How do I beat the voice in my head that tells me to walk?

[lucie-rapunzel]

Hi everyone *waves*

I've been doing Cto5K for a couple of months, and will do run 1 of week 7 today. I've not always been able to keep to 3 runs a week - I had flu in week 3 and that knocked me back for 10 days or so, so week 3 lasted about 3 weeks and 5 runs in the end! But apart from that, I'm pretty amazed that I've got this far. I've always hated sport, I like walking (especially up mountains) but I certainly don't consider myself fit and know I need to be fitter. Every week has been a challenge and I'm so proud of myself with every run I complete.

So now I'm up to 25 minutes, and I've certainly reached that point that I read about where it becomes more of a mental challenge than a physical one. My problem is definitely the voice in my head that says "ohh, I'm tired, my feet hurt ,what was that twinge, I'm too hot, I'm too cold, I'm thirsty..." etc rather than actually physically struggling! So how do I battle through that?

[Baybeebug Graduate]

I just tell it to 'shut up and point out to myself that I've done x amount already so get on with yourself'!!

I do have arguements in my head all the time!

[lucie-rapunzel Graduate in reply to Baybeebug]

haha! I'm glad it's not just me talking to myself, I do wonder if I am going mad sometimes...

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to Baybeebug]

Exactly the same!

[Flaraflarkin Graduate]

Hi L-R 😊 Well done for getting this far - we are at the same stage Whoop Whoop! I'm also due to do W7R1 today! I also tell my head that I can do this and not to give up! Sometimes in no uncertain terms - like I'm growling at myself 😂 Hence doing my longer runs in a deserted field! Enjoy your run! 🙌

[lucie-rapunzel Graduate in reply to Flaraflarkin]

thank you! And you enjoy too

[DebJogsOn Graduate]

It definitely does become more of a mental battle as the time increases. I found that using markers along the way (the next tree, lamp post, gate whatever) helped by making me focus on that rather than how I was feeling physically. Since graduation I found listening to audio books or radio podcasts helps as I get lost more in that than music (where I'd end up.concentrating on how many songs I'd have to run through before I was done). As consolation it was about Week 8 where once I got past the first 10 minutes I knew I'd be able to keep going and my legs just seemed to work automatically.

Good luck with the remaining runs - you'll be graduating before you know it!

[lucie-rapunzel Graduate in reply to DebJogsOn]

I can't even imagine graduating! I can't quite believe that in week one I thought 90 seconds run was going to be too hard for me.

[DebJogsOn Graduate in reply to lucie-rapunzel]

You'll get there without a doubt.

I graduated in November and have been running 2 or 3 times a week since. I love it but there are still plenty of occasions, especially during the first 10 minutes, when the gremlins make me wonder why on earth I'm putting myself through this. I now tell myself that (barring injury or heart attack) I'm going to run 10 minutes however hard it seems but if I still feel terrible after that then I can stop. Apart from once when my asthma got the better of me I never have and I've always felt better for getting out for a run - though there are mornings when bed definitely seems the better option when I first wake up. 😂

Just keep going - one foot in front of the other. 😊

[Tasha99 Graduate]

I say to myself that I’ve done X minutes and if I start walking it’ll have been for nothing so I just keep going til the end. If I need to slow down I do but for me if I stopped I’d find subsequent runs even harder! It is a mental battle. But once you’ve got to 25 mins, IMO you’ve just about got to 30. You can do 25; you can do 30. 💪🏽

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Have you read "Running like a girl" by Alexandra Heminsley? If not, buy it. - it is fab! My favourite line is 'It turns out that to survive, you just have to keep going' - applies to all the hard times in life just as much as a tough run but getting that mental belief is key. Once you crack it, those gremlins that tell you you need to walk will be easier to beat! Good luck🙂

[Jell6 Graduate]

I always run the extra minutes at the beginning!!!! and then tell myself I've already run this time before.

Works for me😂🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

[KKThomas Graduate in reply to Jell6]

Love that idea

[lucie-rapunzel Graduate in reply to KKThomas]

That’s a great thought!

[KKThomas Graduate]

I just tell myself that I will keep going for another 30 seconds/minute/2 1/2 minutes and then see how I feel. Once I get past half way I tell myself that it's all downhill from here. I also find on the longer runs that telling myself that "it doesn't get any worse that it is now and I am running now so I can keep going" helps. You can do this

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Think of other things, make up names for folk you pass..or the bushes and trees, make up daft rhymes...I run and I ramble afterwards.. great fun

[lucie-rapunzel Graduate]

Well thank you all! I thought about all your advice and I conquered my gremlins to do 25 minutes without stopping at all! I listened to a podcast this time rather than music, which I think was another help as I was concentrating on listening, so my mind didn’t have the opportunity to complain! Week 7 run 1 done.