Out into the frosty morning - cold nipping at my heels, doubts jangling in my head. From now on it's just running with just a few bits of encouragement from Laura.
Suddenly the runs are looming larger in my mind - went to sleep last night trying to imagine striding out with confidence. But as always for the first five minutes my legs were moaning like hell - no matter how much I warm up getting going is tough.
So anxious am I about keeping going that I'm running in virtual slow motion. Really. Like one of those slow moving sloths you see on nature tv.
But I hit the halfway time and slightly upped the pace - eyes focused on a walker ahead I could comfortably catch up. Then a shadow sped up beside and past flew the man in suit.
I clocked his age ( young ) his full office outfit of suit, overcoat and smart shoes - but most of all his speed!
I watched him disappear on the long long clear path ahead, trying suddenly not to feel foolish, slow and so obviously a struggling beginner. He might just have been late for work - but I've got to get through the rest of week 7 with my confidence intact.
How hard can it be ..
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parkbirdy
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Oh blimey birdy, thats not good. I had the same thing a while ago, i am only 5'7'' and was running so slowly that i was hardly able to run past a tall bloke who was walking! Not a good look really, Ed x
I too have found that an issue. I've also found the problem of trying to catch up with elderly people and their 'geriatric pooches' - even on downhills. And I'm 24.
I reckon he was sprinting to a bus stop or something - only a short distance. It's easier to sprint for shorter distances; he wouldn't have been able to keep up that speed for a long distance - but as you're going for longer you need to have a slower but steady pace
It took me a while to teach myself that, but I repeated it so many times to myself that I feel no shame in going at my plod.
I had the same thing recently parkbirdy and at first I felt so embarrassed but then I told myself off. Your've got up off your backside and are doing something positive so feel very proud of yourself.
I am very slow, but run my 30 minutes at my speed and I am building up speed gradually. I was lapped on my normal route by a guy wearing a rucksack on one of my runs last week, he looked like he was in serious training for something. So I was fine with it, I know that I am slow but the way I look at it, it's better than doing nothing at all and sitting on the couch
All this has really made me laugh - at least I'm not alone in the tortoise lane. And as we know he won in the end! yep I've been lapped by runners of retired years too.
another slowcoach here, although I have to say I'm chuffed to see I've gone recently from a slow jog to a jog - it really does come eventually Looking forward to the day my garmin tells me that I've stayed in the running zone, even if it is a 'slow run' But until then, I feel happy that I'm getting out there regularly(ish) and you should too!
I got overtaken twice by an elderly man on one of my early runs. If that wasn't embarrassing enough the 2nd time he caught up with me he said "keep going love, your doing great" he didn't even sound winded. I was red in the face barely able to breathe and trying to get rid of a stitch.
Aw - it's lovely that he was so encouraging. He's probably been running for ages and if you keep it up one day you'll be passing beginners and able to pass that encouragement on, eh?
On one of my early runs I was overtaken by an elderly man in an electric wheelchair who was doing the same ciruit as me. On about my third lap I ran past him when he was taking a rest and having a ciggy at the side of the path. I nearly asked him for a drag, even though I gave up smoking 20 years ago. But those moments have past. Now every time I see an electric wheelchair ahead of me I speed up and whizz by at my top speed. Silly but it makes me smile at the memory.
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