W6r1... rookie errors made (again) 😬

[ktsok]

It was a funny one, this. Week 5 run 3 had loomed so large in the running calendar and was such a triumphant moment (20 minutes running!!!) that I think I lost my focus a bit. I couldn’t even remember what the formula was for this run, had to check it several times (5 run, 3 walk, 8 run, 3 walk, 5 run). So 18 minutes running with breaks, compared to 20 minutes solid running. I have read enough posts on here to know I shouldn’t take this one for granted, but...

Oh god. I went too fast again at the beginning. A combination of (foolishly) choosing Christine and the Queens, (foolishly) thinking about wanting to run faster before I have grown into my runner legs and somehow (wrongly) imagining 5 minutes would be a breeze 🤣

Well. I did the first 1km in a record time of 6:26 (which includes 1:26 of walking), but it didn’t feel very good. When Michael told me I had been running for 2.5 minutes I realised I had messed up (saw afterwards I was going at a sub 5:30 pace) and gradually ran slower and slower until I could walk. There was no way I could have run for longer, so I don’t feel any sense of achievement in that PB.

The good news is I recovered during the 3 minute walk and set off at a much slower pace, but the combination of the fast 5 and running into the toxic 10 meant it was very hard going for the first half of the 8 minutes. It was sheer will power that got me through until I found my legs again and finished the 8 minutes relatively comfortably. The last 5 were ok, if slightly slower than my 20 minute pace. Going out too fast completely sabotages my running rhythm! I knew that already! Doh!

For my cool down walk, I meandered through the gardens where I am lucky enough to live and imagined the statues in the photo saluting our running efforts today.

Then home and I think my eyeballs swivelled 180 degrees in ecstasy as I rolled my achy hips and butt over a tennis ball.

Whilst writing this, I realise I am talking about running for 4 or 5 minute chunks as if they are ok... which they are... what a difference 6 weeks makes!

I hope this is helpful/amusing to some of you out there! Writing these posts and reading yours has become part of my running routine.

Just... keep... running 🙂

[E27M14 Graduate]

Doing this one later today....... thanks for the advice, will be setting out at snail pace! (Not sure I actually can run much faster than a snail anyway 😂)

[ktsok Graduate in reply to E27M14]

If just one person can learn from my mistakes...! Good luck later 🐌 🙃

[Buddy34 Graduate]

You can say what you want on here we all seem to know exactly what your taking about and the good thing is on here people are interested because we've been there where as you start talking to people that are not running and I think they find it boring happy running😊

[ktsok Graduate in reply to Buddy34]

Ah thanks Buddy 😊

[Pianism Graduate]

Thank you for sharing - for one just setting out, posts like yours are incredibly encouraging and warming!

[ktsok Graduate in reply to Pianism]

Thanks Pianism! The weeks just fly by... 🙂

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Well... you fell into the traps of this run... but you ran back out of them with some great mental strength... great job!

After graduation and consolidation you can go kick that 1k PB’s butt by just going for a 1k run sometime... knowing you can give it a lot more speed.

Enjoy run 2!

[ktsok Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thanks UNM. You are right - I shall leave chasing PBs until after graduation & consolidation. I didn’t actually mean to... it’s those shorter run intervals, they seem to lure me into going faster, even when I know there is more running to come. I’m looking forward to 6:3 and proving to myself 5:3 wasn’t a fluke 😆

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to ktsok]

No way it was a fluke... you’ll love that run!