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An Oldie Starting Out!
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LOL, David, my ambitions are much more lowly! I know it's going to take me a long time to build up to even 3 miles running, but I've read enough threads on the Beginners forum from people who did too much too soon to know that if I want to be in this for the long haul, I've got to be patient and let it take as long as it takes. And believe me, learning to be patient will be a lot harder than learning to run could ever be. I always go for the instant gratification option so all that's going to have to change. I might have to add hypnotism to my "new hobbies" checklist....
You know, Tikka, I don't think so. I think you're showing such a lot of determination with all these teething troubles that once you get out there, you are going to be really sensible so that you won't have any more holdups to your running career.
In the meantime, I'm very jealous of that jacuzzi!!!!
I don't know, GC - if I manage to take things slowly and not go all-out with the running as I do with everything else in life, it'll be another first for me
Tikka, if you DON'T take things slowly, you're very likely to end up in the same place you are now.....and you'll like it so much you really, REALLY won't want that to happen! So don't underestimate the power of running to teach you things
)))
hee hee 110% in everything......except slowing down
ooo Jacuzzi. Think that would be reeealllyyy good for me shoulder. mmmm.
Enjoy!
Ladies and Gentlemen of the forum, I commend to you the jacuzzi. It has done wonders for my gammy leg, or it has at least helped to take my mind off it - either way is good by me. Only trouble is I stink of chlorine. Even after I've showered I can still smell it on my skin. If it's possible to die of chlorine intoxication, it's goodnight from me - tonight was my 4th jacuzzi in, er, I make that 4 nights. Maybe the novelty will wear off but right now I'm loving it.
Feeling very positive today. I had a slack day at work so (can we whisper very quietly please) I managed to log on and read through some more threads on the beginners forum. It's so uplifting to follow people's progress as they start out from scratch. There are people whose first post has them barely able to manage 30 seconds of running and suddenly, a few hundred posts on, they're talking about 10 milers before breakfast! Most of them are a lot younger than me so I know I'll never reach those dizzy heights, but I'll be thrilled skinny if I ever get to the stage where I can enter a 10K, run all the way and still be home before the milkman arrives in the small hours!
Hi everyone, just clocking in to say that.... I DID MY FIRST PLOD tonight.
And despite the nagging feeling in the back of my mind (not to mention tendons in my calf) that I may have been a li'l over ambitious, I feel really elated!
I had a rotten day at work, loads of hassle and constant interruptions when I needed to concentrate, so even though it was a dismal night weather-wise I kitted myself out for a brisk walk. I didn't realise until I got out there just how windy, wet and cold it was so my main aim was just to complete the 3 mile circuit and get back home again as quickly as possible - and that's when I came up with the brainwave that the quickest route home to a hot bath was to start running.
I managed to do 3 mins running / 1 min walking for pretty much all of the 3 mile route because I'd only been walking for a couple of minutes when I started the running intervals. It was really tough though, partly because of the wind factor, but also just hard! I've got even greater respect now for all you runners, I honestly didn't have any idea just how tough it would be. I was going really slowly, so it wasn't my pace that was wrong, but I'm thinking that I might have been a bit naive thinking that one minute of walking was enough for the first time out? Next time I think I'll try 1.5-2.0 mins walking at a time.
I wish I could say that my calf didn't hurt at all but it's not true. It hurt at the time, and it's still hurting two hours later. That's why I almost didn't post tonight - I figured there was no point going on the forum singing from the roof tops that I've managed a plod when it might be weeks before I'm able to do the next one. But here I am, unashamedly bragging, and - leaving aside the calf pain and the fact that when I was actually running it felt mighty hard - the feeling of euphoria I felt when I crashed through the front door knowing I'd stayed the course was just the best!
Off now to treat my leg to a packet of frozen peas
Tikka
what the hell - go for it
my calf is semi mended, i'm sore, i just plod very gently, it keeps my mind positive
Hi BOTF - how's life !
