Four months ago I graduated c25k. Today I graduated Juju Magic plan with my first ever 10K run this lunchtime. Official time 01:23:58. I’m totally OK with that for my first try. I’m so thrilled with my progress and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for the encouragement along the way.
I’ll be honest, the last 7 months I’ve been going hard with the running, three runs a week, kept to the regime and rarely had a break from running. This last week I have felt burnt out and I recognise this feeling very well, it’s overwhelming and disheartening. So next week I’m having a break from running with the exception of Parkrun and I hope to come back the following week with a new running schedule so I can continue to enjoy my 5K and 10K achievements.
Finally, a sports massage was suggested today by Rainbow66 so that’s going to be my Week 8 treat! Oh, and a Boogie!
❤️
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JaoJao
Graduate10
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Fantastic achievement! A rest sounds like a really good idea. Maybe you can daydream up a new goal to keep you motivated, especially with winter approaching. But in the meantime bask in the glory and relax 👏👏👏🥇🎉
Thank you so much Linda, you certainly helped me take the step towards 10k with the Juju plan, I won’t forget your advice. Can’t wait to see you with my new 10k legs!!! ❤️
Hey backintime, absolutely agreed whilst these running plans have been great motivation, it’s nice to have a rest now and come back raring to go a little later like you say.
Hey Alissum, funnily enough when I go for a run, my back sorts itself out, no problem and it’s fine when I get back after the run. It’s playa up again but only when I’m on the couch and idle watching TV. I think the moral of the story is stay off the couch! Roseabi gave me some great advice on the Juju thread this week, she said to make sure I’m moving around frequently if I’m sat idle for some time.
But now it’s rest time I’ll have plentiful time to think how I want to address my niggles before I come back with a new plan.
Hi JaoJao. So pleased to see this post, which I have been looking out for. I knew you would smash it. You should be very proud of yourself. Enjoy a good rest now (after the boogie, of course).
Yes I’ve had plenty of rest since Wednesdays vistory, I might try for a swim tomorrow at my local pool for a change. I’ll be getting ready for parkrun this morning too! Good luck xx
Hi Mummycav, you’re right it’s a wonderful feeling, like nothing else! Yes it’s rest time now but I’ll be dipping in and out of the forum as I start putting together a new plan of running xx
Just running for running sake is something I think you'll enjoy....just run, no time, no pace, no distance...just enjoy being outside..I absolutely love the outdoors....(did I say that out loud???!!!) Everything is so amazing...I've seen the world through my children's eyes, which was wondrous and now I'm seeing the world through a runners eyes and i love it x
I have loved the outdoors since starting running, it’s been 7 months now and I wonder how I ever lived without this until now. They do say that being outdoors and especially running in it makes you feel grounded and connected boosting your wellbeing so I totally relate to what got say.
The other great thing is exploring new places, I’ve generally
Stuck to the same route and parks the last 7 months but now I want a change of scenery and i look forward to both exploring and discovering x
Boogie till the sun comes up😊 It’s a brilliant achievement and you should be so proud of yourself. Yes, take a break and you will come back refreshed. A sports massage can be a challenge if you have tired/tight muscles, my masseur puts me through the mill but it’s worth it. I have even been known to ****!!! Let us know how you get on 👍🏻
Thank you Olney, I didn’t realise sports massage could be rough, but now thinking about it ofcourse makes sense, ok maybe a gentler treatment! Noted! Now time for a rest 😊
Thank you Zest for following my journey, I feel like I’ve won a gold medal today, feeling totally awesome about the Juju plan and my commitment and my strict running schedule, I’m quite disciplined I suppose 😂
Well done JaoJao! You’ve been such a fabulous example to everyone with your enthusiasm for running, and I’m so happy you’ve smashed your 10k! Really well done! 🎉🎉🎉
You deserve a break - it’s good to let your body have a rest every now and then. You’ll return refreshed and ready to run again. 😀👍 In the meantime you can trade in your 60 minute badge for a lovely shiny 10k one. Bet you’ll be staring adoringly at it for hours! 🏅😍
Thank you cheekychipmunks, I hope others have been inspired with my posts and treats and updates, I want everyone to run! It’s like a Magic pill!
