Effort as opposed to perceived effort

[Yesletsgo]

Today I did a very slow 3km and for some reason it was one of the most difficult runs I've done.

I had a decent meal last night, an excellent night's sleep, two days since my last run so my legs were all rested, a coffee and some water before I set off (my normal). I've run this route before and it's no hillier than the other runs I do round here but...

I set off slowly and realised my pace was about 2+ mins/km slower than my usual. Heart rate was lower too. I was quite pleased, I've been trying to slow down. I ran for about half a km and decided to shift things up a little. My legs didn't want to cooperate. I carried on at the same pace.

And so it went on. I tackled gentle slopes on tarmac and paths, easy surfaces. When I reached the final stretch of road I came the closest I've ever come to giving up and ending a run early. It just all seemed too much effort. Pulled myself together and carried on, moving from slow walking pace to walking pace to running, with a little walk or two in between.

As we neared 3km my husband was happily running uphill way ahead of me. I decided to run downhill to our starting point at the beach. It wasn't quite far enough to get me to 3km so I carried on downwards until the app said I'd reached my goal then walked uphill back to where we swim.

All through I was checking my heartrate. On a normal run I usually do at least half in the maximum zone, but I didn't even reach it today - about half was in zone 3 and quarter in zone 2. I wasn't breathless so it should have felt really easy but no, it was a slog.

It wasn't even particularly hot, only 18C.

Once I stopped and was getting ready to swim I noticed my HR had gone up to 148 (but I felt calm and relaxed). What on earth is going on? I got out of the water and took deep breaths until it fell to something much more reasonable which only took a minute or so. It was fine, normal, after that.

When I got home I had a word with my brother in law, an ER doctor, but he didn't think there was anything sinister.

The only conclusion I'm left with is that I've turned into an old lady overnight as evidenced by my affinity for the neighbourhood cats (at least 4 of the 10 who have been scrounging food are shown in the pic)😂.

[Annieapple Administrator]

🍏🤗 You certainly don’t look like an old lady 🤣 Fun photo!

I think sometimes we just have those runs that feel more difficult with no explanation… try a run without worrying about the stats & listen to a good podcast or different music.. see if that makes a difference.. perhaps change your route?? But when all is said & done you got the run and swim sorted. ✔️ well done 👏

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to Annieapple]

Thank you, sometimes I feel like a teenager, sometimes a Terminator, but today definitely a cat lady lol

Given a route I know I'll generally run it at the same level of effort. This one isn't familiar, though I've walked or run it several times before and never had a problem.

What's baffling me is that the stats tell me I wasn't working anywhere near as hard as usual but it almost felt beyond me. I'll take tomorrow off and try our normal route the day after, see how that goes.

I don't actually worry about stats, for me it's just an interesting set of figures to look at and forget 5 minutes after

[Week7 Graduate10]

Just "one of those runs" hopefully. I think we all get them now and again .I know I do and I never have managed to pin down a reason. Hopefully all will be well and you'll enjoy the next one more.

If all else fails cuddle a 🐈!

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to Week7]

Thanks, I suppose I should be grateful it hasn't happened before 😁

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Some runs are just like that, and well who wouldn't stop to stroke cats?

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

No shortage of friendly kitties round here 😁

[Oldfloss Administrator 60minGraduate]

Maybe a little bug.. or you were warmer than you thought... just one of those things... it happens Old lady.... ? I don't think so ! x

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to Oldfloss]

I wondered if it might be a bug but I've thankfully felt fine all day. Let's hope the next one is better 😁There's worse things than being an old lady, in a lot of ways I'm finding it easier than being a teenager 😂

[sTrongFuse Graduate10]

We all get 'those runs' on occasion where things just don't quite click. Also woth considering that sometimes our tech lies to us because it's not quite on right, or the sensor isn't making proper contact.

Often though, it's just one of those things that is inexplicable. You went out, you did it and that's all that really matters at the end of the day. There's always the next run...

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to sTrongFuse]

You're absolutely right sTrongFuse , maybe it was just a day when I should have stayed in bed 😂

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

I had a similar run this morning. It was supposed to be a slow recovery run of 45 minutes. I didn’t keep checking my watch; I felt as though I was running slowly, but the effort seemed harder than I expected. I covered 6.35k in 45 minutes, so my pace was 20 seconds per k faster than planned. My heart rate was fine, so not sure what was going on.🤷🏻‍♂️ Will have to clock watch on my planned 12.5k on Monday! I like to run by feel, but clearly it doesn’t always work.

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to Beachcomber66]

I actually find it really hard to regulate my perceived effort. At the very start of a run I'll often go way too fast and it's dead easy, only slowing down when I look at my watch and only doing that because I know I'm probably going too fast.

Maybe I spend too much time looking at my watch but it can be useful just to keep an eye on what I'm doing. Still at a loss for a reason why this run was so tough but I'm not fretting, just looking forward to the next one and hoping it's easier.

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10 in reply to Yesletsgo]

Oh, “move on” is definitely the way to go. Some runs are just a bit weird🙂. I always clock watch on the first 1k ….Coach Bennett says it has to be the slowest of the run, which makes sense. Hope your next run goes to plan👍