I'm curious what advice & recommendations everyone can give to recover after a "hard" interval session on Monday evening. I'm still feeling very sore & painful, and can still feel every muscle in my legs protesting after 3 days!
I'm 50 years old and after a working life sat behind a desk, i decided to start jogging / running just over a year ago - how hard could it be???? Well the first attempt resulted in a couple of 50 metres before collapsing out of breath & then a lot of walking! but having persevered for the last year, I now manage a few kilometres - it may not be fast or pretty but I manage to drag myself round.
But i tried an interval session with a local running group on Monday for the first time - it was hard (at least for me) and I'm now feeling it afterwards.
Any advice would be warmly welcome!
PS. Does running ever get easier?
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BlueFish9
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I did C25K until I could run 30 minutes straight for a couple of times. Then I switched to Jeffing, in which I run 4:30 min and walk 0:30 min (repeated until I reach how long I want to run). This combined with running slow enough makes it more agreeable to run. Not every run is a happy one, but when I am in a good mood and my cadence and pace are what they should be, then I enjoy running.
So first of all, check whether you are not running too fast. Can you still speak? Or are you out of breath the whole time? You have to be able to breathe calmly and be able to speak. Otherwise: slow down!
Also in regards to intervals, look up Fartleks, I find those much more fun. You also don't have to run flat out, but just speed up a little. Fartleks mean you decide during a run to run a tad faster from this tree to that garbage bin and then back to your normal speed. And this a few times. But not in a flat out run, but just a little faster.
Intervals are hard for everyone! Drink lots of water. Stretch plenty after. Yes running gets easier. But intervals don’t as you push yourself to the limit in them. They are great for you though 🤣 But only do these one a week max. 80% of your runs should be at a super easy pace. Joining a club was one of the best things I did 😍 Parkrun is also totally amazing!
Thanks!I always feel that everyone else make it look easy running and it is just me dying for breath!
I just have the very occasional moment when you have warmed up properly and before you get tired, when you feel you have a good rhythm & running on rails!!! - but they are few and far between!
The running club I went to on Monday has a spring course where they run different intervals, types & styles each week. Since I'm a relative newcomer to running, I thought it would be good to see how to mix up pace / style / etc. since all my runs seem to average out.
I’m not an expert but it is normal to ache after a hard effort, it’s often called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). It is just your muscles adapting to what you’re asking of them, as it sounds like this was the first time you’d done a session like this. The difference between DOMS and an injury is it usually subsides after you’ve warmed up rather than getting worse. See if you can get out for a walk or a light recovery jog and see if it loosens things up? Obviously if you are still in pain after warming up stop, and make sure these hard sessions are <20% of your training load.
Thanks for the advice!I was expecting some general tiredness afterwards - but not the total ache & pain in all my muscles, quads, calves, etc. and it to last more than a day or two.
I did go for a walk for ~ an hour the last couple of days, my idea was to at least keep moving
And although I still felt very stiff this morning, I did go for a gentle jog / run later - I guessed that if it hurt too much I'd just walk. I was surprised that it did not feel so bad running once I had started moving!
It does actually feel a little better now & a little less stiff, so I think it did some good!
So I think a few "easy" runs in the next days will help!
It’s easy to get carried away when you run with others. The club might possibly have taken a bit more trouble to find out which group you should have run with for a first outing. But it sounds like you’ve sorted yourself out OK 😀
I am in my mid 60s and completed C25K 2 years ago. I still find running a struggle on many days but every now and then have a run that I really enjoy. I find running early in the day more enjoyable and generally try to run for a minimum of 25 to 30 minutes. My pace, barely faster than walking pace, has not increased over the 2 years . I always get very hot when running and have to keep to a plodding pace to maintain comfortable breathing.I have just started introducing a few quicker bursts into some runs to see if that improves my fitness or pace. That and a combination of running and walking as in C25K seems to be working as I find i can run for longer.
Keep going, you are doing really well. I would suggest trying some of the suggestions in the replies to see what works for you. Just getting out there and exercising is doing you good and on some days you will find things just click and you might even find you enjoy it! Good luck
As you say, just getting out there is doing you good - So I'm trying very hard now to run 3 or 4 times a week, i.e. every other day. I'm working on the principle that every other non-run day will be a rest day :o). It's a little easier now to motivate yourself and get out now that spring is here and the weather is getting better!!!Keep up the great work yourself KnitRunTalk!
I think that we are all unique! I started running in my mid sixties three years ago. I have mild but chronic asthma too. I didn’t address pace until the end of the first year of running. I went for building up long slow runs to over 10k which helped strength and breathing. After that I started intervals, at my own pace, and then discovered Park Runs where running with others helped me to see what was possible; that is where the sub 30 minute 5ks came from and that added pace slowly spread into the longer runs. So my concession to age was that I needed an initial period when I set my own pace rather than have a group do it for me. Swimming and dog walks were part of the mix too. You are much younger of course. I am definitely not a no pain no gain man 🙂
Great to hear that you are not letting your asthma stop you from running!!!
It always seemed to take me a long time to warm up and get my breathing under control, 20-30 minutes. After a couple of really "easy" runs this week due to my legs aching, I think it has demonstrated what pace I should really be running in order to run longer.I probably run a little too fast and have to take a few walking breaks, due to not being able to maintain the slightly higher pace.
It will get better with time. I am just building up again after injuries, so I am deliberately running at well under normal pace. I can see that my average heart rate, run on run at about the same pace, is getting lower and moving towards where it used to be pre injury. My first k is often the slowest; just feeling my way into the run to see how things are. You definitely don’t want to be out of breath from the start.👍
Tomorrow will be one year since I set out on run 1 of C25k. I've been running easily for 30 to 35 minutes since July but had not pushed for speed or distance until recently. I've done a couple of interval sessions where I ran as fast as I could for one minute, then jogged for one minute, etc. I was a bit achy the next day, but 3 days later I was fine.
My problem now is, that I went for a longer run of 6k including some walking in 45 minutes, however I have had a very achy left hip since which is not getting better 4 days post run (although I did go out and do a 9 mile walk on Wednesday with friends - the hip was ok for the first 6 miles, which made me think I was on the mend). Unfortunately I am hobbling around the house today when I should have been out for at least a short run.
So now I am paying heed to the advice on here, and will not go out for a run until my hip has stopped hurting.
I hope that your hip gets better soon and you can get back out there running.
Maybe go out for a walk instead of a run while you are recovering - it's so easy to get out of the "routine" which makes it doubly hard to start again - that was what I experienced last year when I had a couple of injuries and did not run for a few weeks, It was hard to motivate myself to start again.
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Intervals and a surprise 5K 😊
Intervals don't feel like a proper run! 
first interval run with Coach Bennet
