The beginning of eight weeks of pain

The big run for this year, the Great North Run, is only 8 weeks away. Although a bit late to start training, I went out for my first long(ish) run today. Over the past few weeks, I've been doing shorter runs in the gym on and off, but not been able to do anything consistently because of my knee. At the last physio session, I was given the all clear to start training again, so decided that I couldn't put it off any longer.

Mental note 1: midday is not the best time to go for a run.

After spending the morning trying to decide whether or not to go out for a run cos it was raining (yes, I know, I'm a wimp), I finally left the house to embark on my run during one of the warmest parts of the day. Luckily the breeze helped me along the first leg of the run, but that soon subsided, and the humidity reminded me how unfit I am quite quickly.

Mental note 2: remember to take your knee support bandage when you have a knee problem.

The first major issue that I faced on the run is my knee pretty much giving way half way round. Shooting pains in the knee isn't ideal when you're running. A bit of walking, and a bit of stretching soon sorted that, and I was on my way again. The knee played up for the rest of the run though, so I had to slow down a little, particularly when I was running downhill.

Mental note 3: Walking isn't running

The final time wasn't great, but I managed to run 5.6 miles............although the time was pretty slow. I completed the Birmingham Half Marathon in 2 hr 30 mins last year, so as long as I beat that, I'll be happy.