Made the decision last night to go for 6k, went to bed and the gremlins that many talk about followed me.
Gremlin 1 advised me to turn the alarm off, this was my only day for a lay in.
Woke 7:05 jumped out of bed, running gear on and coffee made
Gremlin 2 appeared, you are too late to run now, it is going to be a hot day. Sat on sofa and debated with myself.
Off and out I went. Nike run set to 6k, 20 seconds in I had Christmas 🎄 music playing in my ear. No way was I running to that again. Stopped run, changed music and gremlin 3 appeared suggested I changed my Nike run to 5k or just 30 minutes.
Mental struggle with myself and set off with the idea that running was meant to be fun. I wasn’t at school and it wasn’t compulsory. I could stop when I want.
Feeling better off I jogged, started wondering if Nike Run had forgotten to tell me I was at the half way point - sadly it hadn’t.
I have no idea on distance but 6k seemed to be much further than 5k but gremlins firmly shut in their box I completed it 😃. Time much better than I thought as had decided 48 minutes would be good and managed it in under 43 minutes.
Back to 30 minutes for the next run 🏃♀️
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TotalNewbie1
Graduate10
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We'll you've certainly had a battle on your hands. Determination wins again and with a fabulous time to boot. Unfortunately my gremlins won. I drove out to a trail in the rain and when I got there it was literally bouncing off the dirt track. I got back in the car and came home. I did yoga and promised to go out tonight when it brightens up🤔🤞
That's the attitude 🤗 those gremlins never give up but then neither do we! Keep strong my friend, you are doing so well. I'm struggling just to get to 4k, I can only dream of your stats at the moment! Let us know how you get on 💪🏃♀️🌻
Well done TotalNewbie1 , it is a long way you’re right...but 5k is a lot further than 4k too...and I bet when you started this no way would you have thought you could ever run any of those distances?! I know I couldn’t...but here you are, smashing a 6k & in less time than you thought!!! Whatever distance you cover or whatever time you run for sounds like those Gremlins are going to have their work cut out beating you!! Well done for kicking them into touch!!
The gremlins. The gremlins. You have to applaud their consistency. However, they were there and you ploughed on. Absolutely fantastic. Something that has helped me with the gremlins. 1) Keeping slow and slower Again in terms of pace (my gremlins feed off my lack of confidence in running so when going slow, I feel more in control) 2) focusing on the benefits of being out (going over in my head, you’re out, this is good, this is challenging, this is tough but good) 3) remembering the ‘toxic ten’ and that everyone experiences it 4) listening to podcasts instead of music. Getting drawn into a conversation makes it harder to have room to argue and chat with the gremlins!
You did a great job though. Keep up the tough but good (!) work!!
I’m not sporty at all, but I started listening to RunPod by Jenni Falconer. She interviews a range of people with a range of abilities and reasons for running. I find listening to a conservation really engaging and definitely passes the time quicker. For me, rather surprisingly, works far better than music.
I also listen Timothy Keller podcasts which are great if you fancy something a bit deeper!
Yeah, 6k is a long way past 5k... but no single kilometre is as long as the first one you ran. In terms of proportion of the run each km is less than the one before... I think that’s why Marathon runners leave themselves 10k to add onto their training come race day!
Great running out there despite the gremlins... they’re strong, but they never match up to a runner.
The last K of a run is usually the longest in my somewhat limited experience, running is such a mental challenge, not just physical. One thing I have found is not to concentrate too much on distance to go when running, now I just try to acknowledge each k buzzing past on my watch and not think “that’s 4K gone, 5k to go” . I also try to set myself mini goals on a longer run, for instance I have a long hill early on in a run, so once I have got up that I can pat myself on the back and acknowledge that’s done and dusted.
So yes 6k is sooooo much further than 5k, and hate to tell you but even after successfully running a HM the next run of 5k seemed a long run to me, running IS hard but that’s why it’s so rewarding IMO . Good luck on your journey.
So true, I couldn’t manage 4K on Sunday, yet two weeks before I was finding 5k good. Everyday is a new day and really just one foot in front of the other is all I need to do!
Depends what you like, but I have been listening to Rhod Gilbert’s the froth podcast and also rob Beckett and josh Widdicombe, I did have to stop the other day because I was laughing so hard, but they make the miles seem to fly by x
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