We are back....and wow it was hard

[Amabanana2]

We are back after having a month off due to illness and Christmas! We are sure all the other runners who were at our level have sped off into the distance by now....

We decided to continue the plan at the week we were on when we finished a month a go....week 8! Hmmmmm perhaps that was a mistake. We complete the 28 minute run but by the end both of us were like jelly fish wobbling along the road back to the office! I'm not sure I could even stand up now if I tried!

Unsure whether to push on with week 8 on Friday or go back a week or so....any advice appreciated!

[Lon70 Graduate]

If you did it just keep going with Week 8. You can do it. It is not really different from Week7

[Tomas Graduate]

Taking a month off is quite a lot, and doing so while still getting used to the running habit makes it even harder. Not surprised that you found it very hard, but it definitely shows dedication that you managed to get through.

Given how hard it was, and given that the point is to learn to run in a way that is NOT about-to-die-hard, I'd suggest going back to week 5, see how it goes, and if need be adjust (either by going further back if needed or fast-forward if it feels too easy).

[Hidden]

Don't worry we all get knocked of course at times. The holidays and weather and mince pie overload has loaded an extra 6lbs on my frame. I was running up until about start of December about 6K + and running for at best 43 minutes. Currently been running since between 30 and 40 minutes.

I said to myself (others on this forum will be bored of me saying this) , "My aim was to run for 30 minutes anything else is a bonus". So I have that buffer where I never set myself up for a bad run. On Monday I set out with aim to run 40 minutes but due to circumstances slippy surfaces and extra weight slowing me down only ran for 30 minutes.

So perhaps set out to run a week 5 but if you feel good (this does happen) then do a bit extra towards your week 8. That way we avoid using the 'F' word.

Anyway my weight has stabilised the mince pies are gone and the Christmas pudding is stored away to save for Easter ! I say to myself "Well only did 30 minutes today but compared to lethargic couch potato last year I'm doing great. I still want to go out running and will get back to where I left off eventually.

Remember there's no rush. Read that whatever age we start at some experts have said that we could have 7 years of improvement ! So "Where's the fire". Take it slow and steady.

It will get easier and once you have the 30 minutes running under your belt you will feel even more confident.

Happy new year and happy running !

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Well done for getting back to it. A month is a long lay off at this stage so I'm not surprised it was hard. You could drop back to 20 minutes and build up again from there. It's all about building stamina once you get into the unbroken runs.