W9-R2: last of the nightmare run two!

[Run_Matty_Run]

It happened again and for the last time on C25K. Run two got inside my head!

I was doing great. My pace was faster, I felt strong and positive, then I hit the tricky incline part of my route, which is the third quarter of my run. A bang, brain goes gibbidge! My paces dropped off, my posture changed and self doubt was rife.

I don’t know how I made it to the end of the 5k, shear stubbornness I guess. But I was shaken by the experience.

I’m now doubting if I can do this? If I’ve hit a glass ceiling, that all I’ll ever achieve is a exhausting ecked out 5k.

Is running really for me?! Ugh! 😔

[motherduckling Graduate]

Sometimes stubbornness is all that gets me through. And sometimes that is enough! We all have bad runs, I know for me it is especially annoying if the start of the run has gone so well. But I find it helps to just remind myself that it literally does not matter how fast or how far I go, it is the getting out there and doing a run that it is all about. And thats what you did! You had a goal and you set out and achieved it! So congrats!!

And remember that sometimes you will also have a great run where everything feels good and you're achieving more than you thought you could!

[carolinestanford Graduate]

You can do this - ignore the gremlins - we all have them - Keep going!

[Roch_uk Graduate]

I only ever finish my runs because I’m stubborn and refuse to give up. I remind myself at week one I couldn’t run for 1 minute and yet I’m now doing 5k!

It’s taken time to sink in for me but speed is not the key. If I try go faster then I find myself having to work harder to convince myself to finish the run. If you’ve got some gas in the tank towards the end, then you can speed up to finish.

Keep completing the runs, speed will come with time just like it did when working through the weeks.

[grumpyoldgirl Graduate]

Wow, first of all congratulations on your second 5k. Second, I think you're being just a teeny bit hard on yourself.

Most people doing c25k don't actually get to 5k as part of the program including me. At the end of week 9 I could run for 30 minutes, but it was short of 5k. So I went out to a parkrun and ran 5k but it took me 38 minutes.

The aim of the program is to build up stamina, get us running for 30 minutes regularly, and some speedy folks will do 5k in that time. You are obviously a speedy person, so I'd advise you forget about how far and fast you are going, just for now. Choose either time or distance for your next target, keep a nice steady pace for the whole run so you can actually enjoy yourself. (You should be slow enough that you could good a conversation.) Do that for two weeks or so. Then start thinking about working on speed or distance. You risk injury if you are pushing both at this stage. Good luck, you're a runner for sure 👏👏

[starcat66]

Have you considered music and curating certain tracks or switching to them for that extra beat boost? Ive found this puts extra spring in my step, plus a volume nudge!