Amazing discovery!

[nicolaclaire]

On Wednesday I redid week4 run 1 ( had a break due to a hol so went back to week 3 to get myself back into the swing of things)

I have done a few of my recent runs at my gym as they have an indoor running track and I get to relax in the hydrotherapy pool afterwards ( an added bonus is its a completely flat route!) anyway, what I discovered on week 3 was that it takes me 90 seconds to run a complete circuit which is 200 m and when I walk it I'm only about 10 metres behind, which means that I am running not much faster than I walk (I'd like to say I walk very fast but sadly that would be dillusional)

The thing I like most about this is that I know exactly how far I need to run before Laura says I can walk again.... It gives me a goal to keep me going when I'm struggling ( and boy do I struggle!) so imagine my surprise and relief on week 4 when I've done 2 3/4s of the 5 minute run and Laura says Its time to walk, I've achieved the impossible, I've run even slower! I always thought that it was impossible to run slower than I do without actually stopping but it seems not! Anyway I was very pleased to have completed the run even though it was tough.

So, full of confidence I decided to do run 2 outside last night, OMG! It was so hard after the first 3 minutes I said to my son, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this, he kept giving me half bemused, half concerned looks, but we plodded on (or should I say shuffle which is a great description of my runs adopted from here!) it really wasn't helped that the park was full of teenagers getting drunk and looking menacing ( although to be fair when I attempted to smile at them as I shuffled past they mostly smiled back) a lady dog walker actually told me well done and that she admired my enthusiasm!

But, somehow I pulled through and completed the run, it was so hard though, I remember reading a blog a couple of weeks ago where someone said they felt like just staying at week 3, got to say I'm with her there, you have to love week 3, it's hard without actually feeling like its going to kill you..... Tempting!!!!!!

[sfb350 Graduate]

Don't worry about shuffling. To quote Jeff Galloway "the most efficient stride is a shuffle". He recommends trying to run softly so you can't hear your feet - this helps your stride become more efficient as you don't waste energy bouncing !

Well done on finishing you run and good luck with the next one

[happierswimming Graduate]

As Laura says, Week 4 is a step-up from the previous weeks and where things start to get serious! But you did complete the run so that's a success. Well done No need to focus on how hard it was, just on how well you did. Good job

[ellerunner Graduate]

Good to see your post, I was wondering how you were getting on. Indoor running track and hydrotherapy sounds great, I'm jealous! Well done for completing the run, it must be hard to have a break and get back into this running thing. Keep going, you will continue to impress yourself, week 4 is a big jump from 90 seconds to 5 minutes and you've done that!

[Legion Graduate]

Yay! You did it, well done. Those tough runs are the ones we should be most proud of, when we push on despite the gremlins telling us we can't do it. So happy to read your blog again. I didn't think I could run any slower either, but I did it yesterday, lol. At this rate, by the time I graduate, my run will be slower than my walk. You're doing exactly what you need to do to progress to week 5, then week 6... you CAN do this. Take extra rest days whenever you're really tired and believe in yourself and Laura.