Listen to your body… the advice we have been giving, and been given so many times over our running journeys and never more so at the moment, with so many of us on, or just off the IC.
I went out for my first post lurgy run, and I determined, to take my own advice and listen to my body.
We love our running so much that sometimes, it is very hard not to go out through that door… and sometimes to our cost. I have not run for over two weeks… I have walked regularly, but not run. My voice was telling me in no uncertain terms not to. So I waited… until the night before the day I thought I might run… and on that morning the voice said, yes… this is the day… have a go.
SlowSlowKwikKwikSlow ,said on here, day or so ago, how lucky she felt being able to run, and how so many folk would love to be in our shoes. There are folks on here, our friends, who run, with serious life-changing illness or who are recovering from serious health issues. I am in awe of them, and I shall try to remember when I am feeling sorry for myself, and moaning because of a lurgy, just how lucky I am. So, although I intended being sensible I was going to run. Typically at the moment, another grey and very wet morning. But, my running gear was warming on the radiator, my running shoes out in the porch, my flashing belt, my hat, my buff, ( love you Ullyrunner ), gloves all ready and waiting. I had made a vow on the forum, to davidhwynn , that I would be out there and I was.
After the cuppa and bikkies and a quick warm up stretch, I let myself out of the house quietly. It is, for me, and I know many of us, always strange, after a spell on the IC, to take that first exploratory run, heart beats a little faster, breath comes a little quicker, muscles feel a little tighter, until we start. I had Irishprincess 's post in my head, and was keen to heed the warnings about pushing too fast too soon. She flagged up, as did someone else on the forum, the strain that colds or infections can put on the heart. So, sensibly, I warmed up, not overly briskly, although I have been walking most days, even whilst ill, and then just started a gentle run on the downhill side of the Crescent. I scanned the gardens in the semi darkness as I ran past; bedroom lights on behind the curtains, the early morning workers making preparations for the daily toil. No sign of many snowdrops here yet, Bluebirdrunner , but I could just make out the green sharp blades of the daffodils pushing through the earth a full four or five inches.
A graphite sky, no hint of brightness, an over-blanket of melancholy placed over the morning; the rain, a steady, fine drizzle as I moved towards the village. My legs, thankfully still strong, the days spent on my cross trainer, after falling and breaking my ribs, were obviously well spent. Breathing felt fine, with no wheezing or tightness. I was almost surreally aware of my body and the way I was moving, and the voice in my head. Familiar recollections of pre-graduation, light steps, relaxed muscles, steady breathing. As I crossed over the main road and up past Rookery wood, I was aware that the weather was worsening. Not an ideal morning for a post lurgy run, but I was warm and I was togged up, and already damp, so I pressed on.
The wood, dripping and dank, shadows flittering in the half darkness; early birds, skittering through the tangled branches and rustlings and scuttling in the dense brown undergrowth. I was managing a steady pace, but just pulled back a little as I was going uphill… best not to overdo it at this point. Along the entrance to the fields and out along the path into the open; my huge tree stretching massive, still leafless arms, sharp, twiggy fingers puncturing a sullen sky. It was slightly harder going here, the soft ground giving under my feet; my trainers wet and that first dampness seeping to my socks. Still keeping a good pace though, I made it across to the steam railway line. Time for a breather and to run up the field hill back to the lane; I paused and looked around at the misty fields stretching into the even murkier distance, No glimpse of sunlight, just a lighter shade of dark. Seagulls etched white, wheeling high, high above, their cries ghost like, the souls of lost sailors driven inland by turbulent wind and storm.
Slowing to a nearly walking pace, along the muddy tractor troughs, hat pulled well down; the going heavier now , wet twigs threatening to scratch my face, the grass twisted and sodden, grasping at my heels, I was beginning to feel tired, but at last, out onto the lane. Firm ground and a gentle run. I pulled my buff up over my nose and ran down the lane to the main road; steady and slow, breathing settling again as the village wakens and the day begins. The barrier was down at the station and, usually, I would have sprinted to cross to the other side of the road before the barrier went up…not this morning; that small voice again… not ready for this yet.
