Week 2, run 2

[TortoiseRegretsHare]

Second run of week 2 under my belt (with the excess tummy I have grown over the winter and is threatening to get even larger, with this lockdown - must keep up the exercise!). I am so much slower than I was first time around. It really shows how much general fitness counts - I was much fitter then, riding and more active, but a sedentary winter has added kilos, I think. Oh well - I'm going in the right direction, so just need to be patient and persistent.

I had not anticipated that the park where I run would be busier than usual. Loads of people on bikes (some very wobbly & clearly new riders, which is great), out with their kids. Lots of people out for a walk. A fair few runners. And a fair few people who still don't seem to understand what social distancing means. On the way to the park, I saw some groups of men hanging around on the pavement having a smoke, looking as if it were any normal gathering, all within half a metre of each other, and people merrily hogging the middle of the path, without moving to the side to distance themselves from people passing. And some very sad people who I doubt get any news/social media updates and may well not even be aware of the pandemic. Who takes care of them?

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Agh! I agree on the social distancing - quite frustrating! My usual run route was definately busier in places yesterday too. Fortunately I know many meandering paths to take to avoid people! Well done on your run and yes, it is early in the program - stick with it to see and feel those benefits!

I work in a school and lots of us have taken to doing the Joe Wicks morning PE lessons for children on YouTube. Really good fun and you don't need the kids with you to enjoy!

Good luck and stay safe.🙂

m.youtube.com/watch?v=4wzoy...(Not working as expected?)

[Dobbo57 Graduate]

I’m due to start week 2 on Friday. Could you let me know how the run is increased from week 1 so that I can mentally prepare please? Well done on getting back into running. Stay safe 😊

[TortoiseRegretsHare Graduate in reply to Dobbo57]

Hi, To be honest, I can't remember week 1. I got as far as the end of week 8 before Christmas, and then life got complicated so I stopped running. When I started again, I began with week 2. It's 90 secs running and 2 minutes walking - so I don't know how that compares.

Having gone through the effort once now, this second time has really brought it home to me just how much of the initial difficult is psychological.

I'm much less fit now than I was when I started last time, but it feels so much easier, because the psychological barriers I faced last time aren't there: I'm not telling myself I can't do it, that it's too hard, because I know I can.

So: you can do it, just keep telling yourself that and smile when you run (people will think you're mad, but who cares!)

[Dobbo57 Graduate in reply to TortoiseRegretsHare]

Thank you that feels manageable and it’s easier to know the increase week on week in advance. Stay safe and healthy 😊

[TortoiseRegretsHare Graduate in reply to Dobbo57]

You can look ahead on the app - just click on the week/run that you want to find out about. I agree that it makes it much easier to know what's coming down the line!