Change of mind set... and first 5K!

[Valerunner]

Good morning all! I graduated a few weeks ago and have been keeping up the runs. However, I started to get a bit too bothered by the numbers, looking at if my speed was increasing etc. It did take some of the enjoyment away I must say. I wasn’t obsessed by increased speed etc, and still liked to get out and run, but today, I left the phone at home ( I did have Apple Watch, just to keep track of time) and off I went. I’d already decided I would simply run for 30 mins at a nice slow steady pace. Well, what an enjoyable run it was! I settled into a lovely slow pace, I was listening to the birds singing, said hello to the sheep and asked how they were ( my way of checking the full sentence rule!) ran down the canal looking at the swans and coots and simply enjoyed being out! I’ve done a couple of 36 min runs in the last few weeks, so as I was feeling so good, decided to carry on as I knew I could go beyond 30 mins. I’m lucky enough to live in the countryside, with some great routes for walking and running. I knew if I turned right at the canal it would take me back towards home, but I had no idea how long it was as the canal meanders quite a bit! After 36 mins, my watch told me I had done 4K, and I could see my village, so as I was feeling so good, I just carried on. As I got to my front door I had done 5.09 km, and it was by far the most enjoyable run by far! Total time was 44 mins, so made sure I warmed down properly! This is a long winded way of saying that from now on, the joy of running is what will motivate me! So if anyone else is getting a bit obsessed with pace distance etc ( which, as we are human, it’s all too easy to do, as we want to see improvements or whatever) then take a step back, and just go out and run because it’s enjoyable and you may be pleasantly surprised at how much you actually love running and we really don’t need to put extra pressure on ourselves as we have all come such a long way from those early days of C25K! Sorry for the long post!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Look at the post preceding yours..........it must be epiphany time.Well done on your unburdening.

Most runners I know who have been running for a while are far less obsessed with stats and figures than the average new runner. Metrics are useful and allow that human desire for comparison to blossom, but while they may give satisfaction with a hard won pb, they add nothing to the enjoyment of our environment and experience.

Run for fun, forget the stats.

[Valerunner Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Yes, I’ve just seen that post lol! And very wise words sir! Run for fun is my new Mantra!

[Jell6 Graduate]

Well done, it took me about 2.5 years to get there. I have now fully embraced the slower more joyful runs🥰🥰🥰🥰

[Valerunner Graduate in reply to Jell6]

And it’s so liberating! I guess, because we progress week on week during the programme, many feel the need to keep on improving, whether it be pace distance etc. For me, I just never wanted running to become a chore and I felt it could if I was constantly putting pressure on myself to ‘improve’ . Back in November, on week 1, if someone said ‘ you’ll be able to run for 44 mins by the end of January, and you’ll love it’ I’d have snapped their hand off! So I’ll keep the ‘ run for fun’ mantra from now on!

And we’ll done you if you’ve been running for 2.5 years!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[Jell6 Graduate in reply to Valerunner]

Its closer to 3, but I only started the slower longer runs round about October, it's been a game changer for me. It's hard enough running in foul weather so constantly trying to hit targets doesn't help. No I just try to get the right gear selected and run!

[Jericho2332 Graduate]

Sometimes a naked run with no targets is just what we need, being out in the countryside really helps too! I'm a towny so not getting much pretty scenery lately unfortunately.

[Valerunner Graduate in reply to Jericho2332]

It most certainly is! And with spring not too far off, hopefully your scenery will get prettier week on week!

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Awesome! sounds like the joy of running has caught you, 😀

[nowster Graduate]

Don't worry about long posts. Mine are short story length. You're spared them nowadays as they're on the Bridge forum. 😉

In the months since my graduation I've had a couple of injuries which have stopped me running and am learning to listen to my body more. The injuries seem to have come after I've pushed for a number on a 5km run.

Although it might seem like I'm obsessed with the figures, I only look at them hours after the run. My write-up forms a post-run analysis. I try to remember as many incidents and feelings I have during the run, and the GPS track etc. help jog my memory.

I'm getting into the longer slow runs and finding I like them more than the shorter faster ones.