Hi Mick, glad the calf is getting better, but you must have given it a he!! of a strain! Gently does it, indeed.
Tikka, WELL DONE YOU!!! No wonder you're feeling so great. But your idea of maybe doing more walking and less running to start with is quite sound. There's quite a bit more impact with running, no matter how slowly you're going, and you need to give your body time to build up to take that. Try r2/w2 next time and see how that feels. There's no looking back now!!!
Thanks for the encouragement, Mick and GC, but unfortunately I'm not in good shape today - my calf is back to throbbing and really painful. I'm going to have to sit it out for another couple of weeks before I try running again. Roll on Friday and my appointment with the physio.
Happy running to the rest of you!
Hey Tikka
Well done
Have you looked at the training plans on here? There are some relatively gentle looking ones on there - little steps - but hopefully less chances of injuring yourself (at least thats what I am hoping....!)
Hi Tikka
Take care, rest, recover, and next time do more walking and less jogging.
Much encouragement as always - it's very heartening. Today I can't imagine ever being able to run pain-free - the tendons in my shin are throbbing and swollen.
What plan are you using, Barking? Can I find it on the Training tab on this site?
Awwww, Tikka, what a disappointment! However, two good things: a) this is not normal. Something is wrong, and once you get that sorted out, you WILL be able to run properly. b) you are seeing the fizzy tomorrow, which means you can start sorting things out soon! Hang in there!!!
Hi Mick, how's our favourite super-hero these days???
My calf is pretty sore at the moment
so Gloucester 20 will be a slow pld
but that'll suit me, a slow plod will be better than none at all
Mick, you really are amazing. If there's one word to describe you, it has to be 'Invincible'!!!
I hope it's a wonderful day---and DO take it a bit easy, you don't want to compound the injury. xxx
Chuggs
many thanks
i'm very well you know
though, i must be honest, 2 or 3 years ago, i was invincibly flying
but since our FLM BAN , i've lost some sparkle, it's taken some of my edge away
and since FLM chief's said, there's as worthy if not more worthy than Mick n Phil,
well that's really offended me - i've put everything into all this ALL YEAR AROUND
I've lost some of my hunger
umm yeah I mashed ones together - kept injuring meeself every time I came back, so figured I should force myself to be sensible
you are showing as private - but if you want to message me I will forward to you if you like
Thanks, Barking - I've changed my profile now so hopefully you'll be able to email me. Not that I'll be starting on any programme for some time but I hope I will be one day. Saw the physio today and apparently I have acute tendinitis of the lower leg, and also possibly inflamation of the material that covers the bones - there's a word for it, periosteum or something like that. I was very down after I came home because the physio says it can take quite a while to heal, and things always take longer for me anyway because of my brittle bones, but on the plus side at least I know what it is now and as Gentle Chugger said in an earlier post, it's not normal so at least when I do recover hopefully it won't happen again.
Meanwhile I'll have to content myself with running vicariously reading everyone else's progress on the forum!
<XXX> to everyone for your support. I'll be back!
Don't go away, Tikka! Stay with us. The fact that you can't run right now doesn't mean you're not a runner. It just means your an injured runner. It does sound pretty nasty from your description, but at least it will get better with time. Did the fizz give you any exercises or advice on how to speed the healing? And what about walking in the meantime? If you're allowed to do that you can keep quite a lot of fitness up that way.
Mick, I still say you're invincible--just look at the race report from a week or two ago!!! Fantastic.
Hey good luck
Let us know how you get on
Well done indeed, True Blue!! Hope it goes really well---do pop in and give us a report!
(Tikka: one of the great things is that even when you aren't doing a race yourself, you can support those who are!)
Hi Gentle Chugger and Barker, welcome True Blue. Don't worry, I won't be going anywhere - I'm addicted to this site! I'd probably have abandoned all hope before I even got started running if it hadn't been for your encouragement.
