I did it!!

A short while ago I posted about my desire to run again - and today I did it! Back from our energetic holiday - walking in Chamonix, I was today, feeling full of energy. I didn't think much about it, I just found myself getting into my jogging bottoms and doing a bit of contortionism to get into my new sports bra! I checked that my nearly 20 year old running shoes still fit (honestly!) and sneaked out if the front door. I didn't want my husband to see or guess what I was going to do because I didn't want to face the embarrassment if it all went pear-shaped!

I walked for the first ten minutes to get warmed up, and also this had the advantage of taking me to a secluded path in the wooded edge of the local sports field. I tentatively began to jog along and the first thing I noticed was how much my bum was jiggling up and down!!! I trotted slowly along the path and then ventured out onto open ground and went round the edge of the sport sfield. I was lucky that rain had threatened a few minutes before so there was no-one about!

I ran for a whopping 12 minutes (!) before resuming a walking pace for the return journey home. On my arrival home, with a red face covered in sweat, my other half asked if I'd been running - so much for keeping it a secret! Anyway, I seem to have survived. I felt a very slight niggle from my knees that probably reflects years of carrying the equivalent of several sacks of potatoes. Otherwise no problems. A couple of hours after returning I can feel a little tightness in my hamstrings. Given that I have just returned from a holiday where we walked a minimum of 20,000 steps a day, with no real leg muscle aching at all, this just goes to show how effective running is as a form of exercise.

My medium term aim is to be able to go for a three-mile run once or twice a week. That's a little way off yet, but I've begun the journey. Thank you to those people who encouraged me to do this. I can't honestly say I felt the exhilaration that I used to when running - I was too anxious about bring seen and injuring myself for that. But give it time and I just might re-live that experience again.