Y’all are gonna think I’m mentally unstable, but I started crying when I read your nice words. No idea why, really–PMS or mid life crisis or what. Anyway, thank you all for your words of encouragement. Maybe it’s the relentlessness of it all that has me down on running right now. Not down on running, but discouraged about my progress… I may be stuck at present, but this week is not the week to for me to take huge leaps in distance or endurance. And that really IS ok.
I have to keep reminding myself that that little voice in my head, the one that sneers at my current level but also whispers, “give up, why bother, who cares, you’ll never be better” is not the arbiter of my success or achievement. (please tell me you all have that voice to some degree… whether it’s learning a new skill or going to a strange place etc, don’t we all have anxieties and concerns and fears?)
Maybe I’m too philosophical to run! Or maybe I’ve not really ever truly committed to anything in my life and being this dedicated to something is scaring me.
Ok, enough navel gazing and emotional wankery. Things I want to say to posters here: jkusters–it sounds to me like you laces need adjusting. Perhaps you are tying your shoes too tightly at the lace ends (where you make your bow), across the top of your foot.
Your feet won’t slide if you do the following–put your shoes on. Now, go to the “bottom”[the bit closest to your toes] of the laces and gently pull those laces a bit more snugly. Repeat this up your laces (what is this called in a shoe? The rise, the vamp, the arch, the shank?what? The area that the laces cover) and then tie your shoes. You’ll notice that your shoes feel better, the area right across the top of your foot isn’t too tight and your heel stays in place. I hope this makes sense. Shibboleth, jsgoddess, NuttyBunny–thanks so much. I will keep plugging away. If you all are flying doing 8:1s and I’m still back at 4:1s, hell, we’re all still running. I don’t want to stop. I just thought it would have gotten smoother and easier by now. And it IS easier to an extent–I can do a 3:1 without gasping. I ran for 21 minutes this morning. Me and my 10 minute mile. Oh, well–it’s still a mile!
And here’s a smile, lest you all think you should call the padded van for me.
elanorigby, people get healthy motivation from different things. Some people go crazy trying to beat their personal best, and some get burned out by trying to do a program with a group. Some people do better working with a partner and some do better if they go it alone. You’ve just got to figure out what works best for you and don’t get down about it!
Have you considered running for time instead of a specific distance? I always find it a pleasant surprise when I see how far I went after doing it by time. And that way you don’t have to judge a “good” day against a “bad” day - you just do the time so you don’t have that discouraging walk home when you don’t make your distance. You can run slower or faster and still be improving.
Also, have you guys seen walkjogrun.com? For iPhone-deprived people it’s this website that runs on Google Maps - you tell it where you start from and then you put waypoints on your route and it tells you how far the individual segments are and also what the total distance is. Lots easier than trying to “find a mile” with your car odometer.
Oh, gods, yes. My therapist and I just call him my “inner critic” who can’t say anything nice about anything I do, and is always telling me that I’ll never amount to anything. I’m still learning to tell that voice “Thanks for your input” before going ahead and doing what it tells me will never work. Fortunately, the more I’ve done this, the easier it gets. Note that I say “easier,” but not “easy.” I have a long way to go before it even approaches “easy.”
Thanks for the advice, I’ll give it a try Wednesday morning!
FWIW, I will just be looking at the 3 minute runs tonight. So I doubt that I’m flying by you yet. And if it ever comes to pass that I do fly by you, don’t sweat it, I’d love to have you drafting off of me.
It’s great! Actually one of the worst mistakes you can do is run to fast or too much to soon. As has been said, you need to run at a pace where you can keep a conversation. Speed will come naturally in the future when you have finished the program and start to run more miles, if you so desire.
I see much focus on speed with people doing the program, but that is not the point of it at all. The goal is to run 5 kilometers and get in better shape. Nothing else.
Personally I kept about the same pace for the first 7 or 8 weeks.
Remember, it’s not 5K in 30 minutes, it’s 5K or 30 minutes.
You all make good sense. I am doing time (well, I am emphasizing that over distance), but I think I wanted to go too far, too fast (as in too soon into my program).
It is what it is. And it will get better. And I will keep at it.
The funny thing is that I don’t want to quit. I’m not going to quit. I’m upset sometimes and (apparently) emotionally unstable, but actual quitting, as in no longer running, is NOT an option for me. I feel I have to run right now. Obviously for health reasons, but when my podiatrist said that perhaps I shouldn’t, I became enraged–I mean enraged (in my car, later). No way am I giving up running. I haven’t teased out why yet (and doubt I’d share it here), but this matters to me in some fundamental way, whereas aerobics or swimming or running years ago, didn’t. I think that is what I struggle with, at bottom. Of course it’s hard and I feel defeated at times, but this drive to do this-that is what is puzzling me and (slightly) scaring me.
This conclude the Running as Therapy portion of the thread. And now back to the show!
This is exactly my experience as well. So you’re not alone in being puzzled and slightly scared about why it’s so important. At times I want to find out why so I can leverage that knowledge to work on other personal goals. And other times I don’t for fear of ending it by discovering the cause. Of course, it’s hard for me to let go of that particular bit of curiosity.
I’m going to sound all psychobabbly when I say that running feels empowering in a way that other activities aren’t for me. It doesn’t feel goofy or artificial or trendy.
