I started C25k one year ago and this a summary on how I find running for a year and what impact it has had on me, which I hope will be useful for people who are not sure about running and those who have just started on this journey.
I wrote a jokey (but true) summary after about 3 months of running: healthunlocked.com/couchto5... which you may prefer to read since that one is a bit more fun and I want to be completely open this time.
27 Sep 2018 was the day I decided that I am going to get fit. Sure, weight loss was also on the agenda as I have always been overweight but the main reason was because I wanted to join the Army Reserves and the basic physical requirement was being able to run 1.5 miles within 14’30”. My husband timed my run and it turned out I barely ran 1 mile before stopping because I was convinced that I was dying. The 14’30” requirement then, seemed like an impossible dream, never mind being the starting basic fitness to which harder and harder training lies ahead.
Being a worrywart, I studied the schedule and run times meticulously before I decided to believe all the positive testimonies and start the C25k programme. Here I must confess I did not start on W1 but W5 because I thought I was better than that. The hubris proved to be a mistake as my body kept saying ‘no’, so I had to repeat a lot of runs until 2 months later when I could finally, FINALLY, run for 30mins continuously. At that time, I could not get to the magic 5k yet it felt glorious and gave me a whole new perspective on myself mentally and physically.
Since then I have been working on running longer distances and have been supplementing the distance with other types of running, such as fartlek, hills, trails and have really gotten into weight lifting. I think my body has changed a lot. I stopped having neck & back pains, I feel fitter, I have much more developed leg muscles, I also worry less with what I eat (hence I have not lost weight but have not gained either). The husband comes out cycling to accompany me whilst I run, so he’s getting fitter too. And even the depression gremlin has been kept at bay.
Despite all these great changes, I still find running three times a week too hard on my body and ended up on the sick bed and injury couch for 3 months this year. I see tons of lovely stories of people finishing c25k and then being able to run 10k in another few months. After a year, I can barely run 6k without stopping so I feel like I am still playing catch up. That, on top of my laziness, make me feel like a fraud to call myself a runner.
BUT the most valuable lesson I have learned from a year of running is, the hardest way is most probably the right way. That is to say, there are no shortcuts, cheating, or faking effort in running; you get what you have invested. And because of the amount of time and effort I have invested in myself over the past year, I can do so much more than I have ever been able to. And that in itself is life changing.
P.S. I didn’t get in the Army and still can’t run 1.5 miles in 14’30”
1 Year Runniversary
5 years on from starting C25k
1 year on
A Year of Running (Long Post Warning)
Impostor syndrome (**long post warning**)
