Cross

[iheartshoes]

Just annoyed with myself really , before Christmas I was at the gym 3-4 times a week felt like I was doing really well , running about 5k each time and lost my last half stone if baby weight . Slacked off completely over Christmas, had to cancel gym membership due to mat pay ending but I thought no worries will just go running outside instead. went for one this morning managed about 15 minutes walking / running before coming home in a sweaty heap completely out of breath . Really irritated at myself that I let all my hard work before Christmas go out the window and now I'm more or less back to square one . Anyone else done similar but managed to get back up there? Any hints?

I'm always surprised by how long it takes to get to a certain level of fitness but how quick it slides when you stop. Having a weeks holiday can put me back two or three weeks in terms of fitness. Especially running! I know I can do 10k in under an hour but not done it in a while so will take a while to get there again.

Don't be disheartened! You know you can do it, because you did! It will be frustratingly difficult to begin with but give it a couple weeks of just doing what you can you will see an improvement.

I'm still working off Christmas damage, but that's because I'm not trying hard enough. I know that and I know what I need to fix it.

You can do it again, just keep at it!

Thanks dulcet - good to know I'm not the only one. 10k on under an hour is brilliant - I would love to get up
To that. I'm now thinking of going back to the beginning and starting back with couch to 5k programme... It's ridiculous how easy it is to get out of the zone ... Must NOT let it happen again. And where I've put on a good 7-8lb I'm feeling generally heavier and like any exercise is harder ... Feeling very sorry for myself as you can tell but no one else to blame

Walk , run, walk run. And grad inc the run bits. You can still run the distance just over a longer time.

Yeah, start from the beginning again ilove. That's a good idea. You'll probably get through it a lot quicker and easier which will give you the confidence to keep going. I find there is no better motivation than to see the scales going the way you want anyway. I doubt I could get to 10k in that time now but ill get back there. I will! Lol.

Thinking about doing it is always worse than doing it for me as well. Once I'm out there and going its not half as bad!

iheart
Really irritated at myself that I let all my hard work before Christmas go out the window and now I'm more or less back to square one

You can't draw that conclusion yet!

1. Running outside is different to running on a treadmill (not as smooth a surface, more undulation etc), and might feel harder at first. Even running outside on different routes makes a difference - some are more challenging than others. So even a seasoned outdoor runner might feel that a new route is hardgoing.

1. The first few minutes of any run can be hard - it takes a while for the body to adjust to the movement. A few more minutes and you might have felt better.

1. Running at different times of day can also make a difference. I hate running in the mornngs but love the evenings. I think it's partly what you/your body get used to. So if your exercise before Christmas was at a different time of day, that could also be a factor.

If you've had a few weeks of not exercising, getting back into it will feel challenging at first. But the stuff you did before Christmas will still be beneficial. Just a matter of picking up the habit again (which you know you can, since you did it before).

You'll get there, it will come back quicker than you built it up in the first place.

Plus as Fascicle says running outside is very different. Wind resistance, hills, uneven ground all affect speed and effort.

I had 4 months off running this summer and it took me 2 months to get back to running nearly 30 miles a week. It was so tough and demoralising the first few weeks but I stuck with it and it got so much easier really, quite quickly.

Hi dulcet yes the motivation to do it is definitely the hardest part for me but once I'm out there I (normally!) enjoy it.

fascicle thank you for all your tips. I had never thought that running at night vs morning would make a difference but come to think of it I always went to the gym in the evenings. I did 20 mins this eve - and it wasn't half as bad I alternated between walking and jogging rather than properly running so hoping to build up from there. And as you and doyouthink say hopefully the work I put in before Xmas won't have gone totally to waste and I didn't think running outside would be so different

Thank you all

... For the advice

Glad to hear you had a better run, iheart. Keep up the good work!