Week 4 Run 1

Whoa! I was absolutely sure this was going to be impossible. I am a terrible, absolutely horrendous jogger. I can do anything better than jog. I even prefer to sprint short distances. But then, that's exactly why I'm doing this. I'm trying to conquer my absolute worst thing. And I completed tonight's run. Survived might be a better term. The only thing that got me through it was a complete and utter focus on my breathing. I had no other thoughts whatsoever. It was pretty much a jogging meditation. I focused on deep breaths through my nose into my belly, expanding my belly, and then out through my nose. It isn't what the almighty internet told me to do, but it's the advice my rugrat gave me. He's currently training in the Air Force Special Ops and his fitness is mind-blowing. The craziest part is that during my last 5 minute stint, both headphones fell out of my ears and apparently I missed the ding for the cool down. So I kept running until I was sure something was wrong and when I checked my phone, I was already 2 minutes into the cool down. Unbelievable!

[Hidden]

Ooops! I meant to say I breathed out through my mouth...in through my nose, out through my mouth.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

You are a runner... and you are running.. and you are doing just fine..

Slow down... relax into the run... Not sure if you are following the NHS C25K podcast, but Laura tells us, that if we were running on one side of a hedge, anyone the other side would not realise it.. no bobbing up and down Relaxed shoulders, rounded ankles, relaxed fists and arms etc. There is so much to think about that the end of the run comes before you realise it;

If you are doing this as you say you are, to conquer something.. maybe that is why it is a bit like survival training Starting off with gritted teeth and clenched fists, breathing hard and 'correctly'... ( Not literally, I am sure..just a image I have of you setting out.. probably not like this though:)) One of the other forum friends did a post on dogged determination, which took the joy out of the running.. it was an interesting post!

So...point is, you did it... but it would be better if you could enjoy it maybe? I was a sprinter..in my far, far distant youth... I ran for the County.. fast! I am older, so maybe the transition of slower running came easier, and certainly as the weeks progressed in the programme, the longer runs were better.. time to get a comfy pace... and because I had built up slowly and steadily, I was one of the few... that reached 5K in nine weeks. Now I have graduated, ( nearly two years now), I can run how I like.. slow, fast, steady, in bursts, tried loads of things, Strides, intervals, speed runs... I can run a speedy 3K or a long and slow 10K...

You are doing absolutely wonderfully..and you are overcoming the block of your 'worst thing'.. but, why not shake it up a bit and have fun en route...

" A journey, not a battle.. find joy in that journey !"

Just my thoughts

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you so much for your insights. Maybe as my respiratory fitness grows, I'll enjoy my runs more. This last one took everything I had though. I don't necessarily enjoy the runs, but I do love having run. 😁

[CookieM Graduate]

You may have thought you couldn't do it, but you did, so well done! I sometimes have to focus on my breathing when I'm running, otherwise I have to stop in order to control it! But other times, it now jst happens without me thinking about it 😊

Maybe try and enjoy the running a bit more rather than thinking you have to be out there? Find somewhere where it is nice to run and look around you a bit - I love being nosey about the plants in people's gardens as I run past (And about whose gardens are looking more unkempt than mine!!).

As Oldfloss says - it's a journey, not a battle!!

[ju-ju- Graduate]

brilliant, well done! Listening to the rhythm of your breathing is always fun on a run, I sound like a tractor!!!

[Maddee_6333 Graduate]

Very zen. Sounds a bit like me when I swim.