Eventually I crossed over the rain-slicked road, headlights of cars glistening and shining; a kind driver, let me cross, maybe she is a runner too, or she took pity on this strange, bedraggled figure, at the side of the road. A slow walk back up the hill, well I was wet, so what the heck. Not the greatest run ever but surely one of the best, as is, if we are lucky, the first one after illness, I was feeling good, Sandraj39 did not have to take me with her on her run, (although she runs in some super places), and I had survived intact. That is always a bonus.
The Snail Trail goes on
PS
I tell you what… there were whole lot of us out there today; I took so many of you with me… all my regular chums and new ones too. We could form a running club, right here in the Staffordshire Moorlands Thanks for joining me.x
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Oldfloss
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Don't ask... Tablets making me feel sick and legs have got worse. Can't drive as breaking hurts (good job Mr Miller works at the same school). Waiting to hear about physio (doubt I'll hear anything for a few weeks) and got follow up gp appt in 2 weeks. With a different doctor (fingers crossed he's not as rubbish as the last one). On a plus point it's saving me petrol money and I may have used that to buy new shoes which have gone in the wardrobe for when I'm better.
Oh dear... poor you. I have been thinking about you...I feel for you..my husband is really not well and the earliest appointment was two weeks away... ridiculous! Hope it all sorts soon x
Nice write up Floss, I was almost there with you. Glad you listened to your inner voice, that lurgy can take it right out of you. Sounds like a nice steady run! 😎
It was.. a very slow 4K Frank..but just glad to do it.. with no after effects.. I have taken two days rest and weather permitting, will head out tomorrow.. x
Thank you for taking me with you Oldfloss - what a very wonderful run and so many wise words. This is exactly why my training does not adhere to a paper plan - paper plans do not take in to account what my body is telling me as I run. It is a quiet voice, as you say, but knows me better than all. So glad you are back out there☺x
I am relieved. the older I get, the more I value my health and strength... I love to take my chums, especially those who have been with me from the start xxx
Out tomorrow, weather permitting.. after two days rest
I am, thank you... always a relief.. one never knows how this old Bod will react ! But, fingers crossed.. out tomorrow.. ( I did take an extra day's rest though )
Award for prose! - award for effort! - award for the best gear i've ever heard anyone talk about! I'm looking forward one day to perhaps being able like you to enjoy this running experience. I'm with SlowSlowKwikKwikSlow as well, I'm SO grateful at my age to feel able to even attempt this programme. By the way, thanks especially to you personally for the support & encouragement you keep giving me. (ps. How do you put in those active links to other people?)
Thank you.... I love to run and I love to ramble.. sometimes they are very lengthy.. my chums are used to me
You, my friend are doing brilliantly.. just keep at it, take it one step at a time.. like many of us do. you will get there x
McFitty has explained how you do the link.. type the @ sign and start the name..holding over it and you will get the name or a list of similar ones to choose from.
This post is testament to the instruction to 'Floss every morning'😊 If I've just read one of your posts, I feel ready for anything, so maybe we should all 'Floss before a run' xxx
Me too sweetie... I will head out tomorrow... I have taken two days to rest.. and touch wood I feel I might be back on track. it may be slow, but that suits me fine Thank you x
I am glad to be out there and running again..however slowly...and you know, you are with me on all my runs...supporting and keeping me strong...as ever...🙂
i was just about to write soothing and poppy has beat me to it! you have a very calming presence over us here, great therapy reading your posts! glad it all went well floss
I wish I could keep my running calmness sometimes ... it is all too easy, when stuff arises, to lose the inner strength...but I am really trying hard this year
It did go better than I hoped really, thank you, although it was damp! Maybe if I can run and enjoy that sort of weather after the IC, it bodes well for sunny days too
I do realise too, that keeping as fit as we can whilst on the IC, (certainly in my case), helps, when we do get out there again. With me, the walks with small one, certainly kept my legs strong!!
