To feel like giving up (running )

[TheoriginalLEM]

So i stupidly signed up to the 5k pretty muddy event in july.

I am a BIG girl! size 22 up top and 18 bottom. The boobs are an issue!

i can run 5k but im just so slow

My colleagues are just started training and they are doing it in about 30-35 mins and one girl is 27 minutes !! she is like a gazelle though.

There's me gallumphing along like an elephant at 45 minutes I don't stop and tun the whole thing. I Am a bit older in my 40s where they are late 20s early 30s but i am going to humiliate myself.

How can i get my speed up? or should i just accept that im too fat/old for this shit.

Slow runner here. Look, you get the medal and the Mars Bar for finishing, not for your speed. I run half marathons and I love it. My pace is around 12 minute miles but who cares, I'm torching calories and building muscle with every step.

I'm 24 and I can't run 5K in under 40 minutes. Everyone expects me to be really fast but I'm not, and I can barely go for 5K! You're doing amazing to be able to run 5K, you'd be surprised how many can't even do that.

I'm trying to be quicker by going back to Couch to 5K because I find the interval nature at the start encourages me to push on speed wise a bit. Could be worth a go? I use Strava to time me too even though its got bits of walking in you get an idea if you're getting faster.

Is your sports bra the best one you've found? I got a Shock Absorber from Next, cost about £40 but dear lord it transformed my life. No wonder I hated running before I had it. Now I just dislike running

Don't give up! Nobody cares how fast you are at these things, and there will be lots of people going at your pace.

But if you do want to get your speed up before July, here's a few tips:

1. Parkrun! Go along to your local parkrun each Saturday and try and knock a few seconds off your time each week. I've knocked 7 minutes off my PB since I started. There's people of all abilities there - at my regular parkrun the quickest ones finish in 16 mind and then walkers are coming in all the way up to an hour.

2. interval training. Nothing fancy, just put a few sprint intervals in your runs. I usually do it by thinking I'll sprint to the next lamppost, then jog til I get my breath back, then sprint to the next lamppost/tree/parked car. Etc. Sounds obvious but you won't get your speed u unless you start doing some faster running.

3. Bra! Running is so, so much easier when you're comfortable. If you're big up top I'd recommend the Freya Active or the Panache sports bra. I had a Panache in an H cup when I was breastfeeding, and it was brilliant.

Good luck and don't give up - you're doing brilliantly.

This inspired me, thought of you 'Sport Doesn't Care Who You Are' www.facebook.com/advert.ge/videos/1167551589931035/

I did a pretty muddy 5k a few weeks ago. I did it with my friend who doesn't run, we walked most of it. Tbh most people walked it and chatted. It was one of the best things I've ever done. Atmosphere is amazing, loads of fun and everyone looks equally ridiculous. If you can't do a particular obstacle just skip it and keep going. It hailed during ours, but to see the crowds of people standing in a storm to support everyone is indescribable. Don't give up. It'll be so worth it.

Good luck!

Oh and you'll probably find yourself queuing for the mud slide at the end, we walked it and caught up with runners in the queue. Don't worry at all about time.

I love running but couldn't care less about my time. Last 10k I did was 1 hr 10 or something but usually I'm slow training. I'll often take 45 mins for a 5k. I like to look at the birds, hares, beaches and wildlife. I find the time obsession alien to me.

Being fit and outside and taking part counts more.

By the way, interval sprints help get speed up if you really want to.

I can only do 5k in 45 mins. I'd like to do the local park run but they publish the times and everyone is much quicker than me. I console myself with the seemingly amazing fact that I can do it at all!

I started off at 45 minutes and but now after a year of running... I'm still at that time I'm trying to build up to 10K. I have two speeds, slow and even slower I also have to wear an large tena pad as I wet myself every time I go out. . I don't care as I'm out there.

Two sports bras keeps everything under control, I find.

It doesn't matter how long it takes you you will get a great sense of achievement from it on the day and loads of supporters will cheer you on. Keep up the good work

Nobody is happy with how fast they run -- really. Everyone wants to be faster. So thinking you're not as fast as you like is never a good reason to give up.

