I graduated a week or two back and since then have run 3 5Ks around 40 minutes (and one which had to be aborted around 4K). I am not generally fit, but I find the 5Ks sustainable and my plan to run one every other day is working well.
Yesterday I had to pick up my eldest from school (benefits of working from home ;-)) and was running late, literally - I was late and running. The school is only 3/4 of a mile and I can fast walk it in about 7 minutes without getting too out of breath.
I thought I would run, not sprint, but run at probably 30% higher than I would normally run/jog/stumble.
I managed about 2 minutes before I had to stop in pretty severe pain and walk the rest of the way. Then when I got home I had to 'pigeon step' up the stairs (thanks Physio wife) because somehow my lower leg muscles had managed to get set on fire...
Even this morning I am a bit tender, although things have returned to normal.
Disappointed I didn't have the stamina to go further, really disappointed in how much pain it caused. I wasn't expecting to find it easy, but I was expecting to do it!
My lovely physio wife explained that I was using a different set of muscles, but I think she might have just been trying to comfort me, or stop me moaning - never can tell :-).
Written by
yatesco
Graduate
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Slow and steady, that's what we learned. The podcast "speed" lets us run faster for 1 minute at a time - maybe there's a reason! Hope your leg muscles settle down and you don't lose much running time. Just keep plodding on, they say speed comes automatically when you get the mileage in. I think it is difficult after graduation though - the progress with Laura is just so amazing, every week we surprise ourselves and improve. After graduation many of us miss this huge, steep, regular increase in fitness and find it difficult to just keep plodding on. We do improve, but it takes a lot longer - and many of us are too impatient. When I look back over my last 2 months since graduation I DO see improvement in speed and stamina. But run on run the improvement is not linear and sometimes it seems I'm getting slower (in March I ran on average slower than in February - but that's because I was doing longer runs). So I think we have to be patient and just keep thinking back to that first run with Laura! Look forward to your next post!
Maybe it's because your stride changes as you pick up speed? I know mine sometimes does.
Have you considered trying fartleks for some speed work on short runs? They are very fun, you feel like a six year old running again. I like doing them on one 3k route I run often. Warming up is essential.
Thanks all. I probably wasn't clear in my original post - I am more than happy with my slow 5Ks every other day - no lasting pain (although my legs do let me know they are there), chuffed to bits I can do them, more than satisfied with my progress.
This wasn't about me increasing my speed/training, it was simply me thinking "yeah, I can do a one-off run" - nope, I can't :-).
Legs are fine now, lessons learnt (main one being, make sure your darling wife understands giving physio shouldn't be therapeutic for the PHYSIO/it isn't marriage counselling :-)).
No, seriously - thanks all, I am touched by your support. I do understand the perils of upping the training.
Looking forward to getting back to my nice, slow, plodding 5K run this afternoon.
Excellent choice of spouse, by the way. Mine is a little less useful. He's a researcher, schizophrenia is his topic, and he gets really worried when I talk too much about gremlins who want me to join them on the couch - or pixies who dare me to run on rest days...
Hmm. so let me get this straight: you have got quite used to doing steady 5k jogging but that has not translated to fast short distance running? And you are disappointed with that?
30% increase is a lot. That's changing the nature of teh exrecise pretty fundamentally.
Also, picture it this way: I was doing lifts this morning at 100kg. That's a weight I am pretty comfortable with and can bang out 5 sets of 5 quite happily. If I suddenly decided to do a couple of sets at 135, I would come pretty unstuck pretty quickly.
We all get disappointed that we are not progressing as fast or as far as we think we should. That has more to do with our expectations, not our progress.
I have been so so frustrated in the past that my perceived effort has not resulted in running faster or further. I have now learnt that change does not happen quickly and not to get too frustrated. I have been running for 18 months+ now and only now can I look back and gauge my improvement.
Add into to this the bad runs, bad weather, bad health etc and you can easily see how this can cloud your judgement of how far you have already come.
Not sure if this is true or not, but apparently motorcycle insurance companies have a group just for the 'born again bikers' - those who used to ride well when they were younger, gave up in their 20s, return to it in their 40s, underestimate the power of the new motorbikes, overestimate their ability and crash badly.
I think your physio needs to involve a sound spanking.
(My fastest, hurtiest run ever was very short "Oh I might as well run between A and B seeing as I'm going" - despite the fact it was on the hated tarmac and I wear minimalist trail shoes. Got away with it, as in not actually injured but hmmm)
That said, if you can't 'run for a bus', then the point is... questionable.
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Bit disappointed
Disappointed
Disappointed
W5R3 - so disappointed...
Failed at the final - so disappointed
