The workout: 60/90 for 20 mins plus 5 min warm up and downs.
Weather: 7C (felt like -7) and heavy rain (nice weather for ducks, hence the title, rather than reference to my waddle).
Comments from the public: Three good mornings and one conversation about the drawbacks of having a white long-haired dog in the rain/mud.
Dogs with cute outfits: Two (one tartan one multi-coloured with a white bone).
Times wanted to stop: Zero, I was too busy thinking about a work deadline to listen to Joan.
Observation: Dog walkers are very hardy.
The biggest mistake I made when I first did the C25K several years ago was to dig out my old trainers from the back of the cupboard and think I would run in them until I was sure I would continue – a few weeks later I was in agony with shin splints. Apparently injury as a result of poor quality/incorrect shoes is a common problem with beginners who then think running sucks and never do it again.
When I was better I bit the bullet and went to a sports shop – not commonly somewhere you would ever find me – and had my running gait measured, which is not as intrusive as it sounds. It basically involves your feet and legs being videoed as you run on a treadmill and then they use some sort of sorcery to tell what the best running shoes would be. I was sceptical about this – although it could have been because the treadmill was in the middle of the tiny shop and lots of fit sports people were coming in and out – but when I tried on the new, attuned shoes, it was like running on a cloud. I didn’t want to take them off. I was very lucky because even though I was clearly never going to run marathons or likely to spend very much money, Neil, spent almost three quarters of an hour with me letting me try on three different pairs of shoes, making me run in them and then showing me the results (I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and sweating buckets by the end). He treated me with the same respect as the ultra-marathon runner who came in and made sure I had the best shoes for me and, touch wood, I haven’t had any injuries since. Plus the shoes I bought were the middle priced ones, which weren’t as expensive as I feared.
So, if, like me, you are just starting out (again), my first bit of advice (once you’ve got yourself checked and cleared to run) is invest in proper shoes. It should save a whole lot of trouble in the long run (see what I did there? 😀)
#thisgirlcan
After The Rain 