Gotta Go Fast - Poet's Running Journal.

[Poet]

open 4 surprise

So, hey friends. Great to see you again!
Pretty self explanatory - I've started running.
Yep.

I've been very seriously debating beginning a thread about this part of my life for a long time - I didn't want to seem as if I was copying others and their personal journeys, but I also wasn't sure how much dedication I had to running and keeping myself strong, fit and healthy. It's very difficult for me to accept the fact that I am not immediately perfect at everything, and thus I become disheartened quite quickly. Running can take quite a bit of effort, upkeep and pain before it's properly enjoyable, and so I need to keep myself accountable through it.

Dating an avid (and very, very good, although he won't say it) runner for almost a year means that a large chunk of our life together has revolved around training and competing. Almost every weekend means a race or hard run, which I've always been privy to but never done for myself. I'm surrounded by runners and people passionate about running, and I've been a spectator at training and comps for months. it started out with a kiss how did it end up like this it was only a kiss it was only a kiSS

I've always wanted to be a field hockey player, but due to a few factors, (including my chronic tendinitis), most years of my life have not seen any exercise outside of school sports. I've also been quite sick for more than a year now, clinically depressed and anxious for five years, and I'm tired of it all. I need an outlet. I need to feel included. I need strength. And most importantly, I need consistency.

So what do you know - I started running a couple of weeks ago! It didn't go too well. I got about 200 metres before I lost my breath.
Then I ran again; just a little bit. Just where people can't see me. And I finished at about 400 metres. This time my legs hurt a little bit.
And then Erutepa invited me to run with him on his cool down, and so I did. Adrenaline kicked in and I managed to snail my way through a full kilometre feeling very proud of myself.
And the origin story begins.

AND SOOOOOO so far over the past 2 weeks or so, I've run 3 times per week doing either 1km run/rest or 400m run/200m walk sessions. I also did the Altona Beach Parkrun, which was 5kms, last Saturday and managed to run/walk it in 38 minutes and 48 seconds, which is a fantastic time to improve upon because I cannot possibly do worse next time. My last run was yesterday and I managed 1km run and then fast walk for 500m before another 1km. I did get a cramp which was annoying, but I've definitely improved quite drastically from the first effort 3 weeks ago.

My aim is to eventually be able to run the entire 5kms of a Parkrun; and when I can do that, I'll start on another goal. I want to be able to keep a good pace. I want to be able to feel like what I'm doing is valid. So if I don't update this, please encourage me to. I need it.

[Bri MT]

Proud of you for pushing through the start of this journey

[sweetiepi]

You've got this <3

We're here for every step of the journey!

[Erutepa]

I am very glad to see you starting to run!
Hopefully we can get to a parkrun this saturday and beat that time!

We're here for every step of the journey!

*Every stride - hopefully there won't be too much more walking

[Poet]

Proud of you for pushing through the start of this journey

  Thank you fren. Hopefully I'll update within the next couple of days!

You've got this <3

We're here for every step of the journey!

Thank you Lou! You're so sweet.

I am very glad to see you starting to run!
Hopefully we can get to a parkrun this saturday and beat that time!
*Every stride - hopefully there won't be too much more walking

Oh boy keen for that 5:45AM rise and shine time!! Hopefully we're not almost late this time pls hehe  ;-;
(Ahaha ur soooo funnyyyyyyy)

[ArtyDreams]

So excited to see where this is headed Poet! You've got this 

[w0lfqu33n89]

YoU aInT eVeR gOnNa BrEaK mY sTrIdE, yOu AiNt EvEr GoNnA sLoW mE dOwN oH nO! iVe GoT tO kEeP oN mOvInG!

So proud of you for this. Thats such an amazing improvement already in 3 weeks! (I assume...im not a runner...ill leave that for Erutepa to decide).

[Coolmate]

This is awesome Poet! I can't wait to hear more updates

[Ionic Doc]

I like how you've set out realistic goals yet at the same time goals that will also challenge your abilities. 

I've always wanted to be a field hockey player, but due to a few factors, (including my chronic tendinitis), most years of my life have not seen any exercise outside of school sports. I've also been quite sick for more than a year now, clinically depressed and anxious for five years, and I'm tired of it all. I need an outlet. I need to feel included. I need strength. And most importantly, I need consistency.

I hope you get better and hope that running can be the outlet you need.

My aim is to eventually be able to run the entire 5kms of a Parkrun; and when I can do that, I'll start on another goal. I want to be able to keep a good pace. I want to be able to feel like what I'm doing is valid. So if I don't update this, please encourage me to. I need it.

I look forward to seeing you conquer this goal and look forward to seeing your improvement updates very soon 

[Poet]

replies to posts in this thread:

So excited to see where this is headed Poet! You've got this 

Thank you for the encouragement!!!

