W2R2

[SingerSarah]

Ran in the morning today, for the first time. Very beautiful, mist over the river etc. However, too many people around, walking & cycling to work. Felt too self-conscious & will revert to my 5 pm slot.

Found run very tough again & nearly stopped. Lots of negative, unhelpful thoughts going round my head.

As I did the last 5 minute walk I was overtaken by a woman, similar age & shape & jogging speed to me, but she just ran & ran & ran into the distance. I wondered whether she was a graduate of this program & I hope to run like her one day.

[Couchpotato2 Graduate]

Well done! It was hard but you did it so that is a success

Don’t worry people don’t really see you when you run even if you are wearing bright pink like me. But do what you feel most comfortable with.

There is a saying on this forum that gremlins are slower than snails 🐌 (our running pace). It’s true, don’t listen to them when they start popping up with self doubt. They appear because they are lazy and have been quite happy not doing much for a while so they always try and make you stop, then after a bit they give up. It’s unpleasant but happens to nearly all of us. If you search gremlins on this forum, you’ll see what I mean!

You’ve done the hardest, which is starting this programme. We are all here cheering you on! 🏃‍♀️

[Couchpotato2 Graduate in reply to Couchpotato2]

Oh and in week 1 the main thing that got me through was this forum. People had a stronger belief in me than I had in myself. I also thought of the others that were starting with and thinking we were in it together!

[tadornas Graduate]

Ah, I've been there and had all those thoughts and feelings. Still struggle with self-consciousness from time to time, but it does ease as 'going for a run' starts to feel like more of a normal thing to do - and the rewards are worth it. Just keep plugging away and eventually you'll be the one running off into the distance!

[ktsok Graduate]

Ah, it’s a real pain, that self-consciousness. It got in the way of a beautiful morning for you. I think it’s part of the negative, unhelpful thoughts/gremlins/voices.

I have no idea whether this is a fairytale or science, but I started to think of the ‘voices’ as just chemicals... apparently our bodies release some sort of chemical when we are pushing ourselves, that acts to stop us exerting ourselves - an evolutionary trick to prevent injury and strain. I guess when the sabre-tooth appears the adrenaline kicks in and overrides it! I was told this chemical is released a long time before we need to slow down, so it really can be ignored. I haven’t bothered research the truth of it as it helped me!

There were lots of other mind games/tricks I played to help me through those earlier weeks, but my lightbulb moment was in week 8, when I slowed down (a lot), committed to concentrating on keeping my heart rate low and let go of thoughts about speed and what (I imagined) people might think. I realised I was enjoying myself, I could breathe easily, and... I just ran and ran and ran into the distance. That was unimaginable when I started this.

I imagine that woman you describe of a similar age and shape would be absolutely thrilled to hear that you wanted to run like her one day. Wouldn’t it be something if someone else were to look at you, a few short weeks from now, and wish they could run like you?

Slow down, breathe, let go... you are doing brilliantly 🙂

[misswobble Graduate]

Don’t worry about other folk just enjoy your sessions How can you expect to run like a pro when you’ve just started 🤷‍♀️ Cut yourself some slack. Run slow. Slow is the way to crack this thing! 💪👍😃🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Have fun! It’s great to be out, one foot in front of the other, moving forward, getting fitter, burning calories 💪