Week 4 of the Magic Plan ✅. There is sometimes satisfaction in reining yourself in 😃.

I ran my final run of week 4 this morning on ju-ju's 60 minute plan.

Due to a rather gruelling week working in the garden, I decided a few days ago that it would make sense to slightly elongate this week as I was just too weary from three days of digging and planting. So my third run of this week was a repeat of the second, another 30 minute run; one which I felt I could manage instead of the 50 minute one, which I think would have brought me to the brink of failure if I had run it when it was due. The 30 minute run was enough to give my legs an airing and some exercise, but not enough to make them protest too much.

The adaptation seems to have paid off, as this morning I ran for 50 minutes on a partly new route. I covered 6.2k, with a couple of long, slow inclines and one steep, sharp little bugger of an incline too 😅. The 50 minutes felt like a really long time in parts. When I looked at my watch at 20 minutes I couldn't believe I still had another 30 minutes left to run. However, my legs eventually found a rhythm away from the inclines and I had Fionamags ' mantra from earlier this week in my head: "I am strong - I am fabulous - I can run like this for miles..." and it certainly helped ☺️, thank you FM.

Despite it feeling a lengthy run, by the time the 50 minutes were up, I was surprised to find myself thinking - "Ooh, I could go a little further here." Rather sensibly, Mymojo had a word in my ear; she made another "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" comment, and I reined myself in. I will keep that in reserve for next time. I think it's sometimes harder to rein yourself in than it is to push yourself on.

I'm a little frustrated with Garmin going AWOL today as I think I also sneaked my first sub-40 minute 5k in on route, but I can't check 🙄. I'm sure Garmin going offline has scuppered quite a few people's stats today.

UPDATE: thanks to Grannyhugs I have just discovered how to find my lap times on my watch and have added them all up and I did it! New 5k PB 39:54 😁 !

Happy running folks 😊🌷🏃‍♀️

[Fionamags Graduate10]

Oh DellyD that was a blinder! You are very sensible with your running schedule and it certainly has paid off. I sometimes take extra days off as well depending on how I'm feeling. I also switch the runs around sometimes as well.

I had my long run today as well and I think there are hordes of us waiting to see the numbers!!

Glad the mantra worked for you. You will be at 60 minutes in no time. Xx

[Hidden in reply to Fionamags]

Thank you FM. I feel that I'm chasing those 60 minutes now. I would never have believed it possible a few weeks ago before starting roseabi's plan. I do think I need to treat my legs to a nice level cycle track at some point, though!

[dijep Graduate10]

Great post, I love reading blow by blow running accounts and it sounds like a brilliant bit of running Delly-dot well done x😊😊

I can just imagine how many people are swearing about the Garmin outage today! Hoping you'll get to see a sub 40 5k when it's back working 🤞

[Hidden in reply to dijep]

Thank you dijep. I glanced at my watch when the 5k beeper went but I couldn't tell because the notification shows pace not time. I think it was right on the cusp of 40.

[Hidden in reply to dijep]

Thanks to Grannyhugs, I have just discovered how to find my lap times on my watch and have added them all up and I did it! New 5k PB 39:54 😁 !

[dijep Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Congratulations 🎉🍾

[Allbarron 60minGraduate]

We'll done Delly-dot! It is amazing how far we've come thanks to that advice from roseabi. Great to hear 'Mymojo' being such a star too😄I think you've really got this sorted in your head now and will be at that 60 minutes before you know it. That extra rest day truly paid off. 👏👏

[Hidden in reply to Allbarron]

Hello 👋🏼!

Mymojo is keeping me on the straight and narrow. She's also responsible for booting me out of bed early this morning because I was really rather keen to just roll over after a poor night's sleep. I wasn't in the best state when I set off this morning but that often inexplicably leads to a decent run 🤷🏼‍♀️ !

[Allbarron 60minGraduate in reply to Hidden]

Haha! Yes it's usually those days when the best run comes. What a shame the tech failed. But the.numbers aren't important really or so I keep trying to convince myself.

[Buddy34 Graduate10]

Well done Delly-dot on your 6k/ 50 minute run. That 60 minutes is just round the corner or up that next incline. Good luck with the rest of the plan.

I hope Garmin is up and running soon so you can see your run. 🏃‍♀️👏👏

[Hidden in reply to Buddy34]

Thank you Buddy. I hope so too. The Garmin server will probably crash again though with everyone wanting to see their runs 🙄 !

