The couch to 5 km! Want to join me?

**Kazbah** · January 22nd, 2008, 07:02 AM

Wow Hoobley, thanks for the encouragement!

I'm doing 1.5 today (my friend is starting up with me, and due to rain we missed fri/sun runs!) and Friday will return to 2.1. Have been taking the dog for long walks though in the rain ...

**Emma1979** · January 22nd, 2008, 08:12 AM

wow hoobley that is awesome...
i have temporarily come to a standstill, as dd has been waking up later so i miss out on the opportunity to go in the morning while dp looks after her before work..... i think i last ran on saturday or sunday... but i did to a body sculpt class yesterday which was great and think i will go again tomorrow...

i guess i probably need to try running whilst pushing the pram, but for some reason im apprehensive... i guess cos i need the music in my ears so im worried about not hearing her cry or something....

anyone else jog with the pram?

paradise lost · January 22nd, 2008, 08:59 AM

I run with my pram hun, and yeah, i can't use my mp3 which is a drag, but she's nearly a year older than your DD so she is constantly chatting at me "tree" "water" and so on. TOday she had a snack while i ran! Lucky lady!

Something i try is to count breaths as i run, two footfalls for every breath in or out so IN (left, right) OUT (left, right). It really helps me to stay rythmic and not overdo things (i have a tendency to run flat out until i'm injured or sick) which in turn means i don't get all out of puff and i can run longer (once you're running continuously you'll see what i mean better on that one) and to think about things and even sing songs "in my head". That helps me miss the music less.

It is a bummer to have no music though.... could you put the headphone in one ear only and the volume low so you still get your cues and can hear DD all the time too? Switch ears so you don't go deaf on one side

Bx

**Emma1979** · January 22nd, 2008, 09:40 AM

yeah i was thinking the earphone in the one ear might be the go just to get the cues... is it awkward actually running without your arms (cos they are pushing the pram)...? i think i will just give it a go, i won't know until i try i guess..... i might run on the roads though so she isn't getting bumped up and down where the footpath ends where we cross the road, IYKWIM... im in a country town so our roads are quiet and fine to run/walk on.

ps my mum's a glaswegian :-)

**Mrs P** · January 22nd, 2008, 10:16 AM

Hoobley - thanks for the info! Good suggestion on counting the breathes - I am going to try that next time.

I got back on the wagon last night and did 1.1 again! But this time I left DH at home, and I found the perfect spot - a 5 min walk from my house is a long street, with a slight hill. So I jogged down the hill (though into a strong head wind!) then powered walked up it, following the cues. It worked really well as I could work out the distance and knew when my 60 sec was almost up. I am sure the people who live on the street thought I was nuts running up and down it 8 times!

Also I had an unexpected surprise - a couple went past me walking their dog, and I said hello. Then about 5 mins later this black ute drove towards me, and the people in it waved and beeped their horn - it was the couple! It made me feel good, that these total strangers were offering encouragement!

I'm considering doing a pump class tonight, but might see how much writing I get done today.

Hoobley - just wondering if you could tell me what the symptoms of hypothyroidism are, and how you got tested for it?

**Bloom** · January 22nd, 2008, 02:57 PM

Well, it's taking me a while but I've done 1.2 now at the gym on the weekend. It wasn't too bad... Hope to get through 1.3 at the gym tommorrow...

It seems like it's going to be couch to 5km in 18 weeks for me!

Well done Mrs P and it's great to get encouragement from the locals! One time I was running in the neighbourhood and a kid said to his dad "Look dad that lady is exercising!". He he he!

**Kazbah** · January 22nd, 2008, 05:06 PM

Mrs P - better than I - the local footy team does their run at the same time I was! They would grunt me out of the way - I changed days ...

Also - hypothyroidism - symptoms are - tired all the time (sometimes with insominia) - putting on weight - a "goitre" or swollen adams' apple - hair loss - depression ...
It runs in families, so if there's a history of it ... your doc can do a blood test to check for it. There are 2 tests, one is to check the level of thyroxin in your system and the other test is a thyroid function test - this one tells whether or not your actual thyroid gland is struggling. My thyroid levels are fine, but if you look at my function test, I have problems (and an adams' apple!)

