Best piece of running advice ever? There is no such thing as a bad run!

[Gwenllian1]

Haven't posted on here for a while as I am mostly on the Bridge to 10k forum but today I had a dreadful run and it reminded me of all the times when I was a very new runner when I had dreadful runs! Mostly these days (18 months after graduating C25K) it is fine. These days I don't generally get the toxic ten, those awful first ten minutes which used to plague me when I couldn't get my breath and my legs felt heavy as lead and I wondered what on earth I was doing. I will always be slow and I still haven't run 5k in 30 minutes, although I have knocked seven minutes off my first time of 46 minutes. But I ran 10k in March and, rather tentatively and with a lot of surprise because I am 65 and I have never been sporty, I now regard myself as a runner.

So it was a bit of a shock this morning to go out for what was intended to be a comfortable 5k run and find that it was such very hard work. I couldn't settle to it, it never got easy or comfortable, my legs felt so heavy and at no point did it move into that stage where you feel fine. This hasn't happened to me for months and months. And that is what reminded me of "There is no such thing as a bad run". I am not sure who said it on here. It was one of you lovely, supportive more experienced runners. I was having a moan a few months ago about having had a hard run. "Don't think of it as a bad run. You are learning how to be a runner. It is all miles in the legs" some kind person said. And it is so true. I have not been a runner for long but I have now run for long enough to know that a bad run is generally followed by a good one, that carrying on when it is hard is part of what builds mental and physical strength and that every single run is all miles in the legs.

Thinking about today I think I can blame last night's fish and chips and glasses of wine - not ideal run preparation but boy, they were nice! So I just wanted to say to those of you on here who have hard runs, or bad days, as we all do, that it's fine. All runs are good runs, even the ones that don't feel so good at the time. It is all miles in the legs! I am going to have a couple of days off now and the next one will be better. It always works that way! Keep running! Keep smiling!

[Hidden]

This really does resonate with all of us. You are so right! Every time you step out of the door you win; you beat the gremlin and you take a victory. Whatever the outcome will be, it will be. We're always a run away from giving ourselves so much mentally and emotionally. Best wishes 😊

[Gwenllian1 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

That is exactly right. Every time you run, you give yourself something! I’m so glad I found out.

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Lovely to share this on here Gwenllian - yes, this is often quoted on here and so very true -it's all miles in the legs! It's getting through runs like this that help us develop the mental resilience we need too.

In the same way that we sometimes get thrown an unexpected 'tough one', we also get those very special runs where everything comes together. 💕Funny old lovely thing this running! 🙂

[Gwenllian1 Graduate in reply to Sandraj39]

Yes, and the great runs when everything comes together can be even more mysterious than the hard ones. Often they just come out of the blue!

[Ant50 Graduate]

Great advice, I couldn’t agree with you more. Runs are so strange, I’m about 8 months into consolidation and must runs are good, but then for absolutely no reason one will just feel so much harder, but like you say, you just have to push through it. I’ve also experienced the opposite, the other morning I really didn’t want to get up and run and even on my 5min warm up walk I was telling myself I really did t want to run, then without trying I ran PB’s for 1, 3 and 5km’s during that run. I’ve come to realise there sometimes isn’t much logic to running, so just carry on and whatever will be, will be....there will always be another run waiting for you.

[Gwenllian1 Graduate in reply to Ant50]

Ah yes, you have a great example there of the mystery of the great runs! I can usually find something to blame for the hard ones (see fish and chips!) but the good ones don’t fit any sort of pattern.

[Dtay1978 Graduate]

Absolutely I was saying just that very thing to someone a couple of nights ago. The miles don’t just go to your legs either, you gain so much mental strength when you push through the tough runs. Well done for persevering 😊

[Gwenllian1 Graduate in reply to Dtay1978]

Yes, the mental strength is as important as the physical. I’m sure that one of the reasons I’m still running after eighteen months is that I’m just a bit stubborn!

[JeanneMary Graduate]

Wise words. I came home from a struggle the other day saying just those words too - and felt better about myself. We definitely shouldn't beat ourselves up for getting out there and giving it our best.

[Gwenllian1 Graduate in reply to JeanneMary]

You are so right. If you can feel proud of yourself for getting out there rather than for breaking any personal records, it helps when you have a hard run. At least you can tell yourself that you got out there and did it!

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

What makes a good or bad run is expectations on the time you expect to run, last year when I was running parkruns when the results were e mailed to me, practically every week the two letters PB were on the e mail, it ended at the end of the year with a PB for the second time of a sub 31 minutes 5K

This year hasn't been so good, my times at the 3 official Parkruns I have been at before they were cancelled were all between 33.30 at the beginning of February and 33.58 on the 14th March which was the date of the last official Parkrun on the UK.

Since then I have run a "virtual 5K parkrun" every Saturday morning, this morning was my 16th, now there are (not) parkruns which are very good, my times on the same route around the loch nearby to where I live have been from 35.14 to 32.14, this morning I ran a 5K in 34.40.

I enjoyed all those runs but I could say regarding time that the sub 34 times are good, I do average 33, 40 so a so called 'bad' run for me could be a +34 minutes 5K run and a good run sub 34 minutes, however, I enjoy all of them irrespective of the time, only ONCE I have had to stop a run that I had planned to complete, on 3rd January (I always take notes of the dates and times I run) I couldn't complete my 5th 10K and struggled to get to 5K, it was probably to do with all the big meals I had over the New Year, not alcohol, I eventually ran my 5th 10K on Wednesday 13th May in a time of 70.55. So enjoy all your runs and don't worry about the time you run it in. 😊 🏃🏾

[Gwenllian1 Graduate in reply to AlMorr]

Thanks al. It’s funny how different we are isn’t it. I’d be delighted with your time for 5k and I’m sure that, even though I’m quite slow, there will be people who would be pleased with mine!

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate in reply to Gwenllian1]

It's the five minute intervals that please runners, from sub 20 to sub 45 or 50 minutes, for example a runner who can't run sub 20 minutes is envious of a runner who can run a 5K in 19 minutes, a runner who can't run a sub 25 minute 5K is envious of someone who can run a 5K in 24 minutes and so on, the big one is of course 30 minutes, to me that devides the joggers from the runners although we are all runners, nevertheless if you can run a sub 30 minute 5k or a sub 60 minutes 10K you are truly a runner.

I was a spectator at my local 10K last September (cancelled this year) and there were around 300 running, when you are at those running events they have running markers with a large pole and flag at the top for various times on what a runner is expected to complete their run, the running times varied from 45 minutes to 70 minutes, I think also 75 minutes, the thing I noticed were the runners from 45 to 60 minutes all went off at the same time, however, there was at least a 5 minute interval before the 65 to 75 minute runners started their run, so that's what I mean by separating "runners " from "joggers". 😊 🏃🏾

[Hidden in reply to AlMorr]

I aspire to run like you when I'm older 💙

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, I am not too concerned regarding times, its just nice to run over the last two years as it was for me to 🚴 cycle for over 40 years, certainly I did cover distances that only ultra marathon runners could run, I do still ride a bike, but the longest distance I go on my bike is less than a half marathon, 10/11 miles or 17 km is the longest and favorite cycle ride I do, its on quite country roads and I often see runners on them, as I have told you I am running 1K more a week to get to 16K or a little over so I can get the words 10 miles next to my username, I hope to achieve that by the end of the month. 😊 🏃🏾

[Hidden in reply to AlMorr]

This will be so epic and so well deserved. I will be willing you on because 10 miles is a sensational achievement.

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate in reply to Hidden]

👍 🏃🏾 😊