Week 6 DONE!!!!!! Who says I can't run?!

Hi-de-hi campers!

Well, if you'd asked me yesterday could I do this, I'd have said I'd have made about 5 minutes the way I was feeling. BUT...

I HAVE JUST RUN FOR A SOLID 25 MINUTES!!

Me, the person who could barely manage 60 seconds without keeling over, a few weeks ago. And I feel fantastic about it

As many of you will have spotted, I've had a bit of trouble with my knee over the past few days, which various people I know at work have suggested might have been a problem with my IT band, whatever that is!! (No, don't tell me). Maybe it's because I'm an IT manager at work, but it seemed fine this morning, so I did my stretches, pre and post run, and off I went.

Before I knew it, 5 minutes gone. I just took it nice and steady, I got into a nice rhythm, and the canal towpath was a lot less muddier than last time, so I didn't have to do as much puddle jumping. I met a few dog walkers and said hello to them, and passed an out-of-breath chap with headphones, I wonder if he was doing C25K too?

Then I realised I'd not go this far along the canal before. I was really pleased. There was a nagging voice in my head though. No, not doubt, nor was it Oldfloss chanting "Slow and Steady!!". It was the little lady who lives in my bluetooth headphones saying "Low Battery! Please Recharge!". Oh. I knew I'd forgotten something

I tried to ignore the voice. Then the half way bell went "ding", which I wasn't expecting, because I was distracted with the headphones. So I turned round and continued on my merry way, listening to, as I generally do, Frank Sinatra. Hey, it works for me Suddenly the voice in my ear became more insistant. Suddenly the voice in my ear stopped.

Oh.

To cut a long story short, I had to do the rest of the run without headphones, or encouragement from Jo, and my phone, assuming that I no-longer needed the Couch to 5K app now that my headphones were disconnected, paused the session.

Oh.

But - this is where running a long a canal in one direction really pays off. I realised that as I started my running segment the minute I got on to the canal, all I had to do was run back to that point, because it was unlikely that I would be faster in the second half. And I made it!! I may not have timed it the conventional way, but I'll take that

Thank you SO MUCH for all your support over the past few days, and, well, past few weeks really.

YOU ARE ALL AWESOME!!!

Remember, if I can do this, so can you.

[Shelby1973 Graduate]

Brilliant stuff 316neil u smashed it 🏃🏃🏃 my turn later hope Im posting the same sort of post apart from the charging bit 😉 the only way is forward now with this jogging lark 🏃 x

[Hidden in reply to Shelby1973]

Thanks Shelby, the only way is forward, you're right!

That's the great advantage of running in a straight line, once you get to the half way point, you don't really have the option of cutting it short

Oh - headphones now on charge. I feel a bit silly.

Have a great day,

Neil

[Debbie698]

Brilliant 316neil - very done. Very proud of you😬😬.

[Hidden in reply to Debbie698]

Awww thanks Debbie! So funny, I feel, in a strange way, like you guys have kind-of become an extra family over these past few weeks.

[Debbie698 in reply to Hidden]

Yes I think we all feel that - probably because we can all appreciate how we are feeling - aren’t we a determined bunch of RUNNERS 🏃

[Whatsapp Graduate]

Well done. But there is no reason to turn the app off if your headphones no longer work - it will still give you a countdown time, and also register your run as complete.

TBH the coaches tend not to say much on these later runs anyway, other than to give timed updates.

[Hidden in reply to Whatsapp]

Indeed No, actually I didn't turn the app off, the phone helpfully "paused" it when the headphones turned off, and I didn't realise lol! But I got through

[misswobble Graduate]

Yay! Well done 😃👍💪🏃✔️

[Hidden in reply to misswobble]

Thanks misswobble , encouragement always, always appreciated!

[GingerBohemian Graduate]

Great run. And doing half of it naked as well!

Onwards and upwards to W7.

On the headphones side, that is the exact reason I hate the movement towards bluetooth headphones. I have the in ear 'wired' noise cancelling ones as I travel a lot and so they are great on the plane but if the battery runs out I at least still have the headphones.

