Week 7 run 2 completed but oh so slow

[Trixitrin]

I was full of apprehension as the last two runs have left me feeling deflated and wondering why I am doing this. I did not get home till 1am after an evening with friends ( and several glasses of red wine) and did not sleep too well (cat kept pouncing on me in the middle of the night!) so this did not really bode well for today's run. This morning my husband suggested that I go for a run while he popped to the shops for our bacon and rolls( our Sunday treat). I had a better idea. I drove with him to the shops and then I ran home. I did not really want to do it for some reason but I just told myself I had to. After about 10 mins my body was being a wimp and did not to go on, but then brain kicked in and said ' I can do it and I will do it' . I stopped thinking about the time and just concentrated on running. At the end of the 25 mins I really felt good about what I had achieved especially as I had run with the wind against me and in the rain. It felt good to get that 'high' after the run that was missing the last two runs. However now, I am worried about my speed. According to the running app I was only averaging 6.5 kph. I see on so many blog posts that everyone else is running so much faster. I just don't know what I am doing wrong. I will never get to do 5k in 30 mins as it is going to take me about 45 to 50 mins at the rate I am running. 'Should I just forget the speed and just concentrate on running for as long as I can? All comments negative and positive gratefully received......

[TJFlute]

I think you did really well to finish this run, and it was a really good idea of yours to run home from the shops! Especially as you had a bacon roll waiting for you

You finished it against all odds:

Wine, cats, lack of sleep and wind and rain= these don't add up to the most favourable of conditions, so I wouldn't worry about how slow you went, just be elated that you finshed

I didn't worry about speed until well after finishing the nine weeks, and even then I was more interested in how long I was running for, rather than how fast (I've only started thinking about speed a year on!)

Good luck with run 3 of week 7, and I have a good tip:

shut the bedroom door so that the cat can't get in

[Hidden]

Well done, you used positive thinking to get you through.

Be proud of yourself and dont worry about speed or distance.

After a night like yours so many people would have just said "nah, I'll go tomorrow" but you didnt, you deserved that bacon roll

Good luck with R3

[Minuette Graduate]

I know exactly how you feel, I run quite slow and when I look at people's times on here I think wow that's much faster than me, so I think we both need to get that thought out of our heads and concentrating on just doing it.

I look at stats galore when I really shouldn't!! I'm really proud that I've graduated and am now concentrating on being able to run for 5K, so I think you should focus on how well you're doing to actually be able to run for 25 mins. Well done and I'm sure that bacon roll tasted good!!

[juicydee Graduate]

Really, don't worry - I was in a similar position to you, indeed I was thinking of challenging James May for the 'Captain Slow' title! I've now been doing Bridge to 10k for the last couple of weeks, and through a mix of increased running time and shorter faster intervals have got my speed up to an 8min 30 sec km time (that's about 7k per hour I think) though I can do shorter bursts a bit faster. But I increased my distance today and had to slow down again in order to finish, so it's all a trade-off. If you keep going (and follow a proper programme when you graduate, to give you challenges and mix up the training a bit) you will almost automatically get faster. You are doing great!!

[Trixitrin Graduate]

Thanks for all your support. I am just going to concentrate on getting to 5k and not worry about the time. Then perhaps I can work on speeding up

[sfb350 Graduate]

I think running into the wind will have made a lot of difference to how hard you were having to work. There's no need to worry about speed yet - 8 weeks ago you weren't running at all and now look how far you've come ! There'll be plenty of time later to think about speed. Well done