Mud run is definitely about finishing in spite of mud. Well done you for entering.

Another plodder signing in.

If I train like a bugger and really push on a good day on a short run I can almost get 11.30 minute miles.
Rest of the time I plod round at 12 minute + But I say I'm like the terminator, once I'm set in motion I just keep going, slowly and terribly.

I did a half Marathon last year and had that horrible school sports day feeling at the start of everyone streaming away from me and I felt like I was running in treacle. I thought I was going to cry! But after half a mile or so I started catching people back up, overtaking and slow but surely I wasn't at the back anymore. And finishing was out of this world. Just the most amazing feeling.

I have come last in a few 10k runs, and actually it's not embarrassing, it's ace, everyone loves the underdog I swear I got more cheers than the winner. :)

Op you are a star - I hate running, think I can't run and totally failed at couch to 5k. I WISH I could run 5k in 45 minutes.

I think you are amazing. I'm jealous of your running ability!

In fairness there are some people who'd baulk at walking 5k tbh. You're doing brilliantly-who gives a bollocks if you're slower? Only you! Focus on what you can do, not what you can't. Enjoy! Pretty Muddy is a good laugh!

I'm almost 50 and thinking of starting 'Parkrun'. But I can't run for peanuts, not longer than 2 minutes at a time. But you sound amazing being able to keep at it for 45 mins. Don't give up!

I spotted this thread and got all excited thinking there was someone else like me. Then I read it and got jealous of how much "better" you are than me! I'm doing a 10k soon,my first ever race of any type,and I am going backwards. I've been doing a training program and up until the 6min interval I was managing ok. I'm now on about 16min jog, 4min walk twice. I can't do it, not only that I now can only do about three mins then have to walk,my legs are like lead. It's so disheartening,I'm out four days a week and I really m getting worse. So I am totally in awe of you being able to run the full 5k regardless of how long it takes. It's a fantastic achievement and I wish i could do it. Be proud of yourself,you'll be ahead of many others there,and in any case it's huge improvement for YOU and that's what matters. So well done!

Honestly, OP, no one in the race cares how fast you're going. No one is going to look at you and think how slow you are - everyone is just concentrating on their own time and maintaining their own pace. You're going to feel so great when you finish -I guarantee it. Good luck!

A 25 minute 5k is just as far as a 45 minute 5k. If you are slower you are working harder for longer. They rock for running 25 mins; you rock more for running 45 mins. At that pace you won't be last to finish it.

You go girl - and enjoy it.

I've started running where normally I just do power walking and what I've found to really help is finding music at the right tempo to help me run at a certain pace. I think it's 135 BPM and it's really really helping me (I run on a treadmill in my garage). Keep going.

I am a slow runner as well. If I go too fast I bugger up my dodgy ankle. But I can run for ages without getting tired. I figure it's good for the stamina. I am short and solid and I'm never going to win any races but I do it because I love it.

I started off at 45 minutes and but now after a year of running... I'm still at that time . I hooted with laughter at this barnacle! I'm exactly the same .

I have found that this bra is the most supportive - much better than any sports bras I have purchased. £50 is quite a reasonable price - it was £63 in R&P.

www.amplebosom.com/elila-jacquard-soft-cup-bra-p227.php

Have you looked at the TooFatToRun page?

toofattorun.co.uk/

Good luck!

If you want some great inspiration, check this out www.toofattorun.com

The thing about running is that no-one else cares how long it takes other people. generally the faster people hang about and give encouragement to those slower people. They really spur you on. Ive been running for 4 years. Im usually somewhere in the middle (28 min 5K) and Ive never noticed anyone making a fool out of themselves or anybody mocking another person for running. The faster runners either leave after they have finished and take no notice of who is behind them or they stay to encourage the slower runners. The ones that stay always seem proud of those running slower than them. They are just pleased to see people running no matter their speed or size.

Go have fun and just enjoy it. But be warned these events can be addictive (they certainly were for me)

I couldn't run 5k full stop so you're doing way better than me!