Down but not out

[bertiesugar]

I am now at the stage of frustrated runner.

I was so pleased with my first 4 months progress from 0K to 10K. But then I have started getting lots of niggky injuries, first calf, then groin and now quad n- only completed 3.2km of this weeks park run I know I was guilty of coming back too soon with groin injury, so not going to do that with the quad. Its just so arrrrggghhhh as I was getting back to enjoying my running again. So its going to be a couple of weeks off then come back slowly and i mean snails pace 5K, maybe my body is telling me I am doing my runs too fast at between 5:15 and 5:45 per KM. Please tell me to stop being so competitive

Any idea of things to keep me occupied during recuperation

[Hidden]

Crumbs that IS fast. I think you are wise to throttle back. You will reach te sea speed later when you have built more strength and miles into your legs. I cant go at that cracking pace, but I have noticed a pattern of tiredness or aches at times when I’ve pushed on against the advice of my body. In a years’s time we will all be seasoned runners and not getting these niggles - except I suspect we will because we will be pushing further.

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10]

Oh dear. Yep... gotta stop trying to beat everyone else and beating yourself up in the process.

Try some yoga or stretching programs on you tube or chair based cardio workouts to keep fitness and activities up. 👍😁

[Sadie-runs Graduate10]

Sorry to hear this - and I know what you are going through, having suffered a series of annoying niggles myself at the start of the year. Often, they are interconnected, you know. I spent my time on the IC researching what bits of my body needed strengthening in order to avoid running injuries - then when recovered worked on my core, hips and glutes. Since then, have been upping my distance and running injury free...Got to be a link!

Rest up. I hope you are fighting for soon - don’t despair, the running will wait for you!

Sadie-runs x

[Empem Graduate10]

Read the hare and the tortoise?! I hope you get your power back soon.

[SueKen Graduate10]

Oh dear! You could always keep me company next week - after 3 weeks off I struggled to do 7mins per km this week, so I’d certainly help you slow down! 😊

[bertiesugar Graduate10 in reply to SueKen]

Looks like when I am back running we will arrange a date

[SueKen Graduate10 in reply to bertiesugar]

You could always volunteer too while you are off Parkrun - it’s good fun 🙂

[pinkaardvark Graduate10]

Injury occurrence seems directly proportional to faster running and that's not surprising as quick running is very dynamic. You clearly have a natural ability that exceeds your muscle ability to support it. Running at different paces is an important part of running craft, many novice runners who can run quickly can't run slowly and are unable to moderate their pace. Lots of excuses come out, like "that's just my natural speed" or "it feels wrong to go slower" but that just highlights the need to knuckle down and learn to do it. I have seen some really quick runners who seem to always run at the same pace for every run of the week whereas you really need to be doing speed work for only 20% of your running. Ask yourself, can I hold a conversation at the pace I am running right to the very end of the run? If not then your going too fast for your regular training runs.

Sometimes focusing on endurance/distance running can help as it will naturally force you to drop your pace, as will hill running or running over trail terrain.