YoU aInT eVeR gOnNa BrEaK mY sTrIdE, yOu AiNt EvEr GoNnA sLoW mE dOwN oH nO! iVe GoT tO kEeP oN mOvInG!

OmG TikTok iS mY lIiIiIiFe
In other words, I appreciate you and that was a botched Vine reference.

This is awesome Poet! I can't wait to hear more updates

Thanks! Updates, I hear? Heckin' NEOWM HERE SHE COMES

I like how you've set out realistic goals yet at the same time goals that will also challenge your abilities. 

I hope you get better and hope that running can be the outlet you need.

I look forward to seeing you conquer this goal and look forward to seeing your improvement updates very soon 

Well, I'm hoping my goals are realistic! Thank you 💙

Hi, I'm back with an update! Today has been disgustingly humid and it was 24°C at 7am, which is when we left for the Parkrun. I ran about 4.5kms out of the 5kms that make up the parkrun, and I am pretty proud to say that 4 or so of those kms were run without stopping!!!! :DDD

Granted, my run is kind of a jog, and my jog is kind of a walk, but I did it and came 77th hehe. My time to beat was 38 minutes and 48 seconds, and I did my run this morning at... *drumroll*... 36 minutes and 26 seconds!!!
Yaaaaaayyyy!!!! A little over 2 minutes' improvement, and that was in awfully humid temperatures. I'm quite proud if my effort. Also, I'm much less sore this time than I was my first

I'll check in next time I run, which is most likely within the next couple of days (probably Tuesday). Adios, friends 💙

[J_Rho]

replies to posts in this thread:

  Thank you for the encouragement!!!
 OmG TikTok iS mY lIiIiIiFe
In other words, I appreciate you and that was a botched Vine reference.
 Thanks! Updates, I hear? Heckin' NEOWM HERE SHE COMES
 Well, I'm hoping my goals are realistic! Thank you 💙

Hi, I'm back with an update! Today has been disgustingly humid and it was 24°C at 7am, which is when we left for the Parkrun. I ran about 4.5kms out of the 5kms that make up the parkrun, and I am pretty proud to say that 4 or so of those kms were run without stopping!!!! :DDD

Granted, my run is kind of a jog, and my jog is kind of a walk, but I did it and came 77th hehe. My time to beat was 38 minutes and 48 seconds, and I did my run this morning at... *drumroll*... 36 minutes and 26 seconds!!!
Yaaaaaayyyy!!!! A little over 2 minutes' improvement, and that was in awfully humid temperatures. I'm quite proud if my effort. Also, I'm much less sore this time than I was my first

I'll check in next time I run, which is most likely within the next couple of days (probably Tuesday). Adios, friends 💙

I LOVE THIS! Congrats of your new PB, you should be super duper proud! I can't wait for the next update!

[Joseph41]

Bloody awesome work. Keep going!

[Poet]

Hey, back with another update! I just came off a short session running my home streets for the first time! I live in a very green, hilly area, and so I've always travelled to basically the opposite side of Melbourne to run on flatter, smoother ground.

This session was 3kms. I started with a fast 1.5kms and then fast walk with skips for about 400m. I then jogged for 500 before another 500m fast run. I then walked home and did about 10 minutes of stretching. I didn't want to run anymore in my area because I'm very self-conscious and was scared someone I knew would see me.

On Tuesday I forgot to update but I did a pretty decent amount of running! I did 1.3km moderate run x 2 with a minute break in the middle, then a 1km slow run before doing 3 x 150m sprints with a 'float' (that's what the running people call a jog) in between. I then rested before doing a 500m cool down because I was lazy and tired.

So all up, I've run about 7.6kms this week. (if we're including my floating, I would round it up to 8kms). I won't train any more before the park run but I'm aiming for a time of 35 minutes on Saturday. Fingers crossed I can get there! Slow and steady wins the race 😊

Thanks for all your encouragement, beautiful people. It means a lot 💙

[Bri MT]

Great work Poet!

Thank you for keeping us updated & best of luck for Saturday

[Poet]

Great work Poet!

Thank you for keeping us updated & best of luck for Saturday

THANK YOU

HIIIII SO I FINISHED MY RUN AND I'M SWEATY AND DYING AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE STRAIGHTENED MY HAIR LOL BUT GUESS WHAT

I RAN ABOUT 33 MINUTES 35 SECONDS

AND
I
RAN THE WHOLE WAY

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

OK next goal is getting through the infamous '30 minute barrier'. I'll have to pick up my training to keep a consistent faster time per km but I'm hoping I can lower my time to sub 30 within the month.

Wooooo sub 35? Pfft who's she
Stay tuned kiddos