Happy when we are running!

[MoshiMoshi]

Hear ye! Hear ye! All those who want to liberate themselves from the shackles of their domestic and work lives, join us here in our continued bid to run and be happy and feel free !

Hmmm.... still not got back on track after dodgy foot and back episode. Been busy moving house but that's a big fat excuse. Have no stamina or breath - but I blame that on too much vino . So knocking that on the head for a while and will be dusting off my running shoes.

Hi. I am in the UK! In Aberdeen. If anyone seeing this lives there and has childcare issues, the Beach Leisure Centre has a good, affordable creche with lovely staff. If it's raining too hard there are plenty of treadmills in the gym. So the beach isn't that glamorous, but it's nice. Lots of runners and powerwalkers use it.

Really miss running. DS (now 2) was a surprise. I wanted to run the London Marathon, put in my application for 2006 and got rejected and was about to keep the ball rolling (After 6 rejections, you're in) but I figured it would be my luck to be accepted in 2007. Theoretically running the week after my due date!

hi everyone. well done moshi on your race results. orm - get out there.

I did 16 on sunday with 2500 feet of climb. quite an effort but at least I feel I can the 20 miler now - I was beginning to wonder.

I was thinking about you lot and wondered how you all came to running - are you properly athletic or late-comers like me? on paper I think I might sound quite serious - but I am so not. hated athletics at school, just about good enough to make the hockey team, quite good at gymnastics but only ever did what I think is called acrobatics - never had the chance to do equipment. I guess I was quite well co-ordinated but not strong, not quick, not naturally sporty. the only exercise I did in my 20s was aerobics. running has grown on me throughout my 30s - mainly taken up because of it being "efficient" - no need to travel anywhere or pack up a bag, just walk out your door and go. but now I really enjoy it. still don;t look athletic - although people do keep commenting that my legs look toned - but that's relative (and they never get to see my thighs...). so what about you lot? natural athletes since primary school? or just intruders/outsiders?

. If only!
Hat, I was overweight as a child and never involved in sport. Always felt very self concious. Was never able to do handstands, forward rolls and all those things the skinny kids seemed to do all the time. Was never ever athletic. Got into running about 5 years ago as a way of getting fit and controlling weight and got the bug!

I began running in my early/mid thirtys for the same reason as you hat - it's a very efficientway of exercising if you're 'time poor'. Plus dh works a rolling shift pattern so I can make a class two weeks running.

I played alot of netball (to county level) as a junior/teen. I played a bit of hockey too but never any athletics and cross country running was the cue to hide under the bridge and tag on the back of the pack on the return trip I played too much netball really in the rubbish shoes they had in the 70s and I did some fairly extensive damage to my knee. After school I played much less but did some aerobics stuff too and then had a complete break from any exercise between having ds1 and dd.

I've been running regularly for 13 years now and the doom-mongers have been wrong about my knee because it's less painful than it's ever been although I don't run anything like as far as some MN runners.

Apart from the fitness aspect there's a whole lot of other stuff that keeps me running - just being outside, how much less stressed I feel, my hormones are more even, my bowel issues (which are not insignificant) are less problematic. It's just the best thing I ever did really

Hi, hope you don't mind me dropping in. I am doing Run to the Beat on 26th so getting slightly twitchy now :)

Also is running supposed to be this addictive??

Aha I've found you all - I've been looking for ages.

I'm off to catch up but don't worry I haven't been slacking. Regular 10ks, a couple of 15ks and several interval-ish runs here in between the work and school run admin nightmare. It's starting to get hot again now.

Twink how is the job plus training??

When's the GNR Popsy?

Did I hear Moshi mention Iron Man and Marathon in the same sentence?

Welcome, seaturtle and blueberries - get out there I say, if the urge to run takes you just follow your instinct and run.

blueberries - With a 7 week old the relaxin may still be noticeable so watch for things like turning your ankle over. Try running after a feed or express to lighten the load. Only very high intensity exercise is meant to affect the taste of breastmilk and I guessing it would be quite gentle at this stage. The other thing to work on now if you aren't already is your pelvic floor which can be weakened by running. I know, ahem, from experience...

Really sorry for having notime to replyindividually.

Lots of stuff going on at home at the moment,

GNR on Sunday.Tapering going a little too well!

Will be following Moshi's advice and having acouple of tactical mini-walks at key points.

Still hoping for under 2 hours 30 though ( 2hours 9mins 53 secs lasttime with reasonable training)

foot still swelling but mnot painful.Will contact physion next week

POdiatrist appt in a fortnight

Happy running and sorry for typing anddashing

oh and for breastfeeders....Istarted running at 4months post natal and was fine!

actually am still breastfeeding

Hat - I am definitely no natural athlete . Kind of liked netball at school. Loathed hockey - too cold and muddy (girly wuss emoticon). Don't like swimming. Hated running most of all! I rowed at university, which was the first time in ages I'd done any decent exercise, but was rubbish when we did running sessions to train. Sporadic gym membership during my twenties and early thirties.
I started running aged 36/ 37 to lose weight (which I've always struggled to do) and reduce my high blood pressure since the birth of my second dc. It has also done wonders for the anxiety which accompanied the high bp - if I don't go running for a while, I now start to feel quite edgy! I decided on running because it's cheap and I too am time poor! Also I decided it was a 'natural' thing for your body to do, so it was ridiculous not to be able to do it. (Sorry - ramble ramble.)

goldberry I coxed at university - took up all my time so I did virtually no exercise at all. however I did rather love shouting stuff like "I want it harder" at 8 strapping young men. those were the days... I took an eight out just the other day - first time I'd coxed (and the rowers had rowed) for about 15 years. it was great fun.

emski - me too on 26th! Welcome!

master - good to hear from you again and that running has continued despite the heat. Not doing a full IM, just entered the half that Twink did this year. I haven't got around to asking Twink to join me yet, but will do.. I also entered Edinburgh marathon on the basis I won't get a slot at London. Otherwise my only other race in the calendar so far is the half on 26th. Popsy will have done the GNR by then as I recall it falling the weekend before.

