Slogging away, week 8,run 1

[JoolieB1]

Managed to run for 30 minutes instead of 28! Had nothing left after that. Didn't enjoy this run as much as last week's but think busy weekend, takeaway meal and a lie in today all made me feel lazy. What can I do to increase energy and avoid feeling washed out so I have better runs? Julie

[AvatheGardener Graduate]

Hi Jooolie! Well done- got it ticked off I think 28 mins is all you need to do for week 8, right? Give yourself a pat on the back vid you did it!

Ive found that some runs just hurt, others don't hurt but are tiring, and others are variable- some bits are even enjoyable!

Main thing is- you did it! X

[gary_bart]

This is all guesswork, but we all probably operate in various cycles. Push hard against your speed or distance recommendations, and you'll make progress, but at the cost of that "last straw that doesn't quite break the camel's back, but can be felt landing on the load". So by doing that little bit extra in your activity cycle, you add to what needs to be repaired in your repair cycle. You won't necessarily immediately feel the "damage", but it accumulates to a point where your body eventually decides to subvert your mind, so to speak. (Your mind wants to go, go, go, and your body would like to stop long enough to fix that microtear in such and such a muscle; to stop your mind from forcing the go, go, go impulses, your body can go all the way from making you feel a bit lazy, right through to making you feel inexplicably depressed - right to the point where you might even start seeing "how pointless everything is" before you catch yourself out at being just plain tired, and have a laugh at yourself). Your will isn't completely free, then. More primitive parts of yourself have the ability to set about sapping your will, so as to "achieve their own objectives".

So it's my guess that somewhere in the kinds of things I've guessed about in the previous paragraph is the kind of thing that is driving the "lazy" feelings, and even the lack of enjoyment. (Maybe another system drove some muscle to the point of sufficient pain to demand some endorphins, and some other system intervened, and said "Oh no! No endorphins for you! Have the lazies instead.")

[laurav33 Graduate]

Wow, well done! I'm about to start week 9 today and I'm quite nervous of the jump from 28 to 30 mins, so well done you for getting there already!! I think it's definitely harder running after a big meal / takeaway the day before. I tend to run an hour or so after breakfast when I have quite a bit of energy, but that only works at the moment when I'm working from home for part of the week! Good luck with your runs

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

Don't worry about an extra 2 minutes, I am on week 8 and just started running for 30 minutes a week ago. Maybe try running without Laura, then the time will fly by. You already have the technique for running 😀 - if I can, u can! Julie