W9R1 in the bag, but hard going

[Harleysfield]

Really struggled with my legs down the side of the Mersey in Liverpool. I’m sure the swirling wind didn’t help. The first 15 mins were okay, but the second 15 were really difficult - very heavy legs and pain on the top of both thighs, which I didn’t get in week 8 - also a slightly slower pace than last week. Not sure what I’ve done differently, other than the effect of the wind. Legs are fine now, just stiff. On a positive I managed 5.2km in 30 mins, but a real mental challenge. Onwards to R2 on Wednesday and still targeting my first parkrun with a target to complete it in less than 30mins on Saturday (just under so I don’t need to keep running past the finishing line). I can then finish C25K in style - it’s probably the only New Years Resolution I’ve kept, and I’m confident it will lead to a long term change in habit - although hard at times I’m definitely addicted!

[Dave58 Graduate]

Awesome run. 5.2 k in 30 mins is quick

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Good chance that you can get a sub 30 minute 5k on Saturday morning's Parkrun which also will be your graduation run, good luck for that. 😊

[davelinks Graduate]

Good going!

You should never try and run through bad pain, if slight, then take an extra rest day, and with that time over that distance you could be just too fast for your legs, in that I mean you haven't developed your running legs yet, It takes years for that, you have to build them up gradually, so would recommend you slow it right down, remember slow is best in this it doesn't matter about speed or distance, and always stretch after your runs, and hydration could be a point with the heavy leg feeling, always make sure you're drinking enough water.

Let us know how you go with any improvement..

[Harleysfield Graduate in reply to davelinks]

Thank you for the advice - I’ll try slowing it down on Thursday, as well as taking note of hydration and stretching, and see how I get on. If there are any niggles with my legs I’ll also take extra rest days. I’ll let you know how I get on.

[Harleysfield Graduate in reply to davelinks]

Much better this morning other than soggy feet from all the puddles I couldn’t avoid. I slowed it down a bit and did just under 5km in my 30 mins - I probably should try to slow down a tad more, but was surprised the 30 mins were up so had more in the tank. Looking forward to my final run (of C25K not running!) on Saturday

[Hidden]

At this point in the process, you need to find a pace that is sustainable for 30 minutes (and beyond), rather than struggling and not enjoying the runs. So I agree with davelinks (who is very experienced and knows his stuff) and slow down a little. You can focus on speeding up again when you are completely comfortable with 30 minutes. Don't forget that this is supposed to be fun

[Harleysfield Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thank you - today definitely wasn’t fun, but some of week 8 was! I’ll see if slowing helps, although I think I need to practice how to run slower - my legs only appear to move at one pace - I have the same problem walking!

[Hidden in reply to Harleysfield]

Learning to run slowly is really important if you want to do long (er) distances; its all about developing stamina