Well, this must be the slowest comeback ever! But so happy to write that this morning I got all my gear together and got out there, with Zombies version of Week 1 Run 1 of a renewed Couch25k journey!
I had planned it for this weekend, but I had an annual leave day today, and I was also inspired by my son who did a run just yesterday and reported on any muddy patches of my usual route. And then the sun was shining so brilliantly this morning.
Of course there was still a bit of humming and hawing, and faffing about! I’ve been on the IC with COVID and metatarsal issues for coming up to 3 months now, with only the occasional tentative try-out run/walk here and there. During that time, we rearranged our bedroom, I sorted my fitness gear into now 3 drawers (uhm! Yup, up from 2 when last I ran regularly, but now including more rowing gear).
So I had to search for various things:
- Headphones (and adapter to my different iPhone)
- Freetrain Vest, now where did that go?
- Favourite leggings
- Long sleeve top
- Cap
- And my new Altra Lone Peak Trail Shoes (0-Drop), which got their second outing with this run!
And then making sure I set my phone up
- Runkeeper on silent mode and with the right route
- Mummycav @mummycav’s Spotify playlist, which came really handy ( see her post at healthunlocked.com/couchto5... )
- And Zombies to 5k app
It was sunny and warm.
My aerobic fitness seemed ok, thanks to the continuous rowing I did in my down time.
But I could feel my joints and metatarsals will need some time adjusting again to a renewed running me. So I will build up slowly.
And how was week 1 run 1 of the Zombie, Run version of C25k?
The session was pretty gentle. I liked that it had a solid 10min warm-up walk, as 6 min is often not enough to get me off the road into field paths.
And then it was walking 45 seconds, running 15 and repeating that 10 times.
It made me want to run longer as it felt I had so much more to give! It really did leave me wanting more!
And after those gentle run bursts, it asks you to run/walk as you feel for the next 10 min. And that allowed me to joggle a bit longer, with a 2 min, a 3 min and another 5 min section.
Mummycav’s playlist kept me good company. It was good to run to music again!
And my Altra Lone Peaks felt good! They don’t feel as much encushioned like my Hierro New Balance, but that is the point! And they felt perfect for that. I could feel the ground much more and how my ankles and toes are more in touch with the path, letting the feet do what their best at in navigating the uneven ground, the micro slopes and dips and roots.
And coming back home, I felt pretty happy.
This is only the second time I am redoing C25k, but I can already see the difference from where I was last time in week 1. I’m not exhausted now, and I know I was back then. Duration is also shorter, on this same route.
And I will be doing another workout today on my rower, but back in 2020 when I embarked on my running journey, I remember I felt so tired after every run!
So I see this not as “returning” to C25k but moving forward in a running journey, and forward here also sometimes means to pull back.
That running journey I visualise as waves during a rising tide. I’m now in the ebb point, where the tide had receded, but I know that my comeback will mean I’ll get to a stronger position than I was before. Stronger might mean faster, or further, or less injury prone, or simply more fun.
And I’m looking forward to this next part of my running journey!
It’s great to be back! Keep on keeping on everyone!