Week 7 - A real pain in the a***, quite literally!! I'm slowing things down....

As the run durations have got longer, I have found it progressively more difficult to recover from muscle tightness after each run, despite doing the stretch exercises without fail. Pain in my muscles wakes me at night, which has happened before. Muscle tightness has been an on-going problem for me for a while. Last year I was referred to a physio who found muscle in-balance and over-pronation. She referred me to a physio colleague who is a physio-Pilates instructor and I have been doing these amazing classes for just over a year.

Having made really good progress, feeling stronger and being relatively pain-free, I started on C25K as I wanted to improve my cardio fitness. The first few weeks were fine, but I have now begun to struggle with muscle pain again. I am in week 7. My Pilates instructor has advised me to space out my runs and use a bike in the gym to keep up my cardio and fitness levels but to allow my body to recover from the impact of running. I run outside, mainly on tracks and trails with proper running shoes (my treat for getting to the end of week 4) and use the brilliant Japanese Slow Running technique (thank you DiscoRunner ), so I feel pretty confident that I have been a mindful runner.

So now I'm being more mindful and stepping back a bit on my C25K journey. Instead of running every other day I plan to run, rest, bike, rest, run, etc. Hopefully it will give my body the time it needs to adjust and I will still be able to make good progress through the weeks and the runs, albeit at a much slower pace.

I'm going to take an extra day's rest tomorrow and instead of running on Friday (should have been W7R2), I will be on the bike in the gym, doing the same distance and listening to some tunes. I know it won't be as fun as being outdoors in the beautiful place I go running (photo), but hopefully it will help.

To all my VRBs on this site, some of whom are at similar stages to me - Keep going, you are all doing brilliantly! I will keep posting and cheering you on, but sometimes from the bike! For those who are on the downhill stretch to graduation, good luck - I'll catch up with you soon!! DD xx

[Coco-Major Graduate]

You’ve got to look after yourself and spacing it out like that is definitely better than pain and risking injury. Enjoy the cycling 😊

[Hidden in reply to Coco-Major]

Thank you. I'm hoping that taking it more slowly works and it means that I can keep going. 😊

[Kallyfudge Graduate]

Definitely take a break, you are doing the right thing. Might even find taking the break heals you up and you can continue as normal after a week. Recovery is where all the improvements happen so it is more important than running.

[Hidden in reply to Kallyfudge]

Thank you S x. I feel a bit relieved to be told to ease up because it was getting me down. I agree with you, recovery is everything, so I shall take it slowly and hope for the best.

[Kallyfudge Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Its completely normal, everyone gets it so don't worry. It's also normal to feel down when you have to ease up. But you are avoiding an injury and something called overtraining. Everyone does this at some stage so its just part of the learning. I do recommend seeing a physio if you get an injury but someone who has an interest in running and teaches running form. That saved me from getting a bad knee despite watching all of the you tube in the world on correct running form. Some physios just massage you and temporarily fix a problem caused by running form, or something a podiatrist could fix by recommending inserts of different shoes.

Not something to worry about right now though sore muscles just means more rest/low impact and more rest days between running. As your body gets used to it you can reduce the rest days etc but pushing too early will just be injury. So you are doing the right thing.

[notquiteretired Graduate]

think I might be looking at doing somthing similar till stamina builds up😊

[Am_i_really_running Graduate]

Take care of yourself. Hopefully its just the cold weather that is the problem and when the sun returns and we are in the 20's it'll improve.

[Hidden in reply to Am_i_really_running]

Oh I do hope so! A bit of warm air and sunshine would be sooo lovely just now. I can't believe I've put the heating on again over the last few days! You are making really good progress - nearly there! 😃

[RunRunRun13 Graduate]

Definitely got to look after yourself and listen to your body...if that means reducing runs to twice or once a week then nothing wrong with that as there’s no rule book and you must do what’s best for you.

I woke up today with a bad pain in the arch of my foot (plantar facilitis) and never been injured before but these things happen and just had my feet in an ice bucket ! Good god ! That’s all I can say 😂😩

Shame we can’t have a massage once a week to help with our aches and pains.

Good luck for your bike workout 🚲 I would have to take a cushion for comfort 😂

[Hidden in reply to RunRunRun13]

Oooh ice bucket!! That sounds very very cold 🥶 and painful! Hope you recover soon. What a pair of crumblies we are!

I'm not going to run now until Sunday at the earliest, and I will just see how it goes. One step at a time.....

[RunRunRun13 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Good luck for Sundays run from one Mrs Crumblie to the other 🏃‍♀️😂

[Dowat Graduate]

You sound so tuned in to what you need to do, well done for listening and reacting to your body’s needs. I’ve reached the conclusion, sadly, that my body needs more rest days between runs. Guess it’s a case of acceptance of the way we are!

[Hidden in reply to Dowat]

Talking things through with my Pilates instructor was good, and it helped that he is also a physio too. So I still feel that I am working on a plan, it's just a 'Bike/run C25K Combo-plan' now! Could be the next big thing! 🏃‍♀️🚴‍♀️

[Dowat Graduate in reply to Hidden]

It sounds really sensible to me. I think you’re on to something for sure.

[Fabat50 Graduate]

Hey Delly-dot- I have been missing in action for a few days (work!) but saw your post and willed you on in my mind. I have often taken an extra days rest and found it helped me in the long run. And you are still exercising which is great. I think a lot of people on here take longer than 9 weeks to do the programme. I know I certainly have. But if you had told us several weeks ago we would be running for 26mins we would have laughed in disbelief and now you are concerned when you can’t run! What progress. Take care of yourself. x

[Hidden in reply to Fabat50]

Thank you. Hopefully I won’t be too far behind you all, I just need to space it out. Well done for your early morning run today. 😊