Hi all. This is my first post. I just completed week5 run 3 and feel fantastic. I have various health conditions that made me think I couldn't run but attempting to keep up with my 4 and 5 year old on their bikes made me realise I needed to sort my running fitness out.
I do a home workout for 30 minutes everyday which is a combination of strength and cardio training.
I have a couple of questions:
1) rest days. I am a single parent and attempting to work full time with the kids home as well. The only opportunity I get to do the app runs is the 3 days they are with their Dad (they go sunday lunch until Tuesday afternoon) which means I can't take a rest day. I also end up running on the other days as the kids go out on their bikes and I have to keep up with the dog.
2) running with dogs. I take my Jack Russell x poodle with me as I run which he LOVES and I have a running lead but during the warm up walk we are not covering much ground as he makes toilet stops. Does anyone have any tips? Also any tips as the run length increases to help him keep up. He only has little legs!
3) pace. My Garmin app is giving my average pace *including the 5 min walk and cool down* as around 8 min/km (running speed is just below 7 min/km) I have NO idea if this is a good speed to be aiming at? Should I be aiming to increase my speed?
4) hills. All the routes I can run include lots of hills. Is this a problem. I am just including them in my runs but I either have to do mega steep but short hills or long gentle incline hills. They seem to make my legs tire quicker and I feel a bit of a failure.
Any input would help. I am so proud with how far I've come and want to continue.
Written by
Serenity_runner
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Welcome and well done so far, with special congratulations on achieving 20 minutes of running. Let’s have a look at your questions:
1). Rest days are when our muscles heal and strengthen and so in the first couple of years are important... for the first six (at least) months we should avoid running on consecutive days as this can lead to an injury. So, Sunday and Tuesday are obviously ideal run days... the other could be done while the kids were with you with a little thinking outside the box. One way would be to have them playing where you could run around them without them being out of site ever, or if they’d be willing to “coach mum” maybe they can ride with you?
2) I’ve been doing some runs with our puppies, but find a place where we can have them off lead. Generally I keep them on the lead until they’ve done anything that needs bagging... and then toilet stops aren’t an issue. Only when the bags are binned do I start my warmup. If this isn’t really possible, some dynamic stretches are going to be good for keeping your warmup going.
3) pace for this plan isn’t about numbers... so don’t worry about them. You need to be running at a pace where you can talk in full sentences without gasping for air (conversational pace) for the best fitness rise and muscle development. If the kids rode with you running this may be very easy to check!
4) hills are generally hard work... I avoided them while running the plan, but if you can’t run on the flat, then you’re gonna have to take them on! Shorten your stride as you get to the bottom and use your arms to help power you up. youtube.com/watch?v=FcBlGb0...
Have a read of the guide to the plan healthunlocked.com/couchto5... which will give you more detail on the above and answer many other questions in advance.
You can do this... enjoy the rest of your journey, and come tell us how it’s going often.
Thank you for such a detailed reply. I will have to have a look and a think. My eldest could manage running or cycling with me but my youngest tends to stop a fair amount and needs pushing up hills still etc. I couldn't run for the 'set periods' with her (she is only 4 - she can cycle for 10km but needs fairly regular stops). I've also been enjoying the runs as solo time with music on - not something I could do whilst herding cats (how it feels taking the smalls out)
Hills unfortunately are totally unavoidable. At a minimum its downhill to the trails where I run and uphill home but living in Derbyshire the running is hilly!
I'd been thinking about waiting until he's done then starting my warm up. He's pretty good at 'getting bagging stops' out the way early on and we are off road but I've tended to keep him on the lead so I dont have to stop if there are people etc and he needs to go back on lead. He is very good and ignores other dogs but that's not always the same in reverse.
I tend to sing along (silently) to my music to check my pace and am able to with relative ease so feel I'll stick with that pace. Thank you again you've been amazing!
I’m in Derbyshire too... and yeah, flat isn’t too common! Football pitches were one of my favourite places when I started.
Hear you on the other dogs thing... mine tend to need lots of coaxing to stay with me, but also have the fear of me running off so if they do stop it’s usually short... have had the odd double back and stop though. They don’t come with me on any runs over 20 minutes which helps.
While it’s not the plan... maybe you could do two plan runs a week (which would get you through well enough) and repeat an interval run like week 5 run 1 when with the young one? That run while not ticking another run off the plan would have your fitness rising nicely, and so would contribute to your journey still.
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