I miss being a runner. It’s been more than two years since I ran Half Marathons, and whilst I have never been particularly competitive, I miss the balance and headspace running used to offer me.
For 2020/21, I am definitely giving myself a lot of grace. Running was not a priority as life imploded. I had a lot going on that year besides COVID. For the past 14 months, running had to take a back seat as I recovered from a serious shoulder injury. It started as a frozen shoulder and then turned into something the consultant called a 1% chance injury. Only 1% of people who get frozen shoulder go on to develop what I had. It wasn’t fun.
So now, I need to do strength training to get more left side back to full strength and yoga, to get some flexibility back and a full range of motion (I am still a little removed from where I want to be). What I am most looking forward to however is getting back to running, or rather feeling like going for a run.
Couch to 5k
When I asked my physio for advice, he gave me a great 5k programme to try. It’s designed to enable me to get back to running without risking injury to the precious shoulder. This week, I am starting with 30 min, 4:30 min walk, 30 sec run, repeated 6 times. Each week, the run duration gets a little longer, so that I am moving from running 1 min per every 5 minutes, then 2, then 3 and so forth.
I am not going to do more than 30 min until I can run the entire time, and I am hoping to just get back to 5k by spring.
Fitting running back into my life
One of the biggest problems I have is fitting running back into my life. I know I have the time, but FINDING the time is harder than it looks.
Avoiding dark runs and runs when it’s too cold (asthma), and also work, dog walks and so many other things I am doing each week.
I love home-working and hybrid working, but one of the challenges for me continues to be getting enough exercise in, even with our daily dog walks. But running before or after work in the darkest weeks of the year is a mixed bag.
That is one of the biggest advantages of the plan I am following. It’s always 30 mins, and at the moment I am trying to fit it into my lunch breaks.
Wish me luck, and see you out there!