Running goals, motivation and chat 2026 - Part 3!

[BogRollBOGOF]

Hello runners!

Continuing on with our general running chit chat...

No running to report here. It's been a niggly week. A couple of minor triggers of using my body about a week ago, and lot of sitting at the weekend to piss it off, but I'm hoping it's all sensitive and aggravated due to hormones and will magically feel better in a few days in time for half-term...

I'm wanting to build consistency, but it's bloody difficult when you can't feel what's doing it good and what's too much.

Hello. Regular runner here, no great distances or particularly fast, have done some events before, great south run, great north run, some 10kms.

i usually do a 6km hilly road run, a 5km treadmill run and a 10km road run per week. Am ridiculously slow on the treadmill for some reason. Can run a 5km in just under 30 minutes outside but takes me 8 minutes more on my treadmill , no idea why!

have recently realised if I tip forward I run faster…

got absolutely soaked on my run this morning.

Hi @Iamblossom !

Funnily enough I was asking AI about exactly that on the treadmill pace, and it gave a convincing answer that I cannot remember as to why treadmill pace is inaccurate and so you should use time/ gradient instead.

Yes @BogRollBOGOF I also felt like I was doing so well on the consistency front till storm of messed up sleep, cough / cold, and period struck all at once this weekend just gone
I did treadmill running today and back in gym at 0630 tomorrow for strength. Can you do something non running to help you tick over?

I'm struggling for alternatives as cycling is worse (which I could do when my achilles played up) and swimming is a pain to fit in with timetables and travel. I am doing strength and I do a good amount of functional walking but can't do much uphill which is limiting again. I'm still active in the grand scheme of things, but I'm missing getting my heart rate up.

Damp muddy 5 mile trail run on rubble, sand, up and down hills with my lab.

Ah I have had a rubbish day ❤️‍🩹

Went out for 5mi this morning and out of nowhere, BOOM the injury I've been working through for the last 6w was back, in style. I felt like I was doing so well. I really thought I was ready for the next phase of rehab....

Oh no @JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff thats rotten! I hope it is just playing up because of the cold and isn’t back properly. I have an old injury that can play up in the cold, but Cole’s and goes rather than being like it was in the first place.

@Iamblossom your run sounds lovely.

I’ve been up seeing my sister in the midlands and went to parkrun this morning in her city, dragged her and dd2 my non running daughter along with me as was seeing my sister after picking dd2 up from uni for the week. They both did really well. My sister taking a couple of minutes off her previous time and dd2 managed her first continuous 5k run. Super proud of them both. I came in 2nd female, which I was pleased about.

home now and have a 10 mile hilly trail race in the morning. I thought they might cancel it because of the wind but so far it seems to be going ahead. To be honest I’m a bit tired after my 4 hour drive home on a very wet motorway but I’m sure I’ll be ok once I get going. It’s a just for fun race anyway with a couple of friends.

Oh that’s so frustrating @JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff I really hope it was just a one-off flare or something 🤞

My race tonight got cancelled due to the amber weather warning, I wasn’t sure I would go anyway so it’s solved that dilemma! So I went out and did some hill repeats before the weather turned. Grim stuff but felt great after. My work pattern is changing from Monday so I need to work out how I can fit running in. I might have to do more Peloton bike for the next few months as I can do that while I’m solo with kids.

Thanks everyone.

Let's hope! Doing lotsa lying with my TFL on a lacrosse ball which hurts but trying to make it calm down.

@runnerducky it is so hard with kids. I have been using ChatGPT to sort out my schedule, like I'll tell it I want to do weights, circuits etc, this is when I have the kids, this is when I've got early starts at work etc and let it work me out a 2w plan. It's quite good at ordering the sessions and putting in rest days. But kids just adds a whole layer of complications, doesn't it!

@runnerducky it is hard with kids. I barely did any regular exercise when my kids were young. It’s only really been the last 5 years or so that I’ve started and only the last 2 years I’ve been doing a lot. I wouldn’t sell having kids young as a brilliant lifestyle choice for everyone, but it does mean that at the ripe old age of 41 my youngest child is 18.

