I’m just starting out, not majorly fit but as a busy mum I’m never still. I’m 53 (yikes - can hardly believe that myself - I’m sure I should be writing a 4 and not a 5 there 😩) and wondered if you experts could give me a bit of advice please......
I’m just completed week four and the problem I’m coming across is trying to train my brain. I set off ok but then I’m forever thinking, I need to stop, I Carnt carry on and other such negative thoughts. I try and let my mind wander and it does for a moment or two but then it’s back ‘I need to stop , I Carnt do this ‘ etc I have managed to push my way through these last few weeks but the thought of the 20 Minute run coming up fills me with dread 😢
The question I’m asking is how do you stop yourself thinking about what you are doing every second and just think nice things? I have music playing.
It just seems a mental battle.
Thank you in advance everyone x
Written by
summerhouse1
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Be ready with your own mantra ( 'I can do this', 'one foot in front of the other', or 'believe') or my old fave used to be planning my successful 🙂 run post on here!
I graduated three years ago now and sometimes I still like to think of my favourite line from 'Running Like a Girl' by Alexandra Heminsley - 'It turns out that to survive, you just have to keep going'.
You have chosen a fab programme that really does change lives. Taming the gremlins is all part of the journey but you will beat them. Believe in the programme and believe in you.🙂
I too was terrified of the 20 minute run, but it was fine. I realised that if I thought I couldn’t then I wouldn’t - but that if I thought I could, I would. The first few weeks are all about learning to run - and then somewhere about the midway point you realise that actually it’s a mental challenge just as much as a physical one. This is my thinking- but I’m by no means an expert and haven’t even graduated yet. Tell yourself you can and you will. Podcasts are a great way to stop the thoughts - listening to someone interesting talk - I like Women’s Hour 😂
I graduated in August still running 3 times a week, I found concentrating on the breathing distracts my mind long enough to lose the wanting to stop urges which I still sometimes get , trying to do the belly breathing and get a rhythm that suits me which is still a WIP
I have only had 2 failed runs, both post grad after a initial panic on the first one, I walked collected my thoughts and turned it in to a interval run and did the planned distance, good luck and happy running, don’t look to far into the programme just the next run, it works, you will be well prepared for the longer runs when they come
You could do a Paula Radcliffe and count your way through it. I have done that, particularly up to Week 5. I know that 160 steps is roughly a minute for me, so I just count multiple 160s. Your brain is so busy working out the maths that you forget about the mental doubts. Once you get to 10 minute runs and longer the counting gets really confusing, and your brain gets so flummoxed that it couldn't give a toss about your uncertainties. It is a similar technique to tennis players who grunt/scream as they hit the ball. The brain is so taken over by the effort of the 'scream' that it cannot worry about "is my arm in the right position" "am I following through properly" and all those technical doubts they have.
Ideas pinched from a book "The Inner Game of Golf" by Tim Gallwey. The brain can only cope with one thing at a time so fill it with a complex almost meaningless task and the body is then free to get on with doing what it does automatically and naturally.
Hi, I am not expert at all but here my two cents. What usually works for me is to look around, pay attention to every little detail I pass by: the purple color of the leaves, shape of clouds, weird outfits, step of fellow passing by runners, the changing colors of the sky, that bike trying to run me over 🏃🏽♀️🚴♀️ (that also helps survive the run in a very literal way!). And silly as it may sound, I try to keep a smiling face (beetrooty smiling face 🤣) hoping that the gremlins in my head will get confused and silent!
Hi there, well done for completing week 4. That in itself is a fantastic achievement. You are already a runner!
I’m also no expert, but I have now been on this running rollercoaster for over a year, and I was forever wanting to stop, in particular towards the end of the programme. I still get the urge to stop on most runs to be honest. I solve in a couple of different ways:
1. Mind over matter. Sometimes you just have to reason with yourself. I’m 30 seconds into a 16 minute run, I can’t possibly need to stop.
2. You’ll have heard this before, but slow down. If it’s feeling too hard even if it actually isn’t, sometimes you just need to make a change. Slow down for a minute or two, that might just do the trick.
3. Try distraction, turn the music up, change the track, try and count lampposts or something.
I count up 1 every 8th step, but tell myself it's a second. You'd be amazed how far i can go in a minute 😁. Advantage of counting in a multiple of 4 is that your brain already knows it from pretty much all music, so it helps me fall into an easier rhythm most times.
