I’m really struggling!

[Tiggercnk]

Started C25 in January and progressed to just under 10k in May but since then I’m struggling. Trying to work out why and when the turning point was. I did my first parkrun and although I did it with a good enough time I didn’t enjoy it and started with niggling shin splints. Gave myself a few days off and bought some new trainers (gait analysis done) but they weren’t great and after 10 minutes were sending my toes numb. They were literally the same trainers as my old ones so I tried wearing them in but last week they were just as bad. Problem is that in this time I’ve lost my mojo and struggling now to do 2 miles 😩😩😩

Can’t believe my fitness would have dropped so quickly don’t know how to get back into it.

[damienair Administrator]

That’s a real bummer. Perhaps start wearing your old shoes again and just concentrate on 5K for a while. I find that by running 5K 3 times per week and a longer run of say 7-8K once a week I am always fit enough to jump to a 10K Road Race when I choose. But I much prefer 5K.

Give Parkrun another go. Don’t put yourself under any pressure. Even just fast walk it. Genuinely Parkrun keeps me motivated, it’s the reason why I’m still running.

If you have just tried the shoes a couple of times take them back and explain that they are not suited to you. The shop might find you an alternative shoe which will suit better.

Damien

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

I had a few calf niggles after I got to 10k; enough to stop me running. I went to a physio who sorted out the knotted calves and gave me a daily strengthening regime. It worked! For me 10k appeared to be a tip over point where more basic muscle strength was needed to run the distance regularly. Maybe worth thinking about. I still do them now. Hope you are soon up and running happily. 😊

[Granspeed Graduate10]

Numb toes sounds like poor fit - too short or too narrow in the toe? Can you take them back & at least discuss with the shop? They may have ideas - often the fitters seem to be runners themselves & they do have a big interest in you being happy (and therefore returning).

About struggling - maybe some lateral thinking? New routes, bit of tourism, forget time & distance goals for a while and see if the joy will come back? I’m a fairly new runner but find I need to do this every month or six weeks just to keep the fun-level up.

Good luck. 👍😊

[Tiggercnk Graduate10]

Thanks for your replies guys. I can’t take the trainers back unfortunately because I’ve worn them but they definitely were a key factor in me losing my mojo - I went back to my old trainers tonight and although I only did 2.5 miles it was straightforward and painless. I think maybe the fitness level hasn’t gone as much as I’d feared and it’s probably just in my head.