I am still a baby runner

[Vixchile]

just when i was thinking i was getting the hang of this running game and improving, I faced a tough run.

I woke up feeling tired (but fully recovered from our Rio adventure), managed to cycle to the gym yesterday, took it easy and i felt great. Woke up this morning to my partner saying he has come back from his best run in months. Read a few posts on here to inspire me, popped my capris and t-shirt on as the morning temperature has finally cooled down.

Now i started off ok, but i just couldn't settle into the run. My pace was much slower than the previous weeks but i just felt tired and out of breathe. I decided after 3km just to have a little stop when i needed to and catch my breathe back. A few runners out - the Santiago Marathon is on Sunday so maybe some nice taper running for them? I was feeling better as i overtook 2 lady runners and then what should happen, just as i was flagging again these two lady runners overtook me. Stuck at the traffic lights with 250m to go I noticed the lady runners were marathon runners, that was when i realised i am still new to this running business.

Maybe i was overdressed as i was very hot when i did my cool down walk. Maybe i was hungry, maybe i was still tired, maybe the air pollution didn't help but what i do know is my muscles were well rested. It just goes to show you never know what kind of run you will have until you get out the door.

Signed up for our next 10km race - i am not sure i will be able to improve my time as a lot of travelling before the race plus to make it extra fun we have the two next french air traffic controller strikes to contend with.

The good news is i think as its cool enough now to start to think about that HM distance.

Happy running people

[Tomas Graduate]

Sounds like you did great in a situation where many lesser runners would just have called it a day and walked home. Well done, Vix!

[Dunder2004 Graduate]

Just put it down to a bad day 'at the office'.

The next one will be better.

[Zev1963 Graduate]

The important thing is that you got out the door and went for a run

You say that you don't know what your run will be like until you get out of the door. I'm often still not sure what it will be like until I'm half an hour or so into it. Tuesday's run for example I had sore right ankle and left knee and felt tired after 10 minutes. By 20 minutes I'd pretty much decided that I'd throw in the towel once I'd managed 7km. After 40 minutes I'd settles into a steady jog, and was feeling able to carry on for a bit further. In the end I stopped at 12km, feeling pretty good.

Today however, I'm thinking of postponing today's run until tomorrow, as my right ankle and shin are feeling a bit swollen and hurty

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

I was reading yesterday something from a well known running trainer - he said that (in theory) if we run out of breath during a run of any length, then we are running too fast for our level of fitness. So - for example - if we are running long, then it should be our legs and muscles that "give up" - not our lungs. So he advocates slow running for long cumulative distances over a weeks training. This should happen before we start to do fast racing or hard workouts so that our bodies learn to supply more oxygen via the blood. The lungs themselves have plenty of oxygen to supply - it is the blood system that is the limiting factor.

I am also a "baby" runner and still learning - I think that I have recently learned that I have to add a lot more volume to my weekly running for the next 6 months.

[Irishprincess Graduate]

You run therefore you are a runner. But you're right. You can never tell what sort of run you are in for until you start and then it's too late! Still, it's always better than sitting on the couch.

[AncientMum Graduate]

Hi Vix great to hear from you again. A bad run?? Just chalk it up to experience Sweetie and forget about it. I just love how you drop into the post, right that the very end, that you're going to start your HM training. Excellent!!

Take it steady m'dear. I'm looking forward to reading about your training xx