Ideas for slowing down the pace?

[Sleepyhead55]

I did W4 R2 this morning and it almost broke me. For the first time I really questioned whether I was going to get to the end of the 2nd 5 minute run and when Michael Johnson said that's 2.5 mins going I actually yelped. Anyway, I did it but I had literally nothing left.

When I looked at my pace though, I was going way faster than I thought - especially in the first 2 runs - and I think it's leaving me with nothing in the tank for the later runs. I did 4.46km in the 30 mins, including the warm up/down walks and for my age and level of fitness, that's not sustainable.

I was just able to finish today, but I think if I don't slow down I'm just going to run out of steam next week.

Any tips for making yourself sloooow down?

[Maxi80]

Michael is starting to annoy me:

‘Are you ready...’

‘No Michael, I’m not f——g ready’ 😂

[Sleepyhead55 Graduate in reply to Maxi80]

I know, but see last week when he went Yes! after I completed my run I felt so proud 😊

My husband says Jo Whiley seems to be more generally encouraging, but I feel like Michael is saving up the praise. (He's probably not saving up the praise..)

[mezziejay Graduate]

Do you listen to music ? Maybe slow down your play list a bit?

[Sleepyhead55 Graduate in reply to mezziejay]

I do, and I've been keeping it fairly high tempo to motivate me but that's maybe setting me up to run too fast when I'm feeling good at the beginning. W4 R1 which I felt was a bit better than today, I got Proud Mary at the beginning of my last 5 min and thought that was going to be a killer as it starts so slow, but actually it really helped me slow right down. Good call.

[mezziejay Graduate in reply to Sleepyhead55]

Mr brightside kills my pace I literally can’t breath by the end of it 😂

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done

on your progress.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.

Can you speak aloud, clear, ungasping sentences as you run?.........if not, you are going too fast.

Say this sentence out loud to yourself "Am I going slow enough to enable me to speak this sentence in one breath?" If you cannot, you are going too fast.

Enjoy your journey.

[acountrycabbage Graduate]

Do you have Spotify or similar? Look for playlists by searching for ‘120bpm.’ That’s the ideal tempo for jogging apparently 👍🏼

[Sleepyhead55 Graduate in reply to acountrycabbage]

Thanks - found one on Spotify so I'll give it a go tomorrow 😊

[acountrycabbage Graduate in reply to Sleepyhead55]

Good luck 😃 I used to run to dance music alone but this journey has seen me add loads of disco and cheese to my playlist. Things like, You Can’t Hurry Love, Dancing In The Street, etc. Anything that’s happy ultimately, it somehow makes me feel more relaxed than the ‘serious’ running music, and I can still throw some shapes 💃🏼✨😂