Just when you think it,s all over !! 🎶 - What next ?!?!

[Fit4life]

Hi guys !! Just as I'm, sitting and relaxing after our morning ,s light jog around what is now becoming our regular 10K route, I found myself thinking of those little factors that contribute to us acheiving our overall goal/s ie motivation ,determination and all the goals we set along the way, they keep us focused and enthused .So , we land at a place we are happy with, then what ? What drives us then to put forth the effort and make the sacrifices to do repeat runs when our PB,s have ,as they no doubt do ,plateau ? I,m identifying and contemplating my own personal goals as I continue my own journey ,as I found myself questioning the reason/s why I need to push my efforts to the limit in search of a PB time for 10K when initially all I set out to do was actually achieve running the distance , which has now been accomplished ?Im interested in my fellow runners take on the longer term/ bigger picture as they see it for themselves. Does it always have to be 'bigger , 'higher', 'better', 'more' - really looking foreward to your comments guys !!

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

Like most others I set out on C25K just to see if I could do it. I then nailed slow 5ks, then got hooked on parkrun. I then thought I’d work up to 10k, again slowly. I entered some races (first one coming up in 3 weeks) and I pretty much decided 10k would be my longest distance.

But ...... other people I follow on here have been achieving some amazing stuff recently. 10 miles, HM’s, Marathons. Now I’m wondering whether I should aim for 10 miles next ........ again I’ll never be a fast runner, but I’m ok at trundling along.

So there you have it - my goal for this year! Plus my 10k races and loads of parkruns of course! 😀👍🏃‍♀️

[Teacherm Graduate10]

I do have this feeling that I want to strive for something more as a long-term goal. I like having a plan to follow. First, I’d like to do a 10k race, then work up to ten miles I think. But realistically that will be hard to do as I don’t have much training time as I’m a single parent. I might just have to settle for earning my parkrun 50 t-shirt and hopefully getting quicker for the next couple of years (until my son’s old enough to leave for longer than half an hour).

For individual runs though, I don’t always feel I have to get a pb or go further. Sometimes it’s just nice to run my old familiar 5k route at a steady pace and listen to a nice audiobook or a funny podcast. Other days I get this feeling that I MUST run to deal with work stress etc and then it’s not really about the times at all, just about having that headspace.

Sorry, I’ve rambled on for ages 😂. This is something I’m thinking about at the moment too, that’s why!

[Flyingred Graduate10]

Good question! I started C25K to support my weight loss efforts and surprised myself with how much I enjoyed running. I'm very clear that running is part of my overall approach to my wellbeing (including diet, sleep, stress management as well as exercise) so everything I do has to be compatible. That means I don't actually push for faster times, I don't do Parkrun (it brings back unwelcome memories of school sports days – competitive blokes doing their rituals really spook me) and I have no wish to enter races (I don't need the anxiety and adrenalin). I'm measuring my progress by how my HR for a given pace/time is reducing with training.

Having read 'Born to Run' by Christopher MacDougall, I was inspired by the idea of ultrarunning. The further I run the better I seem to do and the more I enjoy it – I even find it quite meditative. My next target is definitely HM. But if you'd said to me this time last year (before I'd started C25K) that by now I would have run 10 miles and be aiming for HM I would have fallen off my couch laughing! But I'm not setting a target date for longer distances or concerning myself with personal records (really don't want the stress of all that competitive stuff).

[JonathanP Graduate10]

I think it depends on what your motivation for running is? My aim was to get fit following retirement and a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Nearly a year on, having addressed those, and 5 months after achieving 10k, I don't really want to run longer distances but it is good to feel you are continuing to improve, so I continue to work on PBs for 5k & 10k - and enjoy my runs!