What to do after Couch to 5k, Part the third

So, as someone easily injured (hips, achilles tendon multiple times, IT band problems and - pathetically - terrible blisters on my arches) what is the plan post C25k?

My beautiful On Running trainers. 

I spend some time googling to see what others recommend. And actually there's very little out there. There are suggestions to run a race and hurrahs that you have got up to the 5k level. But not much about what you might do next, how to keep injuries at bay, and how to make running a permanent part of your life. 

Now, I'm by no means qualified to make suggestions on this, so please don't take any of what follows as advice. This is simply my own plan, after several previous false starts. 

• Keep walking upwards of 11 000 steps per day

I have a Fitbit Flex and I love it, I find it very motivating. I befriended a group of people on the forums, only one of whom I actually know, and I am now competing with them. Most days I can walk 11 000 steps provided I walk from the station into work without taking the Tube. 

• Keep running about 3 times per week, 4 if I really feel like it. 

I love running, and often when I've finished a run, I find myself wanting to run more soon. But I know that when I run 5-6 times per week that this reduces time for other forms of exercise, and it can put too much strain on my joints. 

• Do some cross-training. 

I've chosen swimming once per week because it's relatively easy for me to get to, low impact and good for flexibility. I'm great at breaststroke, much worse at front crawl, so the plan may include getting a couple of lessons. 

I go to an amazing yoga class on Tuesdays. The teacher is very experienced, funny and caters well for all abilities (I am not particularly bendy). I've found that since I've been going - about a year - I've got stronger and more flexible. So that will stay. 

• Do some work with body weights

This is going to be the hardest, for two reasons. First, I've quit my gym so I'm much more limited in what I can use. And second, to be honest, I don't really enjoy doing weights. It's boring to me. This is odd, because when I rowed regularly I preferred the weights room. I'm quite stocky and I grow muscle fast, so I tended to be able to lift good weights compared with other people. But when it's just me - boring! Hmm, maybe I need to find a way to motivate myself on weights...

And that's about it. I'd like to run a half marathon someday, and I think I'll run a few 5 and 10ks over the summer. More on those as they come up. 

What to do after Couch to 5k, Part Deux

About 10 weeks ago, I decided to do Couch to 5k again. I keep reading studies like this and suggestions that the Duchess of Cambridge was advised to exercise less before getting pregnant. (No links to that, as I don't want to link to red-tops, but I'm sure it's Google-able.) Plus my mum kept telling me she thought I was exercising too much. This demonstrates more that she has an overblown idea of how much exercise I actually do than anything else. But these things did have an effect and I would start running and then think: 'I'm stopping myself from conceiving!' and feel very guilty. 

However, more recently, I read an article or book about running stress. I can't remember where, but it may have been in Tread Lightly. (will try to come back and edit) Anyway, this noted that although stress hormones are raised when running, the overall effect on the runner is lowered stress hormones as a result of running. Epiphany! Not exercising was doing my head in. Running is my favourite form of exercise, and I missed it. And I was getting fatter, which also couldn't be good for fertility. So let's do a little running - enough to do say a 5 or 10k - but no marathons for a while. 

So I started again, this time using the NHS podcast. Although I think some of the advice given is a bit odd, e.g. the firm advice to heel-plant and to breath on a four steps per full breath (both inhalation and exhalation), it's encouraging to have someone telling me she thinks I'm doing well, and reminding me that the main think is to run and not to fixate on how fast I am. I actually shed a few tears on one of the runs when 'Laura' said "you're doing really well". I kept wanting to say, "yes, but I used to be able to run 20 miles!" but I didn't. 

Mentally, it's quite hard to start from scratch for the 6th or 7th time. To acknowledge your past, fitter self. But I knew that if I was going to make it without injury, I was going to have to take things really slowly. There was no harm in taking my time. As the runs went on, I enjoyed them more. This particular version of Couch to 5k, as opposed to the one in Runner's World's Run Your Butt Off, seems more satisfying. Rather than continuing to use a walking break until about week 9, the NHS podcast calls on you to run continuously from week 7, which is mentally challenging, but physically pleasing. 

I managed every week on schedule, and without injury, which is astonishing. And my reward? A beautiful new running watch. In many ways this is over-engineered for what I need, but I love seeing the data and frankly I think it's a thing of beauty.

My new toy. Honestly, who wouldn't be motivated by this?

So that brings me back to the original question, nearly two posts later. What to do after Couch to 5k? 

The short answer, evidenced by all the times I quit running only to start again (more than the times I quit smoking = twice, the second time being successful for the last 12 years or so), is 'Keep running'. But that covers a fairly wide span. 

I had been thinking I would pick up on the plan for my current speed in Run Less, Run Faster. I even went to the extent of working out my schedule in a spreadsheet. And then I ran my first run with the Garmin. I wasn't paying any attention to my heart rate, and at the end of the run I was shocked to be told by the watch's Recovery Advisor that I needed to take 72 hours to recover. Apparently I had been running at 90% of maximum heart-rate for nearly the whole run. 

My real max heart rate is definitely higher than the one the usual formulae give. In that particular run, which felt hard-ish to me, but not flat out, I peaked at 187 BPM, which is 7 BPM higher than the traditional 220-age and 11 BPM higher than the gender-adjusted 209-(0.9 x age). But even so, I found myself thinking 'What if I trained in the zones appropriate for me? Would this help avoid injury?'. Today I ran 30 minutes aiming for 142-144 BPM. It was the easiest run I've done in ages, and I found myself really enjoying it. 

So I've shelved my plans for Run Less, Run Faster for at least a month. I don't think there's any harm in going slow a little more. At some point I want to move into interval training proper, but I think I'll play with these heart rates for a while and build my base.