Third time doing the programme - repeated it after a dislocated hip took me out of the game for a while a few years back, then again when an extended trip made running impossible for far too long. This time it was a combination of working on a ship, terrible weather when I did get ashore and a lot of terrestrial travel that left no real time to build up again.
Happily - things looking FAIRLY stable lifestyle wise for the foreseeable, so here I go again 
There is a huge 'enjoyment factor' in repeating the programme - you 'know' you can manage it to graduation and , in my case beyond, so those fears and worries are absent. First time I really did not think I would graduate until maybe about week 5 of the programme - which timewise for me was about twelve weeks chronologically - I started believing I could. As it happened, it was FAR easier to do the final week than I had anticipated as by then I had reached the fitness level needed.
Which is exactly how the programme works : Takes us 'never could run' deluded shamblers and hones us into Runners Not the fastest/graceful/most competent runners perchance - but it DOES make us Runners. People who run are Runners, just like people who walk are Walkers - you never hear anything like the level of angst we get here - and to which I so often added back in the day lol - when it comes to walking. 'I can't walk fast' 'I look stupid when I walk' 'I get tired walking after x amount of time/distance' etc
RELAX new Runners You are going from not running to running so of course it's all going to be new and unknown territory, so just enjoy the novelty and don't confuse it with fear/apprehension/danger - ever hear the screams of delight on a roller coaster? That is exhilaration, not fear. Fear is when you are sitting in a yellow puddle when the ride is over and you NEVER will get on another for the rest of your life. Adrenaline is not the easiest of chemicals to put in an emotional box - and for those unused to massive spikes of it, emotional excitement absolutely can be mistaken for fear, and then we put labels on the 'fear' - can't run fast/far/gracefully/doomed to fail etc etc.
Wish I had realised all that when I was a Newbie
However - yesterday honest to god fear when a massive incident on the Highway saw three automobiles and an 18 wheeler burst into flames. A lot of us who witnessed it did what we could to stop things getting worse until the emergency crew showed up, and thank God no loss of life. However, when it all calmed down a few of us had to be checked for smoke inhalation. Luckily I got the all clear as regards further treatment, but I was coughing and hacking all day afterwards.
Main worry was - would I be able to do D3,W1 this morning LOL. How addictive is that!!!
It went well though - took it a bit easier so as not to totally overstress my lungs, and now looking forward to W2
Here's the main point I thought of though that might help the newer Runners here.
You may or may not have heard of the 'Toxic Ten' - the initial time running when your body basically has to kick into 'gear' - in my case it take about fifteen minutes before my breathing starts easing, my muscles relaxing and my head clearing up enough from the Gremlins who still try and assure me that I 'can't run'
So, quite honestly - these short and intermittent runs are in some ways HARDER than the 30 minute and longer runs. I just begin to get a glimpse of what it was like to go continuously for hours at a time when these short runs are over - it's a bit frustrating at the end to tell the truth
HOWEVER - I absolutely am NOT saying the 'short' runs are unimportant or holding anyone back. They are, please believe me, absolutely vital to long term success.
What I AM saying is - when you wonder in the early days 'when does this get easy?' rest assured that while for some of us, me included, it will never be 'easy' ( compromised lungs from asthma, 37 years of cigarettes, screwy foot bones etc) it really does get 'better'. And by 'better' I mean enjoyable, life affirming and adventurous - everything the 'Couch Life' is not, and never was nor will be
I actually felt very dour setting off this morning - yesterday was not pretty on the Highway, then a few unexpected bills came in the mail, my formerly beautiful garden looks like there might be Cannibals living in it due to my being away for so long, my nearest neighbor has a bloody dog that barks all night etc etc etc - but at the end of todays run I could appreciate that I had done something darn good for myself and the heck with the extraneous crap that I have no control over anyway.
So, don't quit before the enjoyment kicks in, this running lark just might be the healthiest addiction you will ever have
Wishing y'all many happy miles in your future
)
Fish, chips and mushy peas!
Hello all - 71 years old and hoping to run!
FAQ Post C25K COMPLETED…….WHAT NEXT?
