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I failed twice before
I've been trail running for 2 years. Before that, I hated running, especially at the gym when circuit training included running or the firefighter's beep test.
I built up to running 5km twice a week, but up to now had failed in my efforts to run 5km. In my last effort, I failed at 8.8km. Not from lack or lungs but from the pain in the ball of my right foot, and right hip. I hatched a new plan, and last Sunday in the early morning, I set out with new hope and determination - and patience - and recorded my first 10km. It was 10.4km to be exact - at an average pace of 5:21/km. I'm pleased that I could do it. And not sure I will do it again. Harder than I thought
I became interested in knocking out a 10km run, and so added interval training into one of my regular 5km runs.
But it proved harder than I thought. In my failed efforts, I was OK aerobically - no problem with that. I could even run faster aerobically, except that mechanically I was limited by pain flaring up. Mechanically there is probably something not quite right, as although I can do 5km with no soreness there are pains that creep in after about 6km. After my last run failed at 8.8km, I wondered if I would ever be able to run 10km. I have a good pace for my regular 5km runs, and consistently average around 4:55/km for the distance. Aerobically it's not a struggle. But the longer distances no doubt amplify something not quite right about my running style. The wear and tear show up in the longer runs. My hip pain is probably a product of me running every 4km every day since before Xmas - so about seven weeks now - not enough rest and recovery. I saw the podiatrist. She said that I am probably tiring and changing my posture by my head drooping just a little forward. That transfers weight to the balls of the feet. She adjusted my inserts for that circumstance. I also realised that I had to slow down and not run like 5km, as I was wearing myself out too early. My muscular endurance wasn't up to it. 
I needed a new plan
My plan new plan was simple enough - hold myself back and don't get hung about the average pace. I realised that I had become a little obsessed with the idea of doing the 10km in under 50 minutes. Let that go !
On Sunday, I got up with the following plan in mind:
That worked! 
I learned that, aside from the mechanical pain, that my main fault in previous attempts was starting too fast.
This time, although I felt mechanically tired towards the end, I was fine aerobically. Runtastic shows that my second kilometre was my fastest at 4:49, and then I went up to around 5:13 and then around 5:20 and then 5:30. Obviously tiring - and feeling the pain. Perhaps if I can sort out my painful hip, I will have another go. I want to get under 50 minutes on the trail. I've added three new exercises to my strength training and stopped running 4km every day, and I'm hopeful that I will get my hip back into great shape.
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ChoicesSince I was diagnosed at 50 with Type 2 diabetes I've been learning how to do bone-building fitness training which lowers my age. You can too. It's your choice. Walter Categories
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