Beginning Running Has NOT Been Fun!

[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.

[WindingRoad]

Artista if it makes you feel any better I only did 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday. Combined walking steep incline with running and I felt like poo today. I haven't run in probably a month. Did a shop ride this morning and about died. BUT, I'll keep doing my little bits of running here and there because it does keep me in best cardio shape and its great for bones. It will take a while for me to get comfy running again. It is a very slow process for me. Nothing 'natural' about it.

[Artista]

It's time for me to retire this thread now that I've completed many successful run/walks. I'm still not a big fan of the actual running part but I'm enjoying what running is doing for my aerobic stamina. I started out really disliking having to run for 60 seconds at a time. Now I'm up to really disliking running for 6 minutes at a time. In another couple of months I should be up to really disliking running for a full 30 minutes at a time

Thanks for the encouragement and great advice everyone! I really couldn't/wouldn't have done it without you.

[Crankin]

With the advent of more consistent cycling weather, I feel like I am done with running. I do it when I feel like it. I am glad I can consistently run for 5 minutes at a 9-10 minute mile. But, I am not feeling it.
I'll probably ramp it up more in the fall.