First run as a graduate and....

[Eisleychick]

It sucked. Why does the lesson have to come after the test. Started out great and then I copped out halfway through. Partly psyched myself out, partly too dehydrated and tired to run. Next time I donate blood, I'll wait an extra day before setting out. But the other part, psyching myself out, how do I fix that? It's too easy to just give up without Laura in my head. How do I get over it? Does anyone have ideas, suggestions? I'm willing to try anything...well almost anything.

[jelh75]

I haven't graduated yet so I still have Laura to encourage me but last week even with her encouragement I still managed to psych myself out. I got it into my head that I was going to struggle before I started my run and I failed to finish it twice! Yesterday I gave myself a good talking to and told myself that I can do it before starting the run and it worked. I completed it and didn't struggle. I think the key is to focus on your goal and the reason you started running. I'm doing it to lose a bit of weight and I find it helps to keep focused on that

[Eisleychick Graduate in reply to jelh75]

Thanks J! That's great advice. Up until tonight, I was focused on my goal of completing my first 5K so I guess I did lose a little focus. I'm going to take tomorrow off and run Friday keeping this advice in mind. Just need to determine a new goal...maybe actually running the full 5K this time instead of walking for 10 minutes of it.

[Anonymous36 Graduate]

Firstly congratulations on graduating

Bridge to 10k is another app you could use if you need the support whilst running. It works much the same but you can use your own music and the talking is limited to Run or Walk but it helped me.

I also joined a running club as there's no way I would quit halfway when on a run with a group of people and my hubby is now able to go with me (I was to slow and stop/start for him previously, still slow mind you).

[Greg_M Graduate]

You could also just keep running the week 9 run 3 podcast for a few weeks.

[sfb350 Graduate]

I'd agree with the suggestion of joining a running club - I was quite worried I'd be out of my depth but I'm really glad I gave it a try. People are very encouraging and I'm certainly more determined to finish than I would be on my own and I'm running a lot further now.

I plod along at the back of the group most of the time, but sometimes I manage to run where others are walking so I don't feel I'm doing badly. The front runners do a little loop back every now and then to rejoin those of us at the back, so rather than us holding them back, they get to do a longer run. I'd do a little bit of research into your local clubs - one lady at the one I go to said she had tried another club and it felt a bit elitist. I couldn't have hoped for a more friendly, supportive group.

[Alaiyo Graduate]

It may not be a total substitute for Laura, but what if you made your own "podcast"? Put together a playlist of upbeat, inspirational songs you like, and record yourself doing a pep talk or providing a time update (or have a supportive friend lend their vocal talent). If you setup your playlist carefully, and note how long the songs are, you can add a little voice clip saying "that was 5 minutes, don't ya just LOVE running!" or whatever works for you. Even better, you can personalize it to your own goals. Instead of simply, "You're doing great" you can say, "Nice work Eisleychick, don't you love working towards 10K/having lost X pounds/running with your dog/whatever". Once you setup your playlist, put the whole thing on your MP3 player, and set it to play, (but not shuffle), and viola, a Laura substitute.

[handstand Graduate]

I'm having the same struggle and wondering when the LOVE of running is going to kick in. I love the results but hate the proccess.

[carcassonne Graduate]

I've found that setting myself mini goals for each run works pretty well. So once I graduated, I wanted to run 5km in 30 min easily. Since then I have been upping time and/or distance. This means that each time I run I achieve something a little bit - like the end of each C25K week, but I get it every time (I am such a praise junkie!)

Also, running with your own music is a great help. If you've got a smart phone I've found that Endomono on top of music provides me with the same little emotional boost that Laura did - it tells you how far you've run so you know how much further you have to go.

Finally, I pretend I'm my mother! When I'm running and feeling a bit crap I just think "Well, there's no way I'm going to let you quit now" and it's worked... haven't quit once despite running with stitches etc. Remember what we were told around week 5... it's all in the head!

Good luck, you can do it!

[jomcc4 Graduate in reply to carcassonne]

Love the user name - Do you live in Carcassonne?

[carcassonne Graduate in reply to jomcc4]

Thank you

No I don't live in Carcassonne but I love the name; my real name is Cass so I kind of like having it hidden in my username! Silly I know but I enjoy it

[gezz]

totally agree with carcassonne - setting goals can really motivate you

Currently working up to a 10k run - trying to get a little faster and a little further each week

Another good app you can use is Runkeeper - this keeps a record of your total distance ran, and you can use it to set goals

Currently down to run 500km by the end of the year - (Gulp