I did it, finally!

[Mrs_Catlady]

Having got to W9R2 I had to take a 3-week break after suffering some foot niggles and inflammation of an achilles tendon. So frustrating! Finally put on my running shoes and said I'd try W9R3 as an experiment and stop if it hurt too much... the first ten were a bit hard... then it got easier and I said OK 15 minutes... still felt all right so let's go on to 20... hmm this may actually be doable... 25... 30! Woohoo graduated 😁 Rather achey today so taking it easy and hopefully be ready to do some more tomorrow...

So what's next I ask myself? My plan at the moment is to take care of myself more between runs, as I'm still not particularly fit despite being able to jog slowly for 30 minutes (which is still a bloomin' miracle really!). So I'm going to be more diligent about strengthening exercises for the legs and feet. Can anyone recommend some easy videos to start with? I find lunges and squats a bit intimidating with my arthritic knees!

In terms of running I'm going to practise my slow 30-minute runs for a while before moving on to any increases in time/speed. I'd also like to try a Parkrun at some point.

Good luck to everyone working their way through the programme, I still find it amazing that someone like me (61, overweight, always been hopeless at sports) can develop an exercise habit and actually enjoy it. The posts on this forum have been so inspiring too. Onwards and upwards 😁

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate]

wow, well done Mrs_Catlady …how fab is it when you can just keep going when you feel stronger than you thought??!! And it also sounds like you’ve got a good plan right there!!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Congratulations and a huge well done to you!

This may help you with where you go next..

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Do please head over to the S and F forum for some of those essential strength and stamina exercises, loads there for the less and more experienced of us... You could take a peek at a few of my posts there too for starters

healthunlocked.com/strength...

healthunlocked.com/strength...

Let us know how you move on please, and how the exercise routine is shaping up too !

[drl212 Graduate]

Congrats Mrs C!! I feel the same way...if anyone had told me that I'd be working on 5K training and thinking ahead to 10K at the age of 60, I would have laughed out loud!

Your plan sounds good. I've just completed four weeks of consolidation runs after graduating. I actually hit 5K on my run yesterday at 48 minutes. Slow and steady wins the race.

[RunforMum Graduate]

Congratulations 🥳