Ups and downs Week 4. Great start to week 5

[Eastofthegate]

Week 4 turned out to be a very up and down week. Run 1 last Tuesday was good; breathing was in a nice pattern, and I felt like I was in a good rhythm when the first 5 minute run ended. I actually looked forward to Thursday.

That turned out to be not so good. Our daughter decided to come with us which threw me, my legs felt a bit leaden, my left knee was a tad achey and part way through my stomach felt a bit ' off'. I ground my way through it, put it down as a ' bad run' and thought I would do better on Saturday.

My knee had other ideas about that ( my joints have played me up on and off for the last 35 years) and I had to wait until Sunday to run. That turned out to be even worse. I was okay when I set off, and had actually covered more ground than the previous 2 runs when part way through the second 3 minute run I felt awful; chest pains and sickly. I've had a form of angina for the last 7 years and listen to what my body tells me so I stopped and we headed home. I went to bed for the rest of the day and felt soooooo disappointed that I hadn't completed the run. I was surprised just how much it mattered to me - I think running is beginning to get under my skin!

I wasnt sure what to do. Should I redo week 4 run 3 or move onto week 5? Hubby's a runner and thought I should have go at week 5 - so I did. I did it this evening and I'm pleased to say that it went really well. We changed our route slightly as it used to end with going down a steep hill and up a long, sweeping incline which I don't think has done my knee any good. Tonight's route was much flatter and although my knee still aches it actually feels better when I'm running than it does when I'm walking.

I can't believe the difference from when I started a few weeks ago.

Run 2 on Thursday as long as my knee feels okay!

[vivh61 Graduate]

Well done for completing W5R1, and good on you for listening to your body in a previous run. It's often tempting to keep going when you know you shouldn't, but a few hours of disappointment is way better than making yourself really ill by carrying on.

My knees often feel achy too, even though I stretch after each run. I bought a foam roller recently though, and even though I haven't fathomed out how to roll my knees yet it does seem to make a difference if I use it after a run. It might also be worth thinking about taking 2 days between each run instead of 1, just to give your knees a bit more time to recover. But see how you feel on the day!

[Eastofthegate Graduate in reply to vivh61]

Thankyou! I've seen someone exercising using a foam roller online; I may have to get one if my knee doesn't settle down.