road running to trail running

[golemmings]

I've recently finished c25k and I'm mow regularly running 5-6k. Since the weather has improved I've ventured off road - into the hills and woods near us. The terrain is much steeper and rougher under foot and I've found I'm running more slowly. This might be due to the hills which I'm sure will get better with practice ! but should I expect to be slower on more uneven terrain? I was running 5k in about 31-32 mins. Now I'm managing 4k in 30 mins. It's quite demoralising.

Any advice?

hiya - it is slower, it's best I think to compare trail vs trail times rather than compare with your road times. Having said that, I love running on trails. Are your trainers off roaders? It really helps. I find trail much better on my knees.

The other plus side of running on trails is that it seems easy to be back on the road - so when I do park run I get a boost from it seeming easier.

Thanks. That's good to know. Yup to knobbly soles trainers. I was waiting to buy priors running shoes until I knew I wad committed but ended up doing the major as my first race (off road, organised by bmf with added mud) so I bought a cheapish pair of off road shoes and I love them!

I plan to do a mix of on and off road stuff. My first 10k race in June is all on road but running through the woods today was so lovely. We live on the edge of the aonb so there are loads off off road opportunities - its all a bit hilly though!

hilly is good! I'm doing a trail marathon in the Lakes in the summer, so am quite keen on finding hills and running up them as fast as I can in preparation (is my first marathon, but for some insane reason I find the idea of a trail marathon a lot less scary than a road marathon).

I think it's a really good idea to mix it up. The trickier terrain is great for strengthening up your ankles and balancing muscles, and the roads for training your legs to go round faster. All good. Have fun!!