Jog On (Part 2)

Do you remember the blog post I wrote where I was going to attempt running to keep fit using the Couch To 5K method?  Well, I did two-and-a-half weeks worth of the plan and increased my time to 17.5 minutes (yay me *small pat on the back*) however, each time I ran I had excruciating pains in my shins, tight calf muscles for the following day and cramps in my right foot.

I put this down to not having the right running shoes, not having run for over 20 years and a number of other reasons, determined not to give up.  I mentioned it in passing to Manda during one of our "lets wander round the Tesco clothes section and grab a coffee at Costa" ever-so-important business meetings last week and she told me about 'shin splints'.  I rushed back to the office, consulted Doctor Google and it does indeed sound like that, according to the very informative Wikipedia entry.  

But I don't want to give up this type of cardio exercise.  I was just getting used to it and have noticed some slight differences in my body.  So I've carried on the timings on my stepper machine - 1 minute 'running' (or very fast stepping) and 1.5 minues 'walking' (slow paced stepping).  To be honest, it's much harder doing the slow stepping than it is the speedy style and It's got to be a move in the right direction, hasn't it?

And if anyone has any better ideas or advice PLEASE let me know.  I'm determined to keep this up.

Picture Credit:  Google Images