CLOSE ENOUGH IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME !

[Bazza1234]

I have never been a perfectionist - I have never been one to strive to do my very best. I am a kind of "middle of the road " kind of man - never at the top but also never at the bottom. But I realise now that most people are not even on the road that I am on - so while I may be a middle of the road kind of man, there aren't many of us on the road. Most are sitting on the couch!

So - for those who are "motivationally challenged" - you don't have to do your very best - just do whatever you feel like you want to do - you will be way ahead of all those who are not even on the road!

For slow runners like me - always walk for 5 minutes before you even think about running - then run till you don't feel like running anymore, walk till you feel like running again, repeat till you feel like stopping. Then find your way home!!

[Irishprincess Graduate]

Well said Bazza!

[ruralfrance Graduate]

Very interesting post, bazza, I get what you’re saying and feel the same. I struggled to graduate and am now struggling to get back up to 30 minutes again. And when I don’t manage more than 10 minutes I feel a sense of the f- word we don’t mention on this excellent forum. It’s important to get out there and exercise. I’m trying not to get so target-orientated that I lose the enjoyment, and the whole point of doing it in the first place.

Good luck, happy running.

[Rowville in reply to ruralfrance]

Great post I graduated back in Sept and since then have struggled with running 3x a week for 30 mins and getting to 5 k. Had problems with periformis and hamstrings but slowly that’s improving. I have this target fixed brain and some days really pleased with my 30 min run but sometimes like yesterday just couldn’t do it had to keep reverting back to walking .. felt rather disappointed but I should just carry on and be pleased to be running 3x a week so your post is very encouraging. One day I will get to 5 k I hope !

Hi Ihad to keep reverting back to walk but didn’t stop till the time was up. I should just be pleased that I’m running for

[ruralfrance Graduate in reply to Rowville]

Quite. Getting out three times a week and exercising for 30-40 minutes is bloody good if you ask me!

[Curlygurly2 Graduate]

That's great advice Bazza, I think a lot of us feel that we have to keep running all the time we're out, walking is a "failure". I do a lot of run/walk - 2 mins running 1 min walking suits me very well. I'm rarely tired at the end of my run, and guess what? I'm actually faster!

Everybody is different it's so important to find what suits YOU!

[LM12 Graduate in reply to Curlygurly2]

Me too. I used to feel like I had to run a full 5K or I was a failure. Now I am trying to increase my distance to a 10K so now I I run five minutes/walk one minute. My pace has actually speeded up doing the run/walk! Do what works best for you!