So why the reset and start again given I'm a Graduate?
Well it's a long story. 1 Week after Graduating last July I did my first park run at a respectable pace (37.5 mins). But ... I put my back out! I think it was down to my first ever yoga class the day before and being a bit too ambitious. Instead of the usual euphoria after the Park Run - painful back!! A week later I attempted another run, but that made it worse.
So was unable to run for a long time afterwards. I had physio that gradually helped, and just got back into doing the running, on the physio's advice, on a treadmill, which has a softer landing than the pavement.
But then ... after increasing deterioration of my mother with Parkinson's and some associated dementia, we managed to get her into a home near us at very short notice. Then, a week later, unexpectedly got an unsolicited offer on the house at the market value from a neighbour. It was an opportunity not to be missed, but meant we had to devote a lot of time sorting the house - deciding what goes to auction, what goes to clearance, and what we keep. We went down there every weekend for the next three months and worked like heck. Lots of meals out, little chance to exercise (and bending over and sorting 50 years of stuff wasn't good for the old back! And denied running, we resorted to more traditional means of de-stressing, ie El Vino. Not great for the fitness or the weight! We completed the sale on Nov 29th, and spent most of December in a state of exhaustion.
Did Dry January which was a very reviving experience, and the last few days my back has really been feeling a lot better.
So I reckoned after the long gap, best to start over again so's not to overdo it. So I took a deep breath, reset the C25K app, put my favourite Steve Reich album on the music ( Music for 18 Musicians - great steady pace for running), and set off on W1R1 with Michael Johnson to guide me through.
Nice to feel the euphoria afterwards as opposed to grotty back pain! But look at the state of me! That's quite a sheen on my forehead.
A bonus tip for anyone thinking of giving up alcohol for Lent. Alcohol-Free beer is actually quite drinkable ( Beck's Blue and also Brewdog "Nanny State"), and very low in calories. I figure it's because the hops give it a bit of bite. By contrast, we didn't find any alcohol-free wine that didn't just taste insipid. I think it's the alcohol that gives wine its bite, so remove that and ... meh!
Written by
iain-strachan
Graduate
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Well done on getting back to running 🏃♂️. For the record Cobra and San Miguel do a very presentable 0% alcohol free beer. Good luck and keep on running
They also have new Budweiser alcohol free as a special offer in Tesco at the moment. It is strange because I always thought Budweiser was more or less alcohol free in the first place (or more accurately, tasted like someone had already drunk some beer and it was now being recycled). I tried it on a whim though, and found it actually quite palatable. Much more so than the 'real' thing.
Well done on getting back to it. And good music choice. I used to run to Philip Glass when doing marathon training. Minimalism is very well suited to running I think.
Hi Iain, I saw your run on Strava, you have had a lot on your plate ( I don't mean food!) with your injury and your mother and the house sale... thats a lot to deal with...But its nice to have you back running with us now😊
Irish John has recently restarted the program too after dislocating his hip😐, so you have good company and Oldfloss too is coming gently back from the IC.
Good luck, remember to find your happy sustainable pace.😊xx
So good to see you back, Iain! Sorry to hear that life has thrown you a lot to deal with, but glad you are in the other side of all that. You will enjoy doing C25K again, I am sure!
I have been cutting down on my wine consumption dramatically - and tried alcohol-free wine - bleuch! Just sticking to Fevertree tonic water now, but will have to kick that habit as it has a lot of sugar in it. Meh.
Steve Reich for running to - brilliant. By accident awhile back (just because it happened to be next on my playlist) I end a run with Philip Glass' The Photographer - didn't really work for pace but was a good listen for the cool down walk!
Great post, Iain. One of the things I like about this forum is the stories like yours. They seem to build a community of real humanity, unlike some of the crazy stuff that's going on in the outside world.
Good luck with the restart. I shall be joining you, too. I graduated in early January but, owing to dodgy knees, great tiredness and mislaid mojo am going back to square one.
Thre's one thing I don't get. How do you listen to your own music as well as having Laura (or whoever) come in from time to time? I'm a bit of a hopeless case tech-wise.
Good luck with the restart. Let us know how you get on.
As regards using your own music. This isn't possible with the Laura podcasts as they are pre-recorded with music so you can't switch it off. What I use is the BBC Couch to 5k app (you can get it on iTunes or Google Play depending on whether you have an iPhone or an Android device). The app gives great flexibility, tracks your progress and ticks them off, and gives you a choice of four "trainers" ( Jo Wiley, Sanjeev Kohli, Sarah Millican and Michael Johnson) and you can switch trainers before a run at any time.
But importantly they only give the verbal prompts, and the background is silent. So what I do is set off the music playing app (Spotify in my case), and then set off the app run commentary. When the trainer's voice comes in the volume level of the music is momentarily reduced so you can hear what the trainer has said.
I am not quite back at week 1, but have not run anything longer than 5k in the past three months and I need a structured plan to build my distance back up. It just goes to show that site mentors are not superhumans.
You know it works and after all those stresses I am sure you will find that getting back out there will be a spirit lifting exercise.
Was in that club myself. Graduation-injury-all over again. Nothing wrong with that tbh. I'm now repeating large chunks on my way to half marathon and it feels really good, fun and fresh.
Try running with Pink Floyd or Miles Davis, no sprinting along those guys.
WIsh you well Iain! Love it that half your post had people recommending alcohol free beers. 🍻 Brewdog Nanny State is my favourite however MUCH rather have their Neck Oil🤪
There seem to be a lot of us starting the programme again. I graduated at start of November but due to a variety of things (not as serious as yours) I decided to start again a couple of weeks ago. On r3w2 tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm a bit fitter and a little faster this time. I was nowhere near 5k first time around. Take it easy for your back's sake.
Welcome back matey, good to see you again. You'll have me for company as well as Floss, I've had surgery and won't be rushing to get back to my pre-op distances. I may well just do 1 or 2 of each week, but it's always a good place to start. Best of luck xxx
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Injury in November sidelined me, doing the programme again now from scratch - just did D2/W3 this morning.
W1R1
Starting from scratch W1R1
starting now... deep breath... 3 2 1... GO!
w1r1 complete - hang on, what!?
W1r1 finally completed! 
