Some background.

I'm 23, male, and graduated from college last December. I joined a gym in February and have been going quite regularly. I'm 5'9, about 170 and have a reasonable amount of muscle, probably average bodyfat. I've never been athletic or played sports often. In fact before I joined the gym I was quite out of shape and never exercised.

Only thing is, I just can't seem to run long, nor can I sprint that well.

The fastest I can run a mile is between 8 and 9 minutes (although, to be honest, that's better than it was six months ago), and after that I'm pretty winded. Typically I'll get on a treadmill and run about 4 miles, but I have to stop for walk breaks periodically, although I admit I probably do a poor job pacing myself. That said it doesn't seem like I'm making a huge amount of progress, but then again I'm not sure how much I should expect in 5 months.

One thing worth mentioning is that I'm fairly bottom-heavy for a guy. In other words my upper body is pretty lean but my legs are big for my size (it runs in the family). Is it possible that this makes it harder for me to run?

A professional runner 5'9" would weigh about 125#, so you are not ideal running size, but I doubt you'd want to be unless that was your livelihood.

Your story is typical, actually, you're doing better than most. Watch for an endurance sticky which should be out in about a week. That will give you tips on developing endurance, which is what you are seeking. In the meantime, run as long and as hard as you can, walk until your heart-rate recovers down to about 100, repeat, over and over. In time, you will be able to go farther and faster.

Yeah, I'm not at all trying to run professionally, just to be in good cardiovascular health.

That said I'm actually fairly lean and look like I weigh less than what I do, but like I said big legs run in my family. Also, I'm black and from what I've heard we tend toward greater bone density.

Anyway thanks for the post.

you should stick with what you can do well. if it's not running or sprinting, what are yourotehr interests ?

Well, like I said before, I'm not an athlete and don't intend to be, I'm a computer person.

I just want to be fit, and, more specifically, I want to have good cardiovascular health. I have a high risk of having blood pressure problems at some point (I'm black and high blood pressure runs in the family).

So I'm not looking to compete, it's strictly for health reasons.

If your main goal is cardiovascular endurance and you continually find trouble with running long distances there are other options. Swimming and biking are two other activities that may suit your body type better. Between an 8 and 9 minute for 4 miles is not bad at all.

My opinion, keep running, learn to pace yourself better (bring a stop watch if not on treadmill), and do not get discouraged with your current pace. Gains are meant to be achieved over time, not over night.

Four miles might be a lot for you at this stage. Perhaps you should bump it down to just three miles.

Also, what are you doing prior to running? Do you just have running days and weight days? Or do you combine them? How often are you running per week?

Ideally, you want to run three times a week with days set aside specifically for running. Don't try to do it "large." A mile at 8 or 9 minutes is very good, actually. It's fantastic and if you haven't noticed already, other people in your gym probably can't do even that. Try for 1 mile one day, then 2 for another, and then 1 for another. Eventually you'll be really comfortable running that and you should be able to increase your milage eventually. Also, try for a race, a 5K race. That way you can at least train and get an idea of how well you do with others.

Remember high school? I'll bet while you were there, people couldn't even do the 1 mile fitness test without walking the whole time. So 8 or 9 minutes is like golden, really. You're in the zone now! Good job with it.

I don't specifically set aside days for running.

Generally I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, usually either after work, or in the afternoon on weekends (I have to admit, when I go on weekends I'm mildly hungover pretty often). I'll run/jog 3-4 miles first, then do weights.

And just to be clear, while I CAN run a mile in about 8 minutes, there's no way I could do that for the whole four miles. I pretty much have to slow down and catch my breath after the first mile and a half, and for the other 2-3 miles I alternate between fast and slow. I'm thinking I do a poor job of pacing myself.

I have to admit that's way better than when I was in high school though, I think it took me like 11-12 minutes to run a mile.

Thanks for the advice.

I'm not the ideal running size either, for a woman, but I do love to run/jog. I've done it since I was 12 and I like how it makes me feel. I don't want to look like the typical female distance runner anyway (that's too thin for me, because I have a little bit of Latina in me and I like having curves). But I'm healthy for my height and weight. I can run/jog a 5K easily (done the Whiskey Row 5K for 2 years now).

I really don't think it matters what you look like, as long as you like to run and it makes you feel (and look) good, is all that matters.

I think you get better running-wise by just sticking to it, and pushing yourself. You'd be amazed at what you can do by throwing yourself out of your comfort zone. I used to be a poor runner, and now I can do multiple miles, a 6 minute mile, all ranges really. Just gotta do it, and push yourself.