Hello everyone! I work out up to 5 times/week. I have a trainer 2 out of those 5 days. In recent times, he's been attempting to get me to run. Our goal is for me to run a 5k, in about 30 minutes, maybe under. I've done three 5k's, but stopping to walk a bit. I've never run correctly or in a consistent way. When on my own, I alternate between running and walking but never knew if I should start slow, fast. He's been having me start at a slow pace, to hold the pace. He monitors my distance and time. I am progressing. One of our battles is speed. Yes I get speed will get me there faster. For example today, I was doing ok, but starting to get winded. He wanted me to run a 10-minute mile, at 6.0. There was no way I could hold the pace, after running for so long. I slowed down, but didn't stop. By the end, I thought I lost my lungs. I know I will progress. My other battle, although I'm getting better is my strike. I'm a heel striker; it feels natural to me. He, of course, tells me I'm doing it the wrong way. Trying to get me on the balls of my feet. Feels like I'm trying to run in stilettos. I can't even walk (or stand) in stilettos. HELP!!!
You are supposed to land on your heals. Only sprinters run predominantly on the balls of their feet. To be fair it looks as though your trainer is better suited to sprinters, not a critisism, just an observation.
Good strike pattern is visible on your shoes, any of them. most wear should be on you router heal then big toe, then the outside of the shoe (not the edge) up to the ball of the foot and across the ball of the foot. Most people have this, if you are one of them it is important not to lose it.
Things to remember when running or jogging for distance.
You need air all of the way. Breathing should be relaxed and easy at all times. You will hear in through the nose out through the mouth etc. Trust me when I say if you are breathing not dying you are doing it fine.
Pace is key. We all have a pace at which we can run distance, the only difference is the speed. When starting out this could easily be the same speed as you walk at, and increase should be a bit at a time.
Be relaxed. This is not a sprint where you have to explode into it. Tension is using energy you could be conserving. Keep as much of your body relaxed as possible, especially your shoulders and arms. Not doing so will adversely affect your breathing and posture.
Aim forward. You will be going forward so make sure all of your body is doing so, knees, hands, feet everything. Anything heading to the side will be wasting energy and risking injury. The classic mantra of get those knees up has a lot to answer for, only bring your feet off the floor as much as you need, it will save energy and mean less impact.
Last and most important. Enjoy it. Distance running is often a great time to disconnect from the world and turn inward. If it feel like hell something is wrong.
If you need to increas lung capacity intervals are good, but from what little you have posted I would say it's technique and gradual increase of pace you need to work on, likely in that order. Running is difficult to teach and more so to correct if doing it wrong. It is also diferent based on the distance and terrain you are aiming for. Not every trainer will know all variations of every activity, but a good one will check if you question them. 10k is considered middle to long distance by many so treat it as such.
__________________
'If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're probably right.' Henry Ford
