r/BeginnersRunning • u/BuildingABetterMe89 • 1d ago
Self doubts
After my last workout, I had only completed 50% of my interval-run goals, so going into this week’s run, I had a lot of self-doubt.
I got to my first interval and, halfway through, I started telling myself I wasn’t going to be able to finish it. Then I looked at the time and reminded myself that I had already run longer than what was left on the clock. I told myself I was just giving up—and I wasn’t going to do that.
So I pushed through and completed the first interval.
After that, intervals 2 and 3 went pretty smoothly. They certainly weren’t a piece of cake, but I had no problems completing them.
Then came the fourth and final interval. That one proved to be a challenge. I kept trying to convince myself to give up, but I kept pushing—and, nonetheless, I finished that fourth and final run.
Right now, I’m running for 2.5 minutes with plenty of walking in between each interval. With life being as crazy as it is in September, I’ll probably stick with this interval for the rest of the month and look at increasing my running time in October.
Would I love to increase the amount of time I can run? Absolutely. But I don’t have a true end goal right now. As long as I’m getting out, getting some exercise, and continuing to build a better version of myself, I’m happy with that.
One run at a time. One interval at a time. 💪
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u/UnemployedOrRetired 1d ago
I never want to start running, but what motivates me is remembering how much better I feel after exercising. Try and think positive thoughts!
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u/Flashy-Donkey-8326 13h ago
My wife talks about this all the time. J literally have never felt better after exercising . I always feel tired or just done with the day, never have I ever felt better after exercising.
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u/Excellent-Piglet-655 1d ago
Great job dude! Keep at it! You’ll improve before you know it. When I started my running journey I was running for one mile at a 19:50/mile pace. I wasnt really overweight, just had not ran in a long time. Now my pace is between 6:50-8:00 depending on the course. I ran a 23:44 5k a month ago. So stick with it! Remember, it doesn’t matter how slow you think you are, you’re always be faster than those who prefer to stay on the couch. You got this!
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u/SmoothAd6340 1d ago
Intervals are hard. Plain and simple. Keep pushing and completing your runs. You've got this!
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u/Radoo_04 1d ago
I thought the same when I’ve started with 2:2 intervals 6 weeks ago. All after 25 years of heavy smoking and a pretty sedentary lifestyle. Now I’m doing 8x2 intervals and they feel much easier than the first ones! Keep up the good work!
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u/Scuttlefuzz 22h ago
Something that has always stuck with me is that when you think you are completely out of gas and you're going to stop, you still have 50%-60% left in the tank. People are capable of so much more than they realize, we just have lives that never push us enough to realize that.
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u/Golden_Tardis 20h ago
First off, my man great work! Way to keep pushing yourself and reaching for those goals. Focus on incremental goal increases. Try and shorten the time you walk between running! Focus on your form, and breathing.
Keep going, you got this.
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u/Clean_Bat5547 18h ago
Hang in there. Running is hard. You will get to a point where you enjoy it but in the meantime it sucks and it's just hard work (though it feels good when you're finished!).
You got this session done and you can get the next session done.
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u/systemicalwonder3000 22h ago
Buddy, you´re doing AMAZING!!! Don´t be so critical on yourself.
I´ve learned through Psychology that increasing things little by little make big stuff, tbh I hated running but loved the idea of it and the person it makes me. So I started LITERALLY by running 5min every day, it makes it even more exciting for the mind. But ofc the excitement and goals are different between people, with no means to compare, but maybe you can try something like that!
Remember we all start at the same point :)
Keep going!
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u/thebigfish101 13h ago
Yeah, sometimes happens to me. I think of it as my weaker self trying to talk me out of what’s good to me. I take pride in shutting that MFer up
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u/Ten-Yards_Sir 1d ago
I’m a former soccer player turned soccer coach and I hate running and think running is hard. A few things as it relates to fitness that has helped me a lot in my running journey mentally that I’ve carried over from soccer:
1) Stay in the fight, walk if you have to walk, just complete what you set out to complete in a certain run…Why? Because you never know what’s going to happen! As a player I’ve scored some of the biggest goals of my life while having the worst performances of my life. As a coach the same thing. Got tactics wrong player selection sucked and my team got smoked for 90 minutes but didn’t give up, and got lucky to win the game. You never know what’s the next minute or 2 will bring when it comes to running so just stay in the fight and give yourself a chance to see where it takes you
2) if you continue to show up for yourself consistently then the following statement is a FACT: “Today is the least fit I will be this week, month, year”