Help me get back on track.

I can't run properly. This is my 3rd run since graduation. Number 1was fine. Number 2, I gave up after only 17mins. I've just come back from run number 3 which I gave up after 12mins. 😢 my legs just don't want to do it.

The runs are a bit different, I'm running in the morning, not the evening. My warm up is 10mins and up a big flight of steps and a short but very steep hill. (there is a reason for this).

So... I'm having a week off, visiting my daughter in Berlin. Then... As I know mummycav had a bit of a tough patch after graduation and is back on track, I'm going to copy her and download the C25K+ podcast. But which one would be best?

Wow! I realise, that just writing this post has helped me think through what's going on. That's magic! I'd still like to know which podcast though, please.

[siobhp Graduate]

Hello, I'm afraid I don't have any advice as I'm just about to start week 8, but my warm up walk sounds identical to yours and I've often wondered if it's a good or a bad thing. By the time I get to the top of the steps my legs are burning and I'm half dead already! Not sure if this sets us up for a good run or is not the best way to start?!

But I do love Laura on the podcast, she has a way of making you believe you can do it no matter how bad you feel. Even her strange taste in music seems to somehow get you going!

[Anniemurph Graduate]

Hi Nora, first of all, congratulations on graduating! Next, don't worry, many of us felt a bit lost after graduation. It's almost as though we expect to be able to run like an expert because we have just graduated. You are still relatively new to running, so take it easy and consolidate. I'm glad that writing your post helped you realise what's going on. You're away from your normal routine so nothing seems to be working quite as it normally does. So - take the opportunity for some running tourism (fab!) and then either stick with the 30 minute runs for a little, perhaps varying your route, or as you suggest, try the C25K+ podcasts. Either stepping stones or Stamina are a good start. They might push you slightly, but if you can't do them to start with, it just gives you something to aim at, just like C25K. And five years after graduation, I still use them, they are great. Speed is a different beast - very good, but hard! Short and sharp, very useful if you don't have much time, but you might need to keep coming back to this one.

So don't panic, you can do this, just take your time. Happy running

[Hidden in reply to Anniemurph]

Thanks Anne, I think, I'm just not going to worry about it as you say, but I am going to use the podcasts when I get back.