I graduated couch 2 5k late November. I was over the moon. I had lots of hope to keep running. I completed three consolidation runs. Things seemed on track but lack of sleep over a few nights meant I felt I couldn’t run in the morning. It’s now 10 days since I last run...
I’m eating lots of biscuits, crisps. I’m still doing little cycle rides. I can feel that my lung capacity that seemed to expand when I was running isn’t as ‘big’ as it was. It’s 6.15am as I type I’m usually getting prepped to run at this time on a week day but I’m in bed after another poor sleep - up since around 4am and feeling a bit sad...
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AdieB
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Morning AdieB, you’re not alone. I was on schedule to finish juju plan to run 60 mins by Christmas then also stopped running for about 10days ago. Couldn’t be bothered, sleep disturbed, no energy, dark, cold,wet, busy with work, etc ...
But I’ve been down this route several times in past with stopping winter running so read a few positive posts on this forum and made myself go out on Monday and started back with just a slow simple 20min run and have ‘reset’ so that I’m just going to try to get out 3times/week over winter, any length , any time and then can focus on increasing distance when longer days come...
Hang in there, every little counts and don’t be too hard on yourself.Plenty of us l out there too felling same I’m sure
Sorry to here this. I feel for you, been sleep deprived, very very regularly all my adult life. Exercise and fresh air does help. It’s not a cure but it does help. I’ve been known to run this winter on 4 hrs sleep. Last week a looked after my baby grandson for 9 hrs on less than 3hrs sleep. You have to dig deep and try to treat each day as it comes. You can do nothing about last night’s lack of sleep. Try to get out even for a 10min walk or run, it’s not going to make you feel any worse than you already do but it may make you feel better especially when we all celebrate the post you will then make. Do this for yourself, you’re important and worth it. Happy running 🤗
Don't give yourself a hard time it's horrible on these cold, dark mornings and poor sleep is crippling. If your sleep is an ongoing problem, you should check out Sleepio, it's a CBT course for insomnia and it's free. (If you don't live in the 'right' area, email them and ask). Good luck and I hope you get more joy from your running and your sleeping!
I also feel your pain, it's over a week since I've been out now, but as others have said this time of year isn't conducive to getting "out there". I've also been suffering from disturbed sleep, in my case the cold damp weather is causing me pain and discomfort in my arthritic shoulder and neck rather than outright insomnia, but even of a weekend I'm getting up feeling "washed out" and quite frankly just don't feel like going out. I'm hoping that the current cold snap eases a little so I can start getting out again, hope you manage to push through too and get back out despite the cold, damp and dark.
As above really. I struggled back in the summer (obvs not cos of cold dark morning's etc) but someone on here said just go for a short joggle, so I did, and you know it made the world of difference. Got me back on track and helped me feel so much better about myself. This is just a blip. Re sleep, have you tried Kalms or similar you can get from Boots? I find it helps. Good luck 😊
Blossom, I like idea of a short joggle. I will try to get back there. I’m going to have to look into sleep aide options, because it does deplete me in the day. Thanks v much for your message
Over at the Strength and Flex Forum we do share workouts and there might be some that might help you sleep 😴, such as healthunlocked.com/strength... so feel free to join us over there.
There are also indoor walking workouts that people have shared, as the weather makes people not be able to go outside.
Hope you find a way to stay motivated and well done for keeping up cycling! 🚴♀️
Give yourself a break and stop beating yourself up. I can’t speak for others but once I’ve met my next goal I go through a period of “celebration “ which leads eating the wrong food, drink to much beer and to not running for a week or so and then I too beat myself up for not doing more.
In those circumstances I just have to knuckle down, I decide that tomorrow I’ll run (pick the next sunny day).
The night before I lay out my kit in the bedroom and get an early night (not that that works as I can’t sleep then) but when I wake up I put my running kit on and go straight out, single minded, blinkered and just run. 1K 2K 5K it doesn’t matter. I just need to go out. The next run is much easier and I feel much better and back on track setting new goals.
Hello Bladerunner2049 It was lovely doing couch25k not easy but a sense of forward motion and it was amazing the progression of the program and I didnt want to fall back into how I was. But yes prep runwear and just try to get out there tomorrow. Thank you for your kind message
You’ve done so well to complete Couchto5k and cycling. Remember the feelings you had when you felt your lungs getting stronger and how proud you felt when you came back from a run. It’s OK to be where you are now, like others have said be kind to yourself. It’s hard to get out for quite a few of us in the very cold wet weather, but there will be some better days to come, meanwhile climb off that couch and do something indoors. You can do this 🤗
I struggle with sleep too, I have done for years. The slightest bit of stress makes it worse and I stress loads. Lack of sleep affects my mood and judgement. Reading about how important sleep is just makes me worry more. I have been finding it difficult to get out recently, running and on my bike. I gave myself a good talking too last week and I like many others have decided to get out there even if the weather is awful. I have done quite well so far. I am worried about January and February which are not good months for me. I hope you get back to running again soon.
You’ve had some great advice here. There is no doubt that running requires mental effort as well physical . But you can beat those gremlins.
Why don’t you check out Forest_Run_Beginner’s Festive Advent Bingo Card on pinned posts, and go out for a run purely tick off one of the boxes, take a photo and post it on here? It always helps to have something to aim for.
