Help! How many times a week...

[mugsy273]

...does everyone go running? Whilst doing the programme, I went out religiously every other night, with the rest day in between. Now that I have graduated, I have been continuing with this, but am struggling a little this week as have quite a lot on, and am realising that long term, it may not be realistic to go out so often (I also do Pilates and body pump during the week). But I end up feeling really guilty if I have more than 1 rest day in a row, and then can't stop thinking about it. So far I've run twice this week (Monday and Wednesday), and am due again tomorrow but not going to be able to, and may not actually have time to do it before Sunday, and feel really guilty about it. Argh! Damn my obsessive personality

[hmtreacy Graduate]

i am about to graduate and have been worried that i might loose my motivation but what has inspired me is finding a 4.5 km fun run on 26th January - my first ever run with others!!!! so that is a huge motivation, sometimes i imagine myself running in a huge group and it sure puts a spring in my step.

i have also found 2 other fun runs in my home town during the year where i will aim to improve my time, I might even find a run in another city where i can have a holiday - now that i have another very postitvie goal to aim for i am not worried about stopping after this excellent program has finished.

if you get off on being obsessive what about gettting a garmin 210 running watch then you can obsessively track your pace, distance, heart rate, compare each run in detail etc - just like i do!!!

[caj62 Graduate]

Hi, I graduated last year, and try to go out 3 times a week (usually Tueday, Friday and Sunday). I do 2 x 5k and a longer distance at the weekend. I think it's important to find what suits you. Don't feel guilty about not running every other day, it is not always possible when you have other things to be doing. Don't put pressure on yourself or there is a danger you won't enjoy running. Do what you can. As for motivation to keep going, look how far you have come already. You might find you run better if you have a goal to aim for, or, like me, you might just want to run for the fun of it. Good luck.

Chris

[liquoricet]

Life just sometimes gets in the way! I try to run 2x in the week (5 +3k) and once at the weekend (6k+) but sometimes it's twice a week and that's OK.

I'm doing this for fun and health and if it stops being a thing I enjoy (after sometimes!) then I will just not do it at all!

I think trying to see it as a choice not a 'thing you must do' helps as does a goal; 10k in may!

[Deb0rahB]

Agree with the others...you can allow yourself a bit more flexibility in your schedule now, as long as you find something to aim for, to keep you motivated. I've registered for the local park run and have been working on my distances as I hadn't managed 5k when I graduated. I do aerobics twice a week and I run Mon, Weds and Fri or Sat. But I listen to my body and if I'm tired, I skip a day. As long as I'm exercrising 3 or 4 times a week, I'm happy, keeping my weight down and feeling fit!

[swanscot Graduate]

Yes, be flexible. You can have 2-(or more) day breaks and/or you can run two consecutive days. That's what I'm doing this week. The plan I'm following has four runs a week with a short easy run the day before the long, slow distance run. I did a short run yesterday and will do the LSD run later today, then no running over the weekend.

[edqa233 Graduate]

I aim for three times a week but sometimes it's two. I've actually found sometimes, when there's been a long gap, my legs feel a bit 'fresher' and I run a bit faster! It's just finding what works for you.

[gingernut49 Graduate]

I run Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, still alternating the three C25K+ podcasts. But if it's raining I don't venture out!

[agedsnailspace Graduate in reply to gingernut49]

You are missing a treat, not going out in the rain. It sounds perverse, but it's actually really liberating - I would recommend taking a hat though!

[gingernut49 Graduate in reply to agedsnailspace]

Oh I've been out in the rain by mistake - caught out - and no, I hated it!

[OlsBean]

I'm probably about to get told off by Greenlegs and Co but I now run for an hour each weekday which suits me, so 5 times a week, I then don't run Sat and Sun, I've been doing this for a couple of months now, I have though been running regularly for almost a year, I would not recommend newer runners run consecutively.

I think the answer is to do what you feel you can do comfortably without it becoming a chore, there has to be an element of fun and satisfaction to it.

[runningnotwalking Graduate]

The time of year and lack of daylight doesn't help but on a good week it's every other day during the week and once at the weekend then a couple of days rest if the weekend included a longer run (10 miles plus).

The runs during the week may be the Speed podcast ones or some of the Stamina (time limited in the morning).

I've never tried running every day but agree with OlsBean that you should only consider this if you have been running a while and can manage it comfortably. I was tempted to do consecutive days during the summer but never did.

On the flip side, if I miss a day or two though I start to miss not going out.

Good luck whatever you decide

[vixiej Graduate]

I've had loads of interuptions in my running this year, so I'm currently running once every two weeks, lol. Not recommending this, but it's suprising how little the odd missed run affects you.

When I was running 3 times a week, I found that if I did need to skip the odd run I came back stronger the next time out - the extra couple of rest days allow the muscles to repair and grow. Don't sweat it, just run and have fun, sounds like you are doing plenty to keep fit.

[A1nsworth Graduate]

I run every other day just for 20mins and then do strength work for 10.I walk 4km the other days.I did become a bit obsessive about it but once you graduate you can do what you want. X

[mugsy273 Graduate]

Thankyou all so much for your replies! I think a really good point has been made - running shouldn't become a chore, it should still be something fun, which I enjoy doing, and this is something which I think I may have lost sight of a little. Having followed the programme so precisely with regards to running every other day, I appear to have got too obsessed with that side of things, so much so that it has taken some of the enjoyment out of it. I have decided to not run tonight (have now not run since Wednesday), but will instead run tomorrow afternoon, and am actually really looking forward to it, which hasn't happened for a couple of weeks - the guilty gremlins do keep niggling at me about not running for 3 days in a row, but going to do my best to ignore them!!!