But then again I still write things down as opposed to 'a note' on my phone.

Old school

Its great having a 'there and back' route as you say because after a while you get to know how far you have gone / still have to go by where you are.

[Hidden in reply to GingerBohemian]

Naked lol!

Re. the headphones, I was quite happy with the nice wired runners in-ear ones I had, but my 9 year old daughter took a liking to them, so has now inherited them! I thought I'd try the bluetooth ones as the cable was annoying me. They actually work really well, apart from when you forget to charge them

[astrozombie Graduate in reply to GingerBohemian]

Yeah I go on courses and people are typing like mad and they all look at me as I take out my pad and pen and some of those typing are 20 years older than me too. Indeed old school. Just finished week 4 myself but with regards time I am not that interested. Before Christmas would be nice but may take me longer than that when I try to run for 20 mins!

[Decker]

Great job Neil! Really well done! Gotta love those little glitches eh? 😀👍🏼👍🏼

[Hidden in reply to Decker]

Yes indeed! I actually quite like glitches, they take my mind off how my legs feel

[Hidden]

Neil that's such good news how did elevating the leg at work out?

Only joking it's is great to see you doing this, truly a brilliant achievement

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Hidden , much appreciated encouragement from an experienced graduate such as yourself

I managed to rest the leg pretty well the previous day, did a bit of walking, and plenty of stretching before and after the run. It feels pretty good now actually.

[Glossy Graduate]

The joy of cordless headphones! I don't have that problem with my old fashioned plug in ones ☺️

Well done on the run, it's brilliant from this point on, just adding a few minutes each time. You know you can get to 30!!

[Hidden in reply to Glossy]

Thank you, yes, I think I can get to 30 Annoyed that I forgot to charge the headphones, but at least I kept going. Technology is great until you forget to charge it!!

[Jenny1970 Graduate]

Good stuff. And well done for not using a flat battery as an excuse to give up.

[Hidden in reply to Jenny1970]

Haha - yes, well I could very easily have done, but the problem happened exactly at the half way point where I turned round, so I just ran back knowing I'd run for at least that time. And it was fine

[swisstony4 Graduate]

Nice one Neil... great motivation for all of us following in your footsteps... I’m dreading getting to week 6...and an important lesson to learn... always charge your headphones 🎧 😂

[Hidden in reply to swisstony4]

Thank you swisstony4 , much appreciated. To be honest, I've been so overwhelmed by the support on here, and I just want to let people know that it's fine. All the weeks are tough in their own way, but if you're on week 2, by the time you get to weeks 5 and 6 where the longer runs start, you will be ready for it, trust me, I've been there, recently.

And if you struggle, you have us lot for support

[Sadie-runs Graduate]

Woo hoo! Knew you'd do it. 😀 Good work. You have come so far, eh? Very very proud of you, buddie. And pleased to hear that the knee held up. Not an injury, more a complaining knee, then?

And you managed despite a tech hitch! That is admirable.

We are both running 25 mins now! Proud to be sharing this running journey with you. I have one run left of week 7 then it's on to the 28 min runs for me. 😀🏃‍♀️😀

[Hidden in reply to Sadie-runs]

Thanks Sadie-runs , I know I can always count on you!!

I think the rest day yesterday and the fact that I was very good at doing my stretching today really helped. Oh - and the headphones are on charge

25 minutes. Wow, never thought I'd get this far, though I had absolute faith that you would. You see, we do kind-of support each other, so if you gave up I'd have a problem!!!

So pleased that you're nearly through week 7. We can do this, near-future graduate!!

Neil x

[Sadie-runs Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Yes, we run for 25 minutes now, Neil. That's what we do. Us. Run. 25 fricking minutes!!! 💪 😊

Stretching is fundamental, so I am very very pleased you are doing this so diligently now.

You are a fantastic cheerleader of mine, so I hope you feel the weight of responsibility of sticking with the programme! I would feel despondent if you didn't, despondent I tell thee!

