W2R2 - treadmills and knees

[XFNutty]

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, but I've finally had some time to chat to you guys. Last week I finally completed W1R3 and was well chuffed. I was coming up to a crucial point, I knew I had a flight to the USA on my rest day and I needed to run the day after. That all went to pot! I got waylaid doing some sightseeing and failed to have the energy to do my scheduled run. I was disappointed, but jet lag got in the way. Anyway, riding on a Segway counts as exercise, right? I managed the next day to get on and do W2R1 which begs my next question - do people give themselves a full "weekend" before they start the next week, or do you just have your days rest and you run rotates on days? W2R1 was my first C25K on a treadmill and I was a little bit apprehensive. Actually it wasn't too bad, however I had my first proper twinge of my knee. I want to blame the Segway, but I doubt I have sufficient proof as I never fell off and you don't really use knees. I am aware that my dodgy knees may do this and I may need some gait analysis sometime, but I was very surprised as my previous runs had been outside on pretty uneven ground and hadn't had this problem. With my previous runs I has been using run keeper and so far my distances are getting shorter and shorter. I have no idea whether I'm just moderating my pace better so I don't tire out or whether I'm just getting worse. And on a treadmill it's even more atrocious! I though that I might have a better pace on a treadmill, but it is just so disappointing to see I'm only going at 3.7 miles an hour on average. I do keep tweaking it by 0.1 of a mph just to make sure I keep comfortable. I know these are probably superficial disappointments, but I do genuinely feel that the running is easier and I'm less out of breath. Unfortunately there are too many factors to really determine is whether I'm feeling better because I'm getting filter, or whether it is something else.

All in all, it feels like its going well, time will tell!

Helen

[helcl Graduate]

First of all, well done for finishing week 1. Rest days I would say to start with try and just do 3 runs in a week so you have plenty of recovery days,possibly later you might feel like doing every other day, but right now you need to get used to the running.

Don't worry about speed and distance, they will come

[paul2014 Graduate]

I'm about to start w2r1 tonight and I was in two minds as to have one or two days rest but decided to play safe and have two. I'll probably look at it again around w3 or w4

[Hidden]

Congrats on W1. Starting is by far the hardest bit, and you have done that.

Rest days are massively important and there is nothing wrong with repeating a week if necessary. Speed is NOT important ~ just follow the plan and you won't go far wrong.

If your knees are troublesome (join the club) then good old-fashioned Cod Liver Oil and and a good knee support (I use Vulkan(?)) and I find that this works exceptionally well. Don't use it over night, but use it when necessary.

Good luck, and if you are lacking motivation, watch 'Running for my existence' on Youtube.

[Hidden]

I have always run just 3 times a week - having two days rest over the weekend which sets me up nicely for the start of the following week's challenge. It is during the rest days that the muscles recover and repair to come back that bit stronger each time. Well done on completing week 1. If you've been used to running outside then the treadmill might just have thrown things out of kilter a bit. Don't worry about speed or distance at the moment - the focus of the programme is to build you up gradually to be able to run for 30 minutes by the time you graduate. Good luck with your next run and best wishes.