Ruth - WOOHOOO!!!!! Any step forward is a step forward! I'm going running tomorrow!

paradise lost · January 22nd, 2008, 08:48 PM

Kaz has covered it nicely there! The function test is for TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) which is the chemical the brain makes to tell the thyroid how much thyroxine to make. A low TSH indicates the thyroid is overactive and a high TSH indicates the thyroid is struggling a bit. Normal is usually between 0.5 and 5.0 (or 0.5-3.0 in the US, not sure what Aus "normal" is). Mine, back in the days when i was first tested, was 16! My thyroxine was actually the low end of normal so i had "subactute hypothyroidism" but in the UK they treat symptoms not blood levels in general, and because i had antithyroid antibodies (meaning it is the autoimmune disease Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is progressive and incurable) they started me on artificial meds right away. My initial symptoms (before i got PG) i didn't even recognise. I was about 15-20kg overweight but i ate too much and i didn't exercise, though when i did i found weightloss didn't come easy without crash dieting. And i felt a little low but i was in a rut in my relationship and job and was a bit "lost" iykwim. After PG i'd actually lost the weight (only gained 6kg from the 34th week onwards, lost it all the day she was born) because autoimmune things often settle in pregnancy, but i got aching joints and muscles, hairloss, and a brainfog and forgetfulness so bad it was dangerous. I left ovens on, forgot to meet people, left the milk out, you name it. I feel much better medicated.

running with the pram - i wouldn't say it's awkward, but it is different. You can't move your arms as you normally would so you use your stomach muscles a lot more to stabilise, and your shoulders can get tired from constantly adjusting the pram's direction, but this in fact just means you get a better workout. There is nothing like doing 4k HARD with a buggy on a Monday and then sailing 7k on a Thursday barely feeling it. LOL.

Gee, looks like i joined in here afterall. I hope no-one minds. It's so nice to have fellow runners to talk to.

Bx

**Mrs P** · January 22nd, 2008, 09:28 PM

Thanks for the info girls - I don't think I fit all the symptoms, just a few... including a recent expansion of my thigh area that doesn't seem lifestyle related and has had me a bit puzzled!! And a bit of insomnia, plus a tendency to be very stressed (don't know if I'd say depressed though). Anyway I am trying to find a new GP so I can get a few other tests done, so I may just ask about thyroid function just to rule it out.

When I went jogging last night I tried to tell myself that I was loving it, and that the euphoria was setting in, but it totally wasn't LMAO. DH tried to force me to go with him tonight, but I need to just try doing 3 times a week to start, before I do every night! I really think I did much better yesterday without him there, but now he seems determined to accompany me tomorrow night... hmm... He tries to push me too hard (in his supportive way ha ha) and that seems to make me feel bad/stress and I struggle with it more. Hopefully I can explain this to him - he can go and run 5km just about without stopping, so he doesn't need this interval training anyway!

**Bloom** · January 24th, 2008, 08:26 AM

Mrs P - i can understand the DH who thinks he's being encouraging but somehow is, at that moment, the most annoying thing in the world!

Just a point re thyroid - mine was underactive but I had basically no symptoms what so ever other than difficulty losing weight. I went on big lifestyle change about 3 years ago and after the first 12 weeks I'd only lost 2 kg and I knew something was wrong. But I felt fine - no tiredness, depression, skin changes or anything! Dr says it's important that your thyroid is at a normal level when you conceive otherwise baby might not develop their thyroid properly - so I'd get it checked!

paradise lost · January 24th, 2008, 08:45 AM

When I went jogging last night I tried to tell myself that I was loving it, and that the euphoria was setting in, but it totally wasn't

That is actually great news. THe euphoria is from endorphins released in response to physical effort. If the euphoria isn't kicking in then you have increased your fitness and can push it harder. Good on you! Unfortunately our brains don't do the same for psychological effort which means most of us have runs where we're dragging ourselves along feeling crap and like we want to stop and the only way to make the euphoria come is to run faster. LOL.

