Educating Enid - Week 2 revisited: Importance ... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

134,203 membersβ€’159,549 posts

Educating Enid - Week 2 revisited: Importance of warm up stretches.

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduate
β€’40 Replies

Week 2 of the programme revisited and my inner ego, Enid, is insisting on warm up stretches. Cool down stretches I can appreciate. But we are still not doing a lot of running yet. I think it is a delaying tactic so we don't go out there (we still did. πŸ˜πŸ‘)

I am starting my runs going up hills this time - still on pavement but with Laura in my ear rather than Jo. She seems stricter. Do they have the same script?

Who is doing their warm up stretches?

UPDATE: πŸ‘I am now convinced by the feedback...warm up stretches will be part of the routine. Thank you everyone. I love this forum. πŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Written by
Nilsam profile image
Nilsam
Graduate
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
40 Replies
β€’
Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduate

We all are... or some of us are.... :) Laura is lovely and will take you all the way:) She still gets me to step it up a gear, with her... " Finish in style".

Go you.... well done!

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toOldfloss

Thank you, Oldfloss. I will listen out for that bit. May be I will even listen to my inner Enid too and do those stretches. Take care. πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ‘

Dexy5 profile image
Dexy5Graduateβ€’ in reply toNilsam

So long as they are dynamic stretches Nilsam. πŸ§˜β€β™€οΈ

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toDexy5

Sounds good to me, Dexy5. πŸ§˜πŸΌβ€β™€οΈπŸ€ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ‘πŸ‘

Hello Nilsam,

Good you have Enid to keep you on the right road. I confess my warm up is usually a few kick backs of the legs and a couple of jumps up and down πŸ™„ I have been doing a warm up walk again though since running again after injury, but my reckless hare often wants to just start running.

Fortunately I have my inner yogi who sorts me out when I come back and after stretching off fully insists on a few other moves on the mat. Now she’s read Juju’s advice about strengthening planks I’ve had to add them in too. These yogi types look chilled and smiley but they sure are tough πŸ§˜β€β™€οΈ πŸ₯΄πŸ˜‰πŸ€—

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply to

I love the inner yogi πŸ§˜πŸΌβ€β™€οΈ. She does sound cool. Yes, the 5 minute walk is tempting to skip but stretching the arms etc during it gets funny looks but what is new. πŸ˜πŸ‘ We should be good though, shouldn't we? I aim to run but want to be injury free. Take care...I am right (Well a long way) behind you. πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

β€’ in reply toNilsam

We definitely should look after ourselves Nilsam , which I guess includes being kind to ourselves when we fall short πŸ˜‰ Slow and steady does it. I like to think we’re all on the same road no matter where we are along it and of course where we are changes as our energies and life events impact as we know only too well. Take care πŸ€—

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply to

What a lovely encouraging post. Beautifully put. Thank you, JorgeRuns. Take care. πŸ‘πŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Jell6 profile image
Jell6Graduate

Err, no, I'm not great with stretches. I do always do my warm up walk though.

Moving swiftly on, is Enid looking slimmer?!

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toJell6

Ha ha. Hi Jell6. As with all of us her size goes up and down...my inner self will always be a little tubby lady. But as I am a not very good doodler/ painter she changes week to week. Sometimes she ends up with one fat arm and hair a different shade. πŸ˜‚πŸ‘©β€πŸŽ¨

I could pretend it's because I am dragging her out running rather than letting sit on park benches?

Good to hear re walk / stretches. Glad to get a general picture. Happy running. πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Jell6 profile image
Jell6Graduateβ€’ in reply toNilsam

Better not listen to me about stretches, I tell myself it's because I don't go far enough 😢

I dispute your doodling qualities 😘

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toJell6

Thank you, Jell6. Take care πŸ€ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ˜ŽπŸ‘

dijep profile image
dijepGraduate

I did C25k with Sarah, but now I'm enjoying Laura on the stepping stone podcasts. Somehow she always knows when I've slowed down and starts with her brisk 1,2,3,4! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Starting or I should say restarting the programme with runs uphill deserves a huge round of applause πŸ‘ πŸ‘

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply todijep

Ha ha well don't be too impressed as you remember that week 2 is only a 90 second run followed by a two minutes walk. When it's 5 mins plus I may seek out a flat street πŸ˜‚πŸ€ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ‘.

I may change up my coach next week of the programme and listen to Sarah.

Happy running πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Roxdog profile image
RoxdogGraduate

Well done to you. Enid is looking very fit!

Warm up exercises -always, and lots of them! Jo is so softly spoken, that late night presenter calmness. A change is good though. I bet you're finding it all fine! Good luck. 😊

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toRoxdog

Oh now that's good to hear re warm up exercises. And I love Jo on the radio so that's why I originally chose her.

Didn't expect the nervousness to return but I wasn't on the forum early on so it's hard to remember how I felt. The little doubting voices are definitely right with me.

Thank you again for your support, take care.

Roxdog profile image
RoxdogGraduateβ€’ in reply toNilsam

Well, the warm up exercises didn't stop me getting injured! But they did me good service through the programme! I won't be tackling anything near a slope for a while yet!

Take care and hope your nervousness goes away soon - you'll be back in your stride quickly I'm sure!

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toRoxdog

Thank you so much, Roxdog. Good to check in and seeing how the old (not so old) gang are all progressing. Take care. πŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Fionamags profile image
FionamagsGraduate

Great to see you and Enid moving forwards. She is looking quite determined there with the lunges!