I did the hilly trail 10 miler today. I didn’t set out to fully race it as was a bit tired after my busy day yesterday and decided to take it steady until I got to the top of the first massive hill and see how I felt. As it was I felt ok and caught up with and over took my friend who had set off a bit faster than me. It really does have some steep hills and about 1750ft of elevation over the 10 miles. There was also a really strong headwind in places which even down steep hills was hard to move against. In the end I finished in a time of 1:28 and was first in my category and about 7th female overall. Pretty pleased with my effort. Nice trip to the pub after with the others from my club.

I have a marathon in 2 weeks so will try and get some decent mileage in this week and then a good road run next weekend. Not going for a particular time as it’s just a day out with the club but don’t want to struggle with it.

Hi gang, I've been AWOL for a while, but just caught on the thread - some great achievements as ever. Well done all and welcome to new posters.

I agree with the comments about the difficulty of exercising with small children/full on jobs etc. I only took up running in my 40s - partly because DH was working away from home and had restarted to give himself something to do at the weekend. Him talking about it took me to C25K and I never looked back . So hats off to those of you juggling everything and making it work.

I've been reasonably consistent, still doing physio on my shoulder. DH and I did a HM last weekend. I ran/walked and somehow ended up with my fastest time since 2014 (and took 20 minutes off my trail HM time a few weeks previously).

Nothing on the horizon until a spring marathon next year, so the trick will be remaining consistent through the winter. I'm also volunteering at a couple of races and will enjoy seeing it from the other side - I'm a regular parkrun volunteer, but these will be far bigger events.

I am back home from my epic marathon this weekend - Beachy Head. It was quite something. Could have been touch and go for cancellation like @runnerducky's race as Storm Austen had blown through the Channel on Friday and there was a lot of debris around. They changed the start time to earlier because more weather was due in after about noon. So after a lovely clear start, trotting along at the pace I wanted to do (7:30-8:00 min/km) until exactly halfway round, the rain started coming in horizontally into our faces on the hills above Seaford. Along the Seven Sisters, the wind was coming off the sea and (I shit you not) picking up little pieces of chalk and flinging them like hailstones.

I finished in 7 hours absolutely soaked through, my phone has gone to shorted-out-electronics heaven (my own fault for not having it in a baggie) and it was all rather emotional. I am super happy that all the physio I've done has been so effective - my hip and knee were absolutely no trouble. I gave myself gut cramps from having gels too close together and possibly not enough water. But that just slowed me down for the middle section of the course, rather than ended my day out. I think I need to work on my anterior pelvic tilt now as I also had a bit of lower back pain after about 30km.

My plan for the rest of the year is to have a big de-load from running - at least six weeks of focussing much more on the strength and conditioning. Maybe two or three short runs a week, maximum 15k across the week. Much sympathy to those with persistent injuries @JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff and @BogRollBOGOF

Wow @TyneFilth well done on your marathon in those conditions.

@TyneFilth bloody good effort it horrific conditions, hats off to you. Rain is one thing but storm wind as well, yukky.

5km on my treadmill this morning. removed incline (it was only 1 but still) and sped up and managed to knock off 4 minutes from my last treadmill 5km, which is still 5 minutes slower than my 5kms outside, but not quite so mortifying! I do enjoy just running to nowhere in my shed, by myself, watching The Resident on my ipad, it's like the definition of Me Time. And a run is a run am I right?

Interesting (to me) that I have started doing a Legs Bums and Tums class and despite using only my body weight for all the squats (so many squats!) I had the WORST DOMS for a few days after the first class....you would think all the running and walking I do would mean I wouldn't but I was the personification of the old adage "You are only fit for what you do" - ouchie.

I have a 23 mile walk on Saturday (Surrey 3 Peaks) so am front loading my week with running and won't after Wednesday to keep my legs fresh.

Oh and yes, exercising with young kids is hard - I have always worked from home so was able to go to the gym after school run, and when they were old enough to bob about in the pool I snuck off for some lengths. But yes much easier now they are big grown men!

Wow wow wow @TyneFilth bloody amazing! Well done you. That's some serious grit right there!