So many people have given you good tips AdieB but hopefully mine will help a bit too. A lot of us struggle after completing C25K, you come down to earth with a bump after that euphoric feeling of conquering those 9 weeks! So maybe try mixing it up a bit- as you haven’t run for a while, get back into it by picking one of the weeks you enjoyed and re-do it? That way, you won’t feel you’re on your own and it will remind you why you got into this malarkey to start with. And as you pass people, say good morning or hallo! I do it all the time- it makes me feel better and most people respond (ignore those who don’t !) which means when I get home I feel as though I’ve had some interaction with the outside world. Very important, especially if you live on your own as I do. The weather doesn’t help does it? Like you I tend to run in the early morning but I’ve been out later in the day recently and found it’s actually OK! So take that lie in without guilt, get your kit on when you do get up( shows your intention!) and go out later. I feel your pain on snacking - have you thought about keeping some better nibbles in the fridge that you can go to instead, ham/chicken/hard boiled eggs which won’t make you feel bad or drink water when you feel yourself heading to the biscuit tin! Lack of sleep is debilitating; I’ve found keeping busy and having a routine helps me but I also know that getting out onto the fresh air everyday is important for me as well. You’re already doing that with your cycle rides (for which I salute you; I don’t think I could cycle where you live!). Could you maybe cycle one day, run the next and throw in a walk somewhere too? And most important of all, keep reading the posts here, they’re so inspirational and let us know how you get on!
Hey AdieB so firstly stop being so hard on yourself, the waywardness of everyone's running mojo is so easily thwarted, be it the weather, tiredness, that job list that takes priority there's always something. Currently the whole covid-19 hasn't helped anyone but there's light at the end of the tunnel at last with regards to the covid-19 phew 👍.
The poor sleep thing may be a result of so many different things, and lack of sleep is a nuisance in lots of ways. Have you tried to simply declutter your mind before sleeping. No TV nothing too heavy foodwise before bed these things often help.
Set yourself a date with your calendar, organise your running gear before bed, perhaps even plan your route, somewhere you really enjoy running. Maybe even aquire yourself a new running accessory, something simple, new buff, gloves even a pair of new socks. It's just something that may help you get up and get out. Have you thought about popping over to the strength and flex pages as suggested by
CBDB there's so much advice to hand that may be useful.
What about a challenge it's not too late in the day to jump on the
roseabi speed challenge 👍
The main thing is you're not alone, everyone has these blips, just work through it and you'll be up and running again before you know it. Keep us posted so we can throw you a cheer 👍👍
I have to say lmc50 I was 😮 in a nice way at the number of kind responses to my post. Healthy unlocked is a fab community. Thank you for you advice and moral support. I will try for tomorrow.
It's a very common problem as you can see. Mojo, or motivation is a finicky thing.
Sometimes I have to push myself out the door even though I think I don't want to... and always come back happier to have gone. Sometimes I have to know when to just have a rest too and not feel guilty for that either.
This time of year it is hard to motivate yourself, it's cold, dark and often wet! Do try to get yourself out there, regular exercise will help with your sleep pattern and help massively with your mood 👍🏻 I'm also an early runner and like to be out before 6am but if I happen to get up at 4am il go then too 🤣 lay your gear out ready the night before, put them straight on when you wake up and it just becomes habit to get out and go no matter what the weather's like. I often come on here the night before a run for a bit of added motivation and encouragement if I need it.
I don't sleep well, years of shift work seems to have messed up my body clock, and I have also defaulted on many a run. Not so much because of the lack of sleep, more because the lack of sleep would result in a "bad run!" Eventually I came around to the idea that a bad run, was 100% better than no run. Sure I might be tired, slower, not go as far, but so what, it's not a competition, l set the rules. And when I get out there for a plod I get home feeling a lot better.
Take the pressure off, and 10 days, that's not so long 🤗
So good that you’ve written and reached out to us all AdieB. Sounds like you’re feeling a bit low. Tricky during the winter and in dark days, to feel motivated, and especially when struggling with sleep. Reaching for snacks is quite common when we really need sleep. You’ve done so well to graduate c25k and begin consolidation. Sounds like you need some rest and recuperation, and perhaps be kinder to yourself as you keep going. Rest is important. We all go though phases where things aren’t quite as we would like, and with a little self care and positive self talk you will emerge. ☀️
Tons of fab advice already. Just to add my personal experience. I’ve suffered from insomnia for some years on and off. I tried everything. In the end what helped me most was to ‘accept’ it... if that’s the right word: not to let it stress me out on top of all the existing daytime stress. The more we fret about sleep, the harder it is to sleep. It meant being sluggish in the day, of course; and allowing that just ‘to be’ too.
I’d listen sometimes to talk radio very quietly through the pillow (world service on bbc works best for me). Often as not, I’ll drift off; or drift in and out; if not, then there was some distraction at least.
I’m new to running, but have found, unexpectedly, that some of the nicest runs were after a bad night’s sleep. It’s counterintuitive but others have reported similar. (Same can happen for creative activities.) Maybe it’s because expectations are so low that anything seems a gain - who knows?! I’d not want to advocate actively depriving oneself of sleep, simply to say that it’s possible not to let insomnia become a nightly stressful battle. Just a thought.
I ran today! Thursday, I just did it. I didnt sleep but I’ve got through the block. Just to say *thank you* to everyone for those supportive posts. I’ll refer back to this back these posts if this happens again. ✨
Running really works for me. I feel really calm this evening after today’s run. It’s a hilly route so it forces me to breathe deeply which I suppose is a bit like the effect of yoga...
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I’ve still got it!
Bit of help as I’ve lost my running mojo 
Fabulous450 Wants To Feel The Flow, But Running Safe Is So Important Too! 🏃🏽♀️❤️
