Running... and not running

Reading back over this blog, I see that at New Year 2020 I was five weeks into my umpteenth attempt at Couch25K. I thought it was worth recording that I did, in fact, complete the course in late February 2021. And there I stopped.

So what happened? There were no ParkRuns at the time (pandemic lockdown) to keep me motivated to continue; and in fact, I started to find that I truly wasn't enjoying the activity as much as before. The recurrence of my old plague, plantar fasciitis, didn't help; my additional injuries incurred with a severe sprain in the right foot (2013) have never really gone away, and with age I'm finding that the lower-impact activity of walking and hiking (even for long distances) causes me much less discomfort, as well as being easier on the back.

I do miss the time efficiency of running, the occasional exhilaration when the fitness is good enough; but my hiking activities are, I believe, best for me going forward. I'm proud of the few times that I achieved 5K continuous running (OK, plodding), but now - I'm walking onwards.

More of the 2021 walking achievements elsewhere, especially under the tag #LEJOG.

Couch to 5K - and other goals

Way back in May 2007 I 'ran' (that's rather overstating the case; it took me about 39 minutes) my first 5K - the local Race for Life. 

I continued to enjoy modest runs for the next couple of years until a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis put paid to that activity. 

During this 'life list' phase I decided to have a go at Couch to 5K, and blogged here about this in March 2018. Much to my amazement, I managed it, 'graduating' in May of that year. For the next few weeks I ran for three miles two or three times a week, and achieved my first ParkRun on 2 June (at a not-very-blistering speed of 36'17" - pace 11'16" per mile). 

What happened? Well, we moved into a heatwave. I returned to walking instead of running. And got out of practice. And then we moved house - from Winterton-on-sea to Norwich - in August. 

Once we were settled in our new home, I started C25K again in November - and gave up. And February 2019 - and gave up. And October 2019 - and gave up. Although I was still walking a reasonable amount, I'd lost my impetus and the feeling of being 'a fit person'. I gained between seven and fourteen pounds (this went up and down - although I'm relieved to say that my highest weight in this period has been 11 stone 7 - well under the 13 stone 1 that was my very heaviest in 2014).

In late 2019, I started C5K yet again, and in February 2020 I 'graduated' for the second time. And on 22 February I took part in my second ParkRun.

And what happened then? Well, we all know the answer to that. A month after my ParkRun, we went into the first covid-19 lockdown. Walks continued, but not as often or as far as before; life became a struggle, motivation plummeted, fear set in, and although it would have been rational to use activity to keep my mood lighter, I just gave up. My old walking targets of 80 miles per month were seldom met (when they were, it was due to taking long hikes - between 10 and 20 miles - with my good friend James). Lockdown #2 kicked in. We moved from that into Tier 4 - which was tantamount to lockdown anyway. 

Monday 16 November. Time to start again. Food is still rather out of control ("it's nearly Christmas and we're halfway through another b****y lockdown") but I start C25K again. And somehow, I've kept going. 

Today - Sunday 3 January - I've reached the end of week 5, and have just succeeded in conquering that startling 20 minutes of non-stop running that they spring on you at the end of that week. Slow, ploddy, hard work, but done - 1.5 miles, and at a pace of just under 13 minutes per mile.

It's 2021. During this year I'm determined to 

• achieve a running/walking distance of 80 miles per month (coupled with the #walk1000miles group on Facebook)
• to graduate in early February on Couch to 5K
• to walk a marathon again
• to get my weight back down to my optimum ten-stone-seven and below (I'll be doing weights-and-measures tomorrow, but it will be around 10-12 pounds to lose)
• to rebuild this lifelist and carpe diem.

In three days' time I'll be 58 years old. I've missed my lifelist challenges, and I miss the feeling of fitness and freedom that I achieved four years ago. 

The only person that can achieve this... is me.

Nuclear Rush: a muddy 10K

Full album here

This was a killer.

On a happily glorious day in May 2018, I joined four of my colleagues from Mother Nature's Diet (all considerably fitter than me) for a ten-kilometre 'muddy run'. Not only was 10k a major stretch for me (then and at any time) but the 'assault course' element pushed me further out of my comfort zone than I would have believed possible.

All clean before we started! L to R: Karl, Jane, Jason, Cassie, Kim.

We not only ran but shimmied under cargo nets (through mud), scrambled up slopes, splashed through streams, jumped off high platforms into a lake, and much more. Some hilarious, some deeply uncomfortable, some terrifying, some exhilarating. 

I found there was just one area where I was further into my comfort zone than most of my colleagues: the swimming. I'm slow but reasonably confident, having been thrown into a swimming pool when I was just months old and having no fear of water. So diving under a float to come up the other side posed no problems; it was scary coming down the 'death slide', but that came under the 'exilarating' heading; and jumping off a tower into deep water was a challenge but manageable.

I ducked out of some of the challenges - especially the later ones as I tired - but was still pretty proud to have managed quite a number of them, and - even though I was tail-end Charlie throughout, to have finished the thing at all.

Was I glad I did it? For challenge, cameraderie and personal boundary pushing - yes. Would I do it again? Probably not!! 

Running again

It's a very long time since I did any running. I got into it, in a very modest way, back in 2007/2008 (I used to blog about it here), and loved it: adrenalin rush, economy of time, great cardio - what's not to like?

What wasn't to like was injury. I had a couple of painful calf muscle episodes, but they were sorted with the help of a lovely sports masseur. However, after attempting a 10K run (rather than my usual 5K maximum) without enough training, I ended up with a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis, which started in the autumn of 2008 and continued for a full two years. Anyone who's suffered it will know why I'm terrified of its return: even a walk round the shops was painful, and simple sightseeing was agony, never mind running.

Additionally, a really serious sprain on a walk in 2013 left me with a right ankle that will probably never again be quite right - and the nerves about ever doing it again.

I went to walking, and once I'd cracked my weight problems and fitness routine in 2014/2015, this became my staple exercise. Now I achieve a regular 80 miles each month and it keeps me sane and fit.

However, in expanding my routines and aiming to build up the cardio, I have decided to try again. I probably won't ever want to go for the long-distance, high-impact stuff again. But I feel it's important to get just a bit of speed in; to be ready for my Nuclear Rush (muddy run) challenge, with my Mother Nature's Diet buddies, in May, and to be able to run comfortably between obstacles; to bring in another level.

I've just completed the first week of Couch to 5K, and so far so good. Gently does it. I should reach the 5K distance exactly in time for Nuclear Rush, and all being well I'd love to run the Wroxham 5K (last time was in August 2008... oh, my).

Watch this space.