Coldplay sang

"Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start"

Some days that's how I feel.

I found, even at week 12, I had so many little niggles and aches, I just wondered if it's worth it.

The Book says "think of this as taking up a new sport".  Well, does that mean I need to put in another 10,000 hours (10 years) to perfect it?  Of course not, but sometimes it feels like it!

It's all my fault.  A bit like a recovering addict, I've fallen off the wagon a few times, and every time I do, it feels like starting from the start.  The falls, in my case, have been that one session, or that parkrun, or that race, where I've thought "oh, I'll just test myself" or "I must be ready by now".  But I haven't been, and I'm left feeling like a bag of spanners.

The latest lapse was a parkrun, 9 days ago (19 mins).  I pushed hard in the second half because I felt good.  But it left me with aches in the feet, ankles, legs and hips for at least 5 days. 

However, Everything's Not Lost (last track, Parachutes)!!

I took 4 days off running, completely, and all the niggles have gone, save the subtlest of what feels like bruising under the heels.  I'm walking down stairs looking straight ahead, not looking like a crab.  I ran Eastleigh parkrun (grassy, hilly, 5km) on Saturday in bare feet (24 mins).  I waited all afternoon for the pain to kick in, but it never came.  I ran off road today in Merrell Gloves, and it felt great.

So this is my promise to me:  No more speed of any kind, until the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are ready to take it. 

But I do want to acknowledge that I've been at this for 12+ weeks now.  So I am going to start running every day, strictly 20 mins max (more likely 15 mins), at a very steady pace.  Off road where possible.  I'll listen to my body, and at the first sign of a niggle, take the day off.

I will behave!