Post graduation malaise, subclinical bug, untidy house syndrome or maybe it's Ofsted's fault?

[Rosebery]

Had a good weekend last weekend and graduated with a first parkrun. Ran on Monday and used the follow on speed podcast and that went well. Tuesday I went back to work. I run a day nursery and we expect Ofsted to turn up anytime so I am rushing in early to make sure I am there if they turn up and then this week I had to do the late shift as well as a member of staff had holiday booked. I went out early Friday to try and run and had to stop after about 12 minutes feeling weak and feeble and achey. Had to go to work and Ofsted have not turned up yet so the stress continues. Yesterday I was a bit hot and a bit cold and a bit achey as well. Nothing completely flattening just not 100%. Some of you may remember that our house is in bits, due to a major leak. Yesterday was earmarked for re organising the kitchen so I was up and down ladders, steam cleaning while things were emptied out and tidying up after the new ceiling etc. I felt better this morning and went out to try and run a local circuit. I have just got back and it was a washout. My right calf cramped up and felt like a brick whatever I did. This is a completely new phenomenon but I certainly did not want anything to go pop so I walked around a truncated circuit and covered about 4k in total.

So, it might be a comedown from last week's success, it might be a subtle virus wearing me down or the fact that I can't find anything anywhere in the house and still have to finish the kitchen or it might be the stress of waiting for Ofsted to arrive any moment. Anyway, do you think that is sufficient excuse for a couple of dodgy runs in a row? Having written it all down I am coming to the conclusion that it probably is!

[spoonierunning Graduate]

Wow that's a lot going on and definitely sufficient excuse. Though you don't need to excuse bad runs, without bad runs you won't know the good runs and we all have bad runs.

[AncientMum Graduate]

Oh you poor thing, sounds ghastly. The two worst things about working with children -germs and OFSTED- and you've had them both! I'm pretty sure that what you've described sounds viral, so I'm not surprised you found it hard to run. Not to mention the fact that you're stressed out AND you've effectively deep cleaned your kitchen. No wonder you're tired. Why not have a really easy week and don't even think about running until you've had a few of days of proper rest. Take care

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Be kind to yourself - you've got a lot going on without putting yourself under pressure about your running. We all have bad patches -you don't need excuses. The running will be right there waiting for you when you've dealt with everything else.

[beforefifty Graduate]

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate and have had for quite a while. Plus a bug - which btw sounds exactly like what my OH has just some through, took about 5 days. Be kind to yourself! Imagine you were reading your post as though it was written by someone else and allow that understanding to yourself.

I agree, have a week off or just run with no target, set distance or time, and see where it takes you.

[kickibro Graduate]

I advocate a week off when you are feeling run down. I suffer after a long run so I am now trying to correct this by ensuring I am correctly re-fuelled and hydrated very soon post run with a snack.

Why not walk this week instead and just enjoy being outdoors without any pressure to run at all.

[Spanner67 Graduate]

Oh bless your heart - sounds like everything is working against you right now! Look after yourself and I agree that maybe just going for a walk and enjoying being outdoors could be just what you need - take away the pressure to run. Hope your back on form and Ofsted-free soon xx

[Amisnan Graduate]

First of all, many congratulations on your graduation last week with the added excitement of it being at a parkrun! That is a huge achievement AND you went straight back out with a new goal and a shiny speed podcast; another big achievement. Next on the list is to shake off this bug that one of your little charges has thoughtfully passed on to you, and wow those Ofsted inspectors. After that, trainers on, speed podcast set to play and off you go. This is just a little blip in a lifetime of running adventures xxx

[Rosebery Graduate]

Thank you Amisnan and everyone for the very kind and encouraging responses, bug seems to be diminishing and I might try and bit of a run tomorrow if the weather holds up. No sign of Ofsted yet though!