Hi all you running lovelies, I'm posting out of desperation really. I don't feel that I'm making progress and I'm questioning whether running is for me. I'm bloody minded though so won't give up in a hurry!
I made it to the start of week 9 but didn't do week 9 run 1 as I found week 8 so hard so decided to repeat that. However it just became harder...and harder. I was feeling so dizzy and faint every time I made it to the end of the week 8 runs I was afraid I was going to pass out. I had to stop at the 20 minute mark on one of them and sit down on a wall as I felt I might pass out. This scared me so much I went back to week 6 and have made it through all of those with no problem. I started week 7 today and ran for 25 minutes without stopping. I didn't feel as awful as I did after the week 8 runs but not far off...
I found myself questioning today whether running is really for me as I felt so dreadful by the end. I'm no stranger to exercise and do heavy lifting on the days I don't run. Does it ever get any easier as I really have scared myself a bit?
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Krupskaya
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I'm a relative newbie so don't really have any useful advice but I wonder if you are running too fast? Are you drinking plenty before you go and taking water with you (I am just on week 6 and realised today that I need to start taking water with me rather than waiting to get back for a drink).
I always have a banana about an hour before I go too.
I'm sure someone will be along soon with a proper answer for you.
Yes, it does get easier. I'm surprised at how my fitness and ability to run is fast improving.
As Debi says, perhaps you should look at things like pace and hydration. You may well be going too fast. I don't find hydration an issue, personally - I do try to drink water through the day, and have a glass before I run, but I've never felt dehydrated.
Please don't be discouraged - work your way through it.
I sometimes get a bit light headed, but I have noticed this happens when I have run uphill - sometimes feeling like I havent controlled my breathing enough and had to have a word with myself in my head to get this back under control and it then passes. Also I am wondering if you are eating enough to maintain your pace and the calories you are using up? I am diabetic so I always make sure I have a light snack an hour before heading out - banana or a cereal bar or slice of toast.
The usual response when people are struggling with the durations is to run slower, and if that doesn't work, then run slower still. Have you tried that?
To answer your question, yes it does get easier to do the same distance/duration, but if you keep increasing the effort (as in the programme) then it doesn't really get much easier, you just achieve more and more with the same level of exhaustion.
Try to give yourself a break. Maybe take 3 or 4 days, and then carry on with your next run at a slower pace than normal, see how that feels.
Best of luck. And don't give up. You CAN! do this!
Please don't feel too disheartened, you are teaching your body a whole new experience, some of us. Me included, need a bit of extra time for our bodies to adjust. I would just question your pace maybe. If you have tried a banana or something before your run and you are nicely hydrated it could just be that you are running too fast. I know it sounds like a strange thing to say if you can run that fast then why not, but your body is learning to adapt to a longer training schedule and sometimes taking it a bit slower helps. If it really dosent get any easier after trying all these things maybe a little trip to the gp to make sure your iron and things are all ok. I only mention it because that what flawed me after the 10 min mark on a run for a while. Good luck and please don't give up there will be an answer.
Some sound advice above about pacing yourself and making sure you have prepared by eating/drinking enough. I usually run "on empty" if I run first thing in the morning, and have occasionally found I've been light-headed, but I think that's to do with what I've eaten (or not) the night before as usually I'm fine. Some people can't cope with running on empty at all and have a rice cake/banana etc before they run. I always thought that would be terribly uncomfortable, but now if I run in the afternoon, I always eat something beforehand because it's been something like 4 hours since I had my lunch and I need something to keep me going.
My week 8 run was hard too. I had to stop at about the same time as you (20 mins). I felt exactly the same.
I wear a garmin watch, so on analysis when I got home - I saw that I was going far too fast (although I didn't realise it whilst I was running).
I was also pretty dehydrated - which never helps. I usually aim to drink plenty of squash during the day before a run in the evening. It really does make a huge difference!
I would try it again, but try to stay slow (so you can complete the whole time) and make sure you have plenty of healthy fuel/water in the day before hand.
Thank you all SO much for your helpful replies. I will definitely try slowing down - and watching my food intake/hydration too. I really don't want to give up so all your replies are galvanising my determination! I have been anaemic in the past so if things don't improve I might make a visit to my GP too.
