P90x

[Umbran]

I'm surprised at how hard running/jogging is. I think the pounding is harder with running than with the exercises in the regimens I've done.

Oddly, I've not had any injuries from the higher impact. Not so much as a twinge.

With running, it looks kind of pathetic to stop on the sidewalk/road/trail with your hands on your knees, gasping for air, as people walk or run past you.

So while running, instead of stopping completely, I'll slow to a walk. But sometimes I find myself walking longer than I should, and it's so hard to speed back up. Running is surprisingly hard even after succeeding with the various extreme exercise regimens.

It is a little odd, yes, and I think it may well ahve to do with how continuous and unrelenting the oxygen need is. My wife is far, far more fit than I. Before we started training, she was doing workouts of various forms several times a week. But she had more trouble keeping her breath in running than I did.

"Couch to 5K" takes an approach like you suggest. It is "interval training" - you do *not* just start trying to run for a half hour straight. The first days it is more like, "Run one minute, walk 2 minutes. Repeat for 24 minutes." They lengthen the intervals, then reduce the walks, until eventually you're running for a half hour.

Much of the trick of running is pacing, honestly. Most people apparently start out *running*, pretty flat out. Then, as you describe, they wind up having to stop and gasp for breath. When starting out, you want to jog more than run - keeping your heart rate and respiration elevated, but not blowing yourself out. Blowing out is not good exercise. Keeping a sustainable pace is.

I had the odd experience yesterday of going back to running after being off for nearly two weeks. I'd expected it to be harder, and for some reason it wasn't. Not only wasn't harder, but I was doing my laps 10 seconds faster than before the break. Mind you, I was running at a different time of day (mid-afternoon, rather than evening-time), I was well and truly warmed up, and such. But still, 10 seconds shaved off every lap for a half hour is significant.

 

[Bullgrit]

Oddly, I've not had any injuries from the higher impact. Not so much as a twinge.

Unfortunately, I have pretty severe arthritis in my lower back, so I have to be very careful and deliberate with high impact exercise. For a pic of what pain looks like in an MRI:
Forty-four Caliber Total Bullgrit - dad blog & dad t-shirts

I had the odd experience yesterday of going back to running after being off for nearly two weeks. I'd expected it to be harder, and for some reason it wasn't. Not only wasn't harder, but I was doing my laps 10 seconds faster than before the break. Mind you, I was running at a different time of day (mid-afternoon, rather than evening-time), I was well and truly warmed up, and such. But still, 10 seconds shaved off every lap for a half hour is significant.

I've found something similar when I've been off my regimen for a week or so. I figure it's something about letting the body fully recover. After a month or three of hard working, the body is in danger of "breaking." Giving it some time to heal up, and it's better than new.

So, did you do the Run for Your Life, yet? If not, when will you do it? I'd like to read a report, because I've been considering doing a challenge run, myself.

Bullgrit