Do You Ever Feel Satisfied with Your Running, or Are You Constantly Chasing Improvement?

General
1

Let me explain the background. He is 32 years old. I started running two years ago, but I quit in three months. I quit again a year ago in four months. From February to March this year, we reopened for the third time and are finally starting to enjoy! To maintain motivation, we plan to participate in 5 km race every 4-6 weeks. But what I’ve noticed lately is always… not enough? Feeling disappointed? I can’t find the right words, but I am frustrated by that feeling.

No matter how much you improve, you simply can’t feel happy. When I resumed running in February, I ran 5 km in 28 minutes. The first race in May shortened to 24:56. My best in 2024 was 24 minutes 32 seconds, so I was not satisfied with this result. With the goal of cutting 24 minutes in the next race in late June, start full-scale training (such as intervals that have never been done before). The result was 23 minutes and 18 seconds. I was disappointed that I could not finish 23 minutes even though I was far below my goal. Everyone around me was happy to cut 30 minutes or 28 minutes, but I was like, "Okay, not enough yet. In the July race, we cut 22 minutes 30 seconds. "

Set goals, achieve them, be disappointed, and set new goals.

This is a cycle, but I want to know if this is normal. Have you ever been satisfied with running? Or do you always think you have to do more? I don’t like it anymore, but I thought it was a joy for every milestone.

2

Hey, I’m shrinking the 5 km self-record every time. It’s amazing, but it doesn’t last long. Please enjoy the results now. If it continues as it is, it is worth celebrating even if it is shortened by 5 seconds one day.

Sometimes I run a few 10 km races seriously, try a half marathon, then go back to 5 km and pull it out.

By the way, if you are in a 5 km race every 4-6 weeks, check out the nearby park run. Free 5 km race is held every Saturday. Run the same course several times and realize your growth.

3

No doubt. If the contributor is depressed by only updating a few minutes of self-record, he will be beaten if he only sees 10 seconds of self-record update in training for months. My time now is around 19 minutes 30 seconds, and the people running 16 minutes are like aliens. Even if you train more than 8 hours a week for 5 years, you will be lucky to reach that point.

4

I am a very goal-oriented person. But running is the exception. The joy is not in the destination, but in the process itself. Surely I sometimes like to compete in races and measure my standards. But it’s just secondary. If you focus on loving running, time is something that naturally follows. And as someone said, mixing the distance is important. It tends to be monotonous (at least for me) to continue 5 km long. I ran the marathon in early April and ran 5 km last month. Next month we will challenge the 50 km trail race. Change is the spice of life. You can arrange more obscure expressions, but you understand the point.

5

It’s a very harmful way of life. It’s an experience. It’s an injury that can’t be improved so rapidly. The pace distribution is literally. If disappointment overlaps, it will burn out. It’s like repeating overeating (excessive training) and vomiting (training abandonment).

It is different to win by running and running. You enjoy winning the challenge and running as a means. If you want to enjoy running, go out and run in a comfortable way. For me, it’s outdoor running while listening to my favorite music. Run at a moderate pace, concentrate on just running, immerse yourself in flowing music. While enjoying nature in front of you like BGM, the feeling of reaching an exquisite balance point that is not too late or too fast. I like that feeling that I can run for hours.

My running love grew after I was trapped in a “prison” state of corona ravages and suffered from the recovery of the baby and the body after childbirth. When I was able to run again, I literally ran for the joy of running. The painful experience really made me realize the grace of having a healthy body and time. Imagine the joy of the cattle released into the meadow at the end of winter. Joy is simple. My self-record is shitty enough to say the least (laughs). After two years of running, I was driven by the inner devil to improve my record. Then I realized that the joy of running was decreasing. Not just running, I started to do certain training. I stared at the clock persistently, and I was disappointed that my progress was slow, because I was not bad at running. Every time I updated my new record every week, I just wanted more. In the end, I was pushed to the point of injury due to sudden training at an impossible pace. I remembered why I was running while I waited for the light meat separation to heal. For that afterglow, for mental health, for calorie consumption (laughs). I really hate not being able to run.

They are already living in a competitive society and are already trapped in competition and bound by smartphones. That’s the fuck. So I made the speed of walking a top priority, and I returned to looking forward to running. In the last run, I helped a cool snail across the road. Sometimes this makes me smile.

I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve experienced that condition. The problem was not my hobby, but everything else in my life. I was good at it, but I had little pleasure in my academic achievements. “Oh, I finished writing my doctoral thesis, I finally finished.” Oh, I passed the exam, I should have done more. This was attributed to a dysfunctional childhood, and only received love for the achievements. Imagine the stereotypes of Asian families. But they boasted about my achievements and eventually grew up in a successful young man who was prone to burnout syndrome. No matter what deep-rooted harmful mechanism, stop it! Now develop your awareness of this moment. Realize that everything is fragile and that it is not strange when it is lost. Enjoy and appreciate what you have now.

