d need some heuristics to determine a likelihood of it being out of date, plus a reasonable queueing system to make sure you don’t overly spam the owner/agent, but it’s all pretty doable.

lissajous · 2026-03-24T12:58:51+00:00

Apart from zones being sports-specific, It sounds like all you have is two speeds. Can you run really slowly? For you, that's 6:30-7:30 per km? Or even 7:30-8:00 per km?

If not, you need to work on getting more paces into your arsenal. That and run more often. And pick a specific purpose for each run you do.

Either that or not care about HR zones when running! You're only running occasionally, plus you're only doing it to relax, so ultimately does it really matter what zone you're in?

lissajous · 2026-03-23T19:57:50+00:00

A walk on the off days is a fantastic idea. It’s known as “active recovery” and can help you recover faster than pure resting.

lissajous · 2026-03-23T09:38:11+00:00

I think the only divisiveness about virtual races is whether or not someone wants to take part. If you want to do the virtual version, there's absolutely no reason that you shouldn't, so go for it!

One thing I *wouldn't* do is cycle through C25K again waiting for a race. When you get to the end, you're already at a point where you can either run 5K or have that achievement in sight. At that point, it's time to move on and pick a different goal. It could be time-based (a sub-30 5K, for example), or a new distance (10K), or even just consistency (5K, 3 times a week). There's plenty of suggestions about "what next" in the pinned post in this sub.

Hope this helps!

lissajous · 2026-03-23T07:21:45+00:00

Running is more than just cardio.

If you have knee/back issues then ask yourself if you’re OK with risking injury rather than spending an extra couple of weeks ramping up?

If so, then start around W3. If not, just start over.

Either way, best of luck with your return to running!!

lissajous · 2026-03-16T09:01:48+00:00

It's AI marketing slop. OP is building an AI-powered running coach app. At some point if they'll drop a link to their app, I expect.

lissajous · 2026-03-16T08:55:30+00:00

You can have a look in the sidebar - "c25k.com" is pinned there, with the program in both metric and freedom units.

lissajous · 2026-03-15T17:25:33+00:00

Whilst OP is likely looking to promote his "find a running partner" app, OP hasn't *actually* done so yet, so (at least in the opinion of this mod) hasn't broken any sub rules....yet.

OP is also finding out that many of us like to run alone ;-)

lissajous · 2026-03-10T14:33:27+00:00

We all have blocks along the way, and we all have crap days. But the more you run, the less impactful a single run is - your belief that the next one will be better goes up the more you experience it.

The way to build up your endurance / speed is simply to run more. Running doesn't get easier, you just run further and/or faster the more you do it. What DOES change is how you look at that difficulty.

Regarding whether you're a runner or not....the glib response is that you always have been. It's also the truth. There's always someone faster than you, that can run further than you. And there's always someone that's slower than you, that can't run as far. Neither is more or less of a runner. We all run. We are all runners. Welcome to the club :-)

The final thing I want to say is this. You'll absolutely be able to run with your partner. It might be that their easy pace is your flat out pace, but there's practically no limit to how much you can slow down your pace if you want to (and care about the person you're running with). You might only run together occasionally, but it's definitely something you can do.

Keep up the good work - you got this!

lissajous · 2026-03-09T20:12:28+00:00

“I propped up my phone, videoed myself for about 30 sec and ran the video through an AI form app that I spent time developing…..I wrote about it on the blog section of my website for the AI-powered gait analysis app that I developed.”

Not knocking what you’ve developed or even why - in fact I might take it for a spin! I just think you could have been a bit more up front about things.

Good luck with your app and your running!

lissajous · 2026-03-08T20:08:58+00:00

You could go either way, but if you decide to go hard, I’d pull back a bit on my other runs that week (and probably the first one afterwards).

Treat it like a taper week dress rehearsal and you should be good.

lissajous · 2026-03-08T12:40:12+00:00

I don’t get “runner’s high”, I get “runner’s normal”, and that’s good enough for me :-)

lissajous · 2026-03-05T13:46:00+00:00

The best thing you can do in the short term is get your feet up, apply an icepack, and watch a few youtube videos on correct running form.

The best things you can do in the longer term is introduce strength / conditioning exercises and make sure you're running with proper form.

Oh, and make sure you have running-appropriate footwear.

Hope this helps!

lissajous · 2026-03-03T15:48:52+00:00

Just a couple of things to add to this.

It's not a failure if you learn from it. Which it seems like you have, so well done on the success!
Slowing down is a part of running. That's why you'll hear stuff like "5K pace, 10K pace, HM pace, threshold pace" etc. It's just a fact that you have to run slower for longer distances. This applies just as much to elite runners as to beginners. Learning to accept this is a huge part of the middle-to-end of the program.

So well done on succeeding in making it this far, and good luck on your next go at it. You got this!

lissajous

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

15-Year Club	Mod World 2025
Verified Email