My run this morning didn't happen...life got in the way as it has a habit of doing...so i decided i would go this evening instead.its been a very long & busy day & this stupid hayfever is killing me but i decided to gove it a go anyway.i just feel a million miles away from where i was 6 weeks ago 😔 at this point i have absolutely no idea how i am ever going to get back to it!!!i kept having to stop & walk...plus i must have got at least a million flies in my eyes/ mouth...then i got tripped up by a very tiny but cute sausage dog!!!its a good job i have a sense of humour!!!
Any tips on how on earth i get back to running a decent 5k would be much appreciated as i feel at a total loss at the moment...i worked SO hard to where i was 😔
I’m absolutely no expert as I only graduated 5k about a month ago but last night was the first time I went past 5k and did 6. For weeks since graduation I’ve been struggling to even do the 5km but something changed yesterday. I decided to slow it down to the extent that I actually enjoyed . I still kept running and I was still pushing myself but if I started to think I can’t do this, this hurts , this is not fun, I just slowed it down a little until it was fun and I could do it and it didn’t hurt too much. A bad run for me is a low 13 minute mile . A good run is just touching a 12 minute mile and my average is about 12m30secs. Last night I did 12m40 seconds average so it wasn’t even really any slower than when I’ve when I’ve really pushed myself so hard that I hate it. Get the enjoyment back. Make sure you and the conditions are right and concentrate on having fun and hopefully that will mean you will go out more in the right frame of mind and the decent 5km will come back again.
This could all be total rubbish and I’m sure there’s loads of physical strengthening exercises and techniques you could be doing to improve your time but for me I know it’s mental so if I crack that I know I will improve.
Just don’t be hard on yourself and make it achievable for you. The improvements will come. You ll be back on form before you know it, as long as you are kind to yourself and get some enjoyment out of it . X
It sounds like you're beating yourself up about this. Remember what we were told at the beginning of our running 'journeys', every run is a run and is building our strength.
If time is short or your hay fever is bad just plan a short achievable run, perhaps 2-3k. Try to run to the end and then you can feel good about it. Add .5k each run and you'll soon be back.
I know you'll be back to where you want to be very soon, so be kind to yourself.
Stand up, shake out your arms, relax your shoulders, shake out your legs, take a deep breathe and then close your eyes. Then let all the shit and worry flow out of the tips of your fingers and start to think about what really matters with your running.
I'm sure you'll find it's not about a certain pace or some achievement that will in the future seem insignificant, it's just about finding a bit of joy in exercise, about collecting stories of dalliances with sausage dogs and enjoying the outdoors. If you keep doing it in the only way you can, to the best of your ability, working around your limitations you will find the joy and rewards. Everything else is kind of pointless.. let it go. Namaste
Thankyou...very wise words...i am not bothered about pace...time or distance any more...just running without keep having to stop would be good.i had got to the point where i had let go of all that & was running for the joy of it & all its benefits which there are alot for me personally...& since i havnt been running its having a knock on negative effect on all of those other things too 😕BUT...I shall trudge on & see what happens 😊 Thankyou...& Namaste 😊
Claire, dont get too down about it. I know it’s frustrating, but the thing is you are keeping it ticking over with the little bits you are managing. It hasnt all gone away, it’s just gone a bit into the background. If you keep doing little bits, you will maintain some level of fitness that will reignite into full on running again. At the very worst, hayfever season wont last forever. This is the worst of it I would think, with everything blossoming and lots of pollen floating around. Message me if you are within striking distance of Chipping Norton amd you are welcome to run on my treadmill, even if you can only manage to get here once a week - though it’s on the small side, and you would have to brave Dennis, who is the cause of my own allergy and the reason I have to use an inhaler before running xxx
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Ah bless you lovely lady 😊 that is true...i cannot wait until it all dies down!!!so fed up with feeling ill!!!seem to be stuck in a vicious circle of feeling too ill to run...or feeling a little up to it...going out then inhaling all the pollen & so it goes on!!!!fingers crossed it will pass & i can get back to some sort of normality...whatever that is haha 😂🤣
Don't worry about where you were before your running hiatus. Focus on just getting out for some short little runs to get back to it without any pressure. After my forced break, I started with just doing a few 20 minute runs whenever I could. I don't tend to enjoy the shorter runs due to the toxic 10 taking up so much of it but always felt better for just getting out. I've got an ugly cold now that kept me home from work yesterday so will forego my run today which was the only run I had for the week, but that's ok. Not going to let it get me down. Running is supposed to be a stress relief. If you focus on what you've lost with your break, it takes away from the joy that running should bring. Don't worry about distance or speed. Just get out, do what you can and relish in the fact that you are out there doing something, even if it is just a short little jog.
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Not good at selfies, pretty rubbish at running... 
Well I only went and dunnit
Well that was unexpected 
Well that was a proper post-holiday struggle! 🍺🇬🇷☀️
Well that was sensible
