Hi all!
There have been a few posts about these three subjects recently, so thought I’d write a few words - which may turn into an essay, as usual, but not a lecture I hope!!!
I started C25k to lose weight, and soon realised the old adage that ‘you can’t out-train and bad diet’ holds true. Calorie burn estimates vary wildly between devices and apps. My running buddy’s app would say she’d burned 150 calories and mine would say over 500! If I allow myself to eat that extra I may actually gain weight!
I read our Mentor’s post saying that through this programme we run for about 8 hours in total. That doesn’t mean a huge calorie burn, to be honest. But the number on the scales aren’t everything...
I’ve noticed I put on muscle on my legs (even under the lard). These are big muscles and they weigh heavier than fat. My core stability muscles are stronger - my balance is much better. The pain from my arthritic hip stopped me even sitting on a horse, but now I can ride pain-free if I am careful. And while I didn’t lose many pounds I did lose a lot of inches. When I’ve dieted before (and I am a serial dieter!) I had to lose more than 20lbs before anyone even noticed (I’m tall). Within a few weeks of C25k people started noticing - and I had started noticing - and I got into jeans I’d bought and never managed to get done up.
What shifts the scale is food - and tracking calorie intake. But the other subtle effect of C25k is the impact a poor diet and high alcohol intake make to the running experience. Keeping hydrated lessens my cravings for food, unless I am actually hungry. I’m not just drinking water to stave off hunger now (water being a poor substitute for chocolate) I’m hydrating for a proper, positive, reason. On days I’d had a carb-heavy lunch I would get a stitch. Alcohol made my legs heavy the next morning. Eating a heavy dinner the night before caused me to need the loo halfway through the run, spoiling the experience and making me really uncomfortable. I have eaten healthier because I want to have a better running experience. Actually no.... It is because I now feel rubbish when I eat rubbish. There is a direct impact.
So, muscles are built now, my resting heart rate and blood pressure are way down, the diet is healthier and finally the scales are moving. I’m not perfect and there are days I lapse and pay the price! I have 40 years experience of ‘cheating’ on diets and I am finally getting my comeuppance of cheating myself. So I’ve lost only about 10lb since I started C25k in May, but it is shifting now in graduation.
The weight loss and running now mean my knees are no longer painful. First time in years. I am now in Bridge to 10K and starting to pick up the pace and ‘properly run’. BUT, while I was doing weeks 7-9 of C25k I was treading a fine line with being able to run and being on the Injury Couch, because of pain around my knees. I have often spoke of my ‘old lady shuffle’ and ‘slow running’. While others were blasting through the last 3 weeks and posting amazing stats, I was plodding along, fat and uncomfortable, at a pace beyond my years. But AT THAT TIME I couldn’t push my knees any harder, even though my lungs and pride were egging me to go faster. I’ve done enough physiology (equine!) to know we should train no further than the weakest point, and train for tomorrow. The bigger picture was to be able to run for 30 min, 3 x a week. Half the running minutes are done in the last 3 weeks. I am now benefitting from resisting temptation. There is life beyond Week 9 and plenty of time to run better. For the end of C25k I just did enough - and that’s worked so far. Now my knees only might grumble a bit at the start of a run and I know I reached my limits the run before.
My energy (motivation to do anything) levels fluctuate, and it seems to be different for everyone. Some people find it recharges mental batteries and they can get more done during a run day. Others find the physical and mental effort of running wipes them out for the day. I find I am more ‘wiped out’ after an interval run (faster and slower running) and more energised after a longer slower run when I can relax my mind into the session. But not always. Some days after a longer run I’ve not done anything else for the rest of the day. That’s ok - I’m not relying on running to resolve all my mental health challenges. Running hasn’t magically cured me of feeling lethargic or anxious - because the rest of my life is still there with all those pressures. I am feeling more able to concentrate most of the time and I think that’s being physically fitter and sleeping better after physical exertion.
Finally when I see people posting about ‘failures’ and disappointments at performance, or stats, coming ‘last’, or even being injured. I hope they realise that we are all learning a new skill and that means we make mistakes physically and in our expectations of ourselves. These are not failures. Our expectations of how we’ll do before a run, are not a fact, they aren’t real. What we actually do, during the run, IS real. The benefits and impacts on our health ARE real. And every time we step out the door, or do our repair physio exercises, or hydrate and eat properly in preparation - we are getting healthier - no matter what else happens during the actual running.
There really is no such thing as ‘failure’ or shame in ‘coming last’ because every day we run, or prepare to run, or repair to run, we all beat everyone who stays on the couch but we also beat our old selves. My C25k coach MJ famously quoted, ‘The only one who can beat me, is me’. He may have been talking about setting sprint records, but that holds true at a deeper level. You beat your old self, and you were the only one that could do that. And that’s something you don’t always see in the stats and ParkRun placings.
Have a great week everyone and keep running ❤️
Strengthen knees
What’s normal for knees?
Are my knees knackered! 
Sore knees
Sore knees and orthopaedic insoles