It feels like freedom, not constrained or small even though I’m following a very regulated program.
For what it’s worth, I’m only running (jogging) at 4 mph or 15 minute mile pace, and walking at 3 mph. That’s all I can do right now and I’m OK with that.
My lungs felt slightly smaller than usual while I was running and for a few minutes afterward, but by the end of my subsequent 30-minute personal training session I felt fine.
So next week brings me a 3-minute run, huh? deep breath All right then.
If it is any encouragement to you guys. I went through all the same emotions and issues you guys are having – but you can get through this! I believe in you guys!
And faster time comes with the more running. God I remember finishing up about week four and my legs killed me. So I took a week off, but I got back and started again and finished the program and I know you can too.
So keep your chin up and your spirit up. Think of it this way–YOU are out there, and you are trying to do something about it. Think of all the people you know (especially those your age) and of all of them-- YOU are the one out there running and making a difference in your health! You should be proud of yourself for even trying!
As mentioned pages and pages ago, I started this in June, never having done any formal exercise ever before. Since I did my first 5K I have kept at it, and have been gently pushing my limits.
Friday last week I ran 3.6 miles in 29 minutes. Which I make to be an average of 7.4 mph.
Then on Sunday morning I finally had the courage to join my buddy, who’s been running for years. It was nerve-wracking because he’s just so damn fit - and the bastard deliberately planned a route over the tallest hill in the area without telling me, which has an elevation from where we started of over 120 feet, through a forest. But I managed to keep up with him, even when our other super-sporty running companion had to stop and walk - and we ran 4.6 miles in 40 minutes, which I make to be exactly 7 mph. That’s the longest I’ve run so far, either distance or time. With a bastard hill in it. But it felt GOOD. My legs ache a little bit today, but not that badly.
Kerrigan, I was where you were only a few weeks ago. Good luck to you; it’s worth it!
I kinda forgot to keep updated in this thread. I’m starting week 4 tonight. I’ve been listining to the Ullrey (sp?) podcasts - which are really nice since I don’t have to pay attention to a stopwatch.
Plus, I convinced my wife that I needed that spiffy new 8Gb media player I’ve been looking at.
Wow! I did Day 1 of Week 3 tonight and it was easier than I thought! You guys were right! On one hand I’m glad I did the Day 4 of Week 2 yesterday on the hills because today was a walk in the park compared to yesterday, but on the other hand, my sciatic pain has flared up tonight. I’ll stick to the program and not do any hills until I’m much more fit. I’ve been icing my back and butt tonight. Owie!
I had an iffy time last week, as I was preparing for the LSAT which I took on Saturday. Yesterday the Dude and I went to Disneyland/California Adventure to celebrate, and I’m feeling that today. Since I had a sporadic week, I did a Week 3 run. My lungs said “yes” but my legs said “oh, no.” I still finished even if I was barely shuffling along there at the end.
I’ll hit it Wednesday with renewed effort. Motivators: the doc told me today that my blood pressure is thisclose from being too high to remain on birth control. Uh oh. OTOH, I’ve lost 5 pounds.
The daughter and I did Week 3, Day 1 tonight. I almost forgot, because I was on a conference call until almost 9 pm. Anyway, it had rained and was still somewhere between sprinkling and rain while we were out. My daughter had just finished a taquito, and ended up getting a stitch in her side in the very first run. But she was a trooper and ran through it. Earlier up thread I’d expressed some trepidation about my right knee. Almost immediately into the run my knee stiffened up, but I also ran through it. The weird thing is, it was my left knee, not my right. My calves felt like lead tonight, not sure whether it was the slower pace (because of my daughter’s side) or just the longer runs. The good news is that I thought that ALL of the runs would be three minutes, didn’t know it was just alternating 90 seconds and 180 seconds, and only four runs.
I think Wednesday night will go much more smoothly. Friday will be tricky since the Red Sox will be here for the ALCS and I’ll be taking my son to the game. Then I fly out to DC early on Saturday.
Actually we just sorta sauntered around for a few hours, then went over to California Adventure after they closed down DL for the event. Having annual passes is nice - we don’t feel like we have to see it all in one day. We got there around 1 and left by 9ish. Mostly we were running in between our favorite attractions which happen to be on opposite sides of the park.
Despite the brevity of our trip, I have a feeling I am going to have some wicked shin splints.
I haven’t been keeping up with this thread or the other site or my pushups, but I have been mostly keeping up with the running. (1 out of 4 ain’t bad?) I finished week three yesterday. No significant problems here yet, but I’m kind of hating this. Will I stop hating running eventually? Also, I’m still fatter than when I started, which is discouraging. I measured myself today, and my waist has stayed the same but my butt has gotten an inch bigger. My pants are tight. Ugh.
Anyway, congrats to all who have stuck with it thus far. I’m still in it for now, hoping that love of running that people babble about is in me somewhere.
Ran earlier today, just didn’t get around to posting until now. It wasn’t too hard, surely no harder than juggling bulldozers.
Still ain’t getting enough air, but it seemed a little better… maybe. The 2nd 3 min run I had to slow down from 6.0 to 5.8, but I did run for the whole 3 minutes.
What is this, “should be able to speak while running”? Is this some sort of sick joke? My goal is to not pass out. Being able to hold a conversation will have to wait until later.