Bx

**Mrs P** · January 24th, 2008, 09:41 AM

I struggled through 1.2 last night - I went too early, around 6.30, and it was waaaaay too hot still. I think I'd rather go after dinner, even if I feel a little full, than before dinner when it's still hot. I felt like throwing up the whole cooldown!! But at least I'm on track this week.

Girls I will definitely add thyroid function to my list of tests then, just in case!!

Am currently waiting for a delivery of study furniture at home, and will probably spend most of the day trying to put it together - ugh! Wish me luck

**Kazbah** · January 24th, 2008, 12:42 PM

MrsP - just put your earphones in and tell your DH you'll see him when you see him. If he tries to talk to you just start singing off-key! Actually, that study furniture sounds like a workout in itself!!!

So welcome to the thread Hoobley! Tell us about your running - when did you start, why did you start?

paradise lost · January 24th, 2008, 08:07 PM

I started after DD was born, when she was about 5 weeks old, because i felt that i'd get PND if i didn't get some more endorphins in my system. My relationship was collapsing and XP wasn't helping with the baby, i was exhausted and felt crap (some of which was my thyroid though i didn't know it then), so i knew i needed to do something and i didn't want to take AD's. I'd once run for lent in about 2004(instead of giving up i took up) but i got sore knees after only a week and had to stop, and after DD i was 12kg lighter so i felt i should see if that made a difference and it'd made ALL the difference.

So i ran around a park near me (about 1km round the whole thing) starting off interval running and built up to running round it continuously and then twice, and then i decided i wanted to run to my friend's flat 3km away, then she moved and i ran to her new place 5km away, then i moved (after breakup) and ran to her, 6.5km, then SHE moved again and it was 7.8km and by then it was last winter and i decided since i could already run 7.8km i could enter a 10k. When i was entering it, online, i was offered the entry for the half marathon for less money if i entered both at once. SInce mum died i'd been intending to do something for the Hospice she died in, and hadn't gotten round to it, so i ran the half marathon for them. The 10k wasn't all that but i'd had a really rough night the night before (the friend i'd been running to had a big breakdown and then i found out she'd lied to me about everything, even her name and age, and i didn't know her at all. SHe'd been at DD's birth, that's how much i'd trusted her, and i was gutted) so i only did it because DP stayed over, gave me a pep talk and drove me to the start. He was my rock. The half marathon was more "fun" but it was also one of the hardest things i've ever done as i had a broken bone in my foot when i ran it, which hurt like hell, and unlike labour, when you decide to give up you CAN actually stop, so you have to mentally keep yourself going (maybe i'm weird but i quite liked i didn't have to mentally do anything for labour, except put up with it). But i raised over ?500 so i was happy with that and it was a great way of getting to know how much my body can do. I would NEVER have thought i had stamina like that inside me, mental or physical.

After the half i had a month off to let my broken foot heal, then began very small again, doing 3k runs. I'm back up doing 5-7k's now and enjoying it. My next race will be the Women's Asset Management 10k in May. I'll probably do another 10k in September (instead of the half marathon!).

Bx

**Bloom** · January 25th, 2008, 06:33 AM

Wow Hoobley! Inspirational story!

**~Kim~** · January 28th, 2008, 10:58 AM

Hello all, do you mind if I join in. I've been umming and arghing since you started, but my weight loss is not happening how I would have hoped.
I used to be a runner and this was how I got started, so this morning without procrastinating I left my jobs and put Darcy in the pram and just went.
Felt good surprisingly. Nearly killed me, but once I found the rhythm again the 60seconds wasn't too bad at all.
I don't have an MP3 player or a phone so I'm just using a stopwatch and crossing the routines of the printout of the program.
I am also running with the pram, and man doesn't that make a difference?