Running Thread 16

[emummy]

New thread needed! All runners welcome, whatever your pace or distance.
Cold icy run for me this morning, couple of exciting sliding episodes! Not a fan of the ice...

332.2

For context I'm mid forties, BMI 24, started running nearly 6 months ago.

Hi all I've been following this thread for a few days and am flabbergasted at the 5K times !
I can't get below about 34 minutes or so.
Started C25K end of August, am 45 and have never run before this.
I can't see me ever getting below 30 minutes !
Any tips or am I just slow

Hi schoolcook and welcome. You are doing fine especially as you only started in August. You probably will naturally get faster as you keep going but try not to worry about speed. The thing I love about running is it so personal. Some people are about speed, some people are about distance, some about different challenges, or exploring new places, some about just getting out there whatever distance or speed or a combination of all of those.
The thing to do is remember what you like about running and focus on that. Sometimes it is nice to shake it up a bit by doing a race or a challenge or a PB. But for me it loses something when I compare myself to others rather than celebrating their achievements and being in awe.

Oh my goodness that sounded preachy. I didn’t mean too Guess I’ve become a bit passionate about running

Intervals this morning, not raining for once! Got remote work Xmas party now.
@schoolcook when I started, aged about 43, it took me about a year to do 5k in less than 35 minutes. It’s really just about time & consistency - you will get faster. It’s worth remembering though that we are all different and have different goals and ways of running. Some people are naturally faster and enjoy pushing hard and running fast. Some of us prefer steady/easy running, often longer distances. The best thing about running is that how far and fast you run are totally up to you. You get to work out what type of running you enjoy, what goals, if any, you have and how to achieve them. It’s easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to other runners , especially in the question of times, but really none of that matters unless you want to win things. If you run you are a runner - the rest is just detail!
Well done on completing C25k, keep running & enjoy it. My current 5k on took me 5 years to get to and I suspect it will not be coming down any further!

370

3 miles on the treadmill at our brand new leisure centre this morning. Always seem to run slower than outside, no idea why.

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Intervals for me too today. Not done them for ages and enjoyed it. Didn’t choose a great route though as some bits were very muddy so I was like bambi for part of it!

I’m not massively interested in speed. I really enjoyed the switch to running long and my motto is - if you feel tired, slow down. I don’t normally time my runs and only find out my pace if I do a race.

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Thank you @emummy and @IRun4Me for your replies.

They were both helpful as I get half an hour of me time when I run and a sense of real achievement and I guess I shouldn't knock that.

I've joined virtual runner uk and am completing various different races and challenges on there as I'm not about to share my me time by running with others

Welcome @schoolcook. Lots of abilities on this thread and as they say comparison is the thief of joy. Just enjoy what you do. I’m part of a club which is really inclusive and we all congratulate each other on various activities for example getting a PB or longer run or group achievements. I like running on my own with my own thoughts but equally running in a group is good for extra motivation especially intervals.

Beautiful run in the sun today, much needed.

384

Chilled out 5 mile runs. Been good with physio this week, done a few Hiits and a bike ride (that was tough up the hill, definitely been too long). Looking forward to tomorrow off

395

Later run last night but managed 5k not the best time but happy. Going to push a bit further the next one.
398.2

5 miles in driving wind and rain but at least it was flat!! Enjoyed it and so did my dogs.

403.2

Sounds like my dog lamblossom The muddier it is the happier he is.
Short run without any energy tonight. But at least I’ve now finished work til the new year so hopefully I’ll get some energy and time for longer runs.
406.2

Long run today. Massively mistimed as got caught in horrible rain. Cleared up and then sunshine for the rest of it. Should have left 30mins later . Was a mud fest after all the rain. But in a good way

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Long run for me too. Managed to avoid the rain and the sun came out for the last mile.

435.4

Nice steady run this morning along one of my favourite country road routes.

443.7

Lovely run this morning with the sun shining. It was very squelchy and muddy in places. At one point I nearly had a total mud bath but luckily as I was going snails pace at that point managed to right myself before a total face plant. That could have been embarrassing.
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All routes near me have high risk of face plants IRun - good effort for staying upright. I’m amazed I’ve not gone down yet, it’s only a matter of time!

451.4

Hello again - lost you off my active threads for a while. I did a 10k yesterday - furthest I’ve gone in ages! I was doing ok until 8km, when I got a horrible stitch that meant I had to walk for quite a while, but still happy to have done it. Legs don’t feel too stiff today either.

463.1 with all my runs since my last post added in.

Not had a face plant recently. I seem to attract rabbit holes and wring my ankle instead.

Torrential rain run where you can’t actually see this evening but got to my yearly running goal of 1500 miles so pleased with that.

470.1

Any tips for avoiding the dreaded stitch? It seems like every time I go out I get one which makes it very hard to improve my progress (on last week of couch to 5k). I usually eat at 6pm and go out at 8pm, maybe I should delay dinner until after I get back? I think the glass of wine and two mince pies yesterday might not have been a good idea either!

(Sorry not sure on totals at the mo!)

@SophieGiroux if you are new to sustained running, you probably just need time. I always got a stitch if i was returning to running after time off, and it settled itself. Don’t suppose you could run at dinner time instead to help in the short term? That or try some online Pilates to improve both your core and breathing techniques

Just a chilled out 10km in Saturday. Trails were too much for my trainers. In hindsight I should have done an extra normal week and had recovery week over Xmas.

477.6

Hi @SophieGiroux, I used to get a lot of stitches when I started. I think slowing down helped and also doing a warm up beforehand. I think the science behind why we get a stitch is still unclear, but I think they do become less common the fitter you get.
The numbers in bold are the total miles we have all run, so if you like you can just add what you’ve run that day into the previous posters’ number.

Intervals for me this morning, a bit icy again but no face planting! It’s either ice or mud trying to get us just now isn’t it?!

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Hello sophiegiroux I always find it takes me a good mile to get my breathing sorted and if I don’t I’m more prone to a stitch. I always have to eat before a run but the mince pies and wine comment did make me laugh.
Still relatively mild here. No off road today so only stepped in one puddle. Longest run since March and it felt good.
490.5

Hello all.

Glumly popping my head back in to add the measly 5 miles I've managed this month. Since injuring myself at the start of November I've only been out a few times. Each time I've had to stop when the pain kicked in. I've managed to go a little further each time so it looks like I'm slowly getting there. It's worryingly slow though. Only managed 3.8k on Friday. It's going to be a long time before I'm back to running >10k regularly.

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