Oh yes! I’ll be claiming my upgraded badge too, thank you for the nudge my lovely friend xx
I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support on here that’s for sure xx
Hi. Really well done. I’m so glad you made it and your back wasn’t playing up. As for the suggestion of the sports massage, whilst they are incredibly good I could NEVER describe them as a treat. More like slow torture!! 🤣. I’d definitely go for a pleasurable treat first to celebrate and leave that for another time. x
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🎉👍🎶🎉 Well done! Fabulous progress. Congratulations. You’ve been very diligent. Do take that break and enjoy it too, so you also keep the fun of running as well as the achievement. 👍😄
Massive congratulations! Good time to for a first one, 1’ more than me and I enjoyed the run too. Sounds like you need a little rest and the massage sounds perfect
Hey Couchpotato, thank you for your wishes. I hope the time will improve as I get more 10k runs under my belt. When did you complete your 10k run? Are u also following Juju? Xx
It definitely will but what you will see happen is your time improve for shorter distances. I did JuJu’s plan till week 8’and when I was running that 8km felt great and knew that I was shortly leaving for a month and so I went on to 10km. I was pleased but exhausted well till i had a nice lunch and a couple of days off. See how you feel but I would probably say good to consolidate this and try farleks, intervals etc before pushing further but of course you may feel differently. Also I thought I could ignore strength and flex but it turns out I cant and I need to do that while not running so I would say, make sure you do something like pilates or similar. Anyway for now enjoy basking in your wonderful achievement xx
Thank you couch for the advice, I didn’t the Juju plan in order to bring my parkrun time down so fingers crossed. I’m not sure I’ll go beyond 10K I only have little legs so I often say I feel like I have to work a lot harder than everyone else.
Consolidation, fartleks and intervals will be on the agenda for sure and I am definitely going to up my game with strength exercises
I’ve decided over the last day or so that I’m going to get back to 5km and then slowly up to 10km but stick to that for another 6 months so that I am comfy with anything 5-10km and maybe I can improve my PR!! ⚠️ strength can be boring ... enjoy xx
So excited for you!! What a wonderful achievement!! Yes, do make sure you look after yourself... and enjoy basking in the glow of your success! Well done you! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thank you Jonathan, I had no intention of following Juju after c25k, I was a very stick in the mud about it, but I’m so pleased I did and I enjoyed it way more than c25k!
Thank you Run46 for following my journey, appreciate it 🙏 Makes all the different with you all rooting for me too!
Yes I couldn’t have put it better myself “just in the nick of time”... I’ve got some nice socials planned over the next week which will be nice and then I’ll definitely come bouncing back xx
So pleased to see you cracked it. A break well deserved, I’ve had to take a couple of my running journey and worried each time about losing it but it didn’t happen😀 so enjoy your well earned rest confident that you can spring back x
Hooray! That’s super! And a great time! I graduated C25K in august and did my first 10k last sat! It was a great feeling crossing the finishing line! I had to book in for a 10k event as I thought that would give me the push I needed and it worked! Are you planning on half marathon training? I didn’t think I’d want to but it’s my next goal, defiantly got the running bug! Isn’t it great!!!!!
Miss fuschia, wow so much respect for you smashing the c25k and 10k immediately after! That’s a fantastic boost! Best wishes for your journey to half marathon. I think I will be consolidating 10K as my next plan and want to take part in a couple races of 5K and 10K after that who knows.
Parkrun has also become a weekly thing so I’m working for my 50 milestone and 25 volunteers at the same time! Running has become so much fun and the ultimate stress buster too!
That's such an encouraging post for me JaoJao, mainly because your time is probably what I will be running 10K at, if I ever get there. Huge congratulations from someone who is following in your footprints and thank you for being so honest 😘
Thank you FatterPenguin, I wanted to give the time as I know many people aspire to doing 10K around the 1 hour mark, that’s something I would like to do one day but for now I’m going to take 01:23:58 and sprinkle my happiness everywhere.
I listened to a couple runner’s world podcasts during my run yesterday and they kept me entertained to the end.
I think the only way I will ever do 10K in an hour is if my car is involved in the journey....
