Week 4 Day 3

I was a little dubious about doing day 3 (as opposed to day 2) of this week as my last attempt was quite such a disaster, but somehow I dragged myself out of bed this morning and went for my run around the Meadows for a change. Was nice in a way that there were a lot of people out jogging to pace oneself off, but the big climb out of the estate at the beginning wasn't so much fun!

The first 3 mins were fine, the next 5 mins were harder, the second three mins were tough, and I had to pause for a break in the last 5 mins. I'm not sure if it was from still feeling a bit tired or whatever, but has taken the crown of 'toughest run' for now!

Running with the radio on (or rather a podcast) was definitely very different - although I was concentrating on my own pace a lot more or rather my footfall, I was also a lot slower! I think I do prefer using music at the moment although nothing against the news quiz!

Next week scares me a little - now I'm nearly half way through, the stakes start getting higher much faster! Supposedly at the end of next week I have to do a 20 min run without stopping :-S I think this may be an occasion to go back down to Portobello (where the promenade is at least flat) and run along the sea shore (then again, running TOWARDS the sea is a great motivator). It seems to be a common theme amongst C25k-ers that week 5 is the toughest, so I am mentally prepared to repeat this one!

STATS
Distance:                 2.3 miles [3.7km]
Walk pace:              17:36 /mile [3.4 mph]
Run pace:                12:20 /mile [4.9 mph]
Calories burned:      226

Run Fail and Radio Silence

So after a rather manic weekend, and a singing lesson on Monday, I got on my togs, hopped on a bus down to Silverknowes and was all up for a run along the path along the Firth of Forth and and coffee at the tea room in Cramond. But after my warm up walk and my first three minute run - which didn't tire me or make me out of breath - I just didn't want to carry on.

Yes the path was a bit lopsided and was making my ankle hurt a touch, but I've run through far worse pain. I'm just putting my utter run fail down to tiredness, slight dehydration, and a bad day. Been trying to catch up on sleep for the last few days, so haven't attempted running again. Thought I'd wait until tomorrow, and see if I can do day three of the week (admittedly the same as day 2 anyway) and move on to week 5 on Saturday as planned. 

Spoke to Grandad yesterday, and he said not to worry about it and that it was normal etc etc so hoping an extra couple of rest days will have made all the difference I need to get going again tomorrow.  I really do think it was mostly down to pushing myself too hard at the weekend ... and I'm sure the workout I had in my singing lesson was probably enough exercise for my brain for one day.

I did however have a lovely splash around in the Firth of Forth, and a rather scrummy afternoon tea in the cafe in Cramond with my kindle to read in the sun. So wasn't a completely wasted trip.  What was quite interesting was running for a bit with no music on (not something I've done before) ... which was different because I was concentrating more on a natural rhythm rather than running to a beat. Might try listening to a podcast tomorrow and see how that goes.

Fingers crossed!

Week 4 Day 1

Was a little dubious about going out today: have to say the fact it was bucketing it down when I woke up didn't help, but gave myself a half an hour to get my arse in gear and in fact had stopped raining by the time I dragged myself out of the door anyway. 

Thought I wouldn't decide my route until I got to the edge of Holyrood Park, either I could do a circular route back or head on down towards the sea at Portobello. Well by the time I got there I was actually feeling quite into my stride - so I decided to carry on! Very glad I did - as I ran most of the way there! Was on King's Road by the time my 'workout' finished :-)

The push to 5 mins wasn't easy by any stretch - but also didn't feel as tough on the second repetition as it had been the week before ... whether that's because I'm pretty much over my cold now, the fact I was running down hill (and could see the sea, which is a great motivator) or what - but makes me feel more optimistic that I can keep going. 

It amused me in some ways when I looked at my countdown on the last run and decided to keep pushing for the last 90s, considering I had trouble getting to a minute on my first run! 

Was really nice going for a paddle in the sea (which was freezing and therefore felt great on my calf muscles). Emailed Grandad a pic of the seaside to prove I'd made it too. Then went into a local delicatessen for scrambled eggs on toast. Yummy! I definitely think that future Saturday runs might involve a swim afterwards. Very pleased with today's efforts.

