Once a man known not to get out of his car to check the mail (walking back down the driveway was hard to 344 pounds!), a little while ago I set out to run a mile in under 10 minutes. I missed my original goal to do so before December 18th, but that was no reason to stop trying. And I didn’t.
I finally ran a 10-minute mile this past weekend.
Twice, actually, on two separate visits to the gym. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a fluke and I could really run a mile in 10 minutes.
The best part of these two runs is that I wasn’t gassed at the end. I wasn’t running “uncontrollably” (arms swaying, dehydrated, panting, etc) when I finished, I was calm, cool, and collected. When the run was over, I had a quick cool down walk, took a sip of water, and walked off the machine.
I felt like a rock star, no doubt.
It took a lot longer to progress to a 10-minute mile than I thought it would. Even using a lot of the helpful tips I collected when I posted my original goal I was still unable to get past my total inability to keep steady, paced breathing. If I could offer one tip and one tip only on running a faster mile, it would be to focus on your breathing. Your legs really have less to do with running than you think. Running is more form, focus, and control.
It’s only upward and onward from this accomplishment. I’m going to concentrate on increasing my elevation up to 3.0 and once I’m able to do a mile like that in under 10 minutes, I’ll gradually increase my speed and aim for an 8-minute mile. Then, we’ll be working on distance and endurance.
One mile, two miles, three miles, four. And so it’ll go.
Have any new suggestions for others trying to run a 10-minute mile? What about for me as I progress on my eventual journey to run 20-miles, uphill, both ways, on my way to school in the snow?
{ 79 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats Tyler, I knew you’d be able do it. WooT!
The best advice I could give was be to just keep going at it. I’m always surprising myself in regards to how far I can run (w/o slowing to walk), how fast, etc..etc..
I’m going at it alright. I think I’m going to bump up the incline to 1.0 tonight. I ran a mile in like 9:40 last night.
I’m on my way.
Slow and steady is my advice. I just ran an 18miler and never thought that would ever be possible. Just don’t do too much too fast. 10% rule always applies in running.
How long did 18-miles take you?
You rocked it, T. You always do. I love hearing this stuff from you. I want to run. It feels good, even though I secretly hate it. Need to get rid of the PF in my foot first.
I used to secretly hate it, now I love it. Give it a try when the PF is gone.
I found it took me about 6 months of running before I finally figured out the breathing. Well done on the 10 minute mile!
The breathing was holding me back. Not anymore, I broke through those chains and am breathing like a champ!
Tyler,
Today I’m off of work and Sundays are busy days for me trying to fit in time with the family and wash laundry before the kids go back school and my husband goes back to work. (I work W-Sa) I really didn’t want to get on the treadmill at all but I thought of you and got my lazy butt up! I went from not wanting to get on it at all to staying on it for one hour. The rest of the day I had tons of energy and felt so accomplished. PLUS because of my work out I could eat a little more! :-)
Thank you so much for sharing your journey. You are really inspiration and motivation to me.
Congrats on your 10 minute mile! Your rocked it!!!
~Amber~
I’m glad you thought of me! Exercise will do that for you — make you feel recharged, energetic, and powerful. Running and lifting weights in particular have that ability.
Thanks so much, Amber!
You are a total rockstar, Tyler. Kick butt. No tips from me, you seem to have some good plans to me. It just fun to tag along on the ride.
I’m glad you’re along for the ride, Beej, you know that.
Congrats on the 10-minute mile!!! Amazing achievement!
Thanks, Chad!
Thats awesome! This past weekend me and my friend ran in our first 5.2 K. that’s 3.2 miles, and we both came in at 43 minutes. I am far from being in shape at all lol, but I found that setting that goal a month earlier, pushed me to train properly and routinely! Awesome job once again!
I have the Cooper River Bridge Run coming up in a couple of months — that’s going to be a whole lot of fun.
You are truly an inspiration :o)
You are too, Sarah. :)
Congratulations! That’s a major accomplishment. I’m still trying to hit a 2 minute jog. :)
I’ve been there, just keep going.
Hey I read your story on Msn.Applaud! By the way,do you use any supplements?
I use whey protein and a multi-vitamin.
Congrats, that’s a really great accomplishment! You’ve worked really hard at this, and definitely should feel proud of yourself. I’m sure you’ll be doing that 8 minute mile before you know it! :)
I’m already working on it. As of yesterday, I’m at 9:30.
I was going to make a snide remark about walking 20 miles, up hill both ways to school and how you forgot that you didn’t have shoes or pants and it was snowing in July(which is how I always heard it, I have dirty minded old people who said that)… But you actually accomplished something awesome. Good job.
