When I run on the treadmill I am dying after just half a mile. How can I make myself go longer?

@thisisme123 So this is my regimen when I run on the treadmill. Granted I did cross country back in my ancient days of high school, but pacing is key!

I do 30 minutes, set my pace around 5.6 to the halfway point and increase my speed to 6 for five minutes until I reach 10 minutes left on my time. Every minute up to the end I’ll increase my speed by 1 so by the end I’ll be at 7.
 
@thisisme123 6.2 is a pretty brisk pace. You should try 4.5-5 and work your way up. The first half mile is also that period where a runner is finding their rhythm, so it’s always a little uncomfortable. Once you break through and hit your stride, you feel like you can go for miles. If you’re concerned about your cardiovascular fitness, you could get a referral for an exercise stress test so a medical professional can supervise a rigorous treadmill run and monitor your heart rhythm.
 
@thisisme123 In general, most treadmills are not accurately calibrated. 6.0 mph could really be 5.5 mph, 6.5 mph, or who the f knows. You should probably learn to run by relative effort and time.
 
@thisisme123 Monitor your heart rate. Dont let it get above 145 bpm. If it does, slow down and walk for a few seconds until it drops back down to 130 or so. When I do this, I can easily jog for 3-5 miles straight, and I also used to struggle to hit a mile. That voice in your head telling you to stop? Ignore it. Just watch your heart rate and keep moving those feet.
 
@thisisme123 Hello! I have asthma and a few other things I thought stopped me from running for long periods of time. I started a Couch to 5k program and was able to run a 5k consistently and worked my way up to 7 miles, and started training for a half marathon using Hal Higdon’s Novice training guide. What worked for me this time around was working my way up slowly and consistently. Don’t be afraid to take walk breaks like the Couch to 5k program until you build yourself up to longer distance and time. Also, warm ups and cool downs are important! They help me feel like I’m not dying by the end of my runs and that I can do it again. Good luck, have fun, and happy running!
 
@thisisme123 I started out with set of 5 minute interval blocks of time. I’d walk 5 minutes to warm up at a moderate pace like 3.7mph.

Then I run 3 minutes and walk 2 minutes. And just repeat until I get my 4 miles. If I can do that 3 runs in a row, I up it. Now I’m running 3:30 and walking 1:30. I just did that for a few months and eventually ran a 35 minute 4-mile run. When I wanted to go faster, I did the same thing. I just upped the pace and started the intervals over. I eventually ran a 28 minute 4-miler.

Trying to just muscle through because you “feel like you should be able to do it” isn’t how the body works. Especially with stamina, endurance, and ridding your muscles of lactic acid. You just have to build up to it.
 
@thisisme123 The way I started increasing mileage was like this.

Five minute walk one minute run. Do that five times for a half hour total.

When you can handle that without getting tired do a four minute walk 2 minute run. Do that five times for a half hour total.

When you can handle that without getting tired, do a three minute walk three minute run. Do that five times for a half hour total.

Can you see the pattern? Eventually you’re going to be doing a five minute run and a one minute walk. When you can handle that without getting tired then you can extend it to a six minute run and then a seven minute run and an eight minute run with only momentary walks in between.
 
@thisisme123 I read your comments about being able to run a 9 minute mile many years ago. Sounds like your fitness has deteriorated quite a lot, which is totally normal if you haven’t been training at all, let alone consistently. It’s going to take a LONG time to get your endurance back. High intensity running is absolutely pointless at this juncture, and it will 100% get you injured.

I’ll add my own context here. I started running about 4 years ago and only somewhat consistently. I began running an average of 15-16 minute miles to keep the intensity low enough for distance. I ran my first half marathon in 3:15. A year later, 2:55. A year later, 2:44 (this year). I’m currently training for a full marathon and my pace is about 13:30 ish for long runs. I can run a sub 10 minute mile but it’s a higher effort than I would go for over any endurance based distance. Now I’m about 40 lbs overweight and surely that plays a factor, but my endurance/cardio has gone up tremendously. Endurance training is all about training low intensity for long periods of time. If I was more in shape physically, I’d do some speed work to up my pace but right now I’m content as the lbs are slowly coming off and I’m able to go out for hours without being too fatigued.

Consistency over everything. And if you’re serious about increasing endurance, look into heart rate training and start putting in some long tedious hours in zone 2. You’ll get there.
 
@thisisme123 Question is endurance to do what?

Your body has three energy systems, which one are you trying to train?

Going all out for 800m is your glycolytic system.

If you’re trying g to do long duration then that’s aerobic work.

Which is low intensity steady state style training.

20 minutes or longer. Heart rate 60-70% of max.

High end nasal breathing is a good gauge.
 
@thisisme123 Then I would strength train 3-4 times a week with a 10-minute HIIT finisher & fast-paced walks 20-30 minutes daily. Make sure nutrition is dialed in. Skip the treadmill.
 
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