Running help

[Nowmum43]

Hi,

I absolutely love running but always put myself unintentionally under lots of pressure about my times and distance.
I'm an anxious person which due to stuff going on is quite bad at the moment and I know running will help this and it always makes me feel amazing when I've been out.
But I work myself up before I go, and then when I'm out I always feel sick which makes me struggle to have an enjoyable but working hard run. I always run at my fastest and alway have, I've tried slowing my pace down but just can't. I like the feeling of pushing myself but I'm not sure if this is why I end up feeling sick. The worry of feeling sick when I'm out makes me run shorter runs or not at all.
I just wondered if anyone else always felt sick and what the do for it. Or how do you get over running stresses and enjoy it again?

I used to feel really sick at around 2.5km, then around 5km. I don't get it much now unless I really push myself, like running too fast up hill. I find I have to push past it to get over it, but you do need to pace yourself. Do you run to music? Also run on an empty stomach but well hydrated.

One of the ladies in my running group had this problem. She's an incredible runner, does excellent times and is capable of ultra marathons but she got into that space where chasing a PB or best distance became the focus and she literally made herself ill.

She shared with us how she got past it...maybe some of this will help you:

1. Ditch the tracker except for specific training sessions/events with a fixed goal, from memory she tracks no more than once a week
2. Go back to 'jeffing' to break the temptation to run too fast
3. Take your dog if you have one because it naturally breaks down the run at unpredictable intervals
4. Make alternative goals i.e. run to the nice park, run to the castle etc
5. Run with a buddy, especially one who can't be pressured into "racing"

Hope you find something to rebalance how you approach running so you can enjoy it.

There are a few things you can do to help yourself here:

• go for a run and leave your watch at home. Choose a route you enjoy and just run how you feel. It can be so liberating.
• run with a friend that you need a really good catch up with - you'll be so busy chatting that you won't have time to think or worry about your pace
• warm up properly before you start. Your heart/lungs/muscles need to gradually get going, not suddenly be expected to go from scratch.
• find yourself a good plan to work to, depending on what your goal is. That will give your runs some purpose and structure other than going as fast as you can. Wanting to get faster is a very valid goal but you won't be able to meet it by running as fast as you can all the time. You need to do a fair bit of much easier effort running combined with a bit of really hard effort running. If you just keep running hard all the time you'll likely end up injured and/or burnt out and then you won't be able to run at all.

@Nowmum43 I recommend that you download the free Nike Run Club app and do some guided runs. The coach coaches you through your run. There are different coaches, but I suggest you look for guided runs with Coach Bennett as a starting point.

There are different types of run with appropriate coaching for the run type. So the 10km race run guides you how to run during the race. And there's speed runs for building up your speed.

But there are also recovery runs, and thankful runs and headspace meditation runs. I've found the coaching from Coach Bennett on these non-speed runs very helpful in stopping myself constantly putting pressure on myself during runs and adjusting my own definition of what a great run for me is.

Lots of brilliant advice thank you all. I think you are right and I maybe need to stop tracking or certainty stop focusing on it.

I have Nike run and use that and starve but I've never used the guided runs as I like to run to music. How do they work? Do they talk to you and say if you need to slow down/speed up?

I always make sure I eat before I run, especially in a morning but give it an hour to settle, is this wrong should I just get up and drink water then run when it's first thing?

@Nowmum43 the Nike Run Club guided runs are based on GPS and timing and don't adjust to your performance. When you cross a certain distance or time threshold then the coach is talking to you.

So on a thirty minute run the coach might check in every 5 minutes, or on a 10km run it is a mix of the km and mile points, and for a race run a countdown for the final few hundred metres.

In terms of the coaching, I would say it is very much about how much effort to put in and absolutely not focussed on speed, and how to be a better coach to yourself. And on the thankful runs, it's about low effort and Coach Bennett telling you a different thing to be thankful for every few minutes (like the people who help you run, bookshops, race volunteers....).

#everyrunhasapurpose

@Nowmum43 you’ve had some great advice in terms of your pace and being more mindful.

Re eating - it’s your call whether you eat before you run. You might want to think about what you eat (keep it fairly light) and perhaps leave it longer than an hour? This may just be me but I’m nowhere near digested after an hour.