does it ever get easy?
dydn11402
Posts: 103 Member
just finished w8d2 (jogging for 28 minutes). while i have definitely improved endurance and have successfully completed all the weeks on time, (with the exception of w5d3 which took me a couple of tries), i feel like its always a struggle toward the end. i guess what im asking is when does this become "easy"? in your experience, when did running become more effortless where you dont just want to stop the whole time? i really want to be a runner and i guess i just want this to happen already!
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I graduated on the 10th May and am now over at the Bridge to 10k group and the other day I posted that I had done an easy 5k run, and then I realised what I had written. I could never have imagined thinking that 5k could be an easy day, but now I run over 20k a week and run up to 10k on my long run.0
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The more you improve your form, the more fun running will be. However, you'll probably develop enough conditioning in the next couple of months to actually have an easy run.0
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I just graduated last night from the C25K program. I also struggle with it, but I struggled with each stage of it. I thought I would die after the 5 min runs, but with each little bit further, the earlier stages seemed like they were not as big of a deal. I'm not sure it will ever be as easy as I'd like to run, but it will be easier the more I do it.
(For me, the last bit of each run is probably the easiest, but I'm cheating a bit. I've been running a course that's super steep to begin with, and the end is a total coast downhill!)0 -
I did not start out a runner and I struggled through the program. Your question ran through my mind many times.
Yet now I consciously think things like "a treadmill jog is an easy 5K jog", "that was an easy outdoor run", etc. I'm not sure when it happened, exactly, but it will happen for you. It does get easier. And it becomes a whole lot of fun when you know that you will accomplish your run.
Congratulations for sticking with the program. Keep up the good work. It will happen for you.0 -
thanks everybody for taking the time to respond. i guess i need to focus more on how far ive come. just keep plugging away and my fitness can only get better. im just impatient lol.0
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My .02 cents --
If it ever becomes easy I am not pushing hard enough.
I do have "easy runs" on occassion - we call them slow runs in my house because I don't push as hard as I could. However, the next run is always a hard one. Push! Running, for me, isn't a leisurely activity -- it's working toward a goal, always. If I am not working toward a goal then why the heck am I doing this?! :happy:0 -
"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great."
Sorry, I couldn't resist the League of Their Own quote!0 -
Love the quote. Need to remember it."It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great."
Sorry, I couldn't resist the League of Their Own quote!0 -
My .02 cents --
If it ever becomes easy I am not pushing hard enough.
I do have "easy runs" on occassion - we call them slow runs in my house because I don't push as hard as I could. However, the next run is always a hard one. Push! Running, for me, isn't a leisurely activity -- it's working toward a goal, always. If I am not working toward a goal then why the heck am I doing this?! :happy:
You are ALWAYS supposed to follow a hard run with an easy run. ALWAYS. And have rest days too. Otherwise you aren't giving yourself the space to improve. So, Good Job!0 -
op here. im actually not interested in running any races. i just want to get and then stay in shape. my goal is for running to be part of my life, to run 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week. right now my goal is to finish c25k and be able to run 30 minutes straight (which i am almost at yay!) and then my next goal is to increase my speed. the faster i go, the more calories i burn and the more fit i am.
am i the only one around here that has no lofty race goals, personal records to beat, etc? just want to lose weight and get fit. thats all.0 -
I was that person last January.
You should have a goal. It might be shaving a minute off your time. Or adding another mile to your long run. Or developing better form. Or doing a certain number of miles in a week or a month. Or running a certain number of days.
Races just give you a date to work toward. They keep you accountable.0 -
oh i definitely have goals for miles, speed and times. but im doing this on a treadmill because i need to fit my workouts in while my baby naps so running a race would mean training outside which i cant do at this point in my life. also, its freakin hot out there and i dont do well with heat lol. for now it is what it is. theoretically, running a race does sound fun... who knows, maybe one day.0
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Totally get that. I STARTED running, even though I'd promised myself I'd never do it, because I now had a one year old and a 2 1/2 year old (at the time) and it was the one thing I could do where I could throw them in the stroller for 30 minutes and get a quality workout.0
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am i the only one around here that has no lofty race goals, personal records to beat, etc? just want to lose weight and get fit. thats all.
This is me at the moment. I'm trying to improve my speed & time. But I haven't looked at races yet or feel a need to right now. That may change in the future; right now, I'm happy that I'm fit enough to run 5Km and feel good about it.0 -
I successfully completed the program in late 2011 but have to start over because I just had a baby. I continued to run 3-4 miles regularly after the fact. Almost a year later I had a PR in a 5K at 34 minutes. I don't do it to win but to see if I can improve.
Running for that long never got easy for me. On the rare occasion I pushed through with no issues, but for me it was totally a mental thing. I had the strength and endurance to run that far/long but would get bored. It's all about the music. Strangely musicals worked well because they had a story I could follow. I tried audiobooks but found that it felt like they moved too slowly and dragged me down.0