Its funny, I fear the treadmill but LOVE the elliptical. Maybe its because I have a fear of falling OFF the treadmill…
I would’ve loved the snide remark. I’m really snarky and sarcastic in life. I enjoy receiving the same when deserved.
Congratulations!!! I just started jogging and have been inspired by your posts. How many miles can you jog now without stopping?
I haven’t tried to go to “failure” as it’s called. I reckon I could go maybe 15 minutes or so at 5.0 mph.
GREAT!!!
IT IS!!!
Give me a “T”, you got your T, you got your T
Give me a “Y”, you got your Y, you got your Y
Give me a “L”, you got your L, you got your L
Give me a “E”, you got your E, you got your E
Give me a “R”, you got your R, you got your R
WHATS THAT SPELLL???? TYLER!!!!
YAAAAYYY TYLER! Awesome! Thats the same way I started, half a mile, then a mile, mile and a half…..etc etc. Before you know it, youre a running pheen!
Thanks for being a cheerleader :)
If your goal is 20 miles, why stop there! That’s usually the longest training run you do for a MARATHON (26.2 miles) YOU CAN DO IT!!! Also running a 3% incline is hardcore! I run marathons and I only inline it during intervals. Congrats on the sub 10 pace!!
I’m definitely going to start preparing to run long distances. I want to run a marathon — I have the Cooper River Bridge Run coming up, I’ll post updates about that soon.
Nice job, congrats!! No tips from me, just a pat on the back :)
I’ll accept your pat on the back, Cory.
Great news on the 10 min mile. it will take allot more to drop to the 8 min mile.
My best I was given, was to run for longer, slower.. than run fast for a shorter time.
I was once 18st, but this weekend, and 2 stone ligher I will be doing this exreme event..
http://www.toughguy.co.uk.. would you fancy it one day?
there is room at mine in England if you do ever come over!
Tim
The next time I’m in England, I’ll make sure to stop by! That event looks pretty tough, but I’d definitely be interested.
Breathing is the most important part of running and the second is to keep going. Your body tires before your mind. It is a mental game to get through. When I run, I use every step as a count. And breath in one step, and out the next step (or every other step depending on how fast you breath). This helps me a lot. If you find running on a treadmill to be tiresome and boring, I suggest trying to run outside. I feel it is a lot easier and the time goes by a lot faster. You can pick your own distance then. Good Luck! Congrats!
I’d run outside if it wasn’t so cold. You’re right on the breathing and keep going parts — your mind really quits before your legs do. It’s all about form and having control.
That is so awesome Tyler! Please teach me the breathing technique…not working out here for me.
I can’t really teach it. It’s just fast, rapid breathing. Consistently. It just clicked for me this past week and if you keep trying, I’m sure it’ll click for you.
What was your breathing technique? I can do 3 hours of karate but can’t run to the end of the block because I just can’t breathe. It’s frustrating and I can’t find any guidance.
I know EXACTLY what you mean. I could do 3 hours on the elliptical, but I couldn’t run 5 minutes. Try to have fast, rapid breathing and take in as much oxygen as you can with every breath.
Wow… I wish I could do that. I REALLY like the treadmill but the shin splints get to me before I can really get going. Even with the right running shoes.
How much do you weigh, if you don’t mind me asking?
222 (give or take) right now. I’m sure that doesn’t help.
that is so great, congrats! I want to run so bad, I’ve been walking 4mts. then I run for a minute and I do that for about two miles (I walk around my neighborhood ) it’s hard and my legs start hurting, but I can walk one mile in 15 minutes, I can walk up to 3 miles and be ok, but I really want to run, that’s one of those things that I’ve always thought it was impossible!
It’s always been impossible for me. When I started on the treadmill some 8 months ago I just walked a few minutes. When I started running, I could only run for like a minute.
Just keep going and you’ll progress over time.
I think at my current weight of 359 I would break the treadmill to run on it! Or the knees would buckle. I think that is great. Whats it like to be able to run with 125+ less pounds? Your muscles I would think would be used to carrying that weight, so running with that much less I would think for the muscles, not the lungs, wouldn’t be too horrible? I am still trying to increase my normal speeds on the treadmill. Was up to 3.3 now for 35 minutes straight….8 minutes….Like your a high school kid in gym class again.
Tom
Follow me on my journey at http://170lbstogo.com/blog/
“I Hate Green Apples”
Before, it was like I was carrying around a 12-year old on my back running. It’s easy with 125 less pounds.
That’s awesome!! I am so proud of you and your success. You are a great inspiration to so many of us!
Thanks Denise! I LOVE your comments.
AWESOME Tyler! Even when I was running regularly and in decent shape, I could not break that barrier. You should be proud of yourself! Thanks for sharing you achievement with us. Good job!
Best,
Two
http://drophalfofme.blogspot.com/
Thanks, two. Nice blog!
