Never thought I'd be a runner

[Pollypanda]

Hi all,

I've been reading and enjoying your posts for a few weeks now and thought it was time to introduce myself and share my running story.

It seems weird to call myself a runner as I never thought I would be one. I have severely flat feet with the added bonus of an old tendon injury in my right foot, which occasionally causes mischief. In the past, whenever I ran in a straight line I would get sharp pains in my shins and a dull ache in my right foot after a few hundred metres and I would stop. I just figured that with my wonky feet that I wasn't built for it. Instead, I did cycling (low impact for feet), squash and British Military Fitness sessions (short jogs and/or zigzag running), which my feet seemed ok with.

All was going well until I aggravated my old tendon injury. After resting it, I found I couldn't get back into exercise without causing stiffness and pain, seemingly everywhere, not just in my foot! I got in the cycle of injury, resting, re-injuring, resting and so on, and it wasn't going anywhere. I'd had enough, bit the bullet and saw a podiatrist, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! He fitted me with orthotic insoles specifically designed for running and exercise, and showed me an easy stretching and strengthening programme for my calves to help with my shin pain.

I started walking to break in my orthotics and was feeling pretty good, so I thought why not try running? To hell with the old rules! A friend had started the C25K and recommended it.

So here I am, having just completed Week 7, Run 1! The chick with the wonky feet, who couldn't run for a few hundred metres without sharp pain in her shins can now run 25 mins at a perfectly respectable pace of around 8 mins per km. I'm really enjoying the programme and I've learned to trust Laura and her gentle encouragement.

Now I'm looking forward to firstly finishing Week 9, and then getting my time down to under 30 minutes. And doing some Parkruns. And then who knows? Maybe I'll end up being one of those crazy Ultra-marathoners who run for 5 days straight across the Antarctic!

[paul2014 Graduate]

Welcome pollypanda Great to hear you've managed to work around your problems. Good luck with rest of the c25k

[Miles_Yonder Graduate]

Welcome to Club C25K, Pollypanda! Congratulations on getting this far on the programme; graduation is only a couple of weeks away now!

Glad to hear you've managed to sort your running issues out, with the help of a friendly podiatrist, leaving you free to enjoy the world of running! Good luck with W7R2 and do let us know how you get on!

[frannyfran Graduate]

Welcome Polly.

So nice to hear you have overcome your problems and hope you stay injury free.

Oh, and I love your ambitions so best of luck for your ultra marathon across the Antartic!!!!!

[Rockette]

Welcome & what a lovely post . Glad you have sorted your problems out & looking forward to seeing more posts on your running journey

[no-excuse Graduate]

That's great that you are running Polly, thanks for sharing your story. Goes to show 'never say never' and great inspiration for others. Enjoy your running x

[Mummysaurus Graduate]

Welcome Polly and well done for finding a way to make running possible for you