I've not long come back from my last run of week 1 and to be honest I feel slightly worse than I did after doing the very first run! Not by a massive amount I must say, and I did complete all the short running bursts as I have done since I started, but I was expecting to feel slightly stronger (and a bit more eager to run a little more than just 60 seconds) or at least the same, but not find it slightly harder!
I wonder if it's quite normal to actually feel slightly weaker than when you first start?
I also presume on week 2 I will have to do longer runs than the 60 seconds you do in week 1? Anyway, at the moment I'm not actually looking forward to w2r1 if I'm honest!
Written by
Lee337
Graduate
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LOL! Stick with the programme Lee and I promise you - promise you mind, no kidding - that sooner than you could ever imagine right now you will be on here with the rest of us Graduates whinging that we could not run 5K in twenty minutes or some such time
Patience, slow running, trust the programme and do not screw with the Rest Days. That basically is it
Yeah, I am really looking forward to that day when I graduate, but I know it's not going to be easy and am going to take it nice and steady.
I have always been the kind of person that sticks to the rules and follow instructions to the letter, so I won't be going off like a bull at a gate. Everybody on here says it's a tried and tested programme which does work if you stick to the right way of doing it by going nice and steady, so that's exactly what I intend to do.
The only pity is that there is the 5 and 9 in the name of it I guess it sounded better than 'off your arse to thirty minutes consecutive running with this rather loose time-frame depending on your age, health etc'
Hi Lee337. I did the last run of week 1 today and felt just like you. I felt as if I could hardly lift my feet off the floor, but did manage the session I'm pleased to say. I also can't imagine doing week 2. My natural tendency would be to do week 1 some more, but I've seen others suggesting its better to carry on to week 2 as we will be surprised at what we can achieve. We'll see. I wouldn't have believed I could do what I've done this week, so maybe I'll be equally surprised with the next run.
Well, we are both in exactly the same boat by the looks of it then. Yes, I must say that on my walk back home after finishing the last run I was dreading the start of week 2 thinking I'm not going to be ready, but I might feel different after having a rest day tomorrow, so we will see.
I do hope that I feel ok and if I do then I will continue with the programme and start w2r1 on Saturday. However, I have no issues with re-doing any runs if I feel the need for it but so far I've stuck with the programme as it is and I hope to continue in the same way, but if I really struggle then I will re-do whatever I miss.
Good luck to you also on the start of week 2 my friend. I'm going to follow your progress now, so you had better continue in the same way!
Hi Lee, I can only repeat the comments above. Don't concern yourself too much if you're aching. This is just your body telling you it's not used to the exercise and yearns to be back on the sofa. Don't listen to it, keep going! If needs be, take an extra days rest and go at your own pace (you don't have to complete the programme in 9 weeks). The thing that kept me going in the early runs was the feeling that no matter how slow I went, anything was better than no running at all
Yes, you are right and that is exactly how I'm approaching this. Slow and steady is better than staying on the couch for sure! So far I have managed to complete everything as planned, but if I need to repeat anything then so be it!
Well, I actually took exactly the same route as I did on my last run (out of my housing estate, onto a small industrial estate, round the same block of factories and back again) and I was more or less in exactly the same positions as I was the time before, so I don't think I was going too quick. That's the weird thing, but hey, who knows. Anyway, I'm certainly going to give week 2 a damn good go!
It's weird isn't it, maybe your body was more tired. Perhaps it was thinking ohh this is the 3rd time he's done this, this is for real. I better use some energy to build some muscle. I remember I found week 4 the hardest. Then after graduation for a few weeks could not get past 20 or 25 mins, but knew I could do 35. I mean what is all that about.? Gremlins sometimes, and sometimes my body telling me to ease up so it has time to get used to what I'm doing.
Yeah, I guess we are all different people with different bodies and will struggle at different stages of the programme. I'm certainly not going to let it get me down or anything and will plod on slowly but surely until I reach the end...even if it means I have to repeat some runs or even whole weeks.
SLOOOOOWWWW DOWN. It can be tough when you start but stick with it and it will pay off. I could hardly manage 60 seconds at first, and tomorrow I'm doing my graduation run (I still can't believe it). I have a pretty steady "power shuffle" as I call it and that has got me through the programme quite nicely. It may help to do some stretches when you get in from your run too, it helped me at the start (and I still do them now). I'm not sure when it was that I got bitten by the running bug, but at some point I seemed to have a light bulb moment where I thought I enjoyed that run! Keep going, you've done the hardest bit by starting the programme!!!! Slow and steady wins the race every time. I look forward to hearing about your first run of week 2. The whole programme is mind over matter - when I struggle I say to myself (and sometimes out loud) "you can do this" - tell yourself that you can, and you will.
Yeah, maybe I have been trying to actually run (as apposed to jog) at far too early a stage in the programme. So, I will make a conscious effort on my first run of week 2 to go as I slow as I can but still be able to call it a run.
