Attempted my first post-graduation run today, with no particular object in mind, except to maybe do a full 5k.
About five minutes in, I started to feel tired, which is normal, but I also started thinking "What's the point? I have completed Couch to 5k, what is my reason for putting myself through this?" And once that worm got into my head, that was it. So I kept on a little longer and made my target just a mile and then stopped. At home now wondering what I can do to keep to a plan that has some meaning. The motivation of completing each stage of Couch to 5k has gone and now there is a gap which needs to be filled.
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Duddles
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The target shouldn't just be 5K. I extended mine over that and am now running 10K. Once I get over that I will move on to half marathon, then we'll see.
Apart from simply running for the sake of running, you need to look into what health benefits it can deliver. I don't smoke any more and my blood pressure dropped right down to normal limits. From skinny I moved on to lean (cross-training, admittedly, but it's all part of the plan).
What's the alternative? Throwing it all away, sit back, crack open a beer and go back to where I ran from? Nope. Never.
That's my motivation, I'm sure you've got something that pushed you into running in the first place
This can hit a lot of post grads and I really think that, apart from starting and doing the first run, the hardest bit is continuing after graduation, so you are not alone in feeling a bit "lost".
Every run you do is building strength and stamina and adding a solid foundation to your running future. I had no plan after graduation and spent a year running 5/6K's purely for fun and trying to get fitter. But I had a blast because there was no pressure and on each run I just revelled in the fact that I could do this thing!
You don't necessarily need a plan. Just try and get into a routine of running that will last you for the rest of your life.
But if that doesn't rock your boat then there's loads you can do. A different location, hills, speed work, distance, enter a race, parkrun, run with friends, run alone, join a running club, mix it up with a body workout (run a little, then stop and do planks, lunges, squats, run some more, repeat.........).
It's easy to feel lost when you have succesfully achieved the goal you were working so hard for. I had the exact same reaction when I completed c25k, but managed to overcome it by quickly signing up to a 10k so I was "forced" to continue training. And the same reaction when I completed my first 10k. When I ran my first half marathon I ended up taking a month off because there wasn't any point to training anymore. After my first full marathon it was nearly two months off.
So yep, you're not alone. And I think it's important to recognise this dip in motivation and respect it. Give yourself a couple of days, or even a week if necessary. Chances are you will soon start to think about how great it felt when you were out there proving to yourself that you could do something absolutely amazing that a few short months earlier had seemed almost impossible. And once you remember that feeling, that becomes the motivation that makes you *want to* go out of the door and run further/faster/better/wilder/funnier/whatever than you have ever done before.
Thanks for replying. I am in constant training for 10k race walks that I do - there is a Target, so training follows. Running is very different to race walking, just as much effort, different muscles. I know the need to have a goal to aim for. I might give it a couple of days without thinking about going for a run.
I know from experience that once you let that Worm in your head give you doubts there is often no way of beating the little bugger. I have met him before in my long distance walking races. I do a non-stop 85 mile race each year and after about 40 miles The Worm tells you to sit down and have a rest, and go for a pint and a bag of chips, and soon his is the only voice you can hear. "Pint and chips" over-rides everything.
I did complete Couch to 5k three years ago when I was 68 and the same thing happened - I stopped running and went back to race walking. This time I want to continue the running and there are some 5k Promenade runs coming up soon, which on your advice I will now commit to. That was always the plan, but this morning The Worm was saying "Why bother?"
Having been annoyed all day at giving up, I just went out for a 5k walk, completed in just under 35 minutes and have got my exercise head back on again again. I'll shut up now.
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