Return of the Mummy – Couch to 5k Week 3

Being yet another Couch to 5k update.

I am swaddled, if not exactly from head to toe, then certainly from thigh to ankle.  In addition to the knee supports which I have worn since week one, I now have strappings on one thigh and one ankle.  I am currently running in full length ‘joggers’ owing to my resemblance to Nora Batty if I wear shorts.  It can only be a matter of time before my other ankle, which does have a record of giving up the ghost in a fairly dramatic manner, will decide to join in the fun and I will become a running lycra tube.

It’s ironic (I think – I’ll check) that my legs are not my biggest problem when I run.  (I use the word ‘run’ in its loosest possible sense.  ‘Lurch’ is probably more apposite.)  My problem has always been my breathing.  My post-jog ‘pant’ would rival a forty-a-day bloodhound.  That, currently, is not improving – although I have developed methods of dredging oxygen into my lungs in a slightly more dignified manner that does not involve propping myself up on a lamppost and retching.  My legs (shattered joints aside) seem to be relatively happy with the situation.

I have bought myself an arm strap for my phone and a pair of Bluetooth earbuds – one of which is currently working – which has helped.  As soon as I have resolved the earbud situation I will be happy – it will stop me running in circles.

My runs are getting longer, my mid-run walks less desperate, and I’ve begun to refine my musical selection a little so that the beat is not quite so erratic and I do not appear to be having a seizure every time the tracks change.

I have one more run this week before the next regime ‘step up’ and I hope that I can approach that without having to brace any further joints.  I have to, they’re running out.

The previous instalment of the Couch to 5k diary, ‘An Off-Peak Update’ is here.
The next instalment of the Couch to 5k diary, ‘To Dream of Couscous’ is here.
The Couch to 5k diary starts here.