Stepping Stone podcast - no more nice Laura .........

[goonkeepgoing]

Having graduated a few weeks ago, I have been doing my own thing slowly extending either running duration and / or distance. I'd reached a bit of a plateaux though realising my legs were getting tired doing this every run. Thus, on a whim, I thought I'd give the stepping stones podcast a go.

Three minutes in I thought I was going to literally trip over my own feet. I then realised that was because the starting pace must be slower than my normal pace and I was trying to get 6 'hits' into the count of 4!!!!!! My post run stats prove this out with my fastest first 1k ever by a considerable margin! I then sorted of settled into it but Laura is not so nice. No more "slow down" but lots of "keep running to the beat 1 2 3 4". It felt almost frantic ...............

Did I enjoy it? Not really

Did I get my best 5k ever with an improvement of nearly minute? Yes (31:54)

Did I think I was going to vomit for two minutes after I stopped? Yes

Do I now feel pretty damn good about myself? Yes

Thus, if you like your runs at your own pace, enjoying the view and a beautiful sunny evening - don't try this podcast!!!!!!

If you want to speed yourself up a bit - give it go ........

I think I'll go for a lovely long slow run next

[landers Graduate]

Just you go and give c25k stamina a go! She's even worse! But the satisfaction at the end is well worth it! Well done though

[goonkeepgoing Graduate in reply to landers]

I've downloaded it so I'm sure I'll end up giving it a go at some point My normal route has a couple of challenging 'elevations' so I am counting these towards my current endurance training

[Potty Graduate]

Ha! I graduated Sat and am a lot slower than you - last Park Run was 39:23 - so Laura's 150bpm took me by surprise then she took through 20 mins of 155 followed by an attempt at 5 mins at 160 - by then though I was running up my 'hills' for the second time and I just couldn't match the place 'til It flattened out a bit - I was elated and disappointed at the same time at the end though eager to have another go tomorrow night As you say 'no more nice Laura' and having listened to bits of the other two podcasts I've decided to stick with this one for a week or two before even attempting either of them!

[goonkeepgoing Graduate in reply to Potty]

I think I might try it again in a week or so. It is really tough though - totally took me by surprise!!!!!!

[old_git Graduate]

Not sure what to try next! Downloaded a 160 bpm mix and have been running with that, however, I think I need a more structured challenge.

[lynne7 Graduate]

Thanks for the honest review and advice - I am going to give stepping stones a go after my holidays - hopefully with new running shoes and kit from America - home of the Outlet Mall!!

[Rob_and_his_westie Graduate]

I had a similar experience with those podcasts, they just didn't work for me. I do agree that a nice slow long run is every bit as enjoyable. More so in fact. No one can say that you have to run faster or further, it's entirely up to you. Run to please yourself!

[misswobble Graduate]

I run these a lot. I love em

[Sharonb9999 Graduate]

I use the stamina podcast about once a fortnight. I was taken by surprise the first time but now I think it's great. The speed podcast is pretty good too - as with stamina it takes a bit of getting used to but it's much shorter