A short run

[MissUnderstanding]

It’s been a busy day and I’ve been itching to get out, tired and short of time all at once. A spare half an hour became available. Was it long enough to do anything worth doing? Was a run/walk too short to bother with? I decided to go anyway and I was glad I did. Cobwebs blown away, endorphins up and one short run to add to the diary that I wouldn’t have otherwise done.

I picked a route that channelled Old King Cole: straight up a hill and back down. I decided to warm up by marching up the hill and then run back down again. Fifteen minutes up, ten minutes down and a five minute walk and stretch to finish. It felt great. I’m going to try more runs like this when I’m struggling a bit to fit things in. I think over the winter, prioritising going for short, regular runs to keep my legs going will be better for me than waiting until I’ve got time to go for a “proper” run. What is a “proper” run anyway? There’s no minimum requirement for it to count as good for you!

I couldn’t decide if this was even worth of posting about because it really wasn’t anything special. Only a short one. Not even a c25k run in length! I used to think real runners went for long runs all the time and if you think that, it’s definitely it’s not true for all of us!

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

It was worth posting about that run you had today MissUnderstanding, you got outside and enjoyed the walk up that hill and a gentle run back down, well done, a proper run can be short as well as a long run, my shortest runs are around 3K, what I call a maintenance run which is around equal to run 3 of week 5 of C25K, around 20 minutes, I often do that on a Saturday morning when I don't go to parkrun, so your 25 minutes today was like run 3 of week 6 and 7 of C25K, I hope it did you the world of good. 😊

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to AlMorr]

Thanks Al! It was more of a speed walk (without the funny gait you get in proper speed walk races!) up and a run down but it definitely did me the world of good. I think as I’ve run more, I’ve lost a lot of the steps I used to do walking and I’ve realised how much I miss a good walk. I felt absolutely great afterwards. Today is a rest day so I’m going for another walk. Tim’s run tomorrow and I want to make that a good one.

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Good luck for tomorrow's Tim Run MissUnderstanding, no parkrun for me today as I intend to run my first full Half Marathon tomorrow at 8am as Tim's Run.

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to AlMorr]

Pom poms are ready…

[Annieapple Graduate]

It’s encouraging to read about the normal runs … the bread & butter runs that keep us motivated, keep us fit & enable us to run the next longer or more challenging route. Blowing away the cobwebs & starting the day positively is always a winner in my book! Be encouraged as you you encourage us all the time.

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Annieapple]

Thanks Annie! I always find your posts encouraging too! I’ve realised I normally post about the longer, faster or more interesting runs rather than the standard every (other) day ones! I’m surprised how a short little run was such a mood booster. Definitely to be repeated!

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Great !Nothing wrong with Maintenance runs !

They keep the legs ticking over 😁👍

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Instructor57]

Thanks! Here’s to a lot of ticking over the winter!

[Oldlady64 Graduate]

Well done! Running up a big hill and then down again is demanding so you’ve fit. Lot into a short amount of time 👏

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Oldlady64]

Thanks! It was more of a speed walk to the top of the hill but it was plenty to get heart pumping! I’d got it into my head that I should be starting runs five minutes after leaving the house but I’m definitely going to be taking a longer warm up if it gets me to a nicer place to kick off. It felt so great to have done something active!

[MrsLydiaWickham Graduate]

Love this. "What is a proper run anyway?" Brilliant. 😊

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to MrsLydiaWickham]

I wonder if c25k makes some of us (definitely me!) think that a real run has to be thirty minutes non stop to count because that’s the goal of the programme. Any run is a good run! Short and sweet is all good!

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Of course it's worth posting, worth running and worth being chuffed you did it. Hey and you gave Old King Cole a run for his money. All runs are runs and make us feel better so well done on getting out for yours

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thanks for the encouraging post (as ever!). Still feeling pleased with myself!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

You ran... and if you had only run to the end of the garden...it is a run and every one counts and is worth celebrating. I am running no more than 3 to 5 K right now, and mostly 3K...

You are coming back gently from a rough time...and time? Well you know what we are talking about on Catch Up Corner right now, don't you

You are doing exactly what is the right thing ... running when you are able and running the run that fits into the time you have. Perfect.

I think your run is really very, very worth posting... it confirms that we .sometimes do have to accept the limitations that life puts on us, but we do not despair... we find a little door and we run through it... even if it is just to see what is on the other side!

HUGE well done to you ! x

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Oldfloss]

Thanks OldFloss-I had your lovely catch up corner post in mind when I was debating whether to go out or not. Super glad I did! Hopefully we can all keep each other going over the winter in whatever way that works for each of us.

[Pegix Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

What is Catch up Corner?

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Pegix]

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Catch up corner is a weekly post where people can update on how their week has been going. Oldfloss does a super job of sharing musings about all sorts of things related to running that I always find encouraging and thought provoking. You’d be most welcome so go pull up a cushion!

[Pugwash Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Well said Oldfloss, and well done @MissUnderstanding! I've changed my mindset radically on this after someone on here pointed out that to have even got off of the metaphorical couch and stepped outside in your running gear, you're already in a vanishingly small percentage of people, so anything after that, even if it is to the end of the street and back, is a victory. Every step is one more deposit in the Bank of Fitness 😀👍.

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Pugwash]

Excellent!!! If you’re a user of Nike Run Club, Coach Bennett is a passionate advocate of the “run the run you can run” mentality. That might be because of time, injury, motivation, whatever. If you keep running those runs, you’ll get to run the runs you want to. Any run is a win! Let’s keep depositing into out fitness banks-I love that description!

[Mezzysu Graduate]

so refreshing reading this, if I’m honest I will only be able to fit in short runs. Infact what you call a short run will be my run 😀

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Mezzysu]

Any run is a good run! I keep having to remind myself that this time last year, I wasn’t even running for a minute at a time. We should be super proud of whatever runs we manage to fit in. Enjoy your next one!

[Scruff55 Graduate]

these are ( were ) my kind of runs. Just long enough to feel the benefit. Sadly no more til after Christmas 🤞my hip is slowly mending itself. A run is a run 🤣🤣🤣well done

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Scruff55]

Thanks!! You’re doing so well being patient with your hip. It must have been such a frustrating journey and we’re all rooting for you to make it back to where you’d like to be. You’re being really sensible taking it slow and focussing on recovery. Hope that while running is on pause, you can still find some enjoyable things to do instead. ❤️

[Pegix Graduate]

Love it. Thank you so much for posting, definitely glad you did. It's encouraging to know that even seasoned runners like you just pop out for little runs every now and then, and still count them as runs. I feel that one has to be out for a decent amount of time to make it count, and that walking for half of it makes it definitely not count. But you are so encouraging in your posts, and you've given me a huge boost this morning. I'm starting W4 next week so ......!!!

[MissUnderstanding Administrator in reply to Pegix]

Aw, thanks! Wishing you a very happy week 4! Keep it steady, keep enjoying yourself and you’ll have some great runs. 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️