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I am getting a little discouraged with my running and don’t know where to begin. Sorry for the long first post/rant.
A little background but I just started running “seriously” about a month ago. I am 46 years old and in great anaerobic shape having competed in powerlifting, CrossFit, jujitsu etc for the last 20 years. I am 5’9’’ 170#, muscled with not much bodyfat. The only time I’ve ran in the past were either short distances or through HIIT.
I’m doing a sort of hybrid program where I run 5 days a week and also work out 5 days a week. My runs currently look like this
Day 1 - Easy Run 30mins
Day 2 - Easy Run 35mins
Day 3 - Speed or Tempo
Day 4 - Easy Run 30mins
Day 5 - Long Easy Run 60mins
My form has gotten exponentially better and the runs do feel easy but I really REALLY have to slow them down to stay within my zone 2 bpm range (124-140). Example is that I’m running an 8mins/km to stay under 140bpm. I am constantly focused on my watch and always checking my cadence and bpm. Today was my long run and I was pacing at over 9mins/km and my heart rate was creeping into zone 3! It actually discourages me because of having to run so slow and also slow my cadence. During speed/tempo work I’m at around 175-180spm but during these slow runs I’m between 165-170. Trying to speed that up while going so slow is just awkward.
Now I’m not fast at all since I’m starting from scratch but I’ve done a few intervals where i was at around a high 4 mins KM. I’m just discouraged by not being able to just go out there and enjoy running. Having to always keep an eye on cadence or bpm’s is really starting to get on my nerves.
Any suggestions?
A little background but I just started running “seriously” about a month ago. I am 46 years old and in great anaerobic shape having competed in powerlifting, CrossFit, jujitsu etc for the last 20 years. I am 5’9’’ 170#, muscled with not much bodyfat. The only time I’ve ran in the past were either short distances or through HIIT.
I’m doing a sort of hybrid program where I run 5 days a week and also work out 5 days a week. My runs currently look like this
Day 1 - Easy Run 30mins
Day 2 - Easy Run 35mins
Day 3 - Speed or Tempo
Day 4 - Easy Run 30mins
Day 5 - Long Easy Run 60mins
My form has gotten exponentially better and the runs do feel easy but I really REALLY have to slow them down to stay within my zone 2 bpm range (124-140). Example is that I’m running an 8mins/km to stay under 140bpm. I am constantly focused on my watch and always checking my cadence and bpm. Today was my long run and I was pacing at over 9mins/km and my heart rate was creeping into zone 3! It actually discourages me because of having to run so slow and also slow my cadence. During speed/tempo work I’m at around 175-180spm but during these slow runs I’m between 165-170. Trying to speed that up while going so slow is just awkward.
Now I’m not fast at all since I’m starting from scratch but I’ve done a few intervals where i was at around a high 4 mins KM. I’m just discouraged by not being able to just go out there and enjoy running. Having to always keep an eye on cadence or bpm’s is really starting to get on my nerves.
Any suggestions?
