Oh dear.

[Oddity]

Hiya all

I graduated a couple of weeks ago and felt fantastic. Then I went on holiday. Tried to do 30 minutes yesterday and failed spectacularly 😞. I really want to carry on with this but not sure how to get back into it. Hoping to try again tomorrow but I seem to have lost my mojo. Any suggestions welcome.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Failed? Ok... it’s a dirty word here... but let’s unwrap that word in your post. A couple of weeks ago you graduated... a couple of months before that 30 minutes was, pure and simple, impossible. Your threshold of failure is going up very rapidly... rein it in a little.

Yesterday I “failed” to run 30 minutes too... I have several runs this week and one was 4.25 miles... so obviously that’s the one I wanted to take down first... and off I went... it was too hot... my hydration was very unusually off... at 2 miles I was spent... nothing would get me to 4.25. Luckily, I have a 2 mile run this week too... so I switched them around. That’s how running can be worked, makes no difference in the long term.

My point though is that after 15 months of running I couldn’t run 30 minutes yesterday... you couldn’t either... maybe it should annoy me more than it does you? You know what though? There’s always the next run.

Take the pressure right off... don’t run for a pace... don’t run for a time... just go run... nice and slowly... set an alarm to stop you at 35/40 minutes just in case... relax, run slow, enjoy.

[Oddity in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thanks! I've not got to the stage where I find it easy and enjoyable yet which is difficult. Every run I have done has been a challenge. Guess holiday blues come into it as well. But. I will persevere, two months ago running for a couple of minutes was a challenge...guess I just need to get into the right frame of mind and remember how far I've come. Which when I think about it is amazing.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Oddity]

My long run is always a challenge. I don’t enjoy stepping into the unknown... can I run 6k? 7k? Etc? There’s always a doubt, and that stops it being fun until it’s done... then I can be smug and proud of course.

So far you’ve been constantly progressing... every run has been your long run... yeah, they’re challenging. Challenging isn’t usually also enjoyable. What I do know is you could go run a mile tomorrow well within yourself and that run could then be enjoyed. I get a long run a week... it’s tough... I get a speed run every couple of weeks that I swear at... but then there’s the runs I know I can do, with no pace pressure, so I can relax and enjoy them. Enjoying running doesn’t happen on the plan for lots of people, it didn’t for me, I kinda liked the idea... like fancying a girl from across the bar many years ago... the love like then took a while to grow... and just like the wife and myself, there are bad days... but most are pretty damn good.

Have some nice relaxed dates with running now... C25K is about asking it out... maybe in a few months you’ll be marrying it 🤣

[Oddity in reply to UnfitNoMore]

😂 😂

[backintime Graduate]

I had an enforced week off, came back and couldn't run for 20 mins, the week before stopping I had run 8k, the run after I ran 8.2k. I couldn't find any rhyme or reason. Sometimes it is what it is.

If you need a structure for getting back you could do week 5 run 3, then week 6 run 3, then one from each of weeks 7, 8 and 9. In 5 runs you'll be back to where you left off. My guess is that on one of those runs you'll just feel like carrying on, but giving yourself "permission" to run a little less can take the pressure off until you feel like your mojo has been dusted off

[Oddity in reply to backintime]

Thanks backintime 🙂

[Buddy34 Graduate]

I had 1 week off and it seemed a bit hard getting back out , I now done 3 weeks running and everything's fine again. Keep going 😊

[Oddity in reply to Buddy34]

Thanks Buddy!

[madmother Graduate]

Excellent advice already. Exactly the same happened to me on graduation. Week off on holiday and it all felt so hard when I came back.

I mixed it up. Put Sarah back on -the last run, for her gentle encouragement but sometimes only ran for 20 mins and sometimes to the end. Hearing her voice reminded me that I could and indeed had done it already, sometimes self belief is half the battle.

You can do it, you have done it, but the end goal has gone now. Perhaps set another target but in the meantime, relax and give yourself a break and try to just enjoy being able to get out for a run-which I’m sure you weren’t able to say/do two months ago. X

[Oddity]

Cheers. I knew this was the place to come for support and encouragement. You're all fab x

[Debston Graduate]

Hope you had a fantastic holiday! I always feel a bit flat coming back home after holidays, back to reality. Maybe that's part of it. I am sure the next run will feel easier.