Similarly, I will always stay one or two runs ahead of you, leading the way, clearing the path of conkers, 😊 and to let you know it CAN be done.

I am not ever giving up - the thought of letting you down, sheesh, I could not do that to my running bud.

Sadie x

[Hidden in reply to Sadie-runs]

Awww thanks Sadie! I'm not planning to give up either yeah, stretching before and after a run. Who knew that was a thing lol! Lesson learned. Today was great for having stretched. You may be rightly very proud of your lungs, but I'm very proud of my legs, which used to prefer it if I was sitting down!!

Have a good evening

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate]

Well done Neil😊... well on your way now, not even a technology failure can stop you from making your goal 😆...

Go you..onto week 7 onwards and upwards.

Hope your knee is feeling ok.x

[Hidden in reply to Bluebirdrunner]

Thanks Jan! I still can't believe I ran for 25 minutes. Me, of all people. And for what it's worth, it's everyone on here, being encouraging and helpful, just like you have done, who have got me this far. My knee? A little pain and swelling tonight, but that's to be expected I guess, after my run earlier. It's still better than yesterday and the day before, so I'm happy. Thanks for caring though!!

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Hmmm, extra rest days maybe then. I didn't have any knee problems ( hubby did and his was sorted after gait analysis and supportive footwear) so not sure about running on a swollen joint...

Have you thought about getting some medical advice?

[DebJogsOn Graduate]

Yay! We'll done. 25 minutes!!!!

They'll surely be no stopping you now. Hoping to complete WK6 tomorrow. Following in your footsteps again - hoping to be feeling as positive.

[Hidden in reply to DebJogsOn]

Thank you! It's been said before: if I can run 25 minutes I can run 28 minutes, and if I can run 28 minutes then I can run 30. That's what I'm holding on to.

And I never thought anyone would be "following in my footsteps" where running is concerned. You have no idea how much that means!

All the best for your run tomorrow, I'm quite sure you'll smash it, and please do let us all know how you got on!

[Cornet-Carolyn Graduate]

That is fabulous well done you are certainly a runner 🏃

[Hidden in reply to Cornet-Carolyn]

Thanks Carolyn, that's really appreciated! And guess what? You're definitely a runner too!!

[Wannabefit19 Graduate]

well done matey -- that brilliant

[Hidden in reply to Wannabefit19]

Thank you! And I just noticed you graduated. Really well done, so great to see others doing so well.

[Wannabefit19 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks .... you soon ... you'll be there before you know it

[Polly2810 Graduate]

Hey fantastic!! Well done podium getting ever nearer!!!

[Hidden in reply to Polly2810]

Now that's a scary but lovely thought. Thanks Polly

[ejvcruns Graduate]

Ha ha, only straight running from now on! And you know what that means? Undead friends! Post-apocalyptic humour!! Great job Neil!!

Meanwhile -- now you are inspiring others

[Hidden in reply to ejvcruns]

Maybe I should start running at dusk or dawn.... would make the Zombies seem that bit more real lol!

I do love that I can now concentrate on running rather than having to keep stopping. And I love the fact that I can manage without the breaks

[Sadie-runs Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I was thinking of starting Zombies, run! this morning, but as it was dark still when I went out, I decided against it. I am easily scared at the best of times!

Also, I don't miss the walking breaks ONE BIT either.

[TJMazz Graduate]

So pleased for you. That is amazing. I love to read these posts. They inspire me to continue with my journey. You are almost there. Keep on going. You will be graduating in no time 👍👏🏼😀

[GemHPool]

Well done!! Love my to read this as I did run 1 of week 6 yesterday and found it really tough! Run 2 tomorrow, bring it on!x

[Hidden]

I'm so pleased for you Neil, huge congratulations! It was lovely to read your post. Have you found you have more energy since running? That was my biggest drive for starting C25K but I don't feel I have any more energy at all. Maybe I'm being a typically impatient lady 😂 Well done again!