Moving Forward, Slowly

So, the back pain is getting no better, I now have a really bad pain at the top of my right hip.  Visit to the GP and a prescription for different painkillers to the ones I've been taking (Mr B's) and a couple of days worth of Diazepam to relax the muscle spasm.  Luckily my GP is a runner and was sympathetic to what I needed.   He's given me some stretches to start this weekend, no running for at least another week, with a self arranged visit to an osteopath/physio he thinks I may be able to run Brighton Half, but no chance if I wait for NHS referral. Through Twitter I have had an offer from a local Sports Injury Clinic for a half price initial consultation so I'm making the phone call tomorrow morning to hopefully be looked at next week.

Earlier in the week came an offer from Dashing Divas to win a FitBit exercise tracker and smart scales through Money Supermarket.com.  All I need to do is blog about my experiences of how exercising makes me feel, so here we go .........

As many of my readers will know, I've only been running "properly" for 5 or 6 years, having been inspired by  my younger brothers success.  Having spectated at many running events I saw many shapes, sizes and ages taking part and thought maybe I could too - an asthmatic, overweight middle aged mum.   I've always been interested in exercise and joined my first gym at the age of 19.  Previously at school I loved playing hockey and thanks to my PE teacher was able to train with East Grinstead Hockey Club for a season and throughout my childhood I canoed, thanks to my godfather.

I'd done aerobics during the 80's craze for mass classes at local sports centres and have always loved the way getting sweaty and out of breath made me feel, and the achey muscles being the tell tale signs that I'd worked hard.   Even during a difficult pregnancy I swam as regularly as I could.    During my pregnancy I put on a shed load of weight, not helped by the pre-eclampsia which saw the early birth of my lovely daughter.  It was suggested by the Dr that I get exercising again to bring down my high blood pressure instead of staying on beta blockers - guess what it only works!   Hubby signed me up for the gym and was an absolute diamond helping with preparing healthy meals for us all.   I did manage to lose a whole load of weight and dropped 3 dress sizes, however to keep this going you really need to keep an eye on your diet and exercise.  My big failing is going on holiday - I always put on lots of weight, probably down to the alcohol and constant grazing!  I got bored with going to the gym and that's when the love of running kicked in and since then I've never looked back.

Running gives me time to think, listen to some music if I feel like it, and generally de-stress.   I've also made some friends through Twitter who being runners and exercise mad are very supportive, some I've met in real life.   There are also some great challenges to be had on the internet - Janathon, Juneathon, Jantastic & Tribesports.  I've also taken part in two Park Runs and hope to get back to Eastbourne soon.   It's a great feeling to go faster, proof that training is improving performance, and ultimately fitness.

Here's hoping a visit to the physio sorts me out and I can get back to training for the Half Mara - my number one challenge for 2013.