About being anatural athelete...

I danced from the age of two and spent most of mylifeup to university competing and on the stage

Ialso played a bit of netball at scchool and uni. I spent a lot of uni doing aerobics

However, I HATED running. WHat was the point?!?! Stupid, pointless hideous form of exercise.

Then a workmate of mine dared me to do the RAce for LIfe in 2007. And the rest is history :)

I was not athletic as a child but my dad was a marathon runner and my mum went swimming regularly so I suppose I had good role-models. I was quite anti-sport at secondary school, though. I blame the PE teachers for making you feel that if you weren't one of the best you might as well not try. I still have emotional scars from being singled out in gym classes (well not exactly but I do remember the shame of being the only one unable to vault over the horse).

I also rowed at university, and I went to Birmingham as a postgrad and although I hardly did any rowing I think that year was the fittest I have ever been - circuit training with the boaties, running with my housemate and footie and badminton just for fun . After that I slumped a bit and then having kids didn't help. I went through patches of going to the gym and getting very fit, and patches of being a podger. But I am happy to have rediscovered running and I have high hopes for its effect on my cv fitness and my figure .

Beat you on the essay there, Goldberry!

After all that, hello and welcome to newbies. I am still breastfeeding too and find either a ShockAbsorber or two normal sports bras support my boobs pretty well. Good luck to Popsy for this weekend. And very impressed by Moshi's results! (Ds1 loved the kids duathlon and wants to do it again next year.)

Oh yes and what Moshi says about the relaxin is absolutely true. That and poor core strength gave me some pretty bad pelvic pain until a physio sorted me out. And even before 3 vaginal births, my pelvic floor muscles were terrible, so I did loads of work on them before I even ventured out to do my first run 1 min walk 1 min session.

HFD - I so agree re PE teachers - mine were appalling in that respect - if you weren't a superstar you weren't worth bothering with. sport was ALL about beating other schools...nothing to do with enjoyment, personal achievement or fitness

Not a natural athlete here either ! Did various sport as a child but nothing to any expertise but enjoyed joining in. Did nothing at univeristy (Birmingham here too under and post grad). During 20s joined (and left) lots of gyms through city of London. Had a baby, put on weight struggled to have another, dd1 started pre school - I had time on my hands and thought losing weight could only help matters and found out about couch to 5K on here, started running, found it helped me mentally deal with the issues and it went on from there. Was v. pleased I got back to it after hte birth of dd2.

Seaturtle - oh, and you made it sound so glamorous . Actually, I have been to the beaches near Aberdeen and they are beautiful !

MOshi/Highfibre - was that the duathlon in Richmond Park this weekend ? Are you both nearby (maybe I knew that if so, I think there are a few of us in the area).

Welcome Emsi - Goodluck with run to the beat, I have a friend doing it.

Good luck Popsy if I don't say it again before sunday !!

Tracked you all down but not caught up with the news yet! Bdy wrk getting in the way, not used to it!!

Just tried to enter Wimbleball for next year but my entry crashed, waiting to hear back from the organisers.

Should get a bit of a break tomorrow so hope to read up then.

Hatwoman - my recent running phase was late. I was in my early 30's. Hated PE at school. I just wasn't interested in what was offered and was a bit of a chubby teenager. However I discovered cycling when I was 16. That was my first love. I ran on and off in my late teens and 20's, but it became my main thing in my 30's.

Oooh did a mile without having to stop!

Yes it has got that bad But I am getting there.

Very late starter here (was 48, never run before) and love it. Or at least I do when am not injured. Have had two recent lay-offs hurt knee dancing (!) and was out for weeks and a month after starting again and just building up gradually I fell down holiday cottage stairs and REALLY hurt my back. Now hoping to start again this week but am so slow. How do you get fast?

just thinking while I was out run....

I have never done a 'non-breastfeeding-run'

Hello all, mind if I join in?

Was just nicely getting into my running when DS came along- ran until about halfway through my pregnancy but had to give it up as he bounced on my pelvic floor in a most disagreeable fashion with every step I took. He's now 4 1/2 months and I started running again a fortnight ago. Just taking it easy for now and building up slowly, but I'm very pleasantly surprised at how little fitness I've lost (still lots, obviously, but it could have been far worse!).

hat - good to hear you got a hilly 16 miler in the bag! Great question too. I have been sports mad my whole life. I ran a lot at school doing athletics (800m and 1500m) and cross-country. I also discovered hockey aged 9 and was playing at international level 5 years later. I continued to play at county/ international level until university and then drinking and being a student intervened. Law school followed that and then working in the City and I effectively stopped playing hockey for 15 years only recently taking it up again. Running returned when I was a trainee solicitor and generally continued throughout 4 pregnancies and new babies with varying degrees of breaks, dependant on how busy I was at work. Leaving work 2 years ago was a godsend and I now focus on the family and working out how I can be as active as possible doing that. Hence I always run/cycle everywhere with the kids as well as escaping when I can for a bit of pilates, a solo run or hockey training or horse-ride.

I love to challenge myself although have only recently decided to just enter those all races instead of wondering how on earth I will fit in training for something with the busy family life I have responsibility for. I have spent a lot of my 30s bearing and raising children and am determined to spend the rest of my 30s doing something for myself before I hit my 40s wishing I was still in my 30s and more able to train/race faster!