[Grannyhugs Graduate10]

Great effort - remember that wanting more feeling when you start your next long run. Garmin is a bit of a pain today but you can check your records on your watch - at least I can on my forerunner 35. Happy running

[Hidden in reply to Grannyhugs]

Thank you GH!! I have just checked my watch and discovered out how to find the seperate lap times. I have just added them all up and it is 39:54, I did it! 😁

[Grannyhugs Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Fantastic effort, pleased for you. 🤗

[Roxdog Graduate10]

Wow that's so lovely Delly-Dot! Long runs are lovely, especially when you're in 'the zone' like that. Hills too! You must be buzzing!🐝

[Hidden in reply to Roxdog]

Thank you Roxdog. I was a little late coming into the zone today, but I got there in the end 😊.

[Hidden]

Looks like we’re running and learning side by side D-d, just wrote my post and then read yours .....we’ve both covered the same distance in same time today, reigned in our ‘friends’, enlisted the help of mantras and been unimpressed with Garmin! I also planned extra rest days this week between runs due to additional activities, definitely the way forward. 🤗

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Absolutely! Flexibility is the way ahead 😊

[Mum22boys Graduate10]

Fab run today 😀 I also find that my rhythm tends to come post 5k.. I reckon that's all a good sign for running longer and longer distances!! Congrats on the new pb and also on the sensible head, don't push anything and good to take extra rest days when needed 😊

[Hidden in reply to Mum22boys]

😊 Thank you. I hadn't thought about finding my stride after 5k, but it definitely happened today and also during a longer run last week. That's encouraging for the longer runs ahead 🏃‍♀️.

[Timotea Graduate10]

That is wonderful D-D! Really impressed with your times. Keep up the plan and you will be a 10 k grad in no time.

Glad you are listening to your mojo!

Happy running.

[Timotea Graduate10]

Would love it if you could share how to access runs when garmin is down?

[Hidden in reply to Timotea]

I'll do my best. Before I reel off instructions I think you have a Garmin 45s too?

[Timotea Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Yes I do! Well remembered. Run day is tomorrow and I see Garmin is still down. What a bore it is.

[Hidden in reply to Timotea]

Okay, here goes 🤞🏼.... Press.....

1. bottom left button to open up runs for this week

2. top right for run history

3. toggle for week you want to view and then press top right to select

4. top right to select today

5. repeat pressing bottom left to open laps which will then show time and and distance.

Hope that helps. 🤗

[Raspberrypink Graduate10]

Well done on your 50 minute run and a new 5k pb. 😀. Technology lessons too ! 👍🏼

[Hidden in reply to Raspberrypink]

Thank you!

I can't believe Garmin is still offline. The site will probably crash again when everyone tries to get back on!

[Sparkey5000 60minGraduate]

Congratulations.....you are doing amazing!

[Hidden in reply to Sparkey5000]

Thank you Sparkey! 😊

[Blossom- 60minGraduate]

Hi DD, love your post, you are inspiring! I've been doing post grad runs for six weeks now. I'm intrigued to find out more about roseabie's bridging plan you refer to. I need a bit more focus to find my way to 5k. I've tried the 5k+ podcasts. Where is Roseabie's plan please?

[Hidden in reply to Blossom-]

Hi Blossom.

roseabi's plan was informally conjured up between a few chats on the consolidation forums, initally between @Allbarron and roseabi and then I tagged in and others followed. The link below will take you to a chat between roseabi and I where she outlined the plan for me in more detail. It was instrumental in finally getting me to 5k in week 4. I stayed on the plan until week 5 then merged onto the Magic plan as roseabi intended. It worked brilliantly for me. I hope it helps. 😊

[Run46 Graduate10]

Fantastic run, and in assessing your energy levels and adjusting your run calender to suit...sometimes we're so focussed on what we'd planned to do that we don't consider amending it to where we're actually at, and that can definitely lead to disappointment.

Glad it went well and congrats on your PB 🎉😊

[Hidden in reply to Run46]

Thank you! I've become pretty good at listening to how my body is and recognising when I need to slow things down a bit. It comes from having my (un)fair share of spells on the injury couch 😌. I didn't set out to do anything other than aim to do the 50 minute run yesterday, so it was really nice to see a pb 5k slide in there too 😊.

[HappyNoodle Graduate10]

Well done Delly-Dot, sometimes switching things up and taking pressure off yourself really helps!

Congratulations on PB and on a hilly run 🤩

[Hidden in reply to HappyNoodle]

Oh, not quite a proper hill, but that long slow incline out of my little market town and out into the country was hard work, then that sharp little path to avoid the single track road was a little menace. It was good for me though 😅!

[HappyNoodle Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

I call my little incline a hill probably shouldn’t but I have to work at it cycling and running so it’s a hill in my book 😉🤣 if it’s not flat it’s hilly!

[Hidden in reply to HappyNoodle]

Well HappyNoodle, I do like your philosophy of "if it's not flat it's hilly". Makes me feel much more smug about my attempt, thank you!! 😊