Week 4 Run 2

[Linaka]

I went for a run yesterday evening.This time however I was of two minds whether to do it in the first place. I had been on my feet all day and the bottom of my feet ached. However I didn't want to skip my run. So I dragged on my gear before I could change my mind and headed out into the drizzle. I surprised myself again. I know the mantra is to go slow and to slow down some more. However by the last run, when I had 1 minute left I couldn't help it. I felt like running faster. So I ran faster, and faster and I felt so overjoyed! I didn't sprint or anything, more like if I was running for the bus yet still I was happy that I had the energy for it, even after the run I felt tired but good.

It also raised the question of if I'm not pushing myself hard enough. Throughout the runs I've been watching as my heart rate steadily goes down for doing longer runs and running faster is a means of getting back into that heart rate peak. Yet I don't want to cause injury either.

At the moment I'm just happy to run and really looking forward to tomorrow's run

[Spongecake7 Graduate]

Sounds like you're doing great! Keep going.

[RainbowC Graduate]

There's definitely a balance between running overly slow, and pushing too hard so you can't finish. For me, the 'go slower' is useful at the start of a run, and when I feel I'm struggling and won't manage to finish. (Yesterday going up the incline near the start of my run, I honestly think if I'd been going any slower I'd have gone backwards!) Bur especially as you start running for longer spells it's important not to go off too quickly - you could always try next time speeding up a little each time Laura says you're half way through the run and see how that goes.

Fundamentally, though, there's no negative side to running slower than you might be able to.