A delightful 3k this morning, representing my last run of week 2 of the magic plan and this is a distance I now rarely do! When looking up my old C25k route on my Footpath app this morning, I couldn’t believe that that one was only 2.6k, although I do remember having to loop twice by the end to get to 5k. ⭕️
But my running experience is certainly skewing with my distance perception,- in a good way!
And another two little - but for me significant - experiences:
1. 🛌 As I was able to chose if I was going to run the 3k today or tomorrow, I found myself sitting in bed, hubby about to get up and me wondering what to do and out of boredom deciding to go for that delightful 3k run! The significance is that, before this year I simply wouldn’t have thought running was what I would choose to do instead of all other things I could do on a Saturday morning, and now running has moved to the top of the list! 😃
2. 🦿When coming towards the end of the trail path, where I would usually stop running to carefully walk down a section with a downward slope for ca 30 meters due to my knees, today for the first time I simply carried on running. This might seem such a small thing for some, but over the past 9 months I have really felt my knees getting stronger and stronger (with some niggles here and there), and certain movements, from how one takes the stairs or simply getting up from the floor, have become so much easier. Running down that slope confidently with no stiffness, awkwardness or small niggling aches is evidence of having achieved a big step-change.🙌
📍On RunLEJOG I am jogging down a small A-road passing Stockleigh-Pomeroy’s Church with a Norman doorway! Lovely countryside but loving my real routes back home even more!
Now to putting up some Christmas Decorations! (Having lived in various countries, I’ve managed to persuade my husband to adopt some of my mash-ups of customs, including putting up the decorations 4 weeks before XMas and having a real Advents calendar and wreath with 4 candles 🕯🕯🕯🕯. And Sunday is the first Advent!
I wish you all happy knees and a wonderful 1st Advent.
Written by
CBDB
Graduate10
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Sounds like a great run CBDB and I’m glad the knees are holding up. I’m sure all the strength and flex exercises must be helping with that too!💪If you prefer running to doing other things on a Saturday, just wait till Parkrun comes back (hopefully in the new year). That’ll give you even more reason to get up and out there! 🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃♂️
Yeah! Can’t wait! Although it will be daunting running with ‘real’ running buddies 😱.
But another thought struck me yesterday. I’m a runner-child of that COVID era, having never experienced anything other than virtual races and runs, and only having been running alone.
But I can see how I and my husband might choose to travel to various Parkruns and experience them in their glorious diversity of parks, routes, and towns. And on that journey I might meet some of us runners from the Health Unlocked community!
And that was actually a wonderful thought!
Maybe we should have a club badge, or a T-shirt so we can recognise each other once we’re running in the real world again and can meet up at various Parkruns.
Anyway, I’m waffling. But you can see I’m already looking forward to that!
That sounds a great idea CBDB.👍 Parkrun already do an apricot ‘Tourist’ t-shirt, which comes with your ‘home’ Parkrun name on it (in my case Lloyd Parkrun in Croydon). Wouldn’t it be lovely if there was a C25K t-shirt too?😊
Yes, I just looked and you can personalise it. So I wonder if we should suggest the possibility to add “Health Unlocked Running Community” as this would include all 4 forums. And of course it is then also possible to add your HU name. 40 characters allowed. I might just get some for presents and myself.
There have been some meet- ups at parkruns over the last few years with runners on this C25K healthunlocked community, some have travelled hundreds of miles to meet at a parkrun, even our friend Damien and his son travelled over from Ireland to meet some other runners on this forum, so who knows what might happen regarding meeting other runners once parkruns resume, goodness knows when???
Lovely long post where your optimisim and growing enjoyment of running shines through.Your comments about now choosing a run on a Saturday being a real change made me giggle, I found myself getting excited the other week when I realized I could get the latest edition of Women's Running when I went shopping.
It’s a running craze! I hope we become famous as a movement with future historians studying the early 21st century and just this running momentum that - in the end - made society more healthy, allowed cities to structure their infrastructure around cyclists, runners and walkers, and basically saved us from climate catastrophe! 😂😂 💪👍🏽
When running has been promoted to the top of list CBDB I'm afraid to notify you that the addiction has got you chuck, and from here in in it's a slippery slope, the clothes, the Gizmo's, the gadgets, the shoes, the dreaded purse emptying Running shops 😂, welcome to the addict's club
And I’ve got a few running somethings to put under the XMas tree (which I’m putting up as I type) for me and family ... but can’t quite say what it is 🤫 as hubby might go onto these forums the single time in the year when I talk about his Xmas present! 😂😂🎄🎁
Isn’t it just amazing to be able to run down hills or slopes? Going up onto the downs during this year I’ve realised how much more sure footed and confident i am, i’ve always been happy to walk up but crept down carefully and now can jog up slowly and run down with a big grin in my face, not bad for nearly 65 me thinks Well done your progress is amazing
Yes! This, exactly! It’s amazing how relatively fast the body adapts and gets stronger... of course then to also experience some set-backs here and there.
Always going to be setbacks, but the big thing for me with running is i’m reducing the likelihood in my sixties of falling breaking a hip and spending the rest of my life pushing a zimmer frame round
Great news about your knees 👏I have to pinch myself sometimes - I would not have even considered running before March and now I get twitchy feet on rest days 🤣
Lovely post CBDB so pleased all your running and exercises have strengthened your knees, I know exactly what you mean about running down a slope for the 1st time - I was quite beside myself when I did that too, as I have a troublesome left knee from a childhood injury, running though has really strengthened it and helped with other activities i.e. gardening 🧑🌾
Enjoy putting up your decorations and lighting your advent ring 🎄🕯
Thank you! Yes, and those knees..... this is the strongest they’ve been since the birth of my son (which created a lot of health problems due to undiagnosed condition). And he’s now about to have driving lessons! 😱
Wonderful post and replies here CBDB, yes yes yes to all of it. I’d planned to run my long run tomorrow this weekend but woke up and just knew it had to be a run day. Roll on those days when we can meet up and run with some of our VRB’s in post COVID days which will surely come. And we will be ready for them. Roll on the day I can run my very first Parkrun and take my brand new shiny shocking pink Parkrun ID bracket from its hook. And yes to those better knees, not a tweak insight today up hill or down. Happy Advent to you too, I will be a lighting a candle to the coming of better times for everyone 🤞🤗
Great post CBDB. I can relate to all of that. But please tell me what you are doing to strengthen your knees. Sounds like I might need some of that.Happy Advent!
You might find some knee focussed workouts on the HealthUnlocked Strength and Flex Forum, but here are some I posted there and they really have made a difference. So at least one of my workouts per week focussed on knees. (I also had to learn to give them a recovery day, so sometimes juggling running, workouts and recovery days I find quite complicated). So here some knee focussed workouts:
The Girl with the Pilates Mat
(20 min): Pilates for Very Painful Knees- 20 Minutes of Chair based exercise for Knee Arthritis
Thank you so much. This will give me lots to go on. AND I have just looked at your strength and flex advent challenge so no excuse now for not knowing what to do on non-run days. I just took a peak at the holiday squat challenge. Time to get some space and turn the volume up to get into Christmas spirit. Thank you.
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Magic 6K in week 2 of JuJu's plan
Magic Plan W2 R1
Magic plan completed. 
