Feeling a Bit Discouraged (Read 1262 times)

OP: I had to take nearly a month off because of sickness for two weeks (really baaad food poisoning!) and then vaca in costa rica for two weeks. I began again as soon as I got home and boy, the first week I was sooo depressed. I had to take walk breaks, my time was off etc...Now I'm in my third week back of running consistently, and while my time isn't the best, I have improved in so many other ways. Just keep doing what you are doing, and it will get better! The other day, I felt like such crap on a 4 mile run, but I kept through it, and the past three days have yielded really great runs. I think you just have to ignore your "bad" days and focus on the good ones, because as you keep running, your good runs will outdo the bad ones! Keep it up, you'll start seeing results (not that you already haven't) and it will definitely be worth it...

Congrats on finishing C25K! Like everyone else has said, you will get faster if you keep putting in the steps. More distance helps with pace so maybe focusing on getting your distances in would help. I'm trying not to think about pace this summer, focusing my training instead on eliminating the R4/W2 I've done forever. I'm doing C25K now so that I can just run instead of fussing with the r/w intervals all the time. It's made me tortoise-slow, but the change in focus still allows me to see progress. Good luck on your 5K! Please feel free to come join us in the Back of the Pack group! Link is in my sig Mel

Great job on completing the 5K distance! I used to worry about how slow I am. Sometimes it still discourages me, but I try to do what all of these great people have suggested - I remember where I was before I started to run and that usually helps. Last year, I did the C25K and the OHR program. Got to where I could run for 6+miles at a time (albeit slowly). I started to worry about my time, tried to increase my speed and pushed it a few too many times. I hurt my hip. I was out for a few weeks because of that, and then I slacked off for most of the winter. I'm so bummed that I did that! I really felt discouraged when I started up again this spring. It has taken me several weeks to get up to where I can *comfortably* run 3 miles again. But I'm there now, and as long as I keep it slow and easy, I'll improve. Just like you are. Keep up the great work! Have you thought about what program you're going to try after C25K? I did OHR last year and liked it. This year I decided to do HHST because I wanted to add another day into my schedule. So far it's working out well.