Only a quick one tonight. Went for run 8 tonight and I felt much more comfortable!  Managed to run past my last point and a bit more!

I even succeeded in controlling my breathing a little better, although it was taking up a lot of thought to do so!  I didn't look nearly as red as I normally do.  I didn't run great lengths, but I felt like I had moved round a bend a little - not quite a corner, but an achievement.

I have had so much support from friends, and especially my other half (personal trainer), it's quite touching that people care enough about me to spur me on.

As I type this I actually feel like I could go out for a run now!  Unfortunately, after playing Badminton for an hour and then a run/walk session my body is telling me otherwise!  Any tips for avoiding all the aches and pains?  I do stretches immediately after a run, and that does help a bit.

Well, I said it would be short - feeling tired and in need of my cosy bed!  Onward and upwards!

Well, a little time has elapsed since my first two runs,  I have now finished run 7!  

With running to the C25K program I have found that I wasn't particularly improving, mainly how I breathe seemed to be preventing me from going on successfully to the next step.  My other half, and now my personal trainer (though he doesn't like me calling him that) could see I was getting distressed - I think the tantrum tears gave it away - felt that I wasn't challenging myself enough, and maybe the short bursts of stop/start were wrong for me.  He came up with the idea that maybe I should try running as far as I can, then trying to improve on that with each new run.  Well...

I gave the first run of this new program a try, I managed a little further than I thought, but still felt my breathing was not in control.  I know it is that which is holding me up, and no matter how I tried to count steps, breathe through my mouth only, breathe through my nose an out through my mouth and various other ideas I just couldn't bring it under control.  I am going to try again on my next run and relax a little more about what I'm doing.  I hope this will help!  

I have just read on a running page that if you can't bring your breathing under control that you should see your doctor.  I think I will give it a little longer before I go down that route, but it is definitely  worth considering.  I'm not a natural runner, and I really do know that it is going to take a lot of effort on my part to get there, but I'll keep going - In my head I think that I should be able to do 5 K by now - totally impossible for a 50 year old who has never run before and has only been doing it 3 weeks!!  I think my expectations really do exceed the reality!

I'm looking forward to tomorrows run, I must be a sadist or something!

Run 2.

Hi all,

Well, had run number 2, this time with my lovely other half and wonderful daughter.  I was quite excited about this run as it was nearer to home than the last one, and will be where my runs will be from now on.

This was the second run of the first week on C25K app on my phone so I wasn't expecting great miracles to have occurred over-night.  I was mainly hoping to get through it without passing out or being sick - which would have been most embarrassing for all concerned!

We set off at a briskish  pace down to the seafront, and not long after we arrived there Michael Johnson, my in-ear trainer instructed me to get running.  Now, on my last run I think I overdid it from the start, so this time I paced myself as I was in the middle of that run.  Much better.  OK so I won't win any prizes in a race, but I felt comfortable.  This tactic played off later on in run 7, where last time I could have said hello to my lunch for the second time. I must admit I did have to walk up a steep hill to get to the top, no way could I run it, especially near the end!

If you don't know the C25K app I will briefly explain how it works.  First you do a 5 minute brisk walk, followed by 8 repetitions of 60 seconds run, 90 seconds walk.  At the end you do a 5 minute warm down walk.

It was all hard work, but I wasn't about to give up.  I just kept going, hoping that it will be better next time I run!

I arrived home again, feeling happy and energised -and my legs didn't ache on the fronts of my thighs like last time - so all was good in my little world!

Now just about to leave for run 3 - wish me luck!

My First Run!

After a great deal of procrastination I have decided to start running.  All my friends do it, even work colleagues do it, so I thought I should join them.  

You may wonder why the blog is called This Girl Can't Run.  Well, let me tell you a little about me and my fitness levels.  It will be very little as on a scale of 1 - 10 I score around - 10!  It hasn't always been so, as I loved Karate in my 30's, I even competed in competitions.  But time and laziness took over and reaching 50 it was time to challenge myself to get fit and slim once again.

I have decided to write this blog, mainly so that I can keep going, as a sort of diary, so I can look back and see how I have improved.  I am using the NHS Couch to 5K program, of which the first week is a gentle introduction.  Err - did I just say Gentle?  I never knew that one minute could actually last so long, and 90 seconds could go so quickly!

Armed with two work friends and now running buddies as well as a pair of twins and a rather mad dog, my mobile and earphones off we set.  The first warm up walk was great, it was when the jogging bit started that I struggled.  Given that there would be 7 more short runs I started to wonder what the heck I was actually doing! The warm down was fun, chatting away without a care in the world - well the others were, I was just panting uncontrollably.  With the amazing encouragement of said friends I made it.  Although I was a little pink, OK I was magenta coloured, on my return, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed it.

I will do this, I can do this, I just need to keep going.  On to run number 2.