I don't do the pre running stretches but always do the warm up and cool down walks. Also do the post run stretches.

I have been very fortunate so far to be injury free. I put it down to sticking rigidly to the programme plus a fair smattering of luck!!!

Hope you sail through without incident this time. Xx

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toFionamags

Thank you so much, Fionamags. Fingers and everything else crossed for accident free few months...but on the scheme of things I know I am very lucky.

Good to learn what others do re stretches. Take care, Fiona, and happy running. πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Hello! Great to see you are into week 2 of your rerun. I started doing warmup stretches around week 4 and wouldn't run without them now, it is all part of my prerun routine. They only take a few minutes but definitely make a difference.

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply to

Hi Delly-dot. I can see the logic for week 4. You begin to feel that you need more than the 5 mins walk. I think if I get into a good practice routine now it will help with the mental state / breathing too. Happy running and thank you for your support. πŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

β€’ in reply toNilsam

These are the stretches I use: runnersworld.com/training/g...

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply to

Ooh thank you, Delly-dot. I will add them to document of hints and tips. I appreciate that. πŸ§˜πŸΌβ€β™€οΈπŸ€ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ‘

β€’ in reply toNilsam

Good! Right, I am off to do my Zoom Pilates!! 😊

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply to

That sounds great...very impressive. πŸ€ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Wenderwoo profile image
WenderwooGraduate

I'm with Enid, I always did the warm up, not that it paid off.... πŸ˜…

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toWenderwoo

Hi Wenderwoo, good to hear from you. I think from the feed back I will set myself in a better place by doing them. I hope you are able to get out for a jog soon. Do you think you might? Take careπŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Wenderwoo profile image
WenderwooGraduateβ€’ in reply toNilsam

I’m hoping so too. Achilles seems to have reared its ugly head, but 8m working on it! It seems to be gradually improving since I started wearing my running shoes for my daily walk - at least they’re not going to waste 😁

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toWenderwoo

Hopefully their good support will help. πŸ‘£πŸ‘

dieOR5k profile image
dieOR5kGraduate

Glad to hear you’re overcoming your inner Enid doubts, and starting out. Better than luck, you are prepared.

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply todieOR5k

Thank you so much, dieOR5k. We are ready for battle...Tee hee. Armed with all the support and knowledge from this wonderful forum. πŸ‘©β€πŸ’»πŸ™ƒAll I have to do is to put this theory into practice. πŸ€”πŸŒπŸ’πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ˜πŸ‘

KittyFrost profile image
KittyFrostGraduate

Definitely agree with Enid. I do my stretches before my warm up walk. I’m not as young as I once was......

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toKittyFrost

KittyFrost, I am with you there. The creaky joints get the stretches after the morning shower too. The crunches and clicks as I move around make me want to reach for the WD40. πŸ‘I am now convinced by the feedback...warm up stretches as part of the routine. Thank you. πŸ™‹πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

KittyFrost profile image
KittyFrostGraduateβ€’ in reply toNilsam

I did week 1 run 1 with no warm up. Walked like John Wayne for the next 2 days. Lesson learnt, I now stretch. No more walking like a cowboy!

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toKittyFrost

🀠 That image will stay, KittyFrost. Great analogy. Lesson learned. πŸ˜πŸ‘

Tinytears60 profile image
Tinytears60Graduate

Inner Ego! Love that! They are dangerous things aren’t they! 🀣

Hate to say it but I think Enid’s right- about the stretches .. and the longer we run I think the more important they become!

Well done you on tackling a few hills too!

I’ve done baby inclines - you know the type.. look flat til you run them πŸ™ˆ sneaky!

We can see the graduation in the distance πŸƒπŸ½β€β™€οΈπŸŽ“

πŸ‘πŸ‘

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toTinytears60

Thank you so much for the support, Tinytears60. We will get there. Take care. πŸ‘πŸ‘£πŸ˜ŽπŸ€ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Tinytears60 profile image
Tinytears60Graduateβ€’ in reply toNilsam

You are very welcome - that’s what I love about being on here..

Everyone is so supportive and I genuinely am so chuffed when people progress πŸ‘πŸ‘

Nilsam profile image
NilsamGraduateβ€’ in reply toTinytears60

Thank you πŸ‘

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Confused about warm up / stretches

So yesterday I began my journey with W1R1. Nearly gave up half way round, but very proud of myself...
MummyTum profile image
Graduateβ€’

Warm up and stretches

Very new to all this so would love some advice. Hoping to graduate next week, actually let’s change...
Manxy72 profile image
Graduateβ€’

Educating Enid - Week 1 revisited: Reset your goals!

Restarting Couch to 5K has allowed my inner ego, Enid, and I to reset our goals. Also, to reflect...
Nilsam profile image
Graduateβ€’

Educating Enid - Week 4 revisited: Learning to breathe!

Our running coaches talk through pushing out your stomach as you breathe to reduce the chance of...
Nilsam profile image
Graduateβ€’

Educating Enid - Week 4 revisited: Anxiety is uncomfortable but not dangerous!

The thought of that five minute run in week 4 filled my inner ego, Enid, with anxiety. We know...
Nilsam profile image
Graduateβ€’

Moderation team

See all
Yesletsgo profile image
YesletsgoAdministrator
MissUnderstanding profile image
MissUnderstandingAdministrator
Annieapple profile image
AnnieappleAdministrator

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.