C25K encouragement continued

[Jibberoo]

Hi everyone

I've started this thread as I couldn't add any more posts to the other one. Hopefully you all find this thread!!

Hope everyone had enjoyed their day - so bored at home right now I'm glad I have the run to look forward to. Waited till it got dark and I headed out with my new running buddy - my 11yo ds. Yes he ran ahead of me and stopped a few times so I could catch up, but we ran 4.46km in 33mins and I'm so proud of both of us! (And little dog of course who's my faithful running buddy). It was a bit drizzly tonight which was actually quite nice as it wasn't that cold so the rain cooled me off a bit.

I've been thinking of how I can improve my stride length and I wonder if I can use my rest days to do W1r1 and try to do it with much longer strides? Seeing my son running I realise how inefficient my stride is. If I can only learn to open my stride I could run much further in the same time. If I can walk tomorrow I might try that to see if I can.

Hope everyone is enjoying their runs today!

Hi all, great running in the cold - look at us go, who would have thought we'd be battling the elements to run! Seriously it's freezing and we're considering how to run!

I know I've said I like the cold but this is ridiculous! I managed 5km again yesterday at a minusculey improved time but the 1st 2k was soooo hard I thought I was going to give up - even my dog didn't want to run! Both legs and lungs hurting. I think it was a combination of not stretching enough, coming on and the cold. My hubby says working out in this temp is harder on the lungs which is why I think I struggled so badly. Wanted to go out for a short run this evening but like many of you I was not prepared to go ice skating.

Hopefully tomorrow day time will be at least less icy if not warmer.

I agree with everyone about the struggle of what to wear. I wear skins, a warm running long sleeve top and a reflective running top - too much for long runs but not enough for warm up, cool down and first 10mjns running. I find I have to lift the two tops above my boobs when I get too hot - god knows what I look like but by then I just don't care (and I'm not coordinated enough to take them off without stopping running which would be the sensible thing to do). If anyone works out the clothes please let me know!

From past experience of being involved with several c25k and desk to 5k groups, the people who are motivated enough to go out even in bad weather, or in the dark (wear a head torch!) are those who finish the course and carry on to make running part of their lives. Those who don't go out because it's cold, or find another excuse to give a run a miss (rain, snow, dark, too tired) are the ones who don't finish. And once you've skipped one run it becomes mentally much easier to skip others.
I really would recommend pushing on, acknowledging that snow and rain may make you slower, but getting out anyway. Safely, with decent kit and a headtorch if required. The only exception is sheet ice- nobody wants to break an ankle!!
Don't know if that's helpful.

The ice has gone, but it’s still very cold. 2.5’ but that didn’t stop me!!

I repeated w5r2 because I was a bit daunted by the r3. I wanted to really make sure I could do this run well first.

Anyway, it was fantastic!!

Got bored on the walk section again, so I decided to run it after 2 mins recovery. So the last run section was longer. 10.5 mins I think.
Something weird happened on the last run section, I felt like I had a power boost and picked the pace up for the second run. I was running not joggging. The last 60 seconds I ran as fast as I could.

Now I’m on a high!

All ready to run w5r3 on Monday!!

Had my new running leggings on (size smaller) but I don’t think that made the difference!

Good luck to everyone running today!

Wow well done Dobby! That sounds immense! Not a t-rex to be seen

Thanks cavagirl no T. rex happening now! I actually felt like a runner, not an imposter runner.

2 people actually commented today to me. One is a dog walker who has seen me t-Rex running. The other was an old lady who was I looked like I had a good exercise.

I hope I can keep it up.

I’m not too worried by the r3 now.

Yay Dobby!! That sounds great especially your boost in the second run. I find that 5-15 minutes is hard work but then it weirdly gets easier - maybe you’re the same??

I had a good run too today - w9r1, 30 minutes and I covered about 5.8k!! Cold but beautifully sunny which helps.

Have to admit I fast forwarded the warm up as it was just too cold so wanted to get straight into the running... also only did half the cool down walk... but didn’t seem to get aches and pains. Maybe I’ll pay tomorrow!

well done minipie.

I need to faster like you. You were lucky with sunshine.

Thanks! I haven’t deliberately gone faster, I think it’s just the effect of running without breaks and of course for longer? W6 made a big difference to distance covered.

Good luck with w5r3!! Hope you get decent weather for it.

