What went wrong?

[TurbulentIndigo]

Well, got to week 9 and did 2 x 30 minute runs. Then 3 days later, could not do it - had to revert to walking after 15 minutes. Today managed 20 minutes then had to walk for 5 minutes, then ran for another 10. I know half the battle (for me at least) is psychological but I can’t understand why I managed to do it twice and then couldn’t. I’m running on a treadmill at the gym so it’s not weather conditions. Has this happened to anyone else?

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Happened to me a couple of months back... I’ve been running for 15 months. 5 mile run, managed 4... nothing left in the tank. I’d run further before too. Could be one of many reasons.

Hydration, coming down with something, pacing a little too fast, stress, nutrition, etc.

I didn’t find a reason with mine... just put it down to a bad hair day. Sometimes we get a tough run... sometimes we don’t fully complete them. It’s the starting that counts... each run we do makes us a fitter, stronger and better runner.

The timing of this for you is obviously unfortunate, but there’s no need to panic. Take the rest day, and start the next one deliberately slower than usual then ease into your happy pace.

[TurbulentIndigo in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thank you for this. Really helpful, and I’ll take your advice. 😁

[damienair Graduate]

Excellent advice above. I went out earlier to do a 7K run. I was exhausted after 4K and just wanted to give up and go home. I stopped and stretched, walked about and then when I had my breath back I resumed my running and ran the last 3K. I still did 7K. It’s Important to realise that you can run 5K and have it broken up into 5K intervals with a little break in between. It’s still 5K. Psychological. I did 5K intervals split into 5 x 1K segments ran at a faster pace than my normal pace and I managed knock minutes off my parkrun finish times. Just keep going, it gets easier.

Damien

[TurbulentIndigo in reply to damienair]

Many thanks for this encouragement.

[ButtercupKid Graduate]

Hey, think about what you were like in week 1 - you’re doing brilliantly ! Sometimes the body just needs a little time to adjust, and building up that run step by step is exactly the right thing to do and great for your stamina. I also crashed in the last couple of weeks, partly because I’m prone to depression and was struck by the Black Dog, but also because I was anxious about finishing the programme. I’m a long way from a Parkrun and I knew I was going to struggle without the structure. As it turned out, the end of this programme is just the beginning, and IannodaTruffe will send you a brilliant post all about that as soon as you graduate. So relax, enjoy, and have fun graduating. We’re all right here cheering you on x

[TurbulentIndigo in reply to ButtercupKid]

Thank you so much!

[ButtercupKid Graduate in reply to TurbulentIndigo]

All the best with it x

[Matt12345]

A key part of being a runner is to listen to your body and when it says NO, it is usually just saying "I'm not up for this today". Listen and take note. Unless you have an underlying illness or injury you will probably never know why it happened. Has happened to me a few times. Could be diet, fatigue, stress, menstrual cycle, or a million other reasons. Try not to analyse it too much and let it get inside your head and just get back on the horse (or treadmill!). Very well done on week 9 by the way 👍👏.

[TurbulentIndigo in reply to Matt12345]

Thank you Matt and everyone else who’s taken the trouble to comment. It’s very helpful (I’m new to all this) and I really appreciate it. Remembering that I couldn’t do all the runs in week 1 at the start does remind me I must have built up some stamina!