Getting back into running - anyone with me?

[SweetestThing]

Watching the London Marathon today prompted me to think seriously about how to get back into running. I used to run several times a week and have run London several times but in recent years, my exercise has been sporadic, with runs of only a few miles and lots of hiatuses.

I've now entered the ballot for next year's London (confidently predicting my eleventy billionth rejection) but have decided I need to have something to aim for before then, so have booked in for a half-marathon in September. So I need to get a training plan in place, sort out my diet and weight (currently carrying about two stone over my running weight) and cross-train.

Anyone fancy joining me in a virtual support and training plan?

Welcome, new running chums!

thismeansnothing, I'm super impressed you've been out running so soon after giving birth! Yay! to new trainers. Nothing beats the smell of them (but I have to get them muddy very quickly so they don't look too white and new :))

shopoholicln, there's something so special about London, isn't there? I have supported 8 times over the past 15 years and been on the running side of the barrier 6 times over that period. This year was the first time I've not been there in some capacity and I missed it.

bluejelly, one thing I think we all understand on this thread is the good day- bad day experience. Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start again - I call it pressing the reset button. It works for exercise, diet, cutting back on alcohol, anything you want to give up or start doing.

Tomorrow I'll be getting the early train to London so no opportunity for an early run. Instead I'll be getting off the train a stop early and walking the last four and a bit miles home. Probably not running but brisk walking instead. The way I look at it is that time on my feet is good, even if it's not running.

Just realised I am monopolising this thread - tell me to shut up! I won't mind (well, I might have a little sulk in the corner but it won't last long :))

Ha don’t be daft - provides focus!
Sorry about your brother and father. My father is still alive but alcoholic too.

I have done twenty mins of yoga but still not run:( This month am doing 5-6 days a week of 7.30am to 10pm with about an hour at tea time ... strugglingfor time. In January I did a month of running at 11pm but am just too knackered at mo plus do need to sort core and flex really

Hello everyone, I'd love to join you!

Like so many, I was a regular-ish runner (never anything structured, just getting out there when I could and doing ParkRun and some 10k races) until 2017.
Since then I've had two years of almost zero exercise thanks to fertility treatments, IVF, house move and plain old laziness.

I was on holiday in Feb and was the wobbliest I have ever been and decided enough was enough. If I can't have kids then I can damn well enjoy the freedom and health benefits of all that spare time I have!!

I've been at the gym and running for about 8 weeks now and already feel so much better. I managed a hilly off-road 10k a few weeks back which I was over the moon with, and have another one coming up on Monday.

And - having always been completely against marathons and never remotely inclined to do one - I have signed up for the Bournemouth one in October!!

I still don't know what possessed me and think there is a high likelihood I will pull out. I have never been a natural runner and think those miles will take their toll on my physically (hence my username!), but it's in the diary and I have a 20-week plan to follow so we will see what happens...

SweetestThing I am totally with you on the evening snacking. It's my downfall. I can be very good at work but as soon as I get home I reach for biscuits/Babybells/chocolate/Pecy Pigs. I would hate to know how many mindless calories I consume that way and am trying my best to stop. I have at least stopped drinking in the week which was my other major vice, so I am getting there..!

Looking forward to seeing everyone's progress and if anyone has any kind of marathon tips at all, please do share!!

@SweetestThing thanks! I was getting really frustrated with not doing any exercise after a really lazy pregnancy so was itching to get back into something. Lancashire be new trainer day, the smell but also the illusion that they will suddenly make e fitter and faster 😂🤞🏻

Also joining please I am not a runner but gave birth 7 months ago so need exercise that’s free and I can do any time to fit around when DH can take the baby. Just got the Couch to 5K app and will get inspiration from you all!

I can relate to that thismeansnothing! I got some new ones a couple of weeks ago and they have genuinely helped.

I thought my old Asics were comfy enough, but they were 3 years old and these new ones feel SO much better!

Thank you @SweetestThing - I did do another 3k today, even added a bit of fartlek sprinting!
But then had fish and chips for tea. So that cancelled that out 😳

Just returned from C25K week 2 session 2. New trainers are awesome. So light and springy (they are a spec up from what I'd normally have). No blisters and no calf pain. Wasnt quite home when the app session finished so thought I'd run n see how long I could do. Managed 5 minutes not at the fastest pace but I've not ran for 5 mins for just over a year!

Hello, new runners and welcome!

Great to hear the various reasons people have for returning to running/exercise. Loving the updates of what you've done (and eaten!). bluejelly, a little of what you fancy eating does no harm and the more we deny ourselves things, the more we want them.

knockneed, I can share my marathon tips with you but I am slow and ploddy, so if you're aiming for a fast time, you might want to seek advice from someone else :)

thismeansnothing and somerset mum, welcome on board (on track?!!). I hope you'll find us supportive.

Nothing beats new trainers. What does everyone run in? I'm a Saucony girl myself - great for wide feet like mine.

Got off the train a stop early and walked the last few miles home. Step count today is 18, 600 and a total of 7.64 miles. Salad for lunch and for dinner and trying to resist the last of the chocolate left over from Easter. Wish me luck!!

Normally I have New Balance 860 or Brooks Adrenaline. I need a good stability shoe cos I really over pronate. Couldnt afford any this time (adrenalines were £120 everywhere I looked🤦😱) or I couldnt find any in my size and I looked at previous year models but nada. Soooo as they were reduced from £140 to £71 I now have Brooks Transcend. They are a spec up from the adrenaline so got a good deal. So comfy and light too.