I should know (after reading a load of posts on this forum) that it's not going to be easy, but I am really glad I decided to get off that couch and actually do something that should hopefully get me a bit fitter. As they say, "no pain - no gain!"
I felt exactly the same last week and was dreading week 2. I did week one twice but it didn't help because I still felt knackered after the second attempt.
Everybody says to slow down so I did and it did help, but going slower was tougher on my legs. My breathing was ok but my legs felt the burn which they didnt when running week one. After doing week 2 run 2 I had some twinges in my knee so I haven't run since because I heard it can make things worse. I am not sure if going slower and pacing differently has hurt my knees, but now i am doing some knee/ leg exercises everyday to build up my muscles. I would advise anyone starting out to do the same because it seems a lot of people on here end up with sore knees at one stage or another. I am not running again until I have bought some proper running shoes which will be Saturday.
Thanks for the info there and yeah everybody seems to reckon that the best policy is to go as slow as you can, because over time your speed will increase anyway. So I have my rest day tomorrow (Friday) then on Saturday I will start my week 2 and I aim to go as slow as I can but still call it a run
So far I haven't had any issues with knees or joints etc, just a lot of puffing at the end of *every* 60 second run! lol
Yes, I would highly recommend you get some proper good running trainers. I did have some trainers before I started the programme but decided to go into Birmingham city centre and get myself measured up for a proper fitting first.
I thought that all I was going to get was a person to measure my feet, then show me a few pairs of trainers in my size. So I was quite surprised when this chap gave me a pair of what he called 'neutral' trainers to wear, and then told me to start jogging on a treadmill!! After jogging on this treadmill for a few minutes, this guy checked a laptop connected to it, (a camera was recording my feet landing on the surface). He told me that my 'gait' was good and I would not need any kind of support on either side of my feet and suggested a 'neutral' pair of trainers. He then went off into the store room and came back with a selection of around 5 different pairs of 'neutral' trainers. One by one I tried them all, but actually thought that the original pair I used on the treadmill were the most comfortable! (In fact, I could barely feel I was wearing anything and thought these must be the best ones for me). So, they were the ones I purchased!
I hope your knee gets much better quickly and you can hit the road again very soon. I have started to follow you now as well, given that we are both at roughly the same place in the programme. Good luck, and don't forget those trainers!
Yeah I have been reading about trainers and did the wet test yesterday, where you stick your foot in water and then put it on some card to look at the imprint. I don't have a flat foot or anything so I don't think I have an over or under pronation ( I learnt a lot about pronation yesterday so now I feel like an expert! Ha ha).
I am living in a country that doesn't have very many shops, so I am not sure how technical they will be when I go for trainers but there are a lot of runners here so I might be lucky.
I am going to start week 2 again on Saturday so I will be running it right there with you.
Ah yeah, ok on the lack of shops. I guess I'm lucky to be living so close to the second biggest city in the UK! (I never thought I would ever say that before!! lol)
Yes, I hope that some of the runners already out there running will help you get a correctly fitting pair of trainers. I believe that apart from trying to run too quickly, getting a correctly fitting pair of trainers is the most important thing you can do if you want to successfully complete this programme.
Anyway, good luck on Saturday and I look forward to reading about how you got on with it.
It's your body and your mind, after all that time being sedentary, screaming WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!!!!!
Believe me, it will pass There are good days and 'blah' days, and days when the run is a 'success' and days when it's a 'practice' run.
the ONLY failure though is not to go out the front door. Read as many posts as possible and you will be able to shout right back at your Gremlins 'Sod off - I have DOCUMENTED PROOF that I can do this! '
I am not much of a runner but when I go to the gym I go in the treadmill for a few minutes just to get my cardio up.
The first time I went to the gym after a couple of months break I run a few good km without feeling tired. So I was thinking that next time I will try to go longer. After a few days I couldn't even do half a km without wanting to stop.
When we exercise our muscle get damaged so whilst they recover we find it really difficult using them
Don't give up! And don't push yourself too hard. Just because you are finding it difficult one day doesn't mean it will always be like this
Thanks for that good advice Thegirlabouttown. Yes indeed I have read many times on this forum that the rest days are just as (if not more) important as the days you actually go out and run!
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After jogging on this treadmill for a few minutes, this guy checked a laptop connected to it, (a camera was recording my feet landing on the surface). He told me that my 'gait' was good and I would not need any kind of support on either side of my feet and suggested a 'neutral' pair of trainers. He then went off into the store room and came back with a selection of around 5 different pairs of 'neutral' trainers. One by one I tried them all, but actually thought that the original pair I used on the treadmill were the most comfortable! (In fact, I could barely feel I was wearing anything and thought these must be the best ones for me). So, they were the ones I purchased!
W1R3 completed on a high !!
W1r3 complete today! And new to the forum today.
W1R3 complete - I'm on my way!
Wind, rain, and feeling no shame. W1R3 complete
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