STATS
Distance:                  2.5 miles [4 km]
Walk pace:               17:18 /m [3.5 mph]
Run pace:                 11:03 /m [5.4 mph]
Calories burned:       270

Week 3 Day 3

I've made it to the end of week 3 ... and am therefore a third of the way to my 5k! Definitely felt that keeping my head up helped a HUGE amount this morning, and even managed to push my pace on in my second repetition to the point where my second mile average pace was quicker than the first mile! [13:44 vs 14:47]. This may of course be down to picking up my walking speed a bit more than previous weeks ... as my run pace seems to stay pretty level.

I was slightly tempted to go out using the runkeeper app rather than my C25k one as it gathers more information about splits etc, but decided I will still to this until I am running constantly - and then use runkeeper for future runs to help push pace etc.

Left calf was still a little achey - although was no WAY as bad as it had been on Monday. I was concentrating a lot more on not heel striking and it does seem to have paid off dividends. Have now got 2 rest days until I run again so plenty of time for old aches to settle before I push on to the next level of the programme ... bring it on!

As well as improved fitness levels (or at least ability to run further) I've definitely lost a bit of weight. My scales are a bit hit and miss for accuracy ... but I'm wearing a pair of trousers today that haven't fitted this well in ages. Operation arse-shrink might just be working!

STATS

Distance:              2.0 miles [3.2km]

Walk pace:           17:40 /mi [3.4 mph]

Run pace:            10:54 /mi [5.4 mph]

Calories burned:  197

Posture

As part of my motivational efforts (if I can be forgiven a touch of management speak) I've been trying to read running articles and forums most day - both sites like runner's world and goodrunguide and other advice that a quick google throws up.

Given that the biggest issue with me taking up running has been how to deal with my stupid achilles tendons, which are slightly too short forcing me to spend most of my life in heels or in pain, part of my searches have been dedicated to exercises for calf muscles etc. However, after noticing yesterday that I ran much better watching another runner in front of me, I decided to look into running posture to see if I was making any major mistakes. The answer of course was yes!

After various articles and videos, I found a useful article on About.com called '10 most common running mistakes' ... including tips on shoes (which I had been very careful in choosing) and other things. But the posture ideas were something I'd never really thought about, as well as being careful with my gait.

From being a natural toe striker, I was trying to give my calves a proper stretch by doing what I thought was normal for people in flat shoes (shows what I know). In doing so I'd managed to turn myself into a heel striker - which can't be good for my poor tendons at all!

So my two main aims for my run tomorrow are:

1) To keep my eyes on the horizon rather than falling into the habit of looking at my feet or the pavement

2) To concentrate on the pattern of my gait, making sure I hit the road with the ball of my feet rather than my heel (although without looking down all the time).

Will just have to wait and see if either of these relieves the aches I've been having!

Week 3 Day 2

I somehow managed to avoid being rained on this morning (as Edinburgh's 2 days of summer seem to be over again for this year). Calves really feeling achey today (particularly my left one) but then I guess I have forced my poor tendons into flat shoes more in the last few weeks than I have in YEARS.

I did have to pause half way round my run today to stretch them out a bit, and it was a bit of a painful limp home which affected my walk pace quite a bit (although randomly was a lot better when actually running).  I'm stretching them a lot, even on rest days, so I wonder if I should be resting them more to let them recover. 

Oddly my last 3 minute run was probably the fastest paced, and most comfortable I did. Possibly because I spotted someone ahead of me, and not that I was trying to match her pace (as she was obviously a better/faster/more experienced runner than I), but having someone to watch helped me get more into my stride - whereas before I'd been feeling a bit lumpy and heavy of leg.

STATS
Distance:                 1.9 miles [3 km]
Walk pace:              19:32 /mi [3 mph]
Run pace:                10:17 /mi [5.8 mph]
Calories burned:      212

Rain

Well the weather in Edinburgh today has been particularly horrible: although to be fair it's only been horrible since we left church tonight - was actually OK the rest of the day and afternoon. I guess tomorrow I am facing the prospect of my first run in the rain. I am pretty much determined to go out whatever the weather (although I may be wearing my outdoors/windproof jacket).

Given that I'll have to wash my hair anyway from having been running, the only considerations I have against bad weather are a) getting wet and cold - which is less of a problem if I'm running anyway; and b) getting my glasses wet, which is probably pretty likely to happen whether I'm running in the rain or walking to work. I am determined not to woos out so wish me luck!

