Mixed emotions

[K311y33]

Graduation run tomorrow! Wow thats come round quick! My app finished on week 8 and week 9 was just one run at 5k. So ive pushed for 5k on last 2 runs , im slow so my times were 43 and yesterday 42. Im happy with that for now. I cant control my breathing tho , but its not in a way that u would feel like if you were sprinting tho (if that makes sense) its not because of effort. It starts almost straight away , i cant get enough air , feels like my lungs are only filling from half way up and being comprosed. Doesnt make for an enjoyable run! Panick sets in and breathing gets worse. However im still managing to run through it , maybe just anxiety so gonna persevere. Mixed emotions come from yeah ive done it! Whoop but also ohh ive done it now 😐 , not ready for bridge to 10k just yet so i will just run for the fun of it but i like the feeling of working towards something

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate]

Fantastic...you should be soooo proud of yourself, running for fun sounds like a good plan too. I would def persevere with your breathing, you'll prob go out one day & not even realise that you're not struggling anymore!! Enjoy the many miles of running you do x

[Runningraspberrydiva Graduate]

I understand about the mixed emotions, I graduated today but because the run didn't go well (didn't have my lucky pants on) that it almost an anticlimax, whereas R2 was amazing, pushing on to complete 5K!!! No run is the same!!

Good luck with your graduation run 🎉🎉 & I hope you sort your breathing out.x

[Irish-John Graduate in reply to Runningraspberrydiva]

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATE!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Slow and steady.... it is all there... and all waiting.. this is a great first journey... savour it and enjoy and then be ready to move on!

[K311y33 Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you oldfloss!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Well done.

Just look where you have come in just a few weeks.

I don't know any other way to look at it........if you can't breathe easily, you are running too fast. Slow down and you will enjoy your running much more, with no panic.

As the weeks pass, you will be able to push a bit more. Without an adequate oxygen supply you will tire quicker. My breathing pattern is that on about every third or fourth exhalation, I really blow out everything from my lungs. This means that there is never stale air in my lungs. It is just the system that I evolved, after failing completely to manage to follow the breathing advice on the C25K podcasts. It works for me.

[K311y33 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thank you , ive tried different technics that ive googled and advice from people i know who run , think its just a case of finding your own thing , like you have , it just really ruined my last run so im apprehensive about tomorrow , its never been that bad before , but i ran stupidly early and think breathing the cold air didnt help. Fresh day tomorrow and grad run so ive got to be happy for that!

[K311y33 Graduate]

Thank you ladies! And congrats to you runningrasberrydiva!! Im sure your next run will be a good one , like you say every run is different. I gave up smoking in december and started vaping , i dont think that its helping with my chest when im running , so think its time to ditch the vape aswell! x

[MuddyJane]

This is amazing, well done and thanks for sharing with those of us a bit behind you.

Why don't you get a doc to confirm that breathing is definitely nothing medical because it'll prob help you overcome it.

If you are suffering from Anxiety I'd definitely recommend a TED Talk from Amy Cuddy. You'll find it somewhere on youtube.

Keep up the great work and start to enjoy your new status as 'graduate runner'. 🤗

[Razouski]

Well done, and just because you graduate doesn't;t mean you have to move on to Bridge to 10k. It's wise to first of all consolidate your 5K running. I used Week 9 podcasts for several weeks after I'd finished just to get really confident with what I was doing and find my rhythm. The 5K+ podcasts are a great way of getting some variety into your running diet, with Stepping Stone, Speed and Stamina. I also tried finding different routes to run to keep me interested, and trying running with different music on my iPhone (fromClassical, musical theatre, 80s, Rock etc).

Using walkjogrun.net and the mapping part of mapmyrun enabled me to map out new routes by distance as well as find routes that other people have run in my area and a little further afield. You might also want to try a route that has more hills (I hate them but have a few in one or two of my routes).

It was only once I had really consolidated that I then moved on to the Bridge to 10k.

The other thing you might do is sign up for your local Parkrun.

[rolysmate Graduate]

well get through your run tomorrow have your moment of glory on the podium and then spend a few weeks consolidating your ability at running 5k

[Irish-John Graduate]

I have two kinds of Asthma so know that feeling of short on breath.

Running has vastly helped, I haven't needed an inhaler in what seems like forever.

When I run and my breathing starts getting out of whack I envision the air as fuel, my windpipe as the delivery tube to the "engine" that is the rest of my body - and I focus on adjusting my breathing to my running instead of what is usually advised "take however many steps per breath" or "you should be able to run at a pace that allows you to converse" and so forth.

See - when I'm running I have little to no idea of how "fast" I am going, but I sure as heck know when my breathing either speeds up and gets raggedy, or is slowing down and getting shallower.

It's then just a question of getting it in the middle - and in the meantime you just let that "one foot in front of the other" business adjust pretty much automatically

Wishing you a really happy Graduation run