One year ago I set out on Week One, Run One of a training programme called NHS C25k and little did I know what I was doing. Within a couple of weeks I was getting out of bed at 5.30 in the morning.........to go running.???
Maybe it is all a dream....maybe I am still thinking,” I really ought to do something about my diminishing stamina, before it is too late.” Maybe I haven't decided to take some positive action to try to avoid the fate of so many of my peers and associates who have had heart surgery in their late fifties or early sixties. Perhaps I never did see all those wonderful sunrises, through the mist or frighten deer as I careered through the fields, casting long shadows across the glorious Devon countryside. Surely I imagined all those icy mid winter runs with mud over my ankles, lit only by a headtorch, with steam rising from my lycra clad body.
No, not me, not with my dodgy knees and an aversion to sports clothing!!!
But then again I remember that feeling, when I was drifting off to sleep. The feeling I had since my youth, of running effortlessly across a landscape......a feeling of release and freedom (and I don't subscribe to the Freudian interpretation!). Yes, there was definitely that moment.....drifting off to sleep......running......yes......yes, I do that..... I run.........BANG!!!!! Sudden dawning realisation and total wakefulness..... No I don't......I haven't run in forty years!!!
So it's all true and yes, my wife runs too, despite telling me she never would. We did run through the woods together, splashing through the puddles on the last day of December, like a couple of ten year olds and along the beach on a cool autumn day. Our son came on a couple of runs too, even though he is a cyclist rather than a runner. We did go to Parkrun together and both set PBs on the same day.
Yes, it's all true, I found C25k and equally importantly this forum, which was full of motivational tales from people who seemed to be amazed by the incredible running feats they had undertaken. I was inspired and in the light of the recent debates about posting stats, I nail my colours to the mast. If you had told me that within a year I would be able to run 1k in 4:58, 5k in 25:41, 10k in 57:38 and run 10miles in 1hr 47, I would never have believed it. I was quite happy with the idea that I might be able to run for 30 minutes at the end of the training plan. But then I was under the misunderstanding that running was just a means of getting fit. Oh the naivety!!
Running can change your life, but if you also have the good fortune to have discovered this community, then you will never be short of empathetic readers of your rambles, answers to your queries and motivation and support in bucket loads from the nicest bunch of people in the running world.
Many lessons have been learned about my body and my mind, over the past year and trying to sum up with something profound is extremely difficult and undoubtedly pretentious, so I will leave it like this. If you come to running at the age of 57, as I did, then respect your body (I can't endorse JuicyJu's most extreme mantras) and build up your running gently. One year in, I am extremely aware that I am only a beginner in this running game and I look forward with enthusiasm to all the lessons to come. The more you know, the more you find there is to know.
Keep running, keep smiling.
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IannodaTruffe
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A very lovely post to read this morning. Thank you for sharing. As I think someone else has posted this morning, running really is a way of life. I can't believe I was so scared to get out there before I started C25k. Now, I miss it if I can't get out there.
Rob_and_Westie's post Fantastic times btw IannodaTruffe. And a big thank you for posting - you are always so encouraging to all the runners who post here.
And Cool Runnings to you, but your slight misquote is getting into Rumsfeld territory, we'll have known unknowns and unknown knowns if we're not careful.
What a year. I love the way you write your posts. Like me it sounds like running has spread its little tentacles to many aspects of your life and changed it. How could we go back now? Heres to many more years of happy running for you.
"We did run through the woods together, splashing through the puddles on the last day of December, like a couple of ten year olds and along the beach on a cool autumn day. "
Look Bazza, MadameTruffe has NEVER described me as romantic, but if taking great delight in the fact that my partner in life shares my passion for running is deemed to be romantic, then I plead guilty. Remember, I am just a limp wristed, whinging Pom.
A lovely post. You are so right when you say that running can change your life and it is obvious that it has touched your life in many positive ways. Thanks for sharing. And the stats are brill! Keep on posting x
I am sure that we are all different people for discovering running, but I think this forum makes all the difference, enabling us to share our experiences.
Brilliant post , you are a true inspiration, and I always consider you the " Daddy " of this forum. So glad it has touched your life in so many positive ways xxx
Happy anniversary Iannoda! I always enjoy your posts, but today you have excelled and captured some of the magic that running has brought into our lives. Long may it continue!
