week 9 run 1 and (another) apology

[Anaverageman]

SO i DID go out and do wk 9 r 1 last night after all ( despite anxiety re tight glutes/ hamstrings post stretch class Tue night) and , somewhat surprisingly to me, was without doubt the BEST run I have done during this whole ( elongated c25k process!!).

Started out ( very ) slowly ( as is my want) .. until breathing settled down and became easy ( usually between 5 and 10 mins ) .. so I plodded along at my usual pace, Laura dutifully counting down every 5 minute sector.. 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins ( oh well done you're half way.. she is JUST so relentlessly ' optimistic and upbeat and OK i KNOW you want/need that ' pat on the back ' kind of thing.. but part of me secretly wants to have a ' Grumpy Laura ' tape by now.. where she is having an off day.. and barks at you.. and growls at you.. a sort of, ' You wanna know how long you've run? go buy a watch!! '

but no always relentlessly positive on the tapes is our Laura.. and as I was plodding along somewhere around half way out I suddenly thought, you know i COULD go faster than this.. , so rather than pick up my speed, i just lengthened my stride a bit.. so i was travelling faster , after a while got more out of breath again.. so slowed down.. but i kept doing this all through the latter half of the race.. got to the last minute or so.. and i Still was running freely and easily.. SO I really picked it up.. and for the FIRST time.. I kind of looked at myself.. and i thought , you know I'm really RUNNING here.. liek these ' real ' runners you often see as you drive past them...

So apologies to anyone if I was overly dismissive re. stretching , 1 hour stretching the day before running seems to have caused me to have the EASIEST run ever.. not quite ' enjoyable' but i can SEE where people get to hat place where you go ' I could DO this for a long time'

So my QUESTION from all of this.. IS this a common experience?? Have many others gone out day after yoga/pilates/ stretching class and found the run SOOO much easier? I'd be interested in any who have had a similar experience before I definitively linked one with the other. It could just be , having been anxious about doing the run , got out , found was easier than expected. I know in general terms stretching good .. but the level of increase in performance i found was really quite fascinating.. was stretching the cause?

Have a good one, y'all!

[Mary_O Graduate]

The stretching possibly was a help. I didn't stretch/do squats/etc. for the first few weeks but, with knee/ankle/hip/everything joints being more flexible than they should be (hypermobility, good fun) I thought I'd try the strengthening exercises (to hold the joints in place). They helped, and every run was easier from that point on.

And well done on that first 30 minute run for week nine.

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to Mary_O]

well thanks, I am almost ashamed to say how easy it felt..

difference night and day... so you are due 9:2 next too?

I plan to do next tomorrow night, knowing my luck it will feel terrible..

but we're both almost there!! ( weird isnt it?)

[Mary_O Graduate in reply to Anaverageman]

I did run 2 yesterday, and I'm debating whether to do run 3 tomorrow or Saturday (giving myself two days of rest before the graduation run). I've just gone onto map my run, and I think I have a route sorted out that will take in a new bit of (flat) scenery I will scope out on a walk this afternoon, just to check it's flat.

[rmnsuk Graduate in reply to Mary_O]

Look to see if there's a parkrun by you. Graduating at parkrun is great. Let them know too, they'll give you an extra cheer.

[Mary_O Graduate in reply to rmnsuk]

There is one, it's this. parkrun.org.uk/swindon/ I'm still at the "I like running alone..." stage, but I have looked at parkruns. I might - it's more the logistics of getting to Swindon by nine in the morning (yes I am RUBBISH at early starts) when, by nine, I could be in my running gear and out on the run around the countryside here. Plus they seem to have closed every road to the south of where I live, reducing us to farmtracks (I am so tempted to trade in the car for a horse and head for the bridlepath!!!).

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to rmnsuk]

already registered for parkrun.. there IS one locally.. but NOT running it until I KNOW i can ' run' 5 k... and in a decent enough time to make worth while for the volunteers turning up!