You are so nearly there. I am sure that having got this far, the extra little bit is manageable. Lots of others have struggled and got through, so suggest you persevere, trying out the suggestions you have been given.
Most important - let us all know how you get on as your hard work will help others on here too.
Plus, heavy lifting is not really conducive to the running - little and often, sure, but If you're doing big weights and small reps, you might be doing more harm than good.
If you've been anaemic before you might be again so it would be a good idea to get checked by your doctor. If you are doing heavy lifting on ALL the rest days then you might be doing too much so perhaps ease off a little and see if you feel better.
Food for thought Irish Princess and Wristy. I think I'll pull back on the intensity of the weightlifting as currently I do it three times a week i.e - on all of my rest days except one. So that leaves just one day where I have complete rest. I might make a visit to my GP for some blood tests too.
All of the above, remembering it is not a race, just a means to an end. That is, your fitness, so give yourself a break and take it slow. Also don't forget to look back at where you have come from. You must be feeling the benefits of the plan by now and that improvement of your health and fitness is too valuable to discard at this stage.
C25k is constantly increasing the demands on you and your body, week on week, and it is tough. Once you graduate you will be able to consolidate and not continue to push, if you wish. Regardless of your future running targets, assuming and hoping that you continue to run, you need to do at least one run per week where you just run for fun, enjoy the scenery, stopping to admire the view, forgetting about speed and times and soaking up the sun instead.
I remember saying on here, near the end of my C25k plan, that I hoped that one day running 5k would be as easy as running for one minute was at that stage (and we all remember how hard those first runs were). Well it is now, if I allow myself a slow easy run, and it can also be challenging and hard if I push myself on a tough route. The same goes for 10k.
You are in charge. This programme can be really hard if you push hard, or you can make running a thing of joy and personal pride in your own hard won achievements. Running for thirty minutes is no mean accomplishment and you are so close, so you owe it to yourself to finish the programme, repeating, if that helps, so that you can relax and enjoy running for the wonderful thing that it is.
If you're lifting weights you're probably quite fit and can therefore probably get along at a fair old pace. So you probably do just that and wear yourself out, especially if you're used to using a heavy weight and few reps - you'll be used to working to failure and short bursts of explosive strength, and running several miles is an endurance thing, so don't go all out.
If you're quite built on top that's a lot if weight for your legs to lug round as well - muscle is dense and while a certain amount of power in your arm swing does help, I can vouch for 'skinny whippet' being quite a good body type for running reasonably fast for reasonably long. You can obviously learn to run efficiently with muscles as well, but it'll ask more of your body while you get used to it. Cut yourself some slack and take it sllllow. Bet it helps!
I have a wee hunch that you are scared of **succeeding**... many of us at this point start thinking "What next?" and realising that there is more to this running lark than graduating from C25K... and as has been pointed out it doesn't all become miraculously easy, the road ahead remains bumpy, twisty, turny, boggy. And that's scary... But sometimes it is miraculously easy, often when you least expect it, we're not all hard core masochists!
I am never entirely happy with a strategy of repeating a session an extra time if you have done your three, just because it felt tough, and your experience demonstrates exactly what concerns me. We all have bad runs and that can spiral downwards. Some good suggestions about getting checked out if you really feel there's something physical going on (possibly you are just worn out at the moment with your non-running activity or have a sub-clinical bug) and, as ever, the 'go slower'.
Plenty of food for thought here - thank you all so much for replying. I must admit I'm nervous about going out for my run tomorrow but do it I will. Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted!
I feel that way at times as well. I agree with all the others about your pace. When I feel like it's too hard to run nonstop, I slow down my pace. It makes a big difference. You can work on speed later, what you need to aim for now is endurance and conditioning your body to running.
Don't worry if your jog turns into a shuffle for a few 100 meters. It'll allow you to catch your breathe and relax. Also are you doing the following:
Warming up with a few stretches
Walking at a fast pace for a few minutes before you start your run
Drink water before hand, but leave some time before you do your run.
Run relax, not tense. Listen to music or download a podcast (I love radio theatre).
Remember to stretch and walk a bit afterwards. It takes time but you can do it.
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