w2r3 tomorrow... day before blues... apologies!

[changing-woman]

...OMG having a nightmare moment here right now lol ... i don't know how i am going to do it again tomorrow ... or the 'monday three minutes'... i don't want to bow out of the programme NO NO NO ... i want to stay here and smash it YES YES YES... i want that graduate badge so bad lol.... but i remember how i was pushing and pushing, and it being nothing short of gruelling and exhausting on runs so far....and i just don't know how i will do it???.... if i do the three minutes thing, it will really help me have more confidence cos i really, really truly don't believe i can do that one lol... that's not negative.... i am just being realistic... there is a difference, right? if it's possible for my body to do it i will do it, cos my mind is set when i am running 'i love running. i can smash this. i love running' haha. with my snail like pace dragging my carcass along underneath my mind... lol... but really... the day before a run kills my thoughts... i don't wanna be heart broken tomorrow... <3 but then i have thought all this before... and smashed it!!!... so who knows? i keep telling myself ''your fitness will definitely gradually improve'' ....(it's what my friend told me)...i'm not even having any pain. none at all so far. its just the exhaustion that makes me think my legs just won't take more... golly knows, i work flat out on this programme.lol. TRUTH! i couldn't try any harder. i wish i could reply like others do . that's my wish. lol i wish i relished it. lol. i wish...i wish...i wish... you're all brilliant and i am not at all envious, i just want the same for me as well OMG i am laughing at myself cos i am in such a state here now.

[David_G]

Hi, you’ve already proved to yourself that you can do this run, you’ve done if before!💪

Just take it steadily and make sure you’re properly hydrated💦 well before then. Even when it’s cold we all need hydration although we might not think so🙂

Good luck!

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to David_G]

thanks david x

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to David_G]

i just wish the day before were one of anticipation and enjoyment rather than one of ... i am not allowed to use the word that needs to go here but...that anyhow! lol

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to David_G]

i've done this run before *twice* but it still nearly did me in!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Relax and read this post about mental approach healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

You need some self belief and then the world is your oyster.

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

i have but will read it again. i totally believe in myself, i am a tough girl upstairs, i have had to be, but i am not confident in the limitations of my body, legs in particular, when i remember how i felt during and after the running up until now. that's the situation x thank you for replying

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

i just re read it, yes it is very inspiring. i will print it out ... thanks iannoda x

[changing-woman Graduate]

this is the last 'jelly scared' post i am going to allow myself to write on here for fear it influences someone else or makes it worse for me... but i did need to write this one for iannoda to remind me to read the pinned post on negative-----positive. it was synchronicity. it's good stuff, the pinned post. always read in moments of doubt.

[nowster Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

It's OK to be apprehensive. Sometimes people here will call these things which try to distract us from our runs "gremlins". Some will chastise them. Some will mentally attack them with the broom or throw them in the canal.

With this coming run you know what's to be done because you've done it twice before.

You know you can do it because you've already done it.

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

you are good to me and yes, i did already do it twice, clever ol' me!

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

you're right about it's ok to be apprehensive. it's like that 'it's ok not to feel ok' thing i keep hearing on the news. it takes the pressure and guilt away from what is, after all, a natural phenomenon...

[Instructor57 Graduate]

You have just answered your own question 😁

Question : How an I going to do it !

Answer : if it's possible for my body to do it , I will do it 😁

And of course if you trust the program and have completed previous runs then your body WILL be ready 😁

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

yeah... i do trust the programme (but is it used to dealing with people as unfit as i am ?) actually i may not be as unfit as i thought having done weeks 1 and tomorrow godwilling week 2...

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

There ya go again , answering your own questions 🤣🤣🤣

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

you remind me of a friend i have in RL... thanks for your help!

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Haha is that good ? 😁

Don't forget , thousands of people have been there before (including myself)

We all ( well, mostly) had the same fears , worries or doubts!

I had never run in my life untill I was 63 ! 😁

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

yes it's great

that's amazing about 63...amazing. wowzers. what an example to us all.

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Thing is , I'm no different from the rest .

Just keep hydrated , keep taking at least one rest day , do the warm ups and then the stretches, keep going out of the door and keep it slow .

Then let the program do it's magic 😁

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

right-ho!

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

yeah, answering my own questions, how awesome am i ! lol

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Yeah, not only can you run, you can also answer your own questions 😁👍

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

i know. what an amazing being i am

[nowster Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Of course it's meant for people as unfit as you or the me who tried back in March.

When I first did W1R3 I made the mistake of climbing a short set of steps in a graveyard in one of the runs. It very nearly did me in. I remember running downhill the final minute with cold sweats and palpitations, feeling sick and with a stitch. That's how unfit I was!

I then came down with a tummy bug a couple of days later, and abandoned the programme.

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

oh you poor thing x

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

were you fitter the next time you picked up the programme?

[nowster Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Yes, I picked it up again in April. I got as far as the run you're going to do tomorrow (W2R3). I was fine with it, but I got terrible stomach cramps afterwards.

There were two reasons for this: the medication I was taking at the time (Roaccutane, which doesn't mix with exercise well) and my own lack of adequate hydration.

I completed the course of pills in May and left it a few weeks for the effects to wear off, then got really bad red spider mite bites on both my legs in early June which needed two different antibiotics to fix.

When that was all cleared up in late June I did a soft start of doing four runs from week 1 spread over three weeks, and continued on running mostly every other day from then on. I found this forum at the end of week 3.

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

what rotten luck (((nowster))) so you were fitter when you started proper? i am beginning to think i am the most unfit person ever... yet i have just about scraped thru weeks 1 and 2 (if i do w2r3 tomorrow ok)...

[nowster Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

I was more careful when I started again in June. I was a tiny bit fitter, yes, but because of the three months in between it wasn't by much.

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

did you do any exercise in those months? i started walking for half an hour a day for several months before starting this programme... but that's all...

[nowster Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Not really. I had done some gardening and the very occasional short walk.

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to nowster]

ok cool. thanks x

[Currentum4Salutem]

You’ll be fine.

Stay focused, relaxed and enjoy. Go slow and steady. Slower if needs be.

🙂🙂

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Currentum4Salutem]

thanks for the positive message x

i am semi-sure that if go much slower i'll grind to a halt !

[Roxdog Graduate]

We all have doubts! I still sometimes think 'am I going to be able to do this" - a year on! These gremlins creep in sometimes.

What's really good actually is that you are obviously very excited about doing the programme and that excitement will get you through!

You're not hurting, but just finding it to be a challenge, which it is. Challenges are good though aren't they? Makes life more interesting!

Good luck!

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Roxdog]

a lovely reassuring post. many thanks for your kindness x

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Roxdog]

i am excited about it. i am really geared up for it. i want to graduate, but even more, i want to enjoy running x

[Roxdog Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

Yay! You will enjoy it soon! The key to enjoying it is, I find, to try and relax. Keep your shoulders down, breathe steadily, it will all start to fall into place! Running is amazing and you are on your way!

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Roxdog]

you are sweet and i am super excited. cos one day ...

[Roxdog Graduate in reply to changing-woman]

🤗

[changing-woman Graduate in reply to Roxdog]

exactly

[changing-woman Graduate]

here i go then... it takes place tomorrow morning... deep breath... i have no idea what is going to happen... lol...will post tomorrow after my run... x