Never too old!!
Happy Friday Folks
This week its all been very quiet in the clinic as I’ve been off on a much needed holiday. Although the clinic was closed through lockdown, I was in every day doing my Waterbottle Workout and it was a really emotional, stressful time. Our trip to Antigua in June was cancelled and since opening the clinic it has been busy. Great for business but it does take its toll.
We didn’t wan to book anywhere abroad as we felt this may put us in a vulnerable position if the situation changed again. With local lockdowns happening and travel restriction changing weekly, and at the last minute, we couldn’t take that risk.
Steve’s brother kindly put us on the insurance for his campervan at the start of the year, so we arranged with him to borrow it for a week. We planned our route up the east coast then over to my folks in Kinlochleven on the west coast of Scotland then from there we headed down to Ayr then home. I won’t bore you with the holiday details, but we had a fantastic week. We were lucky to miss all the awful storms that plagued the UK over the last week and read with shock of the train crash up on the east coast of Scotland, caused by the torrential rain and flooding. We spent a glorious day on Ayr beach and we even managed a dip in the Irish sea. Holidays are time to recharge the batteries, to step away form the stresses of everyday life and break the day to day routine of life. Being self employed is hard work and you can’t ever fully step away from work but it’s a small price to pay for being your own boss.
One of the highlights of the holiday was seeing my mum and dad. They live 400 miles away and we missed seeing them in April due to lock down, so it was lovely to see them in the flesh. Thankfully, their lives didn’t change much as dad is retired and mum works part time and could do this from home. Their highland village home is pretty isolated anyway, so it was easy for them to stay safe and covid free. Five weeks ago, my mum decided to start couch to 5k (C25K) and through some miracle of persuasion she also got my dad to join her. When she told me I was literally speechless. My mum is 69 and hasn’t run since school and dad used to run but at 74, he’s become a bit (a lot!!) less active. Mum had set Jo Whiley as her coach on the app and off she went.
We joined them for their second run of week 5; 5 minute walk, 8 min run, 5 min walk, 8 minute walk then a 5 minute walk. Abi and I ran with mum and Steve kept dad company. Both completed the session and I was over the moon to have been able to run with them. It’s something I never thought I would do. Dad has slowed somewhat (a lot!!) but he pushed himself during the run sections. He has Atrial Fibulation which causes an irregular and often fast heartbeat. Symptoms include shortness of breath and palpitations which makes exercise more challenging.
To say I’m proud of them both is an understatement. Their next session at the end of week 5 is a 20-minute run. This is a big jump from 8 minutes but I know they’ll both dig in and complete it. Maybe I can see now where I get my determination and drive from. C25K is a 9 week course so they’ll do their last run in mid-September. It’s real shame that park run is currently postponed due to Covid 19 as it would have been an ideal way to graduate.
The thing I’m most impressed about is that they have made the decision to start running without any push from me. I was always concerned that neither of them exercised but that was their choice. I’ve always exercised and run and never went through C25K so it is hard to put myself in to the shoes of a totally new runner. Seeing mum running though and how rosy cheeked and pleased she was at the end of her 2 lots of 8 minutes made my heart burst. Hearing from Steve how determined dad was also filled me with pride. C25K isn’t so much about running but its about changing your life. Its about commitment and courage, determination, and pride. We all know how important exercise is for our physical health but the C25K also builds better mental health. Exercise releases feel good hormones (at any age!) and who doesn’t like to feel good!? My parents are not ‘too old’ to make changes, they don’t have to beast themselves to release the happy hormones. They just need to do a little and often.
If you want to try the couch to 5k and want help or advice on technique, then feel free to drop me an email. Running’s not a chore, it is a way of life, it’s the gateway to a new you. Once you take that first step it is a wonderful journey of self-discovery, personal achievement, and beautiful colorful running kit. Take that first step and see what you can achieve
I’ll keep you posted as to how it goes 🙂
xx