Well done Dobby!!! Brilliant!!! I bet you’d never have thought how quickly you’d develop!

I did w5r3 again today - after 2 weeks off over Xmas I started at the beginning of w5 at New Year. going to do w6r1 tomorrow and aim to make that my new ‘plateau’ run - one that I feel comfortable doing even in the worst weather / with the worst morale / feeling the least fit.

Wow minipie 5.8k in 30 minutes??? That's fast!! We started around the same time I think, you've steamed ahead after I had 2 weeks out! So impressive!

It's the dreaded W5R3 for me tomorrow! I'm really not looking forward to it mainly as I run in a London park & if it's anything as busy as they've been at weekends recently it'll be jam-packed. Hoping I can muster the willpower to get out a bit earlier for it when it'll be quiet! Wish me luck!

Good luck Cavagirl I’m sure you will smash it.

@Cavagirl

Wow minipie 5.8k in 30 minutes??? That's fast!! We started around the same time I think, you've steamed ahead after I had 2 weeks out! So impressive!

It's the dreaded W5R3 for me tomorrow! I'm really not looking forward to it mainly as I run in a London park & if it's anything as busy as they've been at weekends recently it'll be jam-packed. Hoping I can muster the willpower to get out a bit earlier for it when it'll be quiet! Wish me luck!

I’m not convinced it’s accurate tbh!! I definitely don’t feel fast and I am regularly overtaken by other runners...

I run in London parks too, they’re so busy especially weekends, I’ve had to leapfrog dogs and small children! recently I have started running on quiet residential roads (pavements) instead and it’s a lot easier - though have to be very careful crossing roads with headphones in. Would that be an option for you Cava?

In any case best of luck with the w5r3!

more than 5k in half an hour is indeed quite fast. I'm slowly approaching 6min/k.

Hmm I think I’m going ti download one of the apps mentioned above and measure it properly. I’m really not fast.

Felling v sorry for myself. Twisted my ankle today during run (not even running, crossing a road on the cool down walk) and having to hobble around the house. Self medicating with 🍷.

How long do I need to rest up before attempting a run again? Going to tackle W4R1 next time.

sorry @RomanMum
I twisted my ankle in oktober bloody stairs . took a couple of weeks to feel nearly normal.
lots of ice and elevation.
ibuprofen if you can take nsaids and gentle movements until the swelling is gone.
I went on cycle rides after about a week.
a very cautious 20 min run 2 weeks after the accident.

Thanks for the advice @redcandlelight, I'll give it a go. So cross with myself!

Think I overdid it last week and my shins have really been playing up the last few days. Took DP on a very gentle jog/walk this morning. Plan to do that for a couple of weeks to keep my fitness up and hope my legs get there act together

just back from a morning run. brrr it was cold.
my feet got numb again a couple of times and I had to stop to losen the ties.
maybe I should wait for slightly warmer weather and try again?

or get new shoes?
anyonehas experience with the 'try it' returns policy?
someof my routes are quite muddy and my shoes are looking like I did a tough mudder in them.

redcandle definitely no expert here but since I had the same I've been stretching my feet and it seems to be helping. It was a rather rude awakening how inflexible my big toes were in particular. Could be worth a try?

Just finished the dreaded W5R3! As the weather isn't too great today the park was actually fine, not too full but still enough going on to keep me distracted including someone's dog stealing & running off with child's toy aeroplane

Actually really enjoyed the run, thanks for all your tips! I made myself a great playlist which really helped. As it was 20 mins vs the slightly longer previous weeks inc walking I'd somehow concluded I'd be doing a shorter distance than normal but I had to add a whole new section onto my route! I went a bit faster than I'd intended because I thought I was getting close to the end but clearly I wasn't!

Can't believe I've just enjoyed running 20 minutes when at the end of November I was eyeing the 1 minute 30 sections of W2 with dread!

Well done Cava!

Redcandle - you definitely need to flex and stretch your feet - feet and ankle muscles are one of the key areas you’re working out! I wear zero drop shoes because they help my feet develop and strengthen. They’re not for everyone but I love them.

Well done cava. Huge achievement.

I wear zero drop shoes because they help my feet develop and strengthen

Be very, very careful with this...! Zero drop shoes are notorious for causing forefoot issues such as stress fractures, as well as Achilles problems. Probably fine if you're just doing short distances, but be careful if you start upping the mileage. I would recommend alternating with an ordinary neutral road shoe.