Today was my first 25 minute run and, right on schedule, I ditched Laura for my own music. For some reason I was nervous even before the run, and instead of warming up for 5 minutes I warmed up for 7 (saying "I'll let this song get over before I start"). Well I finally started running, and the first few minutes were, as usual, a struggle to get through. Everything hurt but I kept going because I know it gets better after that initial km or so.
And it did. I was doing great, and just as I was getting comfortable with the pace and my breathing, a song came on that's a fair bit faster than my pace. Now the smart thing to do would have been to skip the song, so of course I decided to run to it instead. Thank god it was a short song (under 4 mins). But the damage was done - I kept pace with the song the entire time, so I was tired, my breathing was everywhere, and even though I slowed down afterwards, the last 3 to 4 mins of the run were absolute torture. My legs hurt, my mind was tired, and I was struggling to breathe (and fearing a stitch). I wanted to stop but somehow pushed through. I've never been happier to hear the little voice in my ear saying my 25 minutes were up.
Red-faced and ashamed, I cooled down, stretched, and quietly came home. Lesson learned. And that song is going off the playlist until I learn to behave!
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Shivani05
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But hey! You did it all the same and pushed through despite every gremlin going telling you to stop. I think a quiet bit of self-congratulation is needed rather than being so hard on yourself. Perhaps sticking with Laura for two of your runs a week would be a good idea going forward -- even if you don't like the music. There's a lot of good advice and tips she gives in between the tracks and the whole thing is very well thought through re. pace to maximise your chance of getting through to the end successfully.
But having said that, bravo for holding out and also for surviving upping your pace. You're obviously fitter than you thought!
Thank you for being so kind. I think I'm being hard on myself because I know better than to push myself because I'm very injury prone.
About that music...I don't actually hate it (although I wouldn't go so far as to say I like it), and it turns out it's not created especially for the podcasts as we all thought. I found a lot of it on iTunes. I may even have bought a few songs to mix into my heavily culled playlist simply because it's right on pace. Maybe. 😳
Thanks, John. Red faced was literal from the run. Ashamed because I know better! But feeling ok today so I'm more inclined to look at it as a success than I was yesterday!
Definitely know not to do it again! I did change the song list...and as I mentioned to Ogden above, it turns out a lot of the podcast music is available on iTunes too!
Hahahaha!! GREAT POST! Love it. Hey look, don't fret. It won;t have done you ANY harm whatsoever. I run to the beat of my fave songs sometimes and am almost always fried at the end of the track!!! Thing is to slow down if you feel tired. Take your time. Go steady. Do it in your own time and enjoy the music! (It wasn't AC/DC was it? They are KILLER for running to!!)
I'm impressed you can pace yourself to your music! I tried that on the c25k+ speed podcasts etc and just couldn't coordinate myself! I think you just need to organise your playlist so that the fast ones are always right at the end
Thanks! I tried the C25k+ podcasts too and couldn't coordinate with that. It just felt completely unnatural to me. I think I run at a much slower pace in general...
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