Lazarus!: That's what an old friend whom I hadn... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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Lazarus!

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduate
β€’66 Replies

That's what an old friend whom I hadn't seen in forty years exclaimed when I got to the Airport :)

Kind of feel that way now. Seems FOREVER since I ran last but probably 'only' 7 months. Working on a ship did not allow for any, and then some of the worst weather ever when I did come ashore put the cap on it, as well as trouble with a wee fractured bone in my foot.

But - ship long sailed, weather rapidly improving and cautious 'try it' from Surgeon as regards foot bone saw me taking first tentative run yesterday.

Starting from scratch again. Did not use c25k app - start back with that tomorrow - but ran five reps of one tenth of a mile with one tenth walks in between to see how I would fare. 7 years ago I could not run even one tenth of a mile without stopping.

Dang it felt hard LOL.

LOL because having first started and graduated C25K in 2016, then going on to 10k, Ten Miles, a few HM's and one hard-won FM...running tenths of miles ... you would THINK would feel 'easy'.

Well - they probably would have for the genetically gifted but not for the likes of me :) I won't go into the terrible unfit and certainly genetically-challenged I was when I first started this wonderfully addictive pursuit but believe me, C25K absolutely definitely 100% works if you work it and take heed of all the good advice on this Forum.

And really, that is the most important thing I can say amongst all the ramblings - it works, don't let your 'thinking' tell you it does not. It is my firm and time tested belief that if you literally survive Day One, Week One ( I came close not, but you can read about that in old posts if interested/unbelieving :) you can go on to graduate and even go on from that to distances you cannot imagine at the beginning :) Might take you longer ( took me about 15 weeks), you might never get that 5k in 30 minutes ( I never have :) but you will get to graduation if you just keep on :)

The main problem is thinking instead of simply running - all those old tapes in our heads, "I'm too fat/old/decrepit for instance. 'I look stupid, people are laughing at me'. "I am too slow - now I am laughing cruelly at me' and on and on and on. I get them, we all get them. However, with a bit of time and experience they become laughable, believe me :) Because at that point you finally start accepting what has happened - you have become a Runner :)

Yesterday I ran half a mile in segments. Distance isn't important, the running is. The distance is only an aid to build up fitness so I can have more fun. The fun in running further is that it is more running and therefore more time enjoying the whole process, it's not simply about the number on the mile marker unless it is enjoyable, otherwise this would be punishment and that indeed would be 'stupid' :) At a certain point, I will find once again the combination of Time/Speed/Distance that will have me wishing I could run EVERY day ( not a good idea though, as I am sure you know by now) and that is what I am looking forward to with confidence - because of knowing this programme works! I hope those of you doing it for the first time can take some encouragement from that :) You will get there!

Truth is - you only 'do' a programme if you feel you cannot do something 'naturally' and there are literally THOUSANDS of members and graduates here who obviously thought they were not 'able to run' at first. So - good news is, you are NOT terminally unique here. We all started with Day One, Week One.

So -ALL you have to do - run. Slowly, steadily and within the parameters of the programme and individual capability of your physiology. One foot in front of the other and forget trying to 'figure it all out'. Certainly forget 'perfection' - even the proven BEST Runners in the world come in second place on occasions after all. It took me quite a while to truly 'get' that a heck of a lot of this running lark is in the mental game, I had to get out of my head to be able to use my legs to their best capacity :)

Take it from me - if you are new, struggling and feeling like you will never be able to get to thirty minutes ( forget 5K in 30, less than ten percent of graduates did it) not only do I know what you are feeling, when it comes to the heaving lungs, lurching tired legs, rapid heartbeats and so on...for the next few weeks until things settle back into their groove I will have them also :) And that is from someone who ran 26.2 miles at one point. Nowadays I know that the main thing is to simply go out the door - sometimes the hardest distance of all to accomplish - and simply let the run happens as it may. ANY run is far better than falling back into the 'Couch Life', believe me.

Anyway, it's good to be here again. I'm looking forward to the fun again of being in a massive 'amateur' crowd of runners at future events again - until you have tried that, you won't believe how much fun it is, beats anything on the box or big screen :)

Wishing you many happy miles in your future.

