Blip or just wrong?

[dereham-girl]

Ventured out for my first post graduation run and just back but feel blah!! Now to start the analysis.

Slept in a bit late (it's half term after all) ate breakfast and left within the hour. Wrong number 1?

Spent some of yesterday making up a play list - true it was a little over 30 mins but thought it'd be ok and give me some extra motivation listening to some new tunes. Wrong number 2?

Started off ok - felt good - enjoying new tracks then bang - hit the wall (not literally!) Felt sick, out of breath and although playlist had not finished I was No matter how much I told my legs to keep going they weren't having none of it and after a dismal 26 mins I slowed down to a walk.

Wondering now if I should have left it longer before running after breakfast and/or should I go back to my trusty friend Laura and the podcasts?

My face is as red as a beetroot and I'm sweating like I used to right at the beginning.

Feel a bit deflated tbh! So was this just a blip or just wrong on all fronts?

Advice please. Thanks x

[Lee337 Graduate]

Oh that's such a shame. Sorry to hear about that. It actually sounds to me as though you might have (without realising it) set off too quick, and therefore struggled. What do you reckon?

[dereham-girl Graduate in reply to Lee337]

Thanks Lee - I'm at a loss to know what happened. What a difference a couple of days make though - Tuesday I could have taken on the world and today I just wanna hide. Prob just feeling a tad sorry for myself but I'll come back brighter and better next time x

[Lee337 Graduate in reply to dereham-girl]

That's the spirit! 🤗

Yeah, just one of those things I guess. A bit like week 6 of the plan...everyone seems to complete the 20 minute non-stop run of w5r3 but then struggle with two relatively 'simple' 10 minute runs a day or two later. Go figure! 😯 x

[Irish-John Graduate]

Post graduation seems to hit a lot of us the same way. We are suddenly supposed to be "qualified" and without Laura and all a bit lost. Subconsciously I think we feel that the run should be "easy" for us now, but of course it is not THAT easy

You identified some good reasons - reasons, not mere excuses- there why things went a bit different for you today but the lengthy you ran is still running. Not a fail, nor a practice run - I d call it post-grad on the job experience

[dereham-girl Graduate in reply to Irish-John]

Thanks for that Irish-John x

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Complete and utter over excitement... ? I am a runner wheee, here I go as fast as I can for thirty minutes... OOOppppps! I wonder how many of us have felt like that.

Okay... forget that run.. it was a blip!

Now... the next time, when you are ready... As ever, slow and steady.. do not fix a time limit ir distance in your head..Just run for joy, pure and simple, because you can You are a runner... Take it slow, enjoy the view, listen to stuff if you wish... enjoy the lack of pressure...

It is weird, and as Irish-John says, we may feel a tad lost, without our comfort voice...But persevere.. just run, you, on your own, with your thoughts and your music..but slowly.

Then when and if you are ready...C25K+ podcasts, running programmes, Bridge2 10K.. your own plan... so much to try out and have a go at... whatever you wish. Your journey..your way!

[dereham-girl Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you Oldfloss - lovely kinds words leave me with renewed optimism. I will be going out on Saturday and I will be successful with no real pressure to achieve anything in particular - just the joy of doing coz I can X

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to dereham-girl]

Go you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Enjoy x

[RunningGeek Graduate]

Clearly a practice run. Sometimes the body just won't cooperate 😕 But you got out there and had a go. If I have breakfast before I go have something light. I tried a playlist which didn't really work but shuffle did. See what happens next time and most of all relax and enjoy 🏃👟🏃👟

[OldPossum]

As others have said those early post graduation runs affect a lot of us strangely. Exploring new routes is good too but just relax and enjoy your new found freedom and fitness. 😀

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Maybe still on a high from graduation and started out too fast? Running too soon after eating can make you feel sick so that may not have helped.

Just put it down to experience - after all you did run for 26 minutes and you weren't doing that a few weeks ago!

[orchards Graduate]

Leaving a structured programme of any kind can feel a bit strange, and there is a sort of feeling that it ought to be possible to do the same but "better" after finishing the programme, so, as others have said, it's quite likely you started off faster than usual. Just because you have managed 30 minutes doesn't mean you have to do it every time to have a good run - you can run continuously, take walk breaks, repeat parts of C25k and if it helps, take Laura with you. Some runs will seem easier than others - that's normal. Most important - enjoy!

[Rosie958 Graduate]

Yep, I've experienced a similar post graduation come down. My first run after graduating my shoelace came undone and I had to stop to re-tie it. It was the first time I had had to stop during a run. There are days when you feel like you can skip along like a gazelle, and others where you feel like you're trudging along. There's no rhyme or reason to it! I guess the best way to look at it is to think, well, could I have run for 26 minutes solidly a few weeks ago?