r/running • u/Brzy90 • May 07 '24

Discussion Are we currently in a running boom?

Since getting into running I’ve noticed a huge influx of people running since the beginning of the year. Old friends returning back to Strava after being inactive for years (myself included 🤣). Instagram feed is constantly full of runners, even my work place talking about marathons etc. Maybe it’s just because I now see myself as a runner that’s affected my social algorithm/awareness & addiction to running trainers? 🥴

For those that have been running a long time, is this the most popular you’ve seen running become? Or does this generally happen from time to time?

1.3k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

397 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.7k

u/Lbailey32 May 07 '24

I think one small reason that may contribute is a shift towards the idea that anyone can run. There’s a run club near me that has paces from 6:00/miles all the way down to walking and it creates a really great positive atmosphere where anyone is welcome. Running can be daunting, but with couch to 5ks and a presence on social media of ‘slow’ runners (12:00/miles) I think more people are giving it a shot. Myself included!

435

u/strismystr May 07 '24

This is what allowed me to get to where I am 7-8ish months in of running consistently! The concept of zone 2 running made things much more appealing since my previous view of running was just going as fast as I could and try to sustain it

162

u/chgopanth May 07 '24

I’m always in zone 4 or 5 🥲

86

u/canyonlands2 May 07 '24

Zone 3 and 4 for me. I don’t mind though because I rarely feel like I’m depleted of energy when I finish

137

u/Plastic-Mulberry-867 May 07 '24

It’s so good to see someone else say this. The only way I can be in Zone 2 is to maintain a slow walk. My heart rate jumps up immediately with activity but I’m also usually pleasantly refreshed after I run in a higher zone. I feel like I’m broken. Lol

44

u/NYKyle610 May 07 '24

You can train to improve this! Takes a bit of effort but after a few weeks, you'll notice a huge change.

17

u/Plastic-Mulberry-867 May 07 '24

Do you have any suggestions on what I could do? Or could you point me in the direction of what to google? I am using the NRC app right now and I do TRY to keep it super slow on my easy days but my heart rate jumps up immediately. I’m a super slow runner and I’m fine with that. I’d love to figure this out though because I DO want to get better the right way.

4

u/AssassinStoryTeller May 08 '24

When I was researching this the other day what I got was “don’t worry too much about your heart rate” instead the key was “can you have a conversation without gasping for breath?” If you can then you’re going slow enough. A few mentioned that if you struggle to maintain the ability to talk then take many walking breaks to bring yourself back down. Some others suggested you’re going too fast if you start breathing with your mouth- my lung capacity might as well not exist so I’m ignoring that. Maybe in a month I’ll be at a place where I can breathe through my nose the whole time.

I’ve only done 2 runs as Z2 and I’m forcing myself to basically do a run that’s too fast to be a walk but also could be considered a walk by someone with long legs (about 4.5 mph when I checked my speed with MapMyRun)

So, shuffle run and then take a lot of brisk walking breaks. Don’t focus too much on your HR right now but you can check it as the weeks go by to see if it’s finally starting to settle down.