Take a seat and rest up a while. It is a tad blowy out there today... so hopefully we will all be taking extra care.
I am feeling a lot happier getting plenty of exercise in and also, the odd run whenever the weather will let me !
I am not, as you know, also, pushing it in any way, still taking it gently and accepting what comes. This month is moving on and we are moving forward with it. That is enough.
I do as you know love a ramble... so here goes. I have been thinking, again! I have read a few posts this week and one yesterday morning, echoed what I have had in my head for a few days. The thought has coloured many of my outdoor activities since Mr OF had his heart attack, and I fell by the wayside with over-worry. I have used this thought many times... and in a fair few posts... it still has merit.
Exercise, whichever one we choose, has an impact on our lives and for many of us, begins quite rapidly to be part of our lives and who we are as a person.
Certainly, the runners amongst us, very quickly get hooked. We start slowly, we hold back, trying not to spend too much cash on running gear, in case we don't enjoy it, and we take it steadily until, suddenly almost, without us realising it, running is a part of us.
We look forward to our runs, we look forward to each new week of the plan. We have successes and we have setbacks , we learn so much; about running, about ourselves and about all the forum friends here.
It is the same for those forum friends, who cycle, walk or partake in any form of regular exercise.. we get hooked and we really do find the times when we are unable to do it, very hard.
But...we have to accept, that sometimes we cannot exercise; Illness, injury, family responsibilities and life generally stops us in our tracks. Disaster!
Now, do we sit back, do we rest, do we recover?
Sometimes... but sometimes we don't and, the excuses are amazing! "We have just started , we are in the middle of a new routine, our runs are becoming easier, longer, more fun, we are on the last week before Graduation , we want to move onto 10 K, longer walking routes, different exercise and classes, ", the list goes on and on.
That is where problems may occur... and that point is where we have to stop, take stock, but most of all, we have to listen. Hence the quote!
Listen to the advice from the experts, ( especially with any medical issues), and the experienced, but most of all we have to listen to ourselves.
I read a super post on C25K a day ago... if you get chance, do, please, read it. @Num29 tells an inspirational story, but the line that sticks out for me is this one,
“...I was really annoyed with myself for not persevering but think, in retrospect, that I was listening to my body and made the right decision.”
Got it in one.
Listen to your body. It is our best advisor, and if we listen, we may not hear, or want to acknowledge, the advice we would welcome, but it will be the advice we should follow.
If it is telling you to ease back, to rest or recover, then please, please do listen
I have learned over my eight years plus of running, that if I take the correct action, listen to my body, and if necessary, follow expert advice, however hard it may be, then in the end, I will run again! I may even run better !
What you have all been doing over the last week is fantastic. The weather has hampered a fair few of us and for some of us, life is offering some very real challenges. I am, as ever, in awe of all of you. You are truly amazing!
So... maybe you have a tale to tell...has there been a time when you should have eased back, taken a rest or, quite simply, slowed everything right down.
It is good to share, our experiences, our successes and our setbacks too.. so I am looking forward to seeing a few folk in here later
Oldfloss x
Rumi got it exactly right...
.. that voice is in our head, and we do well to listen to it.
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That’s a very thought provoking post and wise words as ever Oldfloss
Weather and Life has definitely got in the way of my running this month and I’m trying not to beat myself up about it too much. There are just higher priorities right now and a daughter and her hubby who need all the support they can get as they navigate new parenthood after a difficult birth experience.
We all need to slow down and take stock from time to time. Thank you for the reminder. I’m feeling optimistic as the days get just a bit longer and just a bit warmer. We will all get wherever we want to be in the end . Maybe not the route we planned or even the destination we thought. But we will get there
Hello... welcome... you are an early bird too... I have been awake since 5 and already done my Yoga session...very relaxed though!
HUGE Congratulations on that small new addition... yes, that indeed, will impact you and of course, the new parents! Wonderfully, but very tiring... ! My own daughter needed a huge amount of support for similar reasons, especially after husband went back to work. The bond with our small runner in training, ( now 7), is very, very strong though x
Priorities change.. and as the days do lengthen, believe me, you will get plenty of exercise, usually with a small companion snug in a pram or buggy!!! Miles and miles of exercise... in ALL weathers!
You may find that your strength , stamina and generally, and physical mental health improve dramatically. I know I did!!!
You are quite right... we will get where we wish to be... maybe not on the route planned...but how exciting that route will be!
Thank you for this very useful insight... I do hope a few more folk will pop in and take heart from it...Enjoy that little one... xxx
Photo is on a good day... there was sunshine... there were days I looked like a snowman!
I haven’t run much this week because of the weather, but I’ve had a lot of fun doing some cross training (posh word for anything that isn’t running!!). Pilates, Zumba, swim and weights. I know all that will help with the runs as well as giving me some of the lovely endorphins I usually get pounding the pavements. I don’t mind getting wet but we’ve had trees down and it didn’t feel very safe outdoors. Definitely a sensible decision to stay in.