It may be necessary to race a distance longer than 5 km. It may be necessary to compete like a triathlon. You may like trail running. But you need introspection to find the root cause of disappointment, and maybe therapy? I was absolutely effective. I recommend it to everyone!

6

“We must imagine Sisyphus happy”

7

Yeah, it’s almost like that. My self-best is pretty good (achieved 5km16 minutes in 10 years from the start of running, 2 hours 45 minutes marathon. It takes time - - I have piled up from 10 km a week to 120 km a week). This is the nature of this sport, and you may always be disappointed at first unless you set your goals extremely modest. But after overcoming the initial disappointment, it is important to look back and be proud of your record.

If you’re aiming for a faster 5km (23 min or more), focus on a few important sessions a week:

  1. Interval Running - 1 km × 5 pieces (pace 4 minutes 20 seconds to 4 minutes 25 seconds/km, 90 seconds rest)
  2. Tempo Running - 20 minutes (Pace about 4 minutes 40 seconds/km)
  3. Long run - 8 ~ 12 km (Improved endurance at an easy pace)

Add 1-2 light runs and strides after 2 sessions per week. Increase the mileage of the week gradually, prioritize recovery, sleep enough.

Race every few weeks, practice pace allocation and build confidence.

Long distance running is the key. Do not focus on speed or running up to 5 km. I increased the week’s long run to 20 km, reducing the 5 km time from 20 minutes to 17 minutes. I tried to run slowly three of the four times.

8

When I run for 5 km, I can not feel the same feeling and I can not feel big progress. If you extend your distance and nurture endurance and stamina, you will be able to achieve your goals one after another while driving yourself.

I was about the same age as you, and I was mainly running the 5 km round course, but I ran 10 km for the first time in several years yesterday. It felt really great.

9

Rather than disappointing, it feels unsatisfied…

Perhaps it is necessary to get a sense of fulfillment from the “process” rather than the final goal (caution: obscure expression)?

10

Try various goals.

Restart in November 2024. I could not continue until now, so I made it my goal.

Accumulated until running 7 days a week, experience achieving 70 consecutive days. This is the first time.

Plan to increase mileage and achieve 40 miles per week for two consecutive weeks. This was also my first experience.

Reduced to 32 miles per week to start muscle training. This is also my first attempt.

I’ve done too much lunge, suffered calf, and now I’m on rest… but I’ve experienced rehabilitation of injuries, so my goal now is safe rehabilitation and return within weeks.

Next is priometrics and other strength training… and then I’m going to pursue speed.

A 52-year-old man, a single runner who runs behind the group, starting later in life. There are many goals to be achieved, and many goals to be achieved.

Challenge various goals, achieve as many as possible, and keep running!

11

I have been running since I was 10 years old (now 35 years old). Yes, there were ups and downs. I was passionate about competing in junior high and high school, and I ran in D3 (Division 3) at university. After graduation, I continued to compete for several years, but after that I took a break and my mileage decreased, and I stopped training. Because it is no longer fun. I started running again around the age of 30, and I have really enjoyed the past five years. In my opinion, if you are not enjoying it, you should run at a “comfortable pace” for about a year and watch it. It is also a good idea to throw away pressure and not even wear a watch for a while. After rediscovering the joy of running, try to see if you want to set a goal.

12

Im always extremely impressed with myself.

13

That treadmill of pleasure. In short… people are never satisfied with good things. Because it is a new daily life. Now I want something better. I love the process. If you like to run, run. It may be harsh for people who value results. Because running is never “complete.” It just gets a little faster.

14

In Atomic Habits, the author emphasizes that the goal should be to maintain habits rather than concrete outcomes. The goal of running is to shorten the time of the marathon, but if you set the goal to “3 hours off,” what will be the future? After achieving the goal, it becomes easier to lose sight of direction.

For example, people who set a goal of “20 pounds weight loss” often stop making efforts to maintain their results after actually losing 20 pounds. If you set your goals to maintain habits such as “cut off unhealthy snacks” and “control the amount of food” (or “run 80km a week” laughs), you will be more likely to continue that trajectory.

15

I always thought about running and self-vest, but when I ran 100 miles earlier this year, I felt great. I shed tears at the goal line. Maybe you need a different goal? Distance, not speed?

16

I don’t really like running, but I still keep going, and I feel better. It might be good to try to change the distance and see if the sense of achievement increases. My best 5K is almost the same as the best half marathon in terms of mileage per minute. Somehow, I can’t run at super high speeds, but I can keep running quite fast for a long time.

For me, one of the pleasures of running is to run around and cover a considerable distance. Perhaps you haven’t found your favorite part of running yet.