More about slow/easy

[Bazza1234]

I have been slowly increasing my non-stop distance over the past month - running a steady slow pace and making sure that my breathing was well under control and I could talk if I wished to. I had gotten out to 8K last week ( at a certain pace which I won't tell you, but it is slow.) Today, my plan was to do 9Klm -- but even though "system" of maintaining a slow pace via my breathing was working for me, I thought that I would put on my heart rate monitor and see how I went with that.

Running slowly as per normal with my breathing nicely quiet - my Heart rate was way too high. So I slowed my pace down until my HR stayed in the zone I wanted it to be ( around 125-130 BPM) - and Runkeeper told me that my pace was now 1 minute per klm slower than my "usual" slow pace. So I thought I would keep this up. My feet and calf muscles started complaining loudly at 2klm and kept it up until 4klm - I thought I may have to stop the run - and thought that perhaps my Orienteering on Sunday required me to have a longer rest. But by 5KLM, the legs quietened down and I finished up doing my distance in 90 minutes.

So - I am ignoring the fact that I only ran 9Klms - I ran for 90 minutes - and feel quite good for doing so now. So I really did "run" at my usual walking pace

[ClaraCuppicake]

That's amazing - 90 minutes - wow! How long ago did you start? How did you pace it in your first week? I did my first run today, but only managed one lot of 60 seconds - on reflection afterwards and after speaking to the awesome people here, I realized I'd tried to go rocket speed and pretty much crash landed. xD I have received two awesome pieces of advice since then - the first being that you can be running slower than your walking speed - its a running motion that you are aiming for, not super bendy-legs strides, and the second to SLOW DOWN.. and once you've done that SLOW DOWN SOME MORE. I'm going to try this on Wednesday when I do my second run. I hope one day soon i'll be where you are! Hugs x

[Bazza1234 Graduate in reply to ClaraCuppicake]

Hi Clara

It's a difficult thing - to ask yourself BEFORE any run ( regardless of whether it is your first attempts now, or later running after you have finished C25K) -- just how fast can I go to complete this task?? Obviously it is very difficult to know what pace you are running at when you are new - but it is more of a matter to listen to your body to see how you feel after that first interval run and then think "Can I keep up this pace for the next 20 minutes?? " If the answer is yes - then go for it -- but if the answer is no, then you HAVE to slow down to be able to finish the task.

[ClaraCuppicake in reply to Bazza1234]

Absolutely <3 That makes absolute sense Thank you very much! And well done!!

[lizziebeth57 Graduate]

Hi Bazza, the info about your heart rate is very interesting. I have decided that I am going to be increasing my distance to 10 k by doing one slow and easy run per week too. I too have been using a 'system' of checking my breathing. I might just hook up the heart monitor band thing I got with my garmin 110 last year - I have never even taken it out of the wee plastic bag!

Good going on the 90 minutes