Back to square one !

[kazzers]

I have been putting off this moment for so long, but now I just feel I have to bite the bullet and write this post. I graduated on Christmas Eve last year and was so proud of myself. I continued running for sheer pleasure and felt the fittest I had felt for years . Then in April I cracked a rib by tripping over in the dark in my garden. This meant no exercise for approx. 12 weeks I have since got back to the gym and to some really slow runs. For some reason I am finding it really hard to get back to regular running. I seem to find it difficult to find time to fit in 3 times a week but when I was working towards my Couch 2 5K badge nothing got in the way of my running ! I have been making more of an effort in the past couple of weeks, but have discovered that I need to go back to week 3 as my stamina is rubbish at the moment Has anybody else had to restart for various reasons? I would really love to sign up for a race to give myself a focus but at the moment I can't imagine being able to run for 30mins without walking for ages yet ..........any advice please

Kazz

[deekay64 Graduate]

I'm in exactly the same place Kazz. I graduated in April running 30 mins but no where near 5K. I then put my all into getting to 5K and enjoyed every minute then I too tripped over, unrelated to running, broke my nose and also a toe so I had to take time off.

When I returned my first run out I felt great, did 2 miles gently and came home buzzing feeling great. The next morning I couldn't weight bear on my left foot. Plantar facilitis

I'm much improved now health wise, I have run a mile just once and did a 5K race last weekend but I'm afraid I'm having walking breaks. I'm so disappointed and I'm stressing about it. I know it's mostly mental but it flipping well feels physical.

I have redone week 4, no problems, and the past 3 runs have indulged myself in intervals (at a high BPM). I can certainly run, just not for long periods of time, 10 mins maximum I'd say.

I really want to get back to 5K and Park Run soon

[kazzers Graduate in reply to deekay64]

Hey thanks for your reply deekay64 , it makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one , and a broken nose sounds very painful , ouch!! My goal then will be a park run It's something I never got around to finding out about , I've found out where my closest one is now

[DeliaItaly Graduate]

I broke an arm on Week 6 and had to stop running for 6 weeks. I started again from week 3. OK, so it took me longer to graduate, but so what? Nobody's chasing you. You are doing this for yourself and just remember, life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Good luck, you can do it!

[kazzers Graduate in reply to DeliaItaly]

Yes you are right DeliaItaly I do beat myself up about stuff sometimes, I'll carry on from week 4 and as I said to deekay64 will set myself a goal of a Park Run thank you

[deekay64 Graduate]

Volunteer one Saturday Kazza, it will give you an insight. They are mixed ability but my local one there is no one quite as slow as me and everyone ran every step of the run. I don't mind being last but I'm not going to be the only one walking! I really enjoyed helping out and met some lovely people

[Crismatlotta Graduate]

Oh, I know this feeling! I graduated in June and then went on holiday. I managed two 5k runs there but then had a two month break due to getting ill on my return, then my girls got ill, etc, etc... I started running again 3 weeks ago and after the first disastrous run where I walked half the way I decided to go back to week 6 and start from there. Had a lovely 25 min run today! It's a bugger to get out there but worth it when you do! I too think i need some focus though, nothing ever got in the way of my run when I was doing c25k but now, well, that's a different story! I reckon just keep at it, good luck!

[kazzers Graduate in reply to Crismatlotta]

I am feeling much more positive now , thanks Crismalotta I had also forgotten how supportive everyone is on here . I'm off out for a run tomorrow afternoon, Maybe week 5 ??!! I'll let you know how it goes

[Mazzero Graduate]

Well done both of you for biting the bullet and starting again. You've gone public with your desire to get back on form and will get masses of support to do this. I think you're doing very well so far and it doesn't matter if you walk when you feel the need. Establishing the habit of getting out there 3 times a week comes first and the rest will just come naturally. I hope you stay well and wish you lots of luck

[kazzers Graduate in reply to Mazzero]

Thank you Mazzero, I think you're right, it's prioritising the 3 times a week, rather than staying late after work !

[thinnerandfitter Graduate]

Another re-starter here! I didn't go right back to the beginning but "just" to week 5 after a break of about 3-4 months (not due to injury though - I did keep moving in other ways). Now I'm in week 7 again and apart from one bad run have felt pretty good about things. Actually being back in the programme has been good for me. I still dislike the It's Easy Now song with a vengeance, but I like the encouragement of Laura (only 5 more minutes etc) and I think I'm a better runner now than I was at this point first time round.

I hope you continue to make good progress - I'm also aiming to get back to parkrun so I'll be watching out for your blogs to compare notes.

Ann