My second 7k this morning. The hill made me breathless again. Perhaps it's the cold? Ate a banana beforehand but did at times find it challenging. The Classical music didn't help today, too many violin and piano pieces. I've searched Classical for running on Spotify and surprisingly there are quite a few. I'll give one of them a try - hopefully it'll be a little more uplifting. Nevertheless it's done and dusted. 8k next week 😬
Have a happy running weekend 😊
Well done 59er it was chilly this morning, running up hills is hard, so to do that and complete 7k is very impressive. Maybe a few classical tracks mixed in with others may help 🤔. I’m sure you’ll complete 8k next week no problem.....what about the William Tell overture to finish 👍
I definitely need SOMETHING to help me get a spurt on! 👍
Or the 1812 Overture.
If you can find flatter routes with not so many hills that might help your runs, 7K is a good distance to run, try the Bach Brandenburg Concertos, six of them, they are fairly upbeat music to run to.
Ate a banana beforehand but did at times find it challenging.
Perhaps start with a satsuma. Work your way up to a half banana. One day a full banana won’t seem so difficult.
🤣 perhaps I should read through my posts before I hit that 'Post' button!
Hey are we on the same plan? we did 7k tuesday and it’s 8k this coming week
Well done 7k is over 4 miles
Haha, I don't know what plan you're on but I'm on AlMorr's - increase distance by 1km per week! 🤭
We are following the magic plan this week is week 4 so it’s 4k which we did after work tonight then 8 k which we hope to do Sunday as it’s my weekend off and 5k for later in the week
7k 59er accompanied by a banana 🍌 and a violin cracking result 👍🎼🎵🎶
Well, you did it and got through any tough patches, so all good!
Hills are tricky beasts! I have a 144m elevation gain route which I run once per week. Most of that gain happens in a 1k section (three peaks really). I had to leave this run out of my weekly schedule for some months because of injury, so I am now having the "pleasure" of building up from scratch again. My first attempts at the end of August saw me having to walk the peaks, and even when I ran it, that critical 1k took 8:32 breathless minutes. It took 100% concentration to get the shortened stride length right and to judge the pace to get the right balance between forward momentum and heart rate, but this week I ran that section in 7:16 and it is beginning to be enjoyable again. Music would be a distraction for me in that process; the down hill bits are a different matter though!!! Short quick stride, arms out for balance and crank up the Light Cavalry Overture if you like. Just saying, for this 68 year old at least, hills need a cunning plan to put them in their place and the margin between the run feeling ok or a breathless disappointment is a fine one.
My goodness! Sounds very complicated. And there was me thinking I just had to get up it 🙃 Although my hill is a tiddler compared to yours. I just lean in and run slow!
😂😂 Love it!!
Hey! Don't worry about slow. I ran by feel last night and some of my miles were 12 minutes. If you feel relaxed and comfy then keep going. See if you can give it the beans at the end as this will really help. Another run so very well done 👏 for another run.
Thanks GTFC - you always find the positive in there somewhere! I think the problem was the music - it was a bit of a durge - not uplifting at all. When I run with nothing at all I wonder what I should be thinking about 🤣 and end up concentrating on the bad parts of the run. The music, to me is a welcome distraction. 😊
I can understand that although there aren't really bad parts, just things we can do differently. I prefer no music but everyone is different. Pace and distance never really matter to me just that I go out as regularly as possible. You're doing great so keep going, keep smiling and keep achieving!
Good running 59er! Well done!
Mars from the Planets finished off my 8k last week. It seemed to match my tired plodding pace in an uplifting way. 😂
I can relate to that slow plodding pace. I try to run 100 steps lifting my knees more but as the run progresses it (obviously) gets harder. and I do this why? 🤣
Well done 59er for getting up that hill, I’ve been walking mine for the most part as just haven’t got the puff at the moment, if I ate a whole banana before a run I’d never get up them! I know what you mean about some classical tracks although I quite like the Classical British Countryside on Spotify but the most uplifting I’ve found there is the Runtime, great mix of upbeat tracks.
Keep going 🤸♀️🤗
Thanks jorgeRuns, it's good to know there's someone out there who struggles with them there hills! 🤭 Thanks for the recommendations, I think I'll look those out for my next run and give them a go 👍
Happy running!
Mozart-Marriage of Figaro overture
Vivaldi-Summer part 3
Mozart-Haffner Serenade 1st movement
Beethoven 5th 1st movement
Mozart 40th 1st movement
Sky- Bach Toccata & Fugue
Handel-Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
That's my 5k classical playlist for what it's worth. If in doubt anything Mozart is uplifting in my book hahaha. Well done on the second 7k despite the lack of musical lift ...Brilliant !!!
Well done. 7k is a fair whack. Nothing wrong with running slow. If you can run at a slow conversational pace you will be building up your aerobic base. Understanding this completely changed the way I run. I loved the C25K program, but beyond 5k I realised I needed a little knowledge about heart rate zones, perceived effort etc to avoid injury and exhaustion. I strongly recommend the "Running Channel" on Youtube, which goes into some of the science in a simple, accessible way. Good luck with the 8K
I think Jennyhare I could do with some more knowledge on how not to exhaust myself - I thought it might be my age - but perhaps I just need to dampen it down a bit? I'll take a look at the Running Channel and the Heart rate zone information - thanks for that! 🙂
Heart rate zones now are a pretty standard way of getting the best out of your running - or something very similar like running at certain levels of perceived effort. It amounts to the same thing. The basic problem for new runners is not that they are running too slow, but that they're running too hard, but in an area where there is very little aerobic development. The general goal is a lot of running in Zone 2 (70-80% of your maximum heart rate), with shorter periods of fartleks and tempo runs in Zone 4 (80-85% max HR). At first this means running at a pace which seems very slow, but as long as you put the distance in you will see an increase in pace and you will be less prone to injury.
I would recommend using a heart rate chest strap. They're cheaper that wrist ones and more accurate.
Another thing to add into the mix is pushing your cadence into 170-180 area. This works well for distance running and is more efficient that taking big strides with the risk of heel striking.
With C25K you can generally get away with all sorts of bad practices and the idea is just to get people into a healthier lifestyle. It's (sort of) ok to just run and not worry too much for shorter distances at lower paces, but beyond that you just have "run smart" if you want to develop well and avoid injury. The good news is there's consensus on the internet about what really works. The mistake (I made) is thinking all this "clever stuff" is for super fast young runners when it's actually relevant to all runners, regardless of age and ability.
Wow! This seems complicated but sensible as regards to being relevant to all runners. I definitely need and want to run smart to avoid injury! Thanks again for this 👍
I didn't want to overload you with information. I suppose that's why people have coaches! But there's a lot you can figure out for yourself. Once you know your maximum and resting heart rate that will define your particular zones. These videos explain it very simply: youtube.com/watch?v=JLgAO-T... youtube.com/watch?v=s5oO_Qn...
Well done 59er. I think the cold makes us more breathless - certainly does for me.
Hope I can join you & WillowandSola on an 8k next week, but after 10 days off with hip niggles, not sure if I can manage that. Let's see 
Sorry - no classical music for me when I'm running - has to be Guilty Pleasures Pop! I'll save the classical for my daytime relaxation!
Here's to next week!
The Week of Slow...!🏃♀️🤷♀️🙂
A Whole Run - Slow 5K 😊
Keeping going, slow but steady 
Another slow shuffle 
