Here I go again... or try to!

Two weeks ago, I restarted the program and got as far as W3R1, which is where I had stopped when I first started the program in January.

As much as I want to, I just cannot do a complete W3 run, and so I have come to realise *and accept* that I am more unfit than I thought I was.

Rather than feel frustrated by my lack of success, I have decided that I would walk the same 4 km/2.5 mile circuit everyday (or as often as I could) for the whole of May, in order to increase my fitness.

I live in the French countryside, surrounded by gentle and not-so-gentle hills and over the last 10 days, my pace has not increased considerably, but I have noticed that the slopes do not leave me as out of breath as when I started.

Yesterday, I found myself half-way up a hill which I used to dread having to walk up, before I even noticed how far I'd gone up it!

I set off early in the morning after an oat and banana smoothie, and I return to a warm shower and a couple of poached eggs.

I use Nike+ to record my efforts and give myself challenges: faster pace (that is hard!), or more "runs" in a week. Seeing my attempts (achievements?) displayed in a little graph over a calendar gives me an incentive to continue.

So this is my lesson this month: set an achievable challenge and appreciate the small victories.

[glendam52 Graduate]

Well done for not taking defeat lieing down its soo comfy back on that couch.

Best of luck when week one comes around again.

[mrslazy Graduate]

Well done for keeping moving, that's the main thing. So long as you are stretching yourself a little each time you are moving on. Every week you take regular exercise is doing you good. Enjoy your journey.

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Hi Have you tried changing the eating (all be it a smoothie) as I have a problem if I try to run too soon after eating.

Maybe you could experiment and just have a banana or similar half an hour before you set off and then have more when you finish? Just an idea but I find that my energy is really zapped if my body is working hard to digest. I know it is a smoothie but there is still a lot of hard work for the body in processing it.

Good luck anyway.

I am on wk 5 run 2 tomoz ...... so wish me luck!