Happy 1st birthday Mr T! Beautiful post felt quite emotional reading it And added bonus you persuaded mrsT to join you Wish you both many more years of running together
How beautiful. And what a difference a year makes. I'm so happy for you about both your achievements and the wonderful experiences that have led you to them.
Congratulations on a brilliant year, Thank you for sharing your journey so far, running has indeed changed your life and thanks to the wonderful encouragement and support you show on this forum you have been a part of changing many more lives. Happy running
Congratulations on your first anniversary, I always find your postings so calming and inspirational. I love it that you have shared your running times and distances with us, it just goes to show what a year can do for your fitness, mind and well being. And I love the fact that so many graduates continue to post and give us newbies so much encouragement and support. Many thanks and happy running, x.
I never thought of my posts as calming and inspirational, more of a contrived stream of consciousness. I do believe that other peoples stats can inspire and this forum works so well because everybody involved is either doing or has done C25k and we understand the highs and lows and relive them with each new runner. Happy running to you too.
Come on Rob, we are not meant to be competitive............but I have discovered another side of myself ......and am very proud of those times. Thanks and happy running to you.
My tongue was firmly in cheek; I only ever compete against myself. And I have nothing but respect and admiration for you and everyone else around here. Happy Running!
Great post and what an inspiration to others, like myself, just starting out and currently working their way through the c25k. If I can achieve those stats after one year then I will be very happy. Thanks for sharing ;o)
Thanks Paul, you are so nearly a graduate. I am sure that most people on this forum are more than happy to see our stats, if we present them modestly, as you always do. Good luck.
Thank you for sharing this with us all here! It was a beautiful read and I am moved by your words. It is obvious it has made a huge difference to your life in so many ways you didn't know at the beginning of your "getting fit" journey and I think this is true for many of us.
Happy anniversary M'dear. That was a lovely post and I really enjoyed reading it. Your stats are amazing but more amazing still is the way you and Mrs T ran through the woods like 10 year olds. What a joy. Happy running indeed
My life has looked up since I started running. Although we have had our own trials this past year, running helps you put them in perspective and we keep on running, keep on smiling.
Poetry in both writing and motion. Super post Monsieur Truffe and extremely inspiring for those who are embarking on this new running thang which we all so love. Your stats are fabulous and you even have to go through tens of fu***ng gates in your neck of the woods don't you? Very impressive. You've given me some brilliant advice over the past 12 months for which I thank you - so keep it up and keep enjoying it!
Thank you, Dan. I think we all feed off one another's successes in this wonderful running community, so keep up your brilliant recent progress and equally brilliant run reports. I knew you'd like Parkrun! As for stats, the 5k is a Parkrun time, so no ****ing gates. Keep on running.
Hi squaremum, how's it going? It is funny how all our virtual running buddies are there in our minds as we run. I think running without this forum would be a significantly less satisfying pastime. You are right-they are inspirational.
Great post and thank you for inspiring lots of us to "keep on running" when it started to get a bit tough or we thought we couldn't.. The story you've shared on your last year also let's me reflect on the fact that I've been at it a little over 3 months now... just a baby! Thanks for sharing... truly inspiring... I will have to work on getting Mrs Aussie out there!
Yeah, getting your partner running (even though we don;t often run together) is a truly wonderful thing. Madame Truffe is less obsessive than me, but does understand what drives me on. It could have been so different. When I was on about W2 she told me she had never liked running and that I wouldn't get her running. I didn't try to persuade her, but she saw me changing week by week, gave it a go and got hooked. Brilliant
I found your post wonderful and inspiring. Thank You. I hope you don't mind but I emailed it to a close older relative who is really worried about me taking up running at 49 (I am on W5R2 at mo). She is worried about injuries, running alone, wearing my knees out etc. I just wanted her to understand why I am determined to carry on and where my new obsession with running shoes comes from! I didn't get any reply until this morning when I have just been informed that she has completed W1R1 Many thanks. Again, I hope you didn't mind me emailing your post to her, .
Thank you beforefifty, and no, I certainly don't mind you emailing it to your relative, especially if it helps persuade someone else to take up running. You sound as if you are already hooked. It is fascinating how so many folk, some who always hated sport at school, come to love running through this wonderful training plan and this forum. If she is worried about your/her knees then make sure you have good shoes and try to run off road to reduce impact.
Wishing you both the very best on your journeys. Keep running, keep smiling.
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Fantastic times btw IannodaTruffe. And a big thank you for posting - you are always so encouraging to all the runners who post here.
One year on
Graduation one year ago
My first year of running