It's actually no big deal if you do stop, walk a bit and then go again. Be relaxed about it, try it and do the time for each run and count them as done and move on. An American Olympic athlete, Jeff Galloway actually recommends taking regular walk breaks because it gives your body time to recover so you're less likely to injure yourself. Also, many intermediate runners run 'intervals' which is mixing up walking/slow jog/fast runs to build cardiovascular capacity. So bottom line is it do your best and accept it as such and if you keep doing your best you'll improve dramatically. It's just a phase you're passing through! Good luck!
The most crucial thing is to be relaxed.......... you sound tense.
This post, which is linked to from the above guide, may be the most pertinent advice I can offer healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
You could also try a running commentary of your run......describing to yourself your environment, what you can see, hear, smell and feel, in full sentences.........it worked for me.
I always run outside and I know my routes from when I used to run, but there are 2 killer hills which always get me ( funny they hardly seem like hills when I'm driving🤔) but what I have always done is 'talk myself to the next marker', which might be a telegraph pole a tree a farm gate etc. Once I get there, I look ahead to the next marker and so it goes on. On the treadmill, use the timer in the same way, so 'just 1 more minute', then 'just one more minute' . Works for me.
Well done. You’ve recognised this for what it is... a mental battle.
You’re a mum, and like all mums you taught your kid(s) to walk right? Who taught them to run? Nobody, that’s who... they already knew, it’s the most natural thing they ever did. Of course as adults who never ran, or didn’t for a lot of years, we forgot how. Week one and two almost certainly made you regain that knowledge... the physical side is dealt with by the plan, your body is always ready for the next run.
As a small child, running yourself until the point of exhaustion, that’s something you just do, why not? As an adult, that’s scary you have things to do, responsibilities, and things that if you don’t do will only be bigger the next day (washing, ironing etc). This opens the path to thinking about running... and after thinking comes doubt.
Doubt will hit you every which way:
“You never see anything through so you may as well just quit now”
“You’re too slow”
“That runner that just passed you is laughing”
“You’re not strong enough”
“You can’t do it”
Breaking news: Doubt is a lair. You don’t have to quit... slow is the way to fast... that runner is remembering their early runs... you’re stronger than even you know... and YOU CAN DO IT.
Next run, listen to doubt... answer it back out loud, tell it you can, tell it you will.
Doubt never competed anything, doubt doesn’t have what it takes... doubt needs its ass kicking, it’s not your friend.
Think negative and you won’t... think positive and nothing is impossible.
Yess you will. Every day we will cheer you on... we will run with you... we will lend you a shoulder to cry on. What will make the difference is just one thing... a refusal to quit. Keep trying and you’ll be your own victory.
Thank you everyone who has replied ❤️ it is so comforting to know you are all there and have been through similar situations - your words of wisdom mean such a lot.
I have read them all and taken on board all your tips and advice. I’m sure going to give it my best shot and try and chill a bit and ‘think positive’
I love my running but my block comes around 5 minutes into every single run and I still think I’m going to have to stop (I never have). Now I just tell it to “do one” and push on, once through the barrier I end up loving the rest of my run. Needless to say the little bugger keeps coming back but I just kick him into touch! Good luck in your journey 😊
Hi summerhouse1 👋 I’m a similar age to you and completed the programme during the summer. The advice I was given helped loads - to take each run super super slowly, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and listen to a killer playlist or podcast. Something to immerse yourself in.
All those things worked wonders, and my running and breathing clicked. I’m currently working towards running 10k😀
Hopefully you’ll find a lovely rhythm when the runs get a bit longer. Stick with it, and you definitely won’t regret doing this fabulous programme! 👍🏃♀️😀
It’s amazing how everyone’s words have helped - I am going to use them all as my inspiration and when I’m flagging think of them to get that kick to carry on 💪🏃♀️x
I am a few years older than you, graduated August, and still running 3 times a week. The first 5/10 minutes of a run are the worst, I went out today and honestly thought it was going to be my first abandoned run. I was just horrified at myself, hunkered down and ended up with a PB!
Sometimes music just doesn’t cut it for me, and today I switched to a podcast, concentrating on voices, particularly conversation seems to stop the voices in the head! I listen to Free Weekly Timed, which is a podcast about running C25K!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Graduation Day!! 
Newbie!
Good morning 😃 wk5 Run 🏃🏿 3
Not feeling it today 😩
W5r3 so happy!!!