In answer to your question, GC, I have another appointment during the week with the physio (ca-ching, ca-ching
) and she'll see how things are going then but in the meantime I don't have to do any stretching exercises - the tendons are too inflamed. She'll recommend some eventually but some healing needs to take place first. I'm on anti-inflams and they're helping a bit so I feel more positive than I did on Friday evening.
Checked out my local RFL and discovered that it's at the end of May so I don't think I'll be able to achieve my goal of running it this year because I probably won't get started on a run/walk programme until April at the earliest. But if I even get to run across the finish line I'll be happy and there are a couple of other 5Ks I can aim for late summer/early autumn. Also on the plus side (I'm in plus mode tonight!), by the time I start out on a programme the evenings will be longer and I'll be able to get to the football pitch in daylight which has got to be easier on my ageing, crumbling bones than concrete, right?
I picked up my brand new Citroen C1 this weekend.... hurrah! I've never had a brand new car before, always someone else's hand-me-down. It's no limousine - it takes compact and bijou to a whole new level - but I love it! Scarlet Red. The future's so bright I've gotta wear shades
Forgot to say, GC - the physio said I could walk, but it would be better if I didn't to give the tendons a chance to heal. I managed to take her advice for half a day.... but by yesterday I'd fallen off the wagon. I thought about going to the gym to do the stationary bike or cross trainer but I lost the will to live before I even got my gym kit on so I walked yesterday and again today. I guess if I go back this week and she tells me I'm no better and it's because I'm still stressing the tendons, then I'll have to have a serious re-think but for now I'm going to keep on with the walking.
What was that you were saying about me being sensible.....?
Tikka, that sounds really good! At least you now have someone looking at it who knows what to do and how to help. And I must say, from a position of total ignorance, it really did sound as if you would have to start by giving things a chance to get de-inflamed. You must be pretty uncomfy even now, though the anti-inflams should help.
Tsk tsk. If she said don't walk, you shouldn't walk, and if you do you will just put off your recovery that much longer. Consider yourself reprimanded. That said, if you've had the nice spring weather that we have, I can see it would be hard to stay inside! But think of it this way: you will be one of the few people in England who's pleased when the rain and wind return (which they surely will) because even walking will be less appealing in that weather!!! (And DO ask the fizz if you really need to stay right off the leg: if she says yes, then do it!)
Don't give up on the RFL just yet. It's still 12 weeks away, and while you might not be able to run it all, if you manage to get the tendons healed so you can start training, with your basic fitness you should be able to run/walk it, and lots of people do just that. Alternatively, you may well be able to find another RFL not too far away sometime over the summer; and as you said, there are always plenty of 5k's. So don't worry, once you get going you won't have any difficulty finding races you like!
For now, just take care of yourself and be as obedient as you can, OK??
Hi gang
What another super day we have had, we got under way at the Gloucester 20 miler, setting off very cautiously indeed not knowing what my calf muscle might do, how and if it's mended, and would it be sore
i knew the course well, it's a 4 miles out, 2 severely undulating loops and 3 miles ish back
on a perfect day with a slight but refreshing breeze, we started to embark on the loops, i was not complaceant, i was feeling good, happy and relaxed, - i was enjoying the fresh air, glorious countryside, and could hear the birds singing
I was feeling extremely mentally strong, my physical fitness is also in very good nick, but my concerns were, how is my calf, i was having so much fun, Phillip was laughing with fellow runners
we were well on the way, my thighs began to sligtly tighten, but thats normal, i was by 17 miles feeling just slightly tired, so we just criused home with no heroics what so ever
we clocked a perfect 3 .18 - i was chuffed to bit's considering all the races we do, with 2 marathons and 3 HM's this year already
Vast experience tells me over longer distance not to be complaceant, HM's they don't matter, 20's are a little more and course FM's are another story
i run much better relaxed, no pressure on me, just do what ever happens, feel good
I'm so pleased that i'm in pretty much tip top physical condition, and pretty high on the physcological scale as well, we have another 2 tough 20 milers this month and a hilly HM
so, it's luvely jubbly
easy .. easy ... easy
Mick