Hope you are feeling much better too... your post with the sassy shoes, shows, that you are well on the way xx
Oh so good to have you back! That lurgy seems to have gotten to many. I'm glad you're over it. When I read your post, it struck me that the run I did the other day in the centre of Copenhagen was the exact opposite type of run. Noisy and busy. Yours was quiet and solitary
Of course, as ever you were with me and I did, funnily enough, think of you on your city run! It is so quiet out there, the time I run usually. A misty wet day, makes it even more so...
That lurgy this year, as last, has been a real pain! But, slowly and steadily we all seem to be heading back to health
I often don't pay remember who wrote each post as I'm reading it - but I *knew* this was an old floss treasure What a lovely write-up of a lovely run, rain, mud and all!
You're so right about listening to our bodies. I've come to the sad realisation that I just can't wear my beloved high heeled shoes on a daily basis any more. Turns out there's a direct link between the height of my heels and the amount of knee twinges I get. But I want to keep running, so new, flat shoes it is...
Oh yes.. high heels... I had to stop wearing them after years of teaching. If I wear them at all now, within half an hour, my feet are looking for a place to hide, so i can kick them off
The run went better than I hoped, thank you and the days of not running, had caused a gridlock of words...hence the length of my ramble
What a lovely post - so glad you got out for a run, so good to conquer the lurgy! It is three weeks since I last had a run, and that was only a short one. But like you waiting for the body to tell me when I am ready (coccyx still sore). So I enjoyed 'running' with you......
Oh dear. poor you. I can really empathise, I fell one Christmas Eve, on black ice, and that coccyx pain..ouch. It did take a while before it went. I had some kind of rub, which could only go on every four hours, and I was quite literally counting the hours in between!
I had a back injury too years ago when you used to be able to get a spray.. a bit like the ones used for Rugby injuries.. Skefron... that worked wonders..it numbed the pain completely, but it does not seem to be around any more...
I hope you start to feel much better soon... this will be coming up to your busy season I expect... and with all your whizzing around, you need to be on form.
Its lovely to have you back, describing your running adventures in your brilliant, descriptive way.
Daffodil blades, Rookery wood, the dampness seeping into your socks on the soft ground.. we can see it all, it really does feel like we experience it with you..😊
Glad you are feeling much better Floss, listening to your body and easing gently back into your running routine.
I looked for snowdrops, they are pushing through even more in my lawn, but i did not see any others.. No daffodil flowers yet either.
It was a much better first run than I dared hope.. when I saw the rain, I nearly did not go, but having determined I would.. I just went and am so glad, as we always are, that I did
The world is a wonderful place, and with so much to give us, even on the wettest days xx
Good to hear you are feeling better and thank you for such an inspiring post. Since being struck down with the lurgy last weekend, I have missed all three W2 runs. Am hoping that Sunday will be the day I start again but need to get rid of more of the congestion first. 😷
You do right..if your chest is not clear, don't run... Maybe a walk but no running... these things are taking so long to clear, that another few days recovery won't hurt..
The run, when you are feeling better, will still be there.. I took two days rest and have just had my second post IC run... still taking it very slow and steady though x
You are so right Floss, about so many things. Listening to our body and not pushing on too much even if we want to is important and something I constantly need to remind myself (just like I used to remind myself 'slow, slow, slow' which now seems to be second nature ). I also love that you mentioned about feeling lucky to run. I appreciate it every time I'm out there. I am a teacher of children with special needs and a fellow teacher told a story of a lesson on 'superpowers' when a pupil who is wheelchair bound and communicates through eyegaze software once said that the superpower he would most want is to walk (she originally thought he meant to walk on water but, no, just to walk). Caught in my throat, that one.
We are lucky and, as long as we are always appreciative, then I feel we are deserving of the wonderful gift of running and have a responsibility to make the most of our bodies for those who can't.
Thanks, as always, for sharing OldFloss. I'm off out for my run soon.
I know what you mean about the pupil and his wish to walk... It is heart rending.
I once knew someone, quite a young woman. healthy and with children, who did nothing but sit, all day and every day, with magazines, or watching TV..one morning I saw a feature on BBC Breakfast, one morning, about a young lad, wheelchair bound, who expressed a similar wish, just to walk..... but he was also, coaching other wheelchair bound youngsters in sports activities too.. his life prognosis was short.. yet, he was still using what life he had... Amazing!