I'm an over-pronator too and run in Saucony Pro Grid Omni, but new shoes are expensive, aren't they?

I might look at the ones you have. Would you say they're normal width? I need wide fit (bunion - so attractive!).

Can I join too please? Never really been a runner as such however I've been on a weight loss journey and lost a fair amount of weight through exercise but have got bored with classes and tried running. On Tuesday I just got on a treadmill and the gym and ran 5k my time was 35 mins not too fast but not too shabby either (I was very pleased with myself as I'm still big at 13 stone and 5ft8) I did another 3k today and really want to continue to run as it gives me a total sense of freedom and I can just zone it and it seems to balance me x

@sweetestthing the to box is roomy and wide but I'd say around your heel arch its standard.... But brooks normally do different width fittings so worth looking at

Hi everybody, it sounds like you are all doing well!

I went out and managed about 2 miles (I walked up the steepest bit but managed to get to the steepest bit this time before walking so all good). I got lost coming out of a wood and ended up climbing through a gorse bush to find the path - it smells of coconut.

I have reduced my drinking as it was making me tired in the morning and was just a bad habit after I had put the kids to bed and wanted to relax. So I am eating fewer crisps too as the two things went together.

Welcome, obviously - you've done really well with your weight loss and that's not a shabby time at all for your first 10k! I'd be happy with that right now, to be honest.

I like running because it gives me thinking time - I often find that I find solutions to problems that are lurking at the back of my mind. And being a nosy bugger, I quite like looking at people's interior decor when they haven't drawn their curtains:-) Off road I get to see some wildlife from time to time. I think one of the attractions of running also is that it's outside rather than in a gym with lots of muscle-bound youngsters wearing their baseball caps backwards! It's got to be healthier being outside, although the gym definitely has its place too.

No running or walking home from the earlier station tomorrow as I am on a three hour stint at the local polling station (being one of those pesky people that asks for your polling card when you leave :)). We have a thriving local residents group that has been fielding candidates (successfully) for the past three years, so I'm doing it on behalf of them. But off work on Friday so I'll do another run then.

Plan is to get up to five miles comfortably by the end of May, with few, or no, walk breaks. Wish me luck!

Week 3 of c25k - 2 mins running/2 mins walking. Enjoying it so far, though I am unfitter than I thought!

Hi shrumps. Baby steps is the right way to go. Your level of fitness will improve as you continue on this plan. You'll be surprised how much difference you'll see soon.

Felt a bit peckish so had a piece of cheese. DH just finished off my Easter egg (I asked him to!) so there is now no chocolate in the house. This is my danger time....

Hello Vivafrida sounds like s tough time:(

Am not actually running yet - just done 2k rowing and tenet mins of yoga - all have time for today will run soon

I've entered the ballot for London too. I'm 51, 7 stone overweight and haven't run since 1984!! I must be mad!

I can totally relate to running being the key to unlocking nagging problems in your head. It definitely works for me!
Re running shoes- I also love Saucony. My money saving tip is to buy them on eBay. Lots of people but trainers then never wear them (or wear them once). I've done it twice now and both times saved a bomb (I always put them in the washing machine when I get them just to be on the safe side...)

Morning!

6am run done and I’m feeling all pure and righteous great. I’m sure keeping up with this habit will naturally make me want to eat better throughout the day too.

I’ve bought some new sports tops to wear as everything I have is at least 2 sizes too small!

I’ve always worn and loved Brooks Adrenalines but got the new model a few years ago and the backs constantly rub and are bloodstained from it! I haven’t run enough to justify buying new ones thus far but I’m putting those big expensive blister plasters on everyday, which is working, so a new pair of kicks might just be my reward for completing C25k!

I was thinking this morning as I was plodding along that I can’t wait to get that runner’s high again. I really miss that!

Hi Everyone, thought I'd join in as I'm trying to run a little bit more at the moment (but still not doing loads).

I've run off and on for nearly 20 years now, I've never really enjoyed it , although I appreciate being able to do it anywhere, so will generally run on holiday for example. The furthest I've done is 10k, which I hated, but I'm quite happy trotting out 4-5k here and there. Ran 5k last night, and started out quite quickly, so actually ended up running 2 minutes faster than my last 5 k. However, starting out fast meant I had to take a few walking breaks, so I still wasn't fast!

I'm not going to set myself any hard and fast targets, my relationship with running ebbs and flows, and I tend to hate it more when I'm trying to achieve something specific, but I think I'd like to either break the 30 min 5k barrier (last night was 34 mins), or manage to work up to 5 miles.

I'm an over-pronator, and wear Asics Gel Kayano, have done for about 5 years now, love the cushioning.

I do other exercise too - I see a PT fortnightly, a circuits class weekly, and yoga weekly. Might try to introduce a tennis session at the weekend, and some friends have suggested I join them in badminton, but there's only so many days in the week, and hours in the day (around working 4 days with a commute, thankfully children are old enough to be left alone for a bit now!).

I love reading everyone's stories, it keeps me going .

Oh and the biggest revelation from recent running? Listening to podcasts rather than music - I'm able to forget myself much better now. I listen to true crime and comedy (and most commonly, the 2 combined via My Favorite Murder).

Hi Emma!

Great you’re getting back into it.

I would like to listen to podcasts or books too but I’m using a C25k app and can’t figure out how to listen to it through that so I still get my voice notifications to run/walk.

I’ll investigate further!

Thanks Bound. Hmm not sure on the interface of podcasts and the c25k app. I'm pretty sure you can play music with the app though, so theoretically podcasts should work...