I know it's called 'Stamina' but...

[sofaqueen]

it nearly killed me! My goodness that was a tough run. I graduated a month ago and since then have been running (well, slow jogging to be honest) three times a week, either with Speed, Stepping Stones or trying to do 5K to my own music though it takes me a really long time. I thought I'd try the remaining Couch to 5K+ podcast tonight and my legs, back and hips are shouting at me now - they really are not impressed. I think my body was playing tricks on me - within 3 minutes I could feel a real tightness in the back of my leg below my calf which I've never felt before. My bladder was telling me I needed to stop when I knew full well that I didn't and my mouth felt as dry as if I'd eaten a dozen cream crackers. I was convinced I was near the 30 minute mark and Laura disappointed me by saying it was only 20 minutes and I really wasn't sure I could carry on. Found it really really hard, fortunately the stubborness that I have, that people have always talked of disapprovingly, came into its own tonight as I was determined to battle on even though my feet were literally scraping the floor and hardly lifting off in the last 5-7 minutes. I managed it, but starting to feel a bit demoralised as in the first 9 weeks of Couch to 5K I really felt like I was making progress each week but since graduating I don't feel the same sense of achievement and progress. Maybe I'll just stick to half hour runs with my own music for a bit and rediscover that love of running I had in the early weeks.

[inmind Graduate]

A bad run is nearly always followed by a good run so theres every chance you'll bounce back. I'm just starting week 9 but very conscious that losing the structure and reassurance of the programme is going to make post 'goal-achievement' discipline a challenge!

[sofaqueen Graduate in reply to inmind]

Thanks inmind, I might bounce back if I choose not to do the Stamina run again! I'm going to have an extra couple of days off as I still have calf pain and then head out again but I think I'm better with being told what to do so I might try and find another plan, though I don't feel ready for B210K. Brilliant you've got to week 9 with your running, it's such a good feeling to get there - graduation is just round the corner!

[albionjen Graduate]

Well done sofaqueen for finishing the run despite it being tough.

I just did the stamina podcast today and also felt it was pretty tough going at times. I found stepping stones really laid back compared to my normal pace and for some reason thought all the c25k+ must be similarly easy going. How wrong I was! I agree wholeheartedly that this podcast is a tough one. But I also think I was a bit knackered from a long day at work so that might have contributed to me feeling like it was hard going.

I actually quite enjoyed the challenge in a way, since one of my goals is to improve my pace and i certainly managed that today! I don't think I'll be doing it for every run but I'll give it another go same time next week and see if it feels just as tough.

[sofaqueen Graduate in reply to albionjen]

Thanks albionjen, well done to you too as I know how hard it was! I've done the Stepping Stones a few times and I've found the 150 bpm quite hard to run to as unnaturally slow (I'm not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination but found 150 too hard to run to) so was pleased when Laura said Stamina was starting at 158bpm as I thought that would be an easier pace to run to, but I suppose overall running at 158/160 bpm for half an hour before the final 5 minute push was too big a jump for me from Stepping Stones. Like you, I might try it again in another week or so and see if it's any better.

[Eve1975 Graduate]

I nearly died the other day, went straight from graduation to the stamina podcast. Big mistake. Ran way too fast for me in the first 10 minutes, by 13 minutes my body could not cope and I quit at 17 minutes! Felt a complete failure. May attempt the stepping stones one instead.

[sofaqueen Graduate in reply to Eve1975]

I thought it was just me, but it really felt like a huge leap to try Stamina - much bigger than from week to week in couch to 5K. Please don't feel like a failure though - you've graduated, that's a fantastic achievement! I think the hard thing post graduation is to find the right type of running that keeps you motivated and also feels like you're making progress - I'm still looking!

[c4ts Graduate]

Don't despair, you are not alone. I tried stepping stones on first run after graduation and only managed to run for about 20 mins and do not think I kept up the pace, went back to w9 and Laura to get back into swing. Have tried Speed twice now, but at points had to walk during the 150 beats per minute as I was so out of breath. Last week went down with a really bad pulled shoulder muscle and actually wonder if it was caused by the movement in Speed as felt it pulling again when I repeated this yesterday. Too scared to try stamina!!

Don't think you are going backwards, I think that the 3 runs a week of c25k makes us all feel that we must follow it precisely and now the pressure is off but we want to keep running and think we should automatically be better.

I did my first parkrun a few weeks ago and was disappointed that my time was slower than when I did a 5k organised event at the start of week 9, but am still working towards my Race for Life in October.

[sofaqueen Graduate in reply to c4ts]

I tried it a month post graduation, you did well to do it so soon after. For me I really liked the structure of the couch to 5K and knew that it was a tried and tested programme that worked, so I'm finding it hard to know what to do next. At present am trying various things - the couch to 5K+ as well as trying to run 5K (I'm very slow, with short legs, so am nowhere near 5K in 30 minutes). I don't want to get demoralised by feeling like a failure but I'm finding it hard to keep myself motivated at the moment. Hope your shoulder muscle heals so you can enjoy your running again. Great that you've got a run planned for October - maybe I'll look into working towards something again to keep me motivated.