I started to watch a youtube video about increasing your running speed - it featured a gentleman who starting running 5K in 21 minutes and had reduced it to 18 minutes and had stuck there. I stopped watching at this point as being someone who would be ecstatic if I ran 5K in under 40 minutes I realised this video was not for the likes of me
I have hopes of getting under 30 minutes...one day - at the moment I am stuck at 40-42 mins depending on the terrain - 12 minutes isn't much to knock off is it?
Congratulations to you JaoJao on graduating to Graduate10 with that lunchtime run, well done.
You say that you have felt a bit 'burnt out' because your runs have been 'hard going' three times a week.
Since I graduated from C25K, then Graduate10 I have been running two times a week, usually a Saturday, parkrun once a fortnight, not weekly, the alternative non-parkrun Saturday I usually run one of the C25K longer runs with Laura, my midweek run on a Wednesday varies from the 3/10K's I ran once a fortnight recently to a few 5K runs or like yesterday a 3K .
By all means, run once a week at parkrun, that magic 50 gets closer each run, however, you are correct in saying that after next week you will be thinking of a new running schedule so that you enjoy your 5k and 10K runs, perhaps a 5K parkrun on a Saturday and a 10K every second midweek run, good luck.
Hi AlMorr, I like the idea of 2 runs a week, but to do a 10K every week would be quite heavy I may do it once a fortnight be mix up my other runs. I will have a better idea when I’ve had the rest xx
Congratulations JaoJao, you progressed so quickly! You definitely deserve a break and a lovely massage (got one booked myself 😀, can’t come quickly enough!). Enjoy your break - any ideas of what you want to do next?
You are going to be a busy bee, sounds like you have it sussed! I try to do some yoga and strength exercises every week, they really do help. I can thoroughly recommend the Yoga with Adriene videos on YouTube - she has different sets of moves for different scenarios, like pre-run, post-run, strength & stamina, really good stuff.
We'll done you; fantastic result and in a good time too. It's important to take the odd occasional rest. I was in Japan for two weeks at the start of the month (for rugby world cup and also my Birthday) and so didn't do any for almost a fortnight. Came back and ran 5k under 30 mins for the first time ever.
Enjoy your achievement, enjoy your rest, come back refreshed and let the journey continue...
Thank you Strongfuse, and for saying it’s a good time. I appreciate that. It’s great hearing how people come back stronger after a holiday, I am going away end of November so I hope that will help me when o come back, a bit like your surprise sub 30!
I think it's generally accepted that we should take a week off for every 12 on, just to let our muscles have a bit of extended recovery. That tends to be the pattern I've followed and I do seem to come back stronger and faster after a break. No just to take my new found form into my charity 10k on November 3rd...
It's the Edinburgh mens' 10k. I'm running for cancer research because of friends and family who have suffered.
I also figure running for just over an hour for charity is much less hassle than growing a moustache for the whole month. Did that once and it was not a good look on me and the itch drove me mad.
I am signing up for Boxing Day 5K at a local country park and will do it for the MIND charity. I also have my eye on a 10K run in the new year and will choose a different charity for that one.
Quick update, many of you asked what I will be doing next. For my REST WEEK next week I have purchased a Swim Pass at my local gym so I will enjoy a handful of swims during my week off. I'm really looking forward to having a swim!
JaoJao you have done it and I’m so pleased and happy for you it’s an amazing achievement you should be very proud of yourself.
And you enjoy your rest you need it it’s not good burning out and relax and chill out my friend as you know I’m there for you 🤗.
Enjoy your massage and pampering you so deserve it.
I highly recommend joining a running club it’s not just the running it’s the social side of it running different routes and lots of encouragement of the runners and you wouldn’t get left behind because the front leaders loop back so everyone stays together and plus you will meet some lovely people it’s great for your mental health trust me you won’t regret it you will love it 😊 and they also do events together and social meetings on weekends at the pub it’s so much more than running it’s life changing I’ve not felt this positive for a long while and now I do
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Sunday cardiff 10k 
First ever 10K done!
10k Achieved
10k ✔ 😆
10K Sunday...most likely gonna take 100 minutes