[jogon83 in reply to Anaverageman]

Hi Averageman, i would definitley recommend you do a park run now, dont wait, I am on week 8 and went to my first park run on saturday. It was tough, it was 5k and hilly. One of the other ladies on here just advised I go for it and I did. I was slow, I walked some of the way, dont be embarrassed, I finished last but boy did I finish and now I can work on beating last weeks time! Go for it! If you do end up coming last so what? You get a big cheer at the end !!! Good luck!

[Anaverageman Graduate]

whoo hooo ahead of me already

My current plans 9:2 tomorrow ( Fri) and 9:3 Sun...

well my current route IS 5 k start to finish.. ( accurately 5.02 k) also flat ( I'm in the south of England almost EVERYTHING is ' flat' !!)

so once I've done the last two runs.. target is 5 k... ( MAY just go for 5 K as last run.. see where i stand.. err sit.. err run.. )

[Mary_O Graduate in reply to Anaverageman]

Same here. My route is 5.5 k, but that always includes the warm up walk (and sometimes I loop the bit where I live to finish the run, or the cool down walk). Up here on top of the Cotswolds it's all flat too. Which is good. I'm looking more for uneven ground really - I once badly sprained an ankle while walking down a flat corridor in flat shoes so I try not to push my luck.

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to Mary_O]

When i was ickle.. I used to go on hols (in Scotland) and clamber up proper mountains like a young gazelle with ne'er a slip...then when I got back to school with shiny new trousers.. walk along a flat peice of ground and fall over and rip the knees.. MY poor mum was forever darning them!!

[roseabi]

Loving the idea of 'Grumpy Laura'

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to roseabi]

Think I've spotted a whole new opening in the market..

' grumpy' running tapes..

' you call THAT running' ? ' what do you mean REST day? ' ' well i suppose that time was OK.. if you have low expectations' .. then everyone does as much as they CAN to get some praise from the grumpy instructor..

* yeee haaa haaa* ( evil laugh in case you didnt guess)

I could be RICH.. i tell you.. RICHER than your wildest dreams... ..

I could be..

the ' Simon Cowell' of running tapes... no, wait.. PLEASE shoot me now!!

ps.. ' grumpy ' intructors'? already been done. its called the army!

[roseabi in reply to Anaverageman]

'Go away and have a piece of fruit, you piece of ...'

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to roseabi]

well I have NEVER been spoken to in such a way in all my life..

well OK , I have..

[roseabi in reply to Anaverageman]

The Strava man has a sexy voice...

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to roseabi]

sadly.. 'men with a sexy voice' don't DO it for me...

AAM ( not Bi)

[rmnsuk Graduate in reply to roseabi]

I always liked the idea of a 'grumpy' tom-tom. Instead of "turn round where possible" it should be "You should have gone right there. Turn round before you go miles out of your way. Bloody men drivers. Think you know better than me!"

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to rmnsuk]

Like the idea of that too

[roseabi in reply to rmnsuk]

Sounds like my first driving instructor!

[misswobble Graduate]

I think you'd like Sami Murphy bridge to 10k! She is a bad ass. She gives minimal instructions and hopes you are kicking a little but. She just tells you what to do and then says "go" She does tell you when you can have a minute walk

Good music on those podcasts too. I think I posted the full list of tracks somewhere on here.

Watch that stride lengthening malarky. Overstriding is the road to hell. Take care!

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to misswobble]

well I was JUST increasing so that I wasn't ' shuffling' getting closer to my ' normal running stride I'd say, which was WHY it felt so good when I picked it up properly at the end.. actually REALLY felt like I WAS running for the first time in the whole 9 weeks.. not just ' moving with my legs' but no faster than I could walk normally..

did find THIS

runnersworld.com/rt-web-exc...

suggesting ' overstriding' a bit of a ' buzzword' and much less common than people suggest.. although NO actual ' evidence' in the article pro or ante..

( personally think its HIGHLY unlikely at my level)

[misswobble Graduate]

I was going to say "I was only thinking of your groin", but that sounds a bit rude! Ooops

I'll get me coat

[Anaverageman Graduate in reply to misswobble]

Lol very good