Beginning Running Has NOT Been Fun!

[Trekhawk]

Running is definitely not easy -- if it were, everyone would do it. But if you stick with it, don't try to do too much too soon, there's a good chance you'll eventually come to enjoy it. I know I felt on top of the world today both on and after my run, and it's made me all the more enthusiastic and itchy for more. So, like cycling, running really can get under your skin, as GLC's post also illustrated. It can become fun and something you look forward to.

Good luck!

Emily is right running really does get under your skin. I started trail running last winter and although I still find a majority of my runs really hard work I could not give them up now. I never thought I would feel the same passion for trail running as I do for cycling but I had to admit to myself the other day that I do.

[Artista]

A modicum of success today! I've been doing the short intervals at the beginning of my C25k program but I realized that it's going to take me forever to get though the program if I run only once every 10 days or so.

We've been doing a few minutes of running in our fitness classes and it hasn't caused me any problems. I decided to bump up to the 3 minute runs in my program today and it didn't kill me! My legs were a little tired but didn't hurt. My breathing was heavy but I could have gone farther.

I'll use the program to bump up gradually from here. But 3 whole minutes of running without stopping! I feel like I'm getting somewhere now

[Melalvai]

It's like paying off the mortgage, it takes forever at first to get anywhere! Good work!

[Crankin]

Ha, Artista, you're ramping up when I feel like quitting. I took a rest day today and started my morning with recovery yoga for roadies. I am riding tomorrow.
Not sure when I will run again, but probably Monday, maybe Saturday. I'm starting week 4, which I am sure includes more than the 3 minute runs...
The assistant director at my clinic finished the program and did a 5K a couple of weeks ago. She is peer pressuring me into doing one with her. I know I'm already faster than her (I won't say her time) and could do it with no other training, like I generally do everything, i.e. centuries, metrics, the only 5K I've done. She is my son's age, but not in good shape, although she has an athletic background. So, I have that goal in mind for around June. Thankfully, I am leading a ride on May 5th, when she wanted me to do the next one.

[Artista]

Crankin, you've been pushing yourself pretty hard. Instead of quitting altogether, maybe it's time to stop ramping and just maintain what you've already accomplished with a run every week or two. You could start ramping again next fall when the weather is less conducive to cycling but still good enough for running.

[Crankin]

That's what I want to do, but something keeps pushing me toward running, despite the suffering when I actually do the run! The weather forecast now looks absolutely horrible for the entire weekend (for riding), so I suspect there will be at least one run. I am going to play it sort of by how I feel. I slept for 9 hours last night (unusual for me) and woke up feeling like a truck hit me. I worked this morning and then just came back from a 23.5 mile ride with Hirakukibou. I was so slow, my legs felt like lead. It is very windy, which didn't help, either.
Onward...

[Artista]

Interesting that you feel compelled to run even though you aren't always enjoying it. Sometimes our guts know something that our heads aren't aware of. Be kind to yourself, though. That doesn't necessarily mean go easy, but kindness is always in order.