When will this become easier?

[Latestarter54]

I finished the C25K a couple of weeks ago and was delighted with my achievement but am struggling to improve my fitness level. I'm 54 and thrilled to be able to run for 30 minutes, I'm running at about 7k per minute so I actually run for 35 mins in order to complete the 5k. This morning was a disaster and for the first time, I had to walk for the last ten minutes. What's happened? I did have a drink of water before I went, could that be the problem, I usually just get out of bed and go.

[azharalkindi Graduate]

Wow !! 7k per minute ? or do you mean 7 mins per km. 7 mins per km would give you approx 8.6 km per hour, that is a good speed. Please check this link on how you can improve your running speed. wikihow.com/Run-Faster I hope you find it useful.

[Latestarter54 in reply to azharalkindi]

I should also have said, I'm completely bonkers and haven't ever written on a blog before. 7k per minute??? Of course, 7mins per km :o)

[Jax1960 Graduate]

Hi, nothing "happened" it's just a case of sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You could go out in a couple of days and sail along quite happily. This is not just a physical challenge it's also a mental one and being in the right mindset is just as important as building up your fitness. I'm just the same, I'm 53 and went through the nine weeks fairly ok but the last few weeks in the longer runs, sometimes it was great and sometimes it was awful and I hated it. Even now I.ve "graduated" I still find the first 5-10 mins quite difficult but having got through that, it's like your body settles down and off you go. The thing to remember is, even if you only run 10 minutes and then have to walk for a couple or ten or however long it takes, you are still doing exercise - the rest will come if you keep at it so don't let this demotivate you. Be proud of what you've achieved so far and don't let your mind stray you what you haven't done.

[Latestarter54 in reply to Jax1960]

Thank you for your response, it's reassuring that I'm not the only one who finds the first ten minutes or so, quite hard to get through. Get the head right and hopefully the legs will follow!

[paul2014 Graduate]

Don't be too despondent. You're running for 35 minutes and that is fantastic. There are various ways to increase speed and distance and the link above is z good place to start. Keep at it and good luck

[Becca66 Graduate]

I'm in the same boat as you, finding it hard to push on. I used the Speed podcast 2x last week and I think that really helped - it gave me something to aim for/do. Good luck!

[no-excuse Graduate]

You are in a similar position to me speedwise. Don't worry about it, you are out there and you are running and that is bringing so many positive benefits. Its not all about the speed, and sometimes we will get runs that aren't so good. It is still a run! I did my first 10k 'race' yesterday. It wasn't fast but I enjoyed doing it and everyone was so supportive. Don't despair, you are doing really well. I find the Parkrun a good way to pick up a bit of speed and I think as you do longer runs, speed will increase on the shorter ones. But just try not to over focus on that and enjoy yourself. x

[runningnearbeirut Graduate]

If I read your post correctly, you're not really complaining about your speed (which is pretty good by the way, nothing to be ashamed of at all), just wondering why this was a bad run. Well the bad news is that as Laura says "sometimes there's no rhyme or reason" - we all have some runs that are worse than others. The good thing is that you're out there. Sometimes you can track down what went "wrong" quite easily (10 degrees hotter than normal with a massive hill you've never tried to go up before would be fairly obvious). Other times it just seems that we have "bad" runs for no reason. But a bad run is better than no run. Have your rest day/s and then go out again. Don't try to run flat out, just find the pace that you know you can keep going at, and then run for as long as is comfortable. Sometimes you might need to push yourself a bit mentally and aim to run for a certain distance/time, but generally the more you go out and run, the fitter you are getting, which is what you are presumably aiming for.

You might need to experiment a bit with eating/drinking before a run or running on empty- I sometimes get a bit light headed if I don't eat anything and run for more than about 25 minutes, but you need to know what works for you.

[Latestarter54 in reply to runningnearbeirut]

Thanks for your comment, you're right, I'm not too bothered about speed. I don't know 'what happened' yesterday. I started out ok ish but after 20 minutes, I just couldn't run any more. I know in my head I can do it but it wasn't happening yesterday!! I usually get up and go without anything to eat or drink but yesterday because I went later than on a work day, I thought I might benefit from a drink of water and half a cereal bar. Although I still find it quite hard to get going, after about ten ish minutes, I'm doing ok and feel soooo pleased with myself when I finish. Back to it tomorrow morning :o)