10 min wow…. wait i mean WOW!!!!!!! The last time i was able to run a ten min mile was when i was in Jr. Highschool… i envy you i really do. ill catch up i will i will. cant wait untill i can run a ten min again,
Your ahead of me on the weight loss at the moment
Me this week: Down a total of 5.2 lb
You in the past: Down a total 16 lb
Got some catching up to do :P
Wait that was an error on my part.
I am down 5.2
you were down 11.2
Your still in the lead but i ll catch up i will i will.
-Ash
I know you’ll catch up, and I’ll watch you! Keep up the good work, Ashley.
I KNEW you could do it. Congratulations man!
I know you did. Thanks for the support :)
Congrats bro, I just got back from the gym, I did 2.15 miles in 30 minutes. My goal is to get 3.0 miles in 30 minutes, its a long ways away, but there is only one way to get there, JUST DO IT.
Congrats and thanks again for the inspiration.
JUST DO IT. My motto to live by. You’ll get 3 miles in 30 minutes, and that’s certainly a goal of mine as well.
Tyler, you’re an inspiration to us all. You’ve proved, and continue to prove, that when there’s a will, there’s a way.
Thanks Mike.
Congratulations Tyler! I can’t imagine running a mile that fast, but I know one day I will. Keep it up and keep telling us about your progress!
I’ll definitely keep you updated. I’ll let you know when I’ve managed to run an 8-minute mile!
Tyler, I don’t even know you, but I am so proud of you! You are an inspiration to people who have any amount of weight to lose…
Thanks for being proud of me, Julie. I appreciate the kind comments!
That’s great! I ran for 10 minutes yesterday without any issue, but I was at 4 MPH.. :) No mile for sure, but I’ll get there.
I totally agree with the controlled breathing part. Long deep breathes work great for me… once I figured that out I could go twice as long easy.
Cheers,
Do you run at 4 MPH? I do a fast walk at 4 MPH, but I know some people do jo at that pace.
Talk about an inspiration and a goal that was reached, eh? Wow.
That’s actually a goal of mine over the next two months, just to start running. I’m 385lb right now, started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a year ago, but at this weight the running is too rough on my knees. I know I’ll get there soon, though, since I’m finally starting to look at the food I eat.
http://www.therolypolyboy.com
Hey Dave, thanks for the comment and finding the blog. I have always thought about doing some sort of martial arts (maybe just karate) to have some fun burning calories.
You’ll get there soon, man. Keep us updated.
Congrats on the great running time. I’m weighing in at 385lb right now, have been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for almost a year. And only finally am I starting to be more concerned about what I eat, or how much I eat. Man, what a battle. I’ve set a running goal for myself over the next two months, and can’t wait until I can do so.
You’re back again! :)
My 15 minute miles hate you.
Hey Tyler!
Congrats on all your work! That’s awesome that you’ve lost so much weight and are so driven. Here’s something that I found helpful. When I started running, I would be really tired by the end and didn’t think I’d be able to go any faster but then I figured out that I was putting too much energy in the wrong direction. I was bouncing too much instead of focusing on propelling forward. (Think cheetah…not kangaroo) I made the change and decreased my mile time by a whole minute! Good luck and keep it up! You’re awesome!
Congratulations on the 10 minute mile! Way to go champ!
I was trying to think of some advice I could offer, since I love to run, but I run with a distance goal in mind, not a speed goal.
I really started to run about a year ago, and I wasn’t even close to an 8 minute mile for many months. I’m there now, but I got there by focusing on a distance goal, and the speed just came along with that naturally.
If speed is your first goal for running, I don’t have any specific advice to offer you. If you’re looking to do distances, then focusing on those will bring the speed increases naturally.
Whatever you do, just keep at it and don’t give up! Like a lot of other things in life, the keys to success is determination and perseverance! Keep at it!
how often do you go to the gym to reach your wt loss goals? i saw various entries from 4x to everyday. i would like to lose about 10lbs in the next 3 months and was trying to calculate my gym commitment. calorie wise (using the tools on your website) i need to eat 1000.
thanks!
Way after the fact but maybe someone will come along like me and browse the archives …
This is a tip on breathing. I am a ballroom dancer, not a runner, but I have found that when I am climbing stairs or walking fast (which I do a lot) the best way to maintain a steady breath is to do 3:1. That is, three steps to one inhalation, then three steps to one exhalation.
This revelation came when I realized I got less out of breath doing Viennese Waltz, which is about a 6 to 7 mph pace, than slow waltz – because in VW I inhaled and exhaled evenly on each measure (three steps).
Try it when you’re jogging on the treadmill. I’ll bet if you go (inhale-2-3) (exhale-2-3) you will find you keep a nice steady rhythm without losing track of your breath.