Hardest run yet

[resolution]

W4R3 - I had half expected this run to be easier than the previous two W4 runs, but it has turned out to be the hardest run of the programme so far for me. My shins were screaming at me all the way through and my calves joined in half way, and during the first 3min run I fully believed I would give up before I even got through the first 5min run. Now, I am really proud of myself that I didn't give up and somehow managed to drag myself to the end of the podcast, but I didn't expect this run to be so hard. I'm pretty scared of W5 now ...

[Gabster2 Graduate]

Hey, funny I was just going to post exactly the same thing! My wk4 run 2 was hard but ok. Today was a real mission. Shins hurt was really out of breath and didn't think I'd make it. I wanted to know if others found the same thing after an ok run. Turns out that they do. 😊

I'm also worried for week 5. Just have to take it slowly and hopefully will get through! Good luck and let me know how you get on. 🏃

[resolution Graduate in reply to Gabster2]

We can start a little W4R3 shin pain club! Thanks for sharing your experience :), do let me know how you get on with W5R1 too! Best of luck - all we have to do is keep outscreaming our shin pain with motivational words to ourselves!

[Gabster2 Graduate in reply to resolution]

😊 will do. Good to have a virtual running buddy

[Jaxdreamer Graduate]

That one was definitely the hardest for me - my calves were screaming and hurt so badly afterwards that I thought I had done some serious damage! Took an extra rest day and took some advice from Rignold and bought a foam roller and did (and still do as I think mine need a lot of work) calf exercises. Don't worry you will find that you are more than ready for week 5 after a rest.

[wigiwig]

You're a week ahead of me so no advice but I wanted to send you a big hug and a massive well done for pushing on through! X

[resolution Graduate in reply to wigiwig]

Aw thank you wigiwig ! I really appreciate that, and hugs are great for motivation! You doing ok yourself?

[wigiwig in reply to resolution]

You're welcome 😀 So far it's been okay. I have to do run one of week four today though. Starting to regret all the cheese and wine I guzzled last night!

[resolution Graduate in reply to wigiwig]

Never ever regret cheese and wine.

[Whatsapp Graduate]

Good for you. And another milestone passed in experiencing your first 'bad run'. Mine was week 4 too - W4R2. I did W5R2 this morning and I have to say I am enjoying the longer runs, as you are able to get into a rhythm with your running. It is challenging but doable. As has been said, you can take more than one rest day if you need it. I will be taking two days rest before attempting W5R3

[resolution Graduate in reply to Whatsapp]

That's true. I tend to run every other day, but I'll be spending this Thursday evening until Sunday morning in Dublin, so I have my W5R3 scheduled for Sunday afternoon. That gives me two 'rest' days as well. Good luck with your W5R3! I'm sure you'll do fantastic. Let us know how you get on!

[Whatsapp Graduate in reply to resolution]

Thanks. You too!

[gdcgray Graduate]

I've had to stop running a few times for 4, 5. even once, 9 days to get past the shin pain. If I do any sprint repeats, I can expect to follow up with some time off until the shins stop hurting. If I push it with a full run as opposed to the slow run and jog I do, I can expect the shins to scream. I have literally been hardly able to walk home a few times.

Other runners and my DRs told me to stop pushing the pain to the extreme and start backing off at first sign, otherwise I will make things worse. So I did.

The good thing is, I completed the 5K program, (by Redrocks apps unfortunately so I don't get a graduation badge here. But that's ok. The progress is our reward )

Another good thing is, the shin pain trails behind and follows along in the progress. It's a gauge more than a barrier. So, I now use the pain as a gauge and only train to the pain. That means more easy miles and less hard hitting sprint and speed work. Too much, too hard, to fast.

Had I spent more time here reading Rignold's replies to people, it would have been drilled into my thick head to do the program exactly and not try to be adding other stuff in.

Some things I've learned so far.

Do the program exactly.

Don't do too much too soon.

Some of the benefits of our work can take up to two weeks to be fully realized, others show up much sooner.

Recovery is essential. Do not feel guilty for rest.

If I can't complete an assignment, do it again before moving on and that's ok.

Some days, we feel invincible, other days it's torture.

More days are good than bad.

At my age, I can't expect my body to do what I could expect it to do 10, 15, 20 years ago, but I can still be amazed that it does what it does.

By the time I got to the last couple weeks of the Redrock Apps 5K program, I lost my apprehension. By then, I knew it wasn't going to be as impossible as it seemed looking forward.

Awesome job pushing through! I bet you will be surprised at W5. With a screen name like Resolution . . . . . . . . . . I see a graduate coming up.

[resolution Graduate in reply to gdcgray]

Thanks for sharing your experience, gdcgray ! You're quite right about all those things. I'll start W5R1 today, I'll keep all the things you said in mind and we'll see how it goes!

[wigiwig]

Urrrr... you weren't wrong about wk4 run3. Just did it and it was fecking miserable. Hope wk 5 is going well for you 😀

[resolution Graduate in reply to wigiwig]

Thank you! Sorry to hear it was horrible for you too... I did actually do W5R1 last Tuesday, but I've had a couple of holidays and haven't had a chance to run, so I am going to repeat that one tomorrow just to make sure I'm still up to speed. The big W5R3 is looming!

[wigiwig in reply to resolution]

Ohh... hope you had a lovely time I did W5R1 this morning. It was tough but not as bad as W4R3. Pheww. X

[Irish-John Graduate]

"I'm pretty scared of W5 now" - I was VERY scared of every increase in time Always had that haunting feeling in the back of my mind that THIS TIME it would be unmanageable and that I would feel like a clown for EVER thinking I could run...

Running while feeling you are waiting for that big 'other shoe' to drop is no fun. All I can say is that if you read the early posts of some of us Graduates you will feel a LOT better about your 'chances' of success

And then you will also hopefully see it is not about 'chance' that determines if you finish the programme - it's about just sensibly running it, in your own time and at your own pace

Shortly I hope to post here the results of an interesting ( I think anyway) poll I asked the Graduates to take part in. I knew what the ultimate finding would be - but I'm even amazed after hanging out here for as long as I have now at how overwhelmingly substantiated that result is

So - keep running, slow and steady - and 'Watch this space' you're doing FAB

(and a special check that autocorrect is not screwing me again - recently send a text to an old Girlfriend who posted her photo on FB. I told her quite honestly she still looked Fab after all these years - unfortunately, autocorrect changed that to 'Fat' and I did not catch it One less friendly face now when I go home next ;(

[resolution Graduate in reply to Irish-John]

Thanks for the encouragement, Irish-John ! I look forward to this poll that you are talking about, it sounds interesting!

(And ouch, that is one unfortunate autocorrect...)

[Irish-John Graduate in reply to resolution]

If you haven't already seen it - it was posted an hour or two In brief - 90.9% did NOT have a 5K run when they graduated. ( and a LOT took longer than 9 weeks to graduate anyway, including YT )