Week 8 - a difficult battle

After the elation of week 7 i have really struggled with week 8. I don't know why. It has just been so very, very hard. Usually on run day i am up straight away at 6 am and out the door looking forward to the challenge. This week has been very different as ive struggled to get the motivation to get up and out.

The first 5 minutes or so of every run i find the most challenging but this week, even more so. As soon as i started my heartbeats were out of control at 160 bpm and it was taking a good 15 minutes to get back in control. I had a million excuses on my shoulder to stop and walk home but eventually completed the runs. I have never been so pleased to hear Laura tell me it was time to stop.

Run 3 however was different. Although still lacking the real desire to go out and do it i got up half hour earlier to make sure i missed the sunshine. I also started off very very slowly and kept my heartbeats in check. After around 10 minutes, still able to breathe comfortably i at last began to enjoy it again. As time went by i managed to increase my pace with my heart rate registering a steady 130. This time i found that as Laura told me to stop i felt i still had some in the tank if i needed it. I guess i am fortunate in that i have ended the week well after two horrendous runs and so can prepare for my final week of the programme.

Without doubt this has been my most challenging week.

But, looking back, i wouldnt believe anyone who said that in 8 weeks i would be running for 28 minutes. Holey Moley. Thinking about it that is quite a long time.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Well done for battling through.

Use Run 3 as your template for the rest of your running - start slowly! And if you trust your heart rate measurement then 130 bpm is a good guide of where you should be.

[Hidden in reply to John_W]

Thank you John. Very good advice indeed. Looking back I guess that fir the first two runs even though I thought I was going slow I clearly wasn't as my bpm would indicate. Felt much better when I done a forced slow start and then gradually eased to a slightly faster rate later on.

[johnm12 Graduate in reply to John_W]

Looking good John. Usual attack of the Gremlins but the little sods do go away. Not sure how you are doing your HR measurement but ( I use a Garmin) and sometimes it needs bit of moving around/watch strap tightening/releasing to get it meaningful. Often for the first km or so I just run on how I am feeling and then it settles down. Important in general to start off slow as this allows your body to warm up. You are doing great though. I know its amazing when you think " who me run for 28 mins?" Its a great habit to develop and you are nearly there with your first goal. Take careJohn

[Yesletsgo Graduate]

Well done! I'll be doing Wk8 run 3 in a day or two. I found run 1 incredibly hard work but IannodaTruffe suggested saying out loud words to the effect of 'I can say this sentence to the end while I'm running' every so often to check that I wasn't overdoing it. I tried it for run 2 and it made the world of difference! I wish I did it before, I felt so fantastic once the run finished even though it was very warm outside and I'm sure it was down to pacing myself better. Onwards and upwards!

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Well done 👍And I think you hit the nail on the head when you said this time you started off really slowly.

It's surprising what a difference that will make to your run .

Not long now to graduation 😁👍