Week 8, feel inadequate!

[imnorunner]

Did run 2 of week 8 this morning. I didn't want to do it but I made myself and I managed to jog the whole 28 minutes. Wanted to stop after about 8 mins so quite pleased I got to the end. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter but I'm nowhere near running 5k. I am running 3k and with the walk probably just over 3.5k. I run on a treadmill on an incline (which my husband keeps telling me makes it harder!). I just can't see myself getting faster, I find running really hard! I'm 37 so I figure I should be better than this :-(. I know I couldn't run for much more than a minute a few months ago but, grrrrrrr!

[LMS2110 Graduate]

Take comfort from appreciating where you've come from! You're amazing and are almost through the programme!

I'm sure other people will add comments to this effect, but try to aim for completing the times not the distance at this stage. There will be plenty of opportunity to increase speed once your body has developed the stamina it needs to keep running for nearly half an hour. I'm only on week 7, but the best advice I've received all the way along was to keep things slow and steady.

Very soon, when the weather decides to be springlike, you'll be able to hop off the treadmill and physically cover distances .... then they can be prioritised. Meanwhile, keep building on the times: slowly and steadily. Heaps of good wishes as you approach graduation!

Cheers, Linda

[imnorunner Graduate in reply to LMS2110]

Thank you. I do wonder if it was called C25K because it's more catchy than C2runfor30mins!! That's what I keep telling myself!

[LMS2110 Graduate in reply to imnorunner]

LOL yep, the power of catchy phrases, eh?

[greenlegs Graduate]

Yes - c230 would be a much more accurate name, to make it more accessible to all of us who aren't going to get to 5k by week 9 (which appears to be most of us - and 50% won't get to 4k either).

Anyway, it doesn't matter what age, gender, fitness level etc etc we are - if we can run for longer and further than we could when we started, we are winners as far as our health is concerned.

Slow and steady wins the race! Now there's a catchy phrase!

I did my fastest running today, on a relative scale. I ran for ten minutes, at 11.5min/mile, which was much faster than I've ever managed to sustain before (I graduated about 2 months ago) - and I know that for many people that's slow, (including a returning runner on another blog today! ) but it isn't slow for me, and that's what counts!

Feeling inadequate - not allowed! Stick to the pace that works for you now, and then when you've graduated, maybe after a few weeks of consolidation, you can speed up. Adding those extra minutes in weeks 7, 8 and 9 doesn't look like much, but it's another 10% each week, which is enough, without trying to get faster too.

Ok. Off the soapbox again.

[imnorunner Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

Thank you greenlegs, I will plod on