Confused - I just cant run.....

I can play hard tennis for hours
I can play hard singles badminton for hours
I can play squash for hours
I've recently spent 2 hours on an elliptical at HR over 175

YET - I get on a treadmill, start running at a v. slow 6mph and within 5 mins my HR is over 180....and my body feels like giving up !!

Is running really that different?

Believe your body. Apparently, at least for you, the answer is "yes".

Some people just can't run. Perhaps if god had wanted us to run he would have given us four legs lol

Treadmills can be bad for your knees and jarring for your back. My father was told by doc that he should never get on a treadmill again. Runners often have problems with their knees too. Personally used to enjoy jogging, but when I gained weight I decided I didn't want to stress my limbs anymore. Those other activities are probably burning more calories anyways.

Yes, it really is that different when you are just starting out.

For me, they absolute key is not starting out too fast. You say that 6mph is a very slow pace, but for a beginning runner (regardless of the other activities you are able to do), that's pretty fast!

Try starting out jogging at 5-5.5 mph, or take a page from a couch-to-5k program and do some intervals of jogging and walking. Eventually you will be able to increase your jogging intervals and decrease the walking intervals. It seems too 'basic' for a fit person to have to do that, but it will help, I promise!

Don't give up, but just don't push too hard too quickly. It will get easier!

My boyfriend used to play soccer in high school. They would make them run around the field a couple of times after practice.

Fast forward to last year. I had lost some weight and started to run again after about 20 years of not being able to. I was slower than you could imagine. But he couldn't run slow. He could only sprint and then fade fast. It took him ages to be able to run a mile at the pace that was right for his aerobic level without cramping up his legs.

As others have said, slow down. Keep slowing down until you find a pace that you can sustain for a little while. I'm not in nearly the shape that you are, but when I started running I couldn't even run for one minute at the pace that other people suggested as a slow pace. I kept dialing it back until I was barely above my walking pace, then started working up from there.

After i fell off my bike and dislocatd a finger last autumn i decided to take up running as with winter closing in it felt like a safer way to geta cardio based work out.

i started off by doing power walking with occasional sprints and then more sprints and now i just run the whole distance

The first few times my legs were very sore as they werent used to running but that soon passedto be fair as far as weightloss is concerned i dont think the running is much better than the walk sprinting but running takes less time

i am now starting to incorporate sprinting into the running, which i think will be the best combo of all

Try and find an instructor who'll introduce you to barefoot running techniques ( it's essentially about landing and taking off from the balls of your feet and toes and can be effective even with shoes on) I had the same problem ( made triathlons very difficult) and now my running is probably stronger than my swim.

Good luck

I've discovered that a big part of running is breathing. To run or jog for extend periods of time you have to control your breathing so that you are breathing at a slow and even pace, taking deep breathes that fill the lungs each time. This insures your body if getting the oxygen it needs to endure as it works on the running bit. Breathing patterns vary when playing stop and go sports, and ellipicals are low impact so it may not effect your breathing as much. I'm trying the C25K program and so far it's helped me since you start out jogging for one minute at a time.

Had the same problem. Kinda still do.
At first 3 mins and every part of my body was hurting, especially my right and left sides of my abdomen.
Basically I started running until it hurts, then walking fast(not stopping) until it feels better, then again running and so on for as much as I can. Your body just needs to get used to it. After 3 months of this not I can run about 30 mins until it starts to hurt.

There are beginner programs you can review and it will lead you through to conditioning and running. I have just started running again after taking a few years off and had to start back with easy run/walk combination before I was able to run continuously again.
Good luck!

Yes to starting slowly. The reason the sustained pace of endurance running is hard for you is probably because the other sports you mention are "fast twitch" sports. Endurance running is a "slow twitch" sport. Basically, you're just using different types of muscles.