Dud run

[hoyden]

Yesterday's run was a dud. I never really got out of the "easy" gear that the NRC coaches always start in. My legs were heavy, leaden. I managed 5.5k but it felt like much more! Maybe because I'd had swim class the day before? Maybe it was just one of those days? Today I'm taking it easy because tomorrow I want to do the long run. Hopefully I'll be able to get the lead out, har. Countdown to my first 10k race: fifteen days 😵‍💫

[sTrongFuse Graduate10]

Just chalk it up as 'one of those runs' that everyone of us have from time to time. They happen, but the important thing is you still got out and ran. It doesn't matter if it wasn't as far or as fast as you might have wanted it to be, you still put some distance in the legs.

Sometimes things just don't click for any one of countless reasons and all we can do is accept that it's happened and move on to our next run in the hope that 'normal service' will resume.

Good lukk with your 10k when it comes.

[Frizzbomb67 Graduate10]

They happen 🤷🏻‍♀️ I went out last week aiming for at least 7 and barely managed 5. I had a long 2k walk home 😂. This week, same day, same time, same busy week, 10k done. Who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️Good luck for your first 10k race. How exciting!

[Annieapple Administrator]

🍏🤗 one of them days!! Exciting race ahead. Keep the goal in site! 🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ 🏃

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10]

I had a rubbish run yesterday as well so you're not alone. Your next run will be better.

Good luck with the 10k, the excitement on the day should make up for lots of things

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

🙂 There is no such thing as a bad run…or so people say! It was what you could do on the day, you didn’t pick up an injury and it will have set up your next run….so that is definitely good enough. My run yesterday wasn’t as planned. It was intended to be a 45 minute recovery run at easy pace. Somehow I ran at 25 secs per K faster than intended….so I failed to achieve what I set out to do; hopefully it will set up tomorrow’s 12.5k …and I will watch my pace more closely! Hope your 10k is fun.

[Zev1963 in reply to Beachcomber66]

This, 100%. Any run that doesn't put you on the injury couch is a good run, and much better than no run. What I love about NRC is that runs are based on percieved effort on the day, not speed of heart rate, or any of the other numbers on your watch. NRC has taught me to run in the moment, without trying to compare each run to previous ones.

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

Exactly hoyden. Today’s long run is going to be tough I think. 5C outside, it’s a while since I ran 12.5k, I had a few quicker runs last week etc etc….so I think that success today will be just finishing without an injury. But I will keep asking how I feel and adjusting every so often as I go along, the rest is out of my hands. 🤞

[hoyden Graduate10 in reply to Beachcomber66]

Very good, sounds like you are ready for it. I hope it goes well (even surprisingly well!) and let us know afterwards!

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

Well, prime criteria met; I got the distance and I don’t think that I have any injuries!!

Laps 2 to 7 felt really good. Lap 1 was 7:55….a deliberately slow uphill start. Laps 2 to 7 were all around 7:12/7:15 pace and they felt really relaxed. Then I hit the start of the tough parts of this route. The total ascent is 107m and most of that is in the second half of the run. I walked part of the final peak and took deep breaths to get my heart rate down a bit before hitting a down slope to finish. VO2 max docked one point! It is a while since I ran the whole of this route, so I think there is a bit of a fitness issue there in relation to the final climb.

Now the big question; how do I feel about the run? I am pleased that I did it; I ran the first half too fast, so my mistake. I also think that the cold start (about 8 degrees) didn’t help ….maybe I should have put some running bottoms on today….but overall, a success and a step on the way back to HM.🙂

[hoyden Graduate10 in reply to Beachcomber66]

It's quite flat here so I rarely have to do much uphill. It also won't get cold for another few months, which is just fine with me. Maybe you ran too fast at the start because it was cold? I listen to the NRC guided runs and they are always telling me to start easy. (Also, just fine with me.) What I don't really get is, on the day of the race, do I also start easy? Do I do more of a warm-up than I usually do for normal training runs?

I'm glad your 12.5k was a success. HM is very impressive!