Blue Runnings

I have been off work since about the start of November 2023 with long COVID/post-viral fatigue. There are two elements to this for me: physical fatigue, and mental/social fatigue. The enforced rest period has allowed me to make improvements in the physical element and begin to slowly, slowly improve my fitness again and start to feel like I’m regaining my personal identity.

I started with very short and slow walks (10 mins) on flat areas only around my house, and when feeling better began looking at doing a couch to 5k program. I’ve had no luck with these previously as I usually stuck it out until about week two if lucky and then got distracted by something else.

One of the things I’ve found helps with the long COVID and my mental well-being while off work (it’s not actually fun being in the house unable to do much for weeks or months on end, great though it sounds when you’re healthy!) is having a routine of small things. I get up at 6am to see my husband Peter off to work, and go back to bed with the cat until about 8am. For the first few months I needed to sleep for this period, but later I’ve found reading to be enough: it makes me feel like I’ve had a rest and risen when I want to rather than need to for other obligations and sets me up well for the day.

I determine in the morning what I want or need to achieve that day, limiting this to ideally 1-2 things with anything else being an optional bonus, and usually do them in the morning as this is when I feel most active. Naps frequently featured in my afternoons for quite a while until my fatigue improved enough to no longer need them.

I don’t like taking lots of equipment out with me when I’m exercising, so the prospect of a couch to 5k program I could have on my watch and not being required to take my phone with me was appealing. It turns out Garmin have at least three options for beginner to 5k programs on their Connect site, and one of them was by Jeff Galloway and features quite a lot of walking: perfect for someone who’s just about starting to walk at a normal human speed!