I wanted to say to her.. one life, you have your legs and arms and your health don't waste it.. but I suppose we all are guilty sometimes of taking things for granted.
I am trying to be more aware of this and use my time to stay fit and healthy and to encourage others to do the same..some folk on here, run under all kinds of stresses and with many deep seated medical conditions..I am in awe of them.. they make me feel a real fraud when I complain about something
Enjoy your run sweetie.. how very, very lucky we truly are :)x
A tough 5k with the wind and the rain but that little chat stemming from your post prior to going out spurred me on. Thought about it towards the end when I wanted to stop.
Recently every run I go on I seem to pass someone in a wheelchair or bent over a zimmer frame or something. I'm quite prone to say of the C25k program, "If I can do it, anyone can do it", but I have realized that that just isn't true. Many people are not so fortunate as to be able to train their way out of their physical limitations. You and SlowSlowKwikKwikSlow are quite right. We're so blessed.
Tee hee.. I wish I was wise... my Nan was wise... but I feel when you live until you are 98, you must get a lot of knowledge tucked under your belt... Maybe I am getting a tad more like her, as I age too
My Nan used to say, "count your blessings...£ she was right, as are you.. we are a lucky bunch!
Ah floss, I've been away and missed your beautiful post and am just catching up. I'm so pleased your first run back went well. It's always tricky isn't it? But yours went beautifully 🤗.
Thank you for thinking of me and I must say I really loved running with you. And you are so right - we are so, so lucky xxx
I really hope you are feeling more yourself These blessed lurgy monsters are dire.. My husband has had 'it', whatever 'it' is...but his, like yours, has turned into something horrid.. he is now on strong antibiotics!
I was very slightly apprehensive on the first ten minutes or so.. and have to admit, I am still intending taking it slowly. of course, yesterday and today it's glorious sunshine..bet it isn't like this when I run tomorrow
Hope you are able to be up and running soon.. and sending you a Floss hugx
Definitely more like myself and I'm so sorry your poor husband has had "it". Be aware it does take ages to recover from and I'm still not 100%% with my tummy (it's been five weeks!) but I think that's the antibiotics and not the virus.
Anyway I have appointment with the podiatrist on the 16th but no running until then ☹️☹️☹️
That's why I love posts like yours when I can run with you xxx
Lovely post, OldFloss - so descriptive that I feel i can see your you on your route! Well done on listening to your inner voice - it's so hard to do!
I'm tentatively off the IC but probably shouldn't be running as my asthma flared up after a nasty cold in December. It hasn't fully settled yet but I can't help myself! I'm well and truly hooked up to the running drip I'm sure I'll pay at some point for my recklessness.
You've been through the mill with your injuries and I'm glad you're feeling so much better. And you are right - once you're off the IC you appreciate being able to run again more than ever.
The running is not the only enjoyment I get from this programme.. it is about being myself in the wide world and embracing every single moment of it; and then sharing it with chums on here, who are well used to my rambles
I am getting back on form now too which is marvellous! x
Hi Oldfloss! I feel strangely emotional to see that you are, thankfully, still on the forum. I've been gone for 4 months, silly me. So heartwarming to be sitting here on a Friday evening reading your post. I am so glad you have seemingly recovered from your broken ribs, which is how you were last time I was around. I so hope you are well xx
Sarah.. thank you. I have just replied to your own post. It is good to have you back.
Yes.. still here and still rambling..
The ribs healed really well... ( better and quicker than I imagined),and I had a bad attack of the dreaded Lurgy monster.. who got so many of us this time round. It has meant a delay in Snail progress.. but I am getting back on form slowly... !
Walking with my small sproglet in her pram has kept me fit and sane! 9 miles a day on average! And runs, as and when weather permitted.. ! ( Dratted fog!)
Back up to 7 K now.. so, slow and steady, but getting there..
So lovely to hear from you xxxx Don't stay away again! Please x
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