3rd Time Lucky?

[Frida]

It's about 2 years since I started C25K, I've had a few problems, briefly, I started the programme when I realised that my sinuses could no longer cope with swimming 6 hours a week, but I was also suffering from achilles tendonitus. I re-started at wk 3 when my husband decided he wanted to join me, we said we would do it together and completed it to wk9 r2. I really wish I'd done wk9 r3, but hubby had knee trouble so we stopped to rest his knee.

Then I managed to get an appointment with an exercise consultant, he referred me for physio with his "specialist team" in the meantime I was allowed to run in 5 min intervals. Ironically, running is pain free, walking isn't, but I did as I was told.

The physios lost my appointment details and I didn't start with them until Jan, I have since followed all their instructions, including no running! Sadly, no improvement and I've been written off by them!!

Back to the Consultant, this time I saw one of his registrars and he was brilliant, I've had blood tests, X-rays and a scan, haven't had the results yet, but as I said that my pain isn't better for not running and isn't any worse when I do run he has said to get on with it! But right from the start and carefully.

In all my time of not running I've been going to the gym and I've completed, amongst other things, C25k - ish on the cross trainer in the hopes that it would help with running when I got back to it. I can tell you that it hasn't helped.

Tuesday morning I did wk1 r1, it was a bit of a disaster as the podcasts hadn't transferred to my new phone. I thought, I know what to do, I'll just time myself with my watch - easier said than done, at my advanced age of 54 I couldn't read the seconds and I couldn't keep looking at my watch for the minutes as I'd probably fall down a pot hole....I know that one of my runs was about 2 1/2 mins and the recovery times were hit and miss, but I did it!

And I really knew I'd done it yesterday, I could hardly walk, I was so stiff!! It was a lot easier with the breathing than when I first started ( thought I'd die ) but all my gym work has not helped at all, running must use the thighs in a different way to every other exercise!

But I went out this morning and completed - with the podcast - the second run, it was a lot better, but my thighs are still stiff.

So, I've got about eight weeks until I go back to the hospital, unless I'm called in earlier, fingers crossed I might just manage it, but even if I don't I'm absolutely determined that I'll carry on running in some form. I have never been a runner and I'm really surprised at how much I enjoy it, and how much I've missed not doing it.

Sorry it's a long post, but I think I'm a bit high from two successful runs........