Last year I had an injury come on during a half marathon and had to pull out 15km in. That was a massive dilemma-push through and get my medal knowing I’d have 6k of intense pain or stop. It was the right thing to do and I got a gold star from my physio for not making it worse. The comeback was slow and frustrating but actually it was all the strength work I did that got it sorted and I’ve ended up running better than I was before. I often add cut back weeks to training plans because I know I do better with a bit more recovery and a slower build than many have written in. I started RED January running every day but quickly realised that was just going to get me injured. I need my rest days!!
.. that voice is in our head, and we do well to listen to it.
This is really interesting because I often find the voices in my head totally inaccurate! They tell me that I’m not fit enough, that I can’t run another step when I can, that I’m just too tired today, that my knee isn’t better when it is, that there’s no way I’ll finish my run…. I’ve found I’ve had to almost step outside of myself and objectively, dispassionately, consider what’s going on with my body. Am I too tired to run today or is it the sort of tired that will get better with running? Am I genuinely not able to continue or am I just not enjoying myself right now? Is my knee hurting or is it that I’m thinking about it so I’m worried about it and over conscious of every feeling I’m getting from it? I’ve really had to learn to get in tune with what my body is telling me and ,to a large extent, tune out what my gremlins say!
It’s been the same with some weights I’ve done. My gremlins say I’ll hurt myself and make an idiot of myself when I can’t make the lift, but the rational part of my brain knows I’ve trained and I’m ready to progress. For me, the key thing is knowing myself really well so I know what’s just a bit of worry and what’s a message I really need to pay attention to. It takes so much courage to say, “no, I’m not running today because I know that’s best for me” or “today’s run is a stinker and I’m making the conscious decision to cut it short”. Those things are signs of someone who is a really good coach to themselves!
Wow, that was a ramble! Thanks for a really thought provoking post, as usual! ❤️
Gold star from physio! I got a look from mine last year when I gently suggested what I might do, after she'd told me something different. A look and a raised eyebrow. I did EXACTLY what she said. 😬
This is a very interesting reply... and it does surprise me... !
I have, always really assumed that you are confident in your strengths ! I did not realise that those gremlins were really battling to get you upended! I feel as if I have let you down, by not seeing how hard you were battling those little mischief makers.
You are on of our most inspirational runners on the forum and your other exercise regimes too, are an example that many of us, would do well to emulate!
But you are out there, you are strong and you are doing things your way...and you have found what is reality and what is a hypothetical issue!
I’m sure I replied to this! I’ve had I internet issues and it must have got lost in the wires!
Thanks for a lovely reply! The sorts of gremlins I get with strength are often similar to running-you can’t do thins and what business do you have even trying? I put my weights up for squats at body pump this week and for the whole thing I was battling “you won’t finish this, you’re going to faint and fall over and everyone will laugh at you, you won’t get the bar of your shoulders and over your head so it’s better not to try….” I had words with myself and decided to give it a go and see how I was after the first round. It was hard but I felt like I’d challenged myself in a good way and I did finish what I wanted. I think running has really helped the self talk-to react calmly to what my brain is saying and work out if it’s a rational statement or just a bit of nerves. Brains add such funny things sometimes! It happens much less in a class setting and when I have a PT or physio with me, hardly at all because I knew they’d be there to help if I got in trouble during a lift. I’m still not quite as confident with the heavier weights on mu own. Body weight or lighter weights are ok. I’ll get there! Maybe a bit of nerves keep it exciting!
Thanks for saying such lovely things. You’ve given me a big smile to go with my morning coffee! ❤️❤️❤️
I did the 10min yoga with Adriene that you had linked in another post.. It was nice! I haven't really got on with yoga so much... I don't know why.. But this one was good
That is just great... well done you! If you scroll around you may find others you enjoy too! I wasn't a fan but am now... I pick and choose my sessions other than in the 30 day challenge
That's really interesting. I think like missu the voice in my head is not reliable! Perhaps because I came to running very late and was never a "sporty" person it often suggests I probably can't do something that in fact I can. What works best for me is planning in advance what I'm going to do and including lots of rest days, not beating myself up about breaks and holidays and time off but simply regularly, persistently, gently getting out there and regarding myself as a runner and an exerciser. It's taken me a long time to change the way I see myself but it has happened!
Honest and just right! You do what you have found works for you...planning and those rest days.. are why you are where you are... running, your way, and perhaps realising just how awesome you are?
I really identify with running in your own way! I'm sure that one of the reasons I disliked running when I was young was that it had to be competitive and I was always last or nearly last. I didn't realise running could be a solitary, contemplative activity!
I feel that many of our friends here had such unpleasant memories of their running when younger. I think I was lucky... I was very good at running... ( maybe not other things), but I really could run, and in those days, I was speedy I did my own thing even then, running barefoot when I was a teenager at grammar school... long before it was a common thing...
Latterly, as you know, from my rambles, running is for me, like you a beautiful time for aloneness and reflection... for sorting out and for letting go... x
Thank you - as usual! I'm going to try hard to not beat myself up for not doing the extra exercises yesterday, when I did 14,000 steps, a 6k run and four lots of (only the absolutely necessary) exercises. And I'm going to go gentle on myself for taking it easier today!
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