Yeah I'm officially in Feeling Sorry For Myself Mode, although trying to snap out. I did 30 mins upright on bike today followed by weights but avoiding putting pressure on legs so mostly bench press/ overhead press. I basically just need my TFL to calm the fuck down and stop spasming!

I'm aiming for a C25k run in the morning. The rain was too gross today to consider it.

I did parkrun on Sat. Quite walky, but it was my first run in about 10 days which always feels icky anyway. Plus I'm well overdue for my twice-cancelled sports massage.

Well done on your epic marathon @TyneFilth sounds like a tough but amazing experience.

well done everyone on your runs no matter what form they have taken and I hope that this still struggling with injury catch a break and are able to get back to normal soon.

no running for me today. Just a bit of the tier climber and some weights at the gym.

6.5km around our local town this morning, found it hard but was pleased with pace

I've had my sports massage. She started on my good leg 😖🫣🥴 then moved on to my dodgy leg...
There was a lot of muscle tension through the whole leg, but especially through the outer side which doesn't suprise me.

I slept well last night!

It'll be interesting to see how it feels now the muscles have been reset somewhat, and what balance of the issues have been muscle based and what is tendony.

I have yoga tonight to look forwards too. I had been going to a class at the gym, but the night I could do stopped and the night I can't do in term times continued. But it's not term time, so I can enjoy.

I'll try and lug the teenagers out to a nice flat park to get them out and see if my body is up for more C25k... Always a bit ropey running the day after a massage, but I've rested well overnight.

5.25 morning miles for me today.

How was it @BogRollBOGOF ?

6.5k today, still bloody jeffing but better than last run, so......

Ooo. I hope your massage has done you good @BogRollBOGOF i keep thinking about one as my right leg is still a bit dodgy.

well done everyone on your runs.

I have been trying to get my mileage up. 11.5 miles with club in the middle on Tuesday. 9.5 miles with a hard track session in the middle yesterday and 4 miles of hill reps tonight. I’ll have a rest tomorrow as taking dd2 back to uni and then I’ll try and easy 8 or so miles Saturday with a tempo long run Sunday to get myself ready for next weekends marathon.

Managed out tonight, just 7k but felt good to be out. I’ve got 18k on the plan for Saturday but will see how we go!

I had a sports massage a couple of months ago while I was suffering with some niggles. They haven’t returned since so I’m a fan! It was very intense though, definitely not the relaxing kind of massage I usually have!

I didn't feel like the run by teenager o'clock, but I had a nice walk, and getting the pair of them outdoors and moving was a win (they're in the hermit stage... I don't think they'll emerge like beautiful butterflies )

Yoga was lovely. It's nearly 2 months since I've been able to go to a class and between general progress and the massage my body felt much more comfortable and closer to being balanced on both sides compared to in the summer when I had to be very cautious on the injured side. I felt pleasingly strong and stable too.

I'll do my run in the morning before teenager o'clock

Week 5 run 1 done!
I think I'll repeat it. My cardio system is fine, but I could feel aches setting in during the 3rd round of 5 mins. It felt the right level of challenge, but 2x 8 mins might be a bit intense. It's only 1 more min of running, but I can feel the muscles struggling as I go. The 3rd run of week 5 is the 20 min run, and I don't want to strain myself pushing towards it too hastily either.

I need strength and I need routine, and just doing any run is a good thing at this stage.

My only real goal left is to do 100 runs this year, which is realistically viable at 2-3 runs per week.

I remember my first 8 min block on my original round of C25k (back in the days of my MP3 Walkman, pre-smartphone!) and feeling so proud because it was probably the longest continuous block of running that I had ever done in my 32 years. I remember my "graduation run" too, and marked it by going to a park near work as daylight faded to give it some sense of occasion.

I loathed running so much at school. I was tiny, had lousy trainers and had the clichéd PE teachers bellowing at me and failing to recognise how hard it was. Getting an encouraging voice into my ears and encouraging being slow to keep going was so refreshing, and as annoying as having to do C25k is, it also feels like catching up with an old friend.