Week 3 Day 1

Today's run seemed to be focussed on stamina rather than on distance. Of course I'd not actually looked at the 'workout' breakdown on my app before I set off, and was merrily under the impression that this week's challenge was to run for 90s and then walk for 90s rather than 2 minutes or whatever it was last week. No! It was 90s run, 90s walk, 3 minutes run, 3 minutes walk. The first one rather confused me because I thought the app might have crashed or something (as 90s was feeling rather long). Now that I know I'm hoping for my next run I can be a bit more mentally prepared.

Still suffering a bit from this cold ... although it's definitely on its way out. Didn't push too hard this morning (probably just as well in the end) but my run pace seems to be reasonably steady around the 10/11 min/mile mark. Eventually want to push this closer to 6 min/mile but one step at a time! 

Also went out in my new hi-vis jacket today - this is the kind of thing I would have laughed at Grandad for wearing years ago - but I actually felt quite proud and very runner-ish!  I also had my first proper instance of the legendary (apparently) runners' camaraderie when someone nodded a good morning to me. Maybe I can be a runner type after all.

STATS
Distance:                1.9 miles [3km]
Walk pace:             17:45 /mi [3.4 mph]
Run pace:               10:52 /mi [5.5 mph]
Calories burned:     194 

Week 2 Day 3

My first aborted run :-( Mostly due to this silly fluey cold, I was actually feeling a lot better in some ways today, but was quite tired of body and soul. Could probably have made myself finish the run as I was on number 3 of 6, but I just didn't feel like it and decided I was better listening to my body complaining than forcing myself to go on. So actually ended up coming home and going straight back to bed curled up under my winter duvet! Fingers crossed for Saturday.

Also had a weird acheyness in my left leg - doesn't seem to be shin splints from descriptions I can find on the internet - possibly an after effect of not doing a proper stretching routine. So will rest up (not really an option not to) and again, see how Saturday goes.

Not much point putting my stats in today ... so instead a picture of sleepy ducks who were napping (very sensibly) when I stopped by HRH's pond! As I was sat there another runner went past, and Mrs Duck stuck her head up as if to say "Oi you, we're trying to sleep here" but nodded off again by the time I took the picture.

Cold Wars

I'm still fighting this damned cold. Been into work again today, although was finding it pretty hard going what with my nose trying to explode and sneezing every ten seconds. Am going to keep pacing myself and doing what I can without running myself into the ground - but I reckon over the week I'll get my useful hours in ... hopefully anyway!

Had a nice chat with Grandad yesterday - probably the first time in ages we've had a phone chat where he's had to put the phone down on me to go for his tea rather than me running out of stuff to say! He's going to pop to his local running shop to get me a reflective anti-wind gilet (and was very happy I wanted something hi-vis). We were also chatting about the merits of various heart rate monitors etc and he's offered to lend me his Garmin watch to see if I like it. He does seem really pleased I'm enjoying myself ... I guess he's probably wanted one of us to enjoy one of his hobbies and has waited rather a long time!

Going to see how it goes again tomorrow - will run if I feel like it but not feel too worried about not going/giving up early ... well apart from WANTING to go running, it's more that I do need to get better for the weekend!

Week 2 Day 2

Today was supposed to be an easy run taking into account the fact I had a cold in the first place. Famous last words. Actually I think the run was the least of my problems: I probably shouldn't have had milky coffee AND fruit juice before I went, certainly shouldn't have had quite so many painkillers on an empty stomach, and shouldn't really have tried the energy drink again that I had on Saturday because it made me feel a bit queasy then. All in all I ended up feeling VERY sick ... and it's taken a lot of toast, and some crystallised ginger to get me back on an even keel again. FAIL!

Having said that - my run itself was quite successful. Yes, I was definitely feeling a bit worse for wear thanks to my cold, but my running pace seems to be improving still and I managed to push myself a tad on my last run-repetition to lengthen my stride and go a bit further/faster than before.

It was also lovely going round the park and seeing a few rabbits - including a very cute wee baby bunny which reminded me of when my two were so dinky. The older rabbits were very bold and watched me run past them both ways (as they were just at the point where I doubled back on my route). The wee one was a bit more scared, but I still got a good look at him.

