I've done it, broken the 5k barrier!

I'm officially part of this forum now!!! Longer post on the other forum, but am so pleased! Took me ages, but that's partly the hills.

[Lordi Graduate10]

Well done! And by a clear 1km!

[Hidden in reply to Lordi]

Thank you! so pleased

[pinkaardvark Graduate10]

Seems to be a lot of this malarkey going on lately. Soon people will just be running around doing whatever distance they like without a care inn the world. Then What!!!?

[Hidden in reply to pinkaardvark]

Yes, we're all at it

[Anthie Graduate10]

Brilliant! And wonderful time considering the hills, no?

[Hidden in reply to Anthie]

Thank you so much. i really MUST go somewhere flat, just to see if it makes a difference to time and pace.

[Anthie Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

It's easier to run on flat ground (unless you're running in the swamps or marshes or bogs ) but less fun and you feel you're really not very fit if you find it hard... I'm struggling to get two runs in the week lately even if I managed to get a 30 mn run between classes last Friday. But my legs have felt heavier, not like lead yet but I'm lacking energy. Anyway, be proud and enjoy this new achievement. And remember the north of France is having a summer spell around Easter time if you want to organise a weekend then Usually the time in the year when we have a clear blue sky for a couple of weeks. This January we got 23h30 sunny hours (in fact, divide that on 4 or 5 days at the most). Awful!

[Hidden]

Im very pleased. It’s suddenly getting easier.

Im sorry to hear you are atruggling a bit. Have you any idea why? Are you drained by other areas of your life? When I get the heavy legs, it usually means Im not getting enough oxygen into my system. I hope you break through it soon. It’s so frustrating when the body makes running difficult.

[Anthie Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Whenever I lack good quality sleep (my thyroid dysfunctions which has an impact on the other hormones and the absorption of minerals and vitamins), I lose a bit of stamina but since the programme, I can now run even on short nights, which was impossible for me before: I would be too out of breath. It's the time of the year when we get extra load of work and also feel under pressure to finish the syllabus before assessment and final exams in June (but our school year is over by the end of May. We have too long and too many school holidays in France...) And this week is mock exam weeks for the final year students: no class for me but a lot of marking. I'll try to get back to 3 runs this week and post on the other forum ;-).

[Hidden in reply to Anthie]

Running is so finely balanced. Anything seems to throw it out: lack of sleep or fluid; too much or the wrong kind of food. I hope it eases for you soon.

My daughter went to school when we lived in Brittany. The holidays are long, but children start very young and have to go in on Saturday morning, so I guess it pans out in some ways.

I look forward to your running posts x

[Anthie Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you! In high schools, even if we work on Saturday mornings, it's still very stressful both for the kids and teachers when we prepare for the exams. For example, in two weeks, we have a two-week break, I teach Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to a final year class, but I will only have 2 hours to try and get them to work on the novel before the break. And days are very long too: some of the kids at my school finish two or three times a week at... 6.00 pm (starting at 8.00 am)! I finish once on Friday at 6.00 pm and I'm useless afterwards; imagine a teenager lol

[Hidden in reply to Anthie]

I remember how hard kids work in France! Fingers crossed for a return of energy and the space and time to run x

[TedG Graduate10]

Wahey, you did it in style, well done Flick...perseverance pays. Onwards and Upwards! 😊🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

[Hidden in reply to TedG]

Thank you. It does all begin to seem possible. Yes upwards, lots of that 😂

[TedG Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

😂🤣

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

Yeayayayyaay..here you are... on the way... up those hills and heading for......... 10K maybe????

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

10k is the next goal. I seem to need 20 minutes to warm up and settle into a rythm, so the longer I run, the easier it gets, up to the point when I begin to feel a bit tired and decide to stop for now.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

I took it slowly... 6K, evolved, and for me, the nemesis was 7K..my magic number, which I eventually reached... I just really took each run as it came. Getting stronger and building up stamina with every single run...the longer runs do give us the time to find a happy pace, when it feels like we could run forever...

For me, ( when I am on form) after 6K is reached... I seem to go onto automatic pilot, where the legs just go...seems like a long way away now. !

You are doing wonderfully.

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

I can see the automatic bit. I could go on running but, ever mindful of the 10% increase per week (which I’m fairly sure I’m exceeding) I’m firm with myself and stop when I begin to flag. Pretty sure I could push past that feeling, but don’t want to risk exhaustion and injury. The adrenaline makes you feel as if you could keep going when, in fact, you have exceeded your energy levels. I’m good at listening to my body, so I ignore my mind exhorting me to carry on.

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

Oh, and you will probably get back up to speed sooner than you think. After all, you have a couple of years of training and running fitness behind you, even if you have been off for a while. And we’re all rooting for you 😊 xx

[Anniemurph Graduate10]

Excellent! Well done! A great run And hills...

[Hidden in reply to Anniemurph]

Thank you!

Gotta love dem hills...well, no choice here. I used to avoid running up the really steep bits, but now I embrace them. Still curious to know what my time and pace would be somewhere flatter.

[Anniemurph Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Well, you'll just have to do it again then! Somewhere nice and flat, such as... um...

Do you have any holiday planned? Norfolk is nice, I hear. Cheshire? The Vale of York?

[Hidden in reply to Anniemurph]

LOL, it’s ok, Oxford is an hour bus ride away, I did my graduation run there 😂

[Imeviesgranny]

Well done Flick!! You didn't just break it, you smashed it! All your good efforts have been rewarded. Look out 10K, Flick is coming after you Love your determination.

[Hidden in reply to Imeviesgranny]

Aw, thank you 😊 too right, Im determined to do 10k...just a mtter of when 😂 though I thought that about 5k.

[RunBrianRun Graduate10]

Fabulous! Well done.

[Hidden in reply to RunBrianRun]

Thank you so much! Cant wait to get out and try again, but I think I had better do a shorter one next 😊

[HeleneCorsa Graduate10]

Great work! If you are ever unleashed on the flat, you will be unstoppable...!

[Hidden in reply to HeleneCorsa]

You are very kind I fully intend to head over to Oxford xoon and do the run from my friend Kate's house, then the two of come back here for a curry, as i did after my graduation run.

[davelinks Graduate10]

Great stuff! Those hills will have stood you in good stead for stamina,now, on toward 10k, gradually..😊

[Hidden in reply to davelinks]

Thank you. yes, they have, they really have! and, yes, 10k is my goal for now...

[Vish-runs]

Congratulations. 🎉

[Hidden in reply to Vish-runs]

Thank you 😊

[Lordi Graduate10]

Forgot to say that looking at the screen capture you have a Garmin gps watch and use Garmin Connect app. If you set it up to sync with Strava in settings you can join the NHSC25k Strava group. There are lots of us on there!

strava.com/mobile

[Hidden in reply to Lordi]

It is and I joined the group weeks ago 😊 but thanks for mentioning it.

[Hidden in reply to Lordi]

Though I have no idea who anyone is from their real names!

[Lordi Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Use the same avatar there as on here is only way to know.

[Hidden in reply to Lordi]

nobody seems to have! Including me!