I stopped running, but it’s okay

Back in November when my relationship went very sour and I thought I’d take up a new hobby and run him out of my system. I continued to run over summer as well.

In April some time my hip really started to hurt while I was running. As I’d had this type of problem before I booked into my chiropracter and got her to sort it which she did. My running didn’t stop but I wasn’t doing anywhere near as much.

My hip problem then became my knees problem. My knees have never been great. Problems started with my netball injury in high school which meant a few weeks of crutches and an operation to remove a bit of bone I’d knocked off the back of kneecap when my patella did a funky move where it’s not supposed to.

I tried playing netball again in my 20s and did so for two-three years but then stopped because my knees were really hurting.

Ever since then I’ve used sore knees as an excuse to not run until I decided not to use that excuse any more, but now I am again.

The chiropracter suggested I take up pilates to strengthen my muscles and I have and I love it. I go to a local physiotherapy place that has a pilates studio and do group sessions once or twice a week. And I have toned and strengthened up but my knees still hurt when I run.

After I’d stopped running for a few weeks I decided to try again and got back on week three of my couch to 5k program and the knees weren’t too bad but would be sore afterwards until the next run when I’d make them sore again.

I’m one of those people whose knees creak when they bend down and get up again. Even my physiotherapist has commented on my knee noise.

I think I take after my mum with my crappy knees. She’s had osteoarthritis and more recently a knee replacement. I want to avoid that down the track if I can which is why I’ll continue with pilates to strengthen everything around the knees.

I can’t believe I haven’t discovered pilates before. I do a group session on machines and because I have extras health cover, I’m not too out of pocket for each pilates session.

I’d started running to get more fit and to try and keep weight off – and lose some if I could. I haven’t really lost weight but I definitely got fitter and more toned.

So my fear with not running anymore is losing all of that.

The physio suggested I take up bike riding but I’m really fearful of riding my bike in traffic. I know lots of people do it but it scares the hell out of me.

What I’m going to do instead is get an exercise bike. I use one after my pilates session and do 4kms in 10 minutes, so I figure if I’ve got one at home I can do 20-30 minutes and get my heartrate up and replace the running. Plus I can do it at home in pretty much any weather. So that’s the plan.

To tell you the truth I’m kind of glad to not be running any more. I really liked how I felt after I ran – apart from the sore knees – but during the run I hated being so sweaty and hot. And I never got that runner’s high I hear other people talk about.

I still get out the house in the mornings and go for a 3 km (or more) walk and I enjoy that much more than running.

So I’ve gone from being a walker to being a runner, back to being a walker and not being a runner, and bike riding is on the agenda. Once it gets warmer I hope to go to the local pool to do laps once a week. I’ll see how/if I can fit that into the schedule.