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Irish-John profile image
Irish-John
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66 Replies
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Week7 profile image
Week7Graduate

Welcome back!!! Your post says it all.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toWeek7

Thank you πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Dexy5 profile image
Dexy5Graduate

good to see you back again Irish-John. Good luck with C25k, although I’m sure you will slip right back into it. πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈπŸ‘πŸ‘

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toDexy5

Thank you Dexy πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Bluebirdrunner profile image
BluebirdrunnerGraduate

Hello stranger! πŸ™‹β€β™€οΈxxx

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toBluebirdrunner

It's been a while Blue :) But, like the proverbial bad penny - here I am again πŸ™‚

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduateβ€’ in reply toIrish-John

You took the words right out of my. ..errr...reply!

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toOldfloss

LOL :)

Instructor57 profile image
Instructor57Graduate

Welcome back John πŸ˜¬πŸ‘

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toInstructor57

Thank hou I57 πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Cowladyrunning profile image
CowladyrunningGraduate

Welcome back! Good luck restarting and that's a great post you've written.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toCowladyrunning

Thank you CLR πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Frenc profile image
FrencGraduate

Great to have you back Irish-John and back on terra firma 😊. Great post!

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toFrenc

Thank you Ferenc πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Birdlady64 profile image
Birdlady64Graduate

Long time no see! Welcome back!" The main problem is thinking instead of simply running" - so true! Then and now.

I'm sure you'll get right back into the swing of things

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toBirdlady64

So far so good Birdlady πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»Thank you πŸ™‚

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate

Nice to hear from you again Irish John, good post from you, so it's back to running after a 7 months break, you will "fly" through C25K but remember to take all the runs slowly as you haven't ran for a while, also, I wish you happy smiling miles with your running, as the late great Tim said at the end of his posts "keep running, keep smiling"

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toAlMorr

Thank you Al πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ» Taking it very easy - no more fractures please πŸ‘πŸ»

limberlou profile image
limberlouGraduate

welcome back 😁

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply tolimberlou

Thank you L πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Cmoi profile image
CmoiGraduate

Yay, hello Irish-John , great to "see" you again!

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toCmoi

And too see you C, πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

Cantstopmenow profile image
CantstopmenowGraduate

Great post, as always. Good to see you back πŸ˜ƒ

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toCantstopmenow

Thank you Csmn πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

nowster profile image
nowsterGraduate

Welcome back! I like to keep reminding people that this time three years ago, I was feeling physically sick having just done the third run of Week 1. I could have given up then and there.

But I didn't.

I put things on pause and tried again a few weeks later. And when that didn't work, I paused again and tried a couple of months later. Third time was the lucky one.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply tonowster

Inspirational n :) Thank you πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»

SueAppleRun profile image
SueAppleRunGraduate

Welcome back! Wise words, I'm so looking forward to following the rest of your journey .

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toSueAppleRun

Thank you W&S :)

HeavyFoot profile image
HeavyFootGraduate

Welcome back, IJ. It is a little known fact that Lazarus went on to complete the C25K.

Irishprincess profile image
IrishprincessGraduateβ€’ in reply toHeavyFoot

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toHeavyFoot

He did it in a race I believe - but he only came 'forth' ;)

It's good to be back HF, thank you :)

Teresa1632 profile image
Teresa1632Graduate

Great to see you back at it! Keep running slow - if the shuffle is good enough for the Kenyan elite, it'll do well for the rest of us too 😊

It’s not about speed, distance or clocks,

It is about mind, body and soul,

It’s not about competition,

It is about camaraderie,

It’s not about how far you have to go,

It is about how far you’ve come,

It’s not about them,

It is about you.

