A lovely easy run

Took my sore knees out for a run today and they did me a favour. Because of them, I decided to go for a really slow, gentle meander and set off in the opposite direction to usual, away from the park and out past the huge and very lovely houses on the way out of town and back in a loop. Enjoyed having a nose, but also really enjoyed the running. I was going much slower than I have been lately, and I also tried out Juicyju's technique from a recent post (thanks!) of counting until I reach things, and it really works. I was thinking way less about everything else and got into a nice natural rhythm. Kept the pace slow all the way round though, and did over 5 k EASILY! So, it can be easy! This is great news! Need to stop pushing all the time I think and just enjoy some leisurely runs, and will definitely start changing my route more often and do some more exploring. Knees were ok. I was aware of them, but no pain, so I'm going to give Parkrun another go tomorrow. Happy running everyone

[runningnearbeirut Graduate]

Great to hear you had such a lovely enjoyable run. And an EASY 5k

There is real value in easy runs, and I have a feeling they will actually get a little faster without you being aware of it or trying.

Have fun exploring!

[Hidden in reply to runningnearbeirut]

Thanks. Today's run was another bit of a revelation, and writing the word 'easy' next to 5k is quite a surprise! Definitely deserves the triple smiley

[Coddfish Graduate]

Sorry to hear you have been suffering from sore knees. There is a set of runner's knee stretching exercises on the NHS choices website that I have found quite helpful, as I am often stiff after a run. It's definitely best to run without thinking about it too much. I have a bit of a tendency to go off too fast when I first start a and am gradually discovering the key is to keep my breathing steady.

[Hidden in reply to Coddfish]

Thanks. I have been meaning to do some knee stuff over the last few days and have been very bad and not got round to it. I'll make myself have a go at some of this. I'm hoping I just overdid it playing tennis and missing rest days recently and that it's not the start of knee trouble. The breathing is still the hardest thing for me too, that and getting overheated. Just need to calm down a bit I think!

[Hidden]

well done Glud, I look forward to some of them, Parkrun for me tomorrow.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Have fun!

[Hidden]

I'm sure I will 28 mins or less and I'll be happy.

[Buffy007 Graduate]

Excellent. Sounds really lovely. Not sure about 2 x 5k in 2 days 'tho. I can hear your father telling you that's too much! I may even be tempted out tomorrow. Think I'll think about new routes too soon although not that easy where I live. Enjoy tomorrow and hope its decent weather.

[Hidden in reply to Buffy007]

Yes, don't tell my Dad! Have fun if you get out tomorrow!

[Buffy007 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[misswobble Graduate]

Great stuff! A leisurely run is really good for you. It keeps you enjoying your running, burns lots of calories and it's fun. While you're leisurely jogging you can be having a good scout round the local area, looking for new leads, and running off aches and niggles. I'm sure my sore back is cured today after a run round the streets

[Hidden in reply to misswobble]

That's good MW, and thanks for that. I can tell that yesterday's run was good for me too. Sounds a bit stupid, but because I'm slower than most, my runs all felt 'too' leisurely! In fact, they're not leisurely for me!!

[old_git Graduate]

Glad to hear that the knees are holding up and the running is OK.

[Hidden in reply to old_git]

Thanks OG. I'm looking forward to Parkrun now!

[agedsnailspace Graduate]

It is important to schedule in some easy runs from time to time. I run with a heart monitor and use that to restrict the speed for recovery runs. It helps building up stamina and is a great discipline to learn.

[Hidden in reply to agedsnailspace]

I've never used a monitor. Do you know the best/cheapest of these to try? I would have dreaded to know what my heart rate was doing in the early days but it would be interesting to know now and I can see that would be useful.

[misswobble Graduate]

My husband bought me one but to be honest I can't be bothered with it. I know I'm alive so no worries 😊