STATS
Distance:                  2.1 miles [3.4 km]
Walk pace:               17:01 /mi [3.5 mph]
Run pace:                10:25 /mi [5.7 mph]
Calories burned:      232

No run for me today :'(

I'm really disappointed! After my sojourn over to Glasgow I seem to have developed a rather streppy-type throat thing, and decided I'd be better spending the day in bed rather than either going into work or going for a run. Had my appointment at the doctors anyway today so toddled off and got a new inhaler and got her to look at my throat etc ... back to crash again with some food and a copy of Runner's World to keep me company for the evening.

On a happier note, the pain in my calves is certainly getting better faster ... which might also be helped by my heel inserts which I used for the first time on Saturday. I have also found somewhere which makes prescription goggles which means I can at some point run down to Portobello and then go for a swim - I also tried running with a backpack on, which was fine (all in aid of being able to carry swimming costume etc). Will leave it for a couple of weeks and see how things go.

Hoping to run again tomorrow - fingers crossed!

Week 2 Day 1

Which could be subtitled "... why not to mess with your app"

My run today took me down to the seaside - or rather the seaside town of Portobello, it was a longer route than I'd attempted before so I was quite prepared to run out of 'workout' time and have to log the last bit via good running as normal. Oh I wish I had! Instead I ended up fiddling with my app - ok I did an extra repetition of the run, but then paused it to cross a busy road (and took a while to remember to un-pause it). Furthermore, at the end of my run I decided to try and be clever and repeat the cool down phase, instead accidentally flicking back to the beginning. All in all I have royally cocked up my stats - so some of todays are taken from the good run guide instead.

Wary of the issues I had on Wednesday, I didn't push myself too hard at the beginning of the run ... and in fact my breathing was a lot better today. Might be the cooler morning air, or just an off day last week - but I think I will still try and get replacement inhalers when I see the GP on Monday. Never hurts to be careful anyway.

Pushing up to 90s run repetitions was tough at first, but by the end of the run I was almost up for much more! Don't want to overdo it and ruin my progress so will keep going steadily ... but definitely getting happier. Couple of other firsts today ... but I'll talk about them tomorrow on my rest day.

STATS
Distance:              2.8 miles [4.5km]
Walk pace:           18:05/m [3.3mph]
Run pace:             11:10/m [5.4 mph]
Calories burnt:      c. 300 (from Good Run Guide]

Breathing

A contemplative post for a rest day.

I had an odd experience when running yesterday, that I found myself gulping for air and not really getting any benefit. Now this wasn't the gasping for air that I'd had previously from just being unfit - I was breathing very deeply but still feeling like I had no oxygen. I was being very careful to breathe from my diaphragm and everything, one of the bonuses of being a trained singer, but it didn't seem to be making any difference.

Now I have a couple of theories from various running sites. One might be my asthma kicking in from the exercise, which might be solved with my inhalers (which, I note, I haven't used regularly in 10 years). Another might be the fact it was quite a warm muggy day and I was running into one heck of a headwind - Edinburgh residents will appreciate the power of an Edinburgh 'breeze' rushing round the side of Arthur's seat. 

Going to keep a brain cell or two concentrating on the issue during my run on Saturday and will have a chat with my GP on Monday just in case. Also considering investing in a heart rate monitor to see how my fitness is coming on - will consult Grandad when he's back from Frogland and see what he thinks (and if he has a spare he no longer uses!)

Week 1 Day 3

Well that was the hardest run so far! Don't think it was the big hill at the beginning - as that was in my warm-up walk - but more that I'd been at work all day and stood up. Never been closer to giving up on several repetitions. However, I did manage my longest run so far and my biggest climb rate by quite a chunk (35m as opposed to 14m which was my last best). I do love the route planner on goodrunguide as it profiles the whole run, not just the distance.

Am definitely glad of 2 rest days until I run again, although am also looking forward to moving on to week 2 of the challenge. According to my (somewhat wonky) scales I am indeed losing weight as I hoped, and I am also feeling the benefit to my breathing already, despite some hairy moments today when I was gulping for air slightly. 

My legs were actually feeling quite tired before I started, and even though I went through my stretching routine before I ran, I was definitely feeling my tendons complaining.  Really hoping my trainer inserts will arrive before Saturday, but might go for a wander round a running shop when I'm in Glasgow at the weekend.

But the thing I am most proud of is that I've survived week 1!

STATS
Distance:                 2.4 miles [3.9km] (GRG 2.5 mi/4 km)
Walk pace:              14:28 /mi  [4 mph]
Run pace:                11:29 /mi [5.2 mph]
Calories burned:      232