After a successful first week of my Couch to 5K program, I felt like I could conquer the second week easily.

Week 1 involved sore calf and shin muscles. With a day of rest and a much needed pedicure which included a calf massage, I was ready to hit the treadmill again.

I’m told it takes two weeks to build a habit, so if I could get through Week 2, the rest of the program should be a breeze. Right?

“Ring”-ing in the pain

In addition to my goal of getting through the second week, I also wanted to complete seven days of closing my Apple Watch “rings.” Turns out, in all the time I’ve had an Apple Watch (and I was an early adopter), I’d never done this.

I decided to mix it up for Week 2, to avoid another week of pain throughout my legs.

• Day 1 – run
• Day 2 – elliptical
• Day 3 – run
• Day 4 – late night walk
• Day 5- uh oh…

What I hadn’t taken into account was the holiday. I decided to go visit family for the long Labor Day weekend. That equates to days of shopping and fun, great dinners and conversations, late nights of cocktails and little (or no) time for exercise.

Also by this time, my old tibia-to-patella issue was really starting to bother me.

– Basically, my shin bone doesn’t align correctly with my knee cap. So, my muscles and ligaments have to work overtime when I run. That’s why I will only run on a treadmill these days; it’s even and consistent. (I could undergo surgery to correct this problem, but when the words “saw into your tibia” came up, I bailed.)

At this point in the program, the issue was resulting in a painful run. Or walk. Or step.

Dedication matters

Despite the pain, I convinced my brother to take me to his local gym for my final Week 2 run.

It was honestly the best day of the program I’ve had. I felt like I’d finally reached the “habit” point. I was going to be unstoppable now!

Until I stepped off the treadmill and felt like I was going to collapse. I was able to limp out of the gym. But by the end of the day, I could barely bend it. I expected to wake up the following day with a basketball where my kneecap once lived.

Luckily, that didn’t happen. But, the pain didn’t go away.

Take two

I took a week off following Labor Day. I feel healed. I can easily bend my knee. I can even walk up stairs without pain.

I purchased supports to put in my shoes that should help align things better.

I said in the previous blog I had to hold myself accountable. And, I’m letting you hold me accountable. But, to be honest, I still just want to have seven-straight days of closed “rings.”