It's True - A Bad Run is Followed by a Good One!

[Scipio]

I haven't posted for a while - I had a horrendous, unsuccessful run last week & came down with a horrendous chesty cold the next morning, so I ended up taking nine days out to recover. Also, I've had to get used to getting up much earlier to do a new school run and it's been really busy at work, so the combination of all that & feeling unwell made running impossible for a while. I missed it!

I finally decided to get back to running yesterday evening & wasn't sure how it would go. I did it on the treadmill as I only had a small time slot to work with before all the family descended on us for my son's birthday. I surprised myself - after not running at all for nine days I ran easily & comfortably for 35 minutes, at a faster speed than I've ever done before on the treadmill, and the total workout, including warm-up & cool down was 5K - that's my first ever 5K workout.

So I'm very happy. Those outdoor running sessions post-graduation, together with the speed training I've started doing by going back through C25K alternating normal running speed with faster running, have had a definite effect on my fitness & my speed.

On another subject - some of you will remember I was going to ask C25K HQ if they would consider adding a category for new & recent graduates to the forum. I've had a reply saying they are going to look into it. That's all I know at the moment - no idea whether or not it'll happen, but I thought I'd keep you all posted.

Happy running everyone!

[Eve1975 Graduate]

The same here. I was unwell and due to being busy did not run for 2 weeks and managed 30 minutes today so really pleased. Was not looking forward to the run as was having a few bad ones a few weeks back so pleasantly surprised I managed it.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

It is great that you have rediscovered the satisfaction of a good run, with the added achievement of a first. Congratulations.

Scipio, I would like to say that I am not too sure about a separate category for new and recent graduates, as this might hide their posts from newer runners. I know that when I discovered this forum, that my belief that I could actually complete this programme, was bolstered by the postings of graduates, who were telling of 5k and 10k runs, Half marathons etc. all of which were beyond my comprehension at that stage, but illustrated the power of this training plan to transform the individual into a lean, mean running machine. I believe that too much compartmentalisation of the posts could leave these highly motivational posts being read by graduates only. Surely the C25k+ category caters for those who have graduated.

[Scipio Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Hi, thanks for the response and I appreciate hearing your thoughts.

I agree with you totally that the postings of graduates were very encouraging & supportive when going through the plan, and they definitely helped me. I know that the C25K+ category is there for graduates, but I have the impression that it is for those who have moved on to the C25K+ podcasts - which a lot of us who have only just graduated are simply not ready to do (I include myself in this).

My suggestion really came from my own frustration that due to the limitations of the site it isn't easy to find the posts of other runners who are at a similar stage post-graduation. When you go through the weeks you can find people who are at the same stage as you quite easily - then you tend to "lose" them in the remaining much larger, broader categories available for posting. I certainly wouldn't ever want to exclude anyone from reading the highly motivational posts that appear on here, I agree they are essential as support for newer runners, but I would love to be able to interact more easily with those who have recently graduated to get ideas and support on what to do next.

When I first started C25K I would always read the posts from the next week or two to see what was going on - personally I think it would be very motivational if after the Week 9 category there was a section for recent graduates to post about how they are getting on in the early weeks after graduating. I'm sure this would be read by those in the earlier weeks of the plan as well. Of course, everyone can choose to put their post wherever they want - and lots choose to post in the No Category section all the time.

Anyway, we will have to agree to disagree (but hopefully we won't fall out over it :-). It will be interesting to see what the site administrators have to say on the subject.

[Carolecal]

Hey young Scip, glad you're back into it and you did so well !

Well done on cracking the 5K x

[Scipio Graduate in reply to Carolecal]

Thanks Carolecal x

[waletta Graduate]

It's very reassuring to know that such a long time out (9 days seems such a long time & I never ever thought that I'd say that ) wasn't detrimental. I have been concerned about this. This forum answers questions before you ask them. Glad you are feeling better. I can see Iannoda's point because I find the graduates' post so encouraging & it feels as though they are looking over us to help when we hit a spot of bother but I thought your idea was just to add another category to the week 1, week2, week3 etc categories that already exist. Having the other categories doesn't make me not look at the other posts but sometimes I may look at the particular week I'm in, to see how others have found it. I really find it hard to keep up with the site as it is. Maybe it's a discussion waiting to happen. One of the "old gang" I think, mentioned that the new site made it harder to follow threads & how sometimes you read one thing one week & there you are reading almost the same thing 2 weeks later. I never really used the old site -it changed the week after I joined but it did sound very user friendly.

[Scipio Graduate in reply to waletta]

Hi waletta, yes my idea was just to add another category to the weeks that already exist. I'm another one who preferred the old site to be honest. This version does make it hard to keep up with people, doesn't it? Anyway, I've floated the idea & whatever HQ decide to do is fine by me - I like it here & I'm not going anywhere!

I was planning a speed run today, but opted for a lazy Sunday instead... Must do better tomorrow!

[waletta Graduate in reply to Scipio]

love the enthusiasm. Just finished W9R2 & feeling a bit smug.

[Scipio Graduate in reply to waletta]

Wow waletta! Graduation run coming up - good luck! Can't wait to see your graduate badge in a couple of days x

[waletta Graduate]

Thanks Scipio. The end (or the beginning) is definitely in sight.