Lesley's Jeffing story

It’s two years since I returned home after a four-day hospital stay with pneumonia. Years of repeated chest infections were not getting any better and the infections were getting closer together and lasting longer. I had been diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a long-term condition where the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection. I also have associated sinus problems.

My consultant agreed that exercise would help but I never had the energy to do anything about it. My turning point was a comment on my hospital discharge form. ‘Will be liable for readmission.’ I suddenly had a flash into my future and it didn’t look good. So what to do? I tried Couch to 5k but couldn’t manage a straight 60s run. 

My daughter-in-law was doing well with her running journey and she told me about the beginners group she had started with, the I Can Run club. It sounded ideal and not the sort of club where I would look out of place and so in March 2018 I joined the beginners group. It wasn’t an immediate success. My ankles hurt, then my knees, but gradually the aches and pains went away and I was proceeding nicely. I even bought a proper pair of trainers and some snazzy running pants.

I kept going after the course finished as I Can Run is a great, supportive group of women. What helped? I found a lovely small group of ICR women to do training runs with at weekends and I do the Ipswich Tuesday free runs. I book organised timed events with this group and have now done several 5k and 10k races. I have tried running non-stop but I can’t do it. Jeffing is just right for me. My lungs will always be a problem but they are so much better now thanks to running. I will never be fast, but that’s okay as I shall be 70 in May so I don’t expect to be able to zoom round. This group helps enormously; I wouldn’t have kept going without the ICRC organisers, run leaders and fellow Jeffers.

February 2020