Those first steps

[HeavyFoot]

Does anyone else know how a run’s going to go within, say, twenty paces? Despite stretching and warm up walk, it can go either way: either good legs and a surprisingly high cadence, or like running in treacle. The legs decide.

[ForbiddenPlanet Graduate10]

Hmm .. I would say my body is a machine; mostly it behaves predictably so long as I respect it and what it needs in terms of rest and preparation.

If I don't do that, what happens is a lottery!

It has been striking however, that even if I feel really bad, once I get through the terrible ten, my fitness level (whatever that is) takes over.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

I usually know quite quickly if the run is going to be good or not

[Lizcanrun Graduate10]

I agree, it's up to the legs - there doesn't seem to any logic to it.First couple of km are generally awful however fit I am. But just occasionally, for no apparent reason, it's amazing.

[Instructor57 Graduate10]

In just over 2 years of running I can honestly say I have only ever had 1 run that felt amazing during the first 20 paces.And to this day I don't know why it was !

But if I remember rightly it was after a short break .

They normally start to take shape at around 10 or 15 minutes (Toxic 10 perhaps)

I have certainly had long runs of 10, 12 or 14k when I have known they would be fine after 3 or 4k

And others that just never felt right .

I'm sure there must be a perfectly logical reason for this but it escapes me sometimes 🤔

[Cmoi Graduate10]

Not really HeavyFoot - if I thought like that I'd give up on most of my runs before I'd done 1km, and I'd burn out on the others from going out too quickly. If a run starts off feeling horrible I prefer to blame it on the "toxic ten" and then sort out what's really going on once I'm about 15 minutes into it!

[HeavyFoot Graduate10 in reply to Cmoi]

It seems pretty random to me. On Sunday morning I had the usual argument with my legs about whether they run at all. Knee ligament was niggling.

But I checked cadence after 50 metres and it was 10 spm over what I expected. And the time over 6km was faster than usual.

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to HeavyFoot]

It may well be pretty random! I've never checked cadence during a run. Mine is naturally high anyway, I have silly short legs. l try not to look at pace either as I rarely find it helpful.

Funnily enough it's not so much my legs that decide - it's more how I feel overall. I usually give myself a minimum distance or duration for a run and then see what happens. This explainb why I'm so poor at following training plans, much too restrictive!

[Mormor1 Graduate10]

In 21 months I had one run where I did feel amazing.... It was a very cold day, and after a break and feeling the affects of a cold that had lingered...I was hoping I could manage 4 or 5 k and did 11. It was extraordinary!

[nowster Graduate10]

Normally it takes about five minutes for the running machine to start to function properly.

Usually something or other feels "off" during that time and then gradually settles down.

After 10 minutes, if things haven't improved, I will change my plans, even up to aborting the run.

Similarly to Instructor57 I've only rarely had a run that felt OK right from the start.

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

I almost never know how a run’s going to go at the beginning. Some of my best ones have started off horribly with aching legs and once I’ve got going I’ve loved it. Others have started well but been plagued with traffic, shoelaces not behaving, random aches etc. I’ve now got very good at just ignoring whether I’m enjoying myself for the first ten minutes assuming that fun will come along later if it’s bad to start! I’ve only had to cut things short a few times and that’s mainly been when I’ve misjudged the weather.

[GoogleMe Graduate10]

No, utterly random for me.

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Totally with you there HeavyFoot ! I can do everything by the book - and my legs feel good UNTIL I start running! Conversely I can have a rubbish night’s sleep, have a niggle or two, but voila! A great run and legs that behave. No rhyme nor reason. 😁😁😁