Tina tries... facing her running demons

I can’t express how much I hate running (and rain). As far as I’m concerned it’s the devil’s exercise – I’m still haunted by the schoolgirl memory of running 400m, then throwing up at my PE teacher’s feet.

But the time came to face my fear. Lloyd, my personal trainer, suggested I try a form of exercise that’s easy to do outside of our gym sessions. And even after telling him of (yet another) class of ‘86 drama, he seemed willing to take on the challenge of getting me running again.

Lloyd explained that for a newbie it’s not all about pounding the tarmac for minutes on end. He wanted to set an initial pace that wouldn't scare me, so I can build on it in time. We began with a 10-minute warm-up of fast walking, then set to work on 40 minutes of walking and running at a 2:1 ratio – two minutes of fast walking, then one minute of running. He explained how important it is not to fly off too fast at the beginning as you’ve got to keep going for the 40 minutes. ‘Easy!’ I hear you cry, but those 60-second bursts of running felt longer and longer. I did make it through, though, with a small sense of achievement and a very fetching pair of rosy cheeks – thankfully there was no vomiting.

Go on, then, I'll admit it wasn’t that bad, even in the rain. (Did I just say that out loud?) I can only think this was down to Lloyd keeping my spirits up. He also pointed out that varying the terrain and running on softer ground is a lot less stressful on your joints. It was a great way to get into running and I’ll be intrigued to see if I'm ever able to complete a parkrun (parkrun.org.uk) without stopping… 

So, the big question: would Tina try it again? Yes, I already have! With the help of my very patient, marathon-running boyfriend, I upped the ratio so I can now run for longer and walk for shorter periods. And after a particularly frustrating train journey out of London at the weekend to visit my folks in Suffolk, there was nothing for it – I had my trainers and the countryside on my doorstep: I was going for a run.

I even stopped the obsessive 60-second-clock watching. Not that this particular run didn't come with its share of danger moments: farmers with guns, dog walkers, a fallen tree in my path and, worst of all, forgetting to put a bra on! But all my train traumas were soon a distant memory. How satisfying.

I now have to clean my trainers for all the right reasons (NOT because I've been doing the gardening in them). I may need a second pair – I may even have to venture into a sports shop. Note to self: pick up a sports bra while I’m there.

NEXT TIME: Tina tries those big scary machines at the gym

Running update

Well, it's been a while since I talked about anything remotely fitness related on this blog, hasn't it? It's because my passion when it comes to fitness is running... which I haven't been able to do regularly since last July.

The last time I blogged about running in March, I mentioned that I was gradually starting to run again through very slow run/walk intervals. But a few weeks ago I started experiencing knee and hip pain again.  So that put an abrupt end to my return to running and sent me back to my physiotherapist for another assessment.

When I went to a sport medicine doctor in November, I was told I had patello-femoral syndrome because of my weak leg and glute muscles, which cause my knees to collapse inwards. So I've been doing exercises given to me by my physiotherapist to strengthen them, such as clamshells and hip bridges.

My legs look like the picture on the right when running.

But when I returned last week complaining of hip pain, she did a more extensive evaluation of my pelvic area and told me I also have awkward posture. Basically in my natural standing position I tend to tuck my tailbone in instead of pushing it out a bit, which is contributing to my hip and lower back pain. So I was given even more exercises to do:

1. Stand in a lunge position with my front leg on a step and gently push forward with my hips, keeping a straight posture, then return to my starting position.

2. Sit on a stability ball and push my pelvis forward all the way, then push it back all the way while keeping a straight posture.

I'm really frustrated because this pain should not have kept me sidelined from running for so long - it's been more than 8 months! I think I'm partially to blame though because I haven't been taking my recovery as seriously as I should - I stopped going to physio after January and I've been terrible at remembering to do my exercises every day.

But it turns out there's another cause to my pain that is not my fault. On Monday I had an appointment with a foot specialist and found out I have extremely flat feet, which cause my knees to turn inward when running and contributes to my problems. So he had me fitted for a pair of orthotics, which will help correct that! He seemed pretty confident that the lack of sufficient support in my shoes is one of the major reasons why I'm still experiencing pain.

I'm hoping between doing my physio exercises (and staying committed to doing them) and getting these orthotics, I'll be able to kick this pain for good and get back out running this summer!!!

Have you ever been sidelined from exercise due to pain or injury? Did recovery go smoothly for you or did you encounter lots of obstacles?

If you've ever done physio, how do you stay motivated to do your exercises?