Do you feel you're not running fast enough? Are you a regular runner who has been struggling to get quicker lately? Are you feeling like you’ve plateaued? Do you have heavy legs when you head out for your usual run? Have you lost your mojo?
Well fear not, these are some very common and normal feelings experienced by...well let's face it, most runners!
When I first started running, I put enormous pressure on myself for the need to be able to run quickly. My very first 'official' 5km run took me around 50 minutes to complete and even that was an achievement!
I was never any good at running but always admired those that did run. Slowly I set about working on wrestling my demons, learning how to breathe efficiently when running in the hope that I could complete a 5km distance a little quicker.
Many weeks and months past, during which I felt stronger, or at least feeling more comfortable with myself and my running. Slowly but surely over a period of time I started to see my 5km times drop to 45, 39, 38, 35, 33 and 31 minutes. Whilst this was a magnificent achievement in itself I became frustrated that I couldn't complete the distance in the magical sub 30 minutes.
I shared my frustrations with my running mentors and coaches, Tony and John, and this is when I first received the ludicrous advice to "go slower and you will get faster". I must admit in was in some disbelief of this advice. But Tony continued, "go for distance not pace and the times you seek will come to you". Madness right? Yes that's what I thought too! However, this advice coincided with my marathon training earlier this year. Increasing distances were all scheduled over 21 weeks of training; all I had to do was complete them at a comfortable pace and expect some level of growing pains as a result of the effort I was having to put in.
John and I partnered up and started getting the weekly challenges going, helping and supporting each other along the way. The words 'a long run should feel like I can keep going forever' ringing through my head, so each run was done at a pace which was regulated to use as little energy as possible but to get the distance covered.
Around 15 or 16 weeks into the training, John and I now had several others running with us at this point for our early Saturday morning runs. It was around this time we had the opportunity to adjoin a Parkrun into our training. I felt butterflies as I returned to a timed 5km distance, overloading myself with uneccessary pressure to complete this run in a respectable time. I'd been running distances close to 20 or more km in a single run so 5km was well within my reach. But had I got any quicker, could I do the distance in under 30 mins?
Once we set off, I felt good and comfortable at a pace which was stronger and quicker than I had ever experienced before. I thought maybe it's an early phase and fatigue would quickly creep in. But no, I was able to continue with my running for the entire distance.
Not once have I trained to go faster. I focused on going further, sometimes at just past a walking pace. The result was I felt more like a runner than I had ever felt before.
...Oh I forgot to mention, not only did I break the sub 30min for 5k on that day but I have since smashed it again!
My focus now is to break the 28min barrier and I am SLOWLY but surely working towards getting even FASTER!
Well fear not, these are some very common and normal feelings experienced by...well let's face it, most runners!
When I first started running, I put enormous pressure on myself for the need to be able to run quickly. My very first 'official' 5km run took me around 50 minutes to complete and even that was an achievement!
I was never any good at running but always admired those that did run. Slowly I set about working on wrestling my demons, learning how to breathe efficiently when running in the hope that I could complete a 5km distance a little quicker.
Many weeks and months past, during which I felt stronger, or at least feeling more comfortable with myself and my running. Slowly but surely over a period of time I started to see my 5km times drop to 45, 39, 38, 35, 33 and 31 minutes. Whilst this was a magnificent achievement in itself I became frustrated that I couldn't complete the distance in the magical sub 30 minutes.
I shared my frustrations with my running mentors and coaches, Tony and John, and this is when I first received the ludicrous advice to "go slower and you will get faster". I must admit in was in some disbelief of this advice. But Tony continued, "go for distance not pace and the times you seek will come to you". Madness right? Yes that's what I thought too! However, this advice coincided with my marathon training earlier this year. Increasing distances were all scheduled over 21 weeks of training; all I had to do was complete them at a comfortable pace and expect some level of growing pains as a result of the effort I was having to put in.
John and I partnered up and started getting the weekly challenges going, helping and supporting each other along the way. The words 'a long run should feel like I can keep going forever' ringing through my head, so each run was done at a pace which was regulated to use as little energy as possible but to get the distance covered.
Around 15 or 16 weeks into the training, John and I now had several others running with us at this point for our early Saturday morning runs. It was around this time we had the opportunity to adjoin a Parkrun into our training. I felt butterflies as I returned to a timed 5km distance, overloading myself with uneccessary pressure to complete this run in a respectable time. I'd been running distances close to 20 or more km in a single run so 5km was well within my reach. But had I got any quicker, could I do the distance in under 30 mins?
Once we set off, I felt good and comfortable at a pace which was stronger and quicker than I had ever experienced before. I thought maybe it's an early phase and fatigue would quickly creep in. But no, I was able to continue with my running for the entire distance.
Not once have I trained to go faster. I focused on going further, sometimes at just past a walking pace. The result was I felt more like a runner than I had ever felt before.
...Oh I forgot to mention, not only did I break the sub 30min for 5k on that day but I have since smashed it again!
My focus now is to break the 28min barrier and I am SLOWLY but surely working towards getting even FASTER!
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