(Credit: Not sure who wrote it. Stolen from the Internet)

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toTeresa1632

Thank you T, and love the quotation :)

Sandie1961 profile image
Sandie1961Graduate

Welcome back! Thought you’d gone rather quiet. Keep us informed about your progress πŸ˜ƒ

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toSandie1961

Thank you Sandie - so good to be back :)

Irishprincess profile image
IrishprincessGraduate

Look who’s here! Welcome back John ☘️😍

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toIrishprincess

I'm back, large as life and twice as ugly lol Thank you Princess :)

Roxdog profile image
RoxdogGraduate

I thought I hadn't seen you on the forum for a while and hadn't realised you were badly injured. Your post is, of course, an inspiration. We can all be Lazarus.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toRoxdog

Thank you Rd - Lazarus Rules DOA! ;)

Maisiecat1 profile image
Maisiecat1Graduate

Nice to see another familiar name returning and what a fantastic post to start. Welcome back! πŸ‘πŸ‘ Irish-John Look forward to the next chapter πŸ˜€πŸ’ͺ

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toMaisiecat1

Thank you Maise - looking forward to writing it for you :)

McFitty profile image
McFittyGraduate

Yo Irish! Hugs and the usual malarky you gorgeous human bean. Good to read your dulcet tones again xxx

Just realised, excellent timing for a resurrection!

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduateβ€’ in reply toMcFitty

We need you back too!!! Xxx

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toMcFitty

McF my friend! :) So good to hear from you and please - lets run together again :)

Beachcomber66 profile image
Beachcomber66Graduate

Those fly boys will be trembling! IJ is back !πŸ‘Š

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toBeachcomber66

I doubt it lol, but thank you BC :)

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduate

Lazarus...bad penny...or just my wild colonial boy!

Either way...you've turned up!

With a really useful post too...it will fit in well with my next Catch up Corner post!

Mind you...if you steal my, slow and steady again, there will be trouble!!!

So good to see you, my friend xxx

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toOldfloss

It's great to be back and running again with dear friends :) I'm letting my feet just 'kiss the ground' and going 'slow and slower still' never fear :)

(PS - nothing to wild these days...though I did retire from being retired lol. Couldn't stand a life of leisure, way too boring :)

CBDB profile image
CBDBGraduate

Hello hello hello πŸ‘‹πŸ‘‹πŸ‘‹πŸ‘‹ So good to see your post again! Happy running!

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toCBDB

Thank you thank you thank you C :)

Teaching profile image
Teaching

Welcome back. Good to see you.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toTeaching

Good to be back T, thank you :)

backintime profile image
backintimeGraduate

Hi IJ, welcome back for a bit of controlled falling, I just started again too after an operation (3rd time's the charm). Glad you're injury free and well enough to give it a go.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply tobackintime

Thank you Bit, and so glad you are on the mend too :)

mrrun profile image
mrrunGraduate

Welcome back man! πŸ‘ŠπŸ‘ŠπŸ‘Š

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply tomrrun

Thank you Mr R - it's good to be back on the road and here :)

Jennypenny2 profile image
Jennypenny2

Hi love your post, they always give me strength to keep going πŸ’— Happy Easter 🐣 πŸ’–

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toJennypenny2

Thank you Jenny, and Happy Easter to you also :)

Curlygurly2 profile image
Curlygurly2Graduate

Lovely to see you back John, I've re-done C25K more times than I can count, and it always works. Enjoy your journey xx

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toCurlygurly2

Thank you Cg πŸ™‚ Great to be running with y'all again 😍

SmashedPotato profile image
SmashedPotatoGraduate

Soooooo glad you have found your running feet again, and an excellent post as always. Thank you Irish-John πŸ™‚

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toSmashedPotato

Thank you SP, so good to be back with my VRBs πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ»

aliboo70 profile image
aliboo70

Hey! Lovely John ,you're back! 😁 I'm very late to the party! This is great to see, and you have the strength and resilience to get back on it,yay! πŸ’ͺπŸƒβ€β™€οΈπŸ‘Œxxx

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toaliboo70

Thaank you Aiboo - so good to be back :)My ship came in lol - time at sea was a great upper body workout - but not a lot of length for running! πŸ˜‚

(PS - now that you are here, the Party can really start πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ˜,)

Ship
TailChaser profile image
TailChaserGraduate

Welcome back John, I wondered where you’d gone! Very well said πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ You don’t need it but I’ll wish you luck anyway πŸ˜€ πŸ€

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduateβ€’ in reply toTailChaser

Thank you TC :) Very good to be back :)

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