Spinning

Spinning is EVIL. Seriously. My first "Beginner Spin and Tone" class was on Thursday and everything still aches. Oh, and those really uncomfy looking bicycle seats? Yeah. they're really uncomfy. 

Moaning and sulking aside, I really enjoyed it. It was really tough and I struggled much more than I thought I would but it was satisfying to get to the end of the class and still be able to breathe and talk. We started out with the "spin" bit which involved sprinting, hills and cycling with one leg at a time (yay...not). Then we moved on to the "tone" bit which involved getting some little pink baby weights (cause I am weak and couldn't face the slightly heavier purple ones) and doing some bicep curls and some tricep something-elses. Oh and this other one which made my arms and my abs hurt. I say abs, I mean my non-defined stomach area that someday very far away may develop something remotely resembling abs. 

All in all I wouldn't call it a pleasant experience but I felt good after (mentally, physically not so much) and it was good to see everyone else panting and puffing too. Plus, one of the girls from my Tuesday run club was also there so I have someone to sit next to during class and moan to after. Other than all of you of course. The four of you that actually read my blog that is. (Hi mum and dad!).

The holidays are over!

Merry/Happy etcetera, etcetera... 

Yes, I can believe it's 2016. No I haven't made any resolutions. Why? If you need to ask then you've clearly never made any. 

Have I been for a run this year yet? YES. Yes I have. Today. 

Ok, so it was the first time in about a month but please save your pointed disappointed stares, my aching legs and semi-burst lungs tomorrow morning will be punishment enough. Oh, and just in case you think it's not a sufficient punishment then you'll be happy to know I've signed myself up for a beginner's spin class too. The first lesson is this Thursday which will give me just enough time for walking to become bearable again. The almost certain leg agony aside, I am excited to be mixing things up with my training as I have to admit I was starting to get a tad bored of just running all the time and this will also be a good way to kick start this year.

Speaking of which, this year is actually going to be a pretty big one for me. 

2016 is the year in which I will be turning 25. I will be getting married and letting go of the only surname I have ever known. I'll be going on my honeymoon. I will be running a half marathon in February and hopefully take part in a mini triathlon in July. Last but not least I will be planning a potential trans-Atlantic move which is both terrifying and exciting and may not actually happen until 2017.

So, here's hoping this year goes well for me in all my endeavours and for you all in yours!

Milestones

Since I started running back in May and started this blog I feel like I have reached many different milestones. I ran my first race back in July, I joined not one but two different running clubs, I can now run 5k without stopping or feeling like I'm about to die and I've met loads of new people who share this crazy desire to run around outside in the cold for some crazy reason. All of this is wonderful and I'm super happy for myself. One milestone has always eluded me however. Not because I couldn't reach it but because I always avoided it. Well, this past weekend I finally let myself get there.

I went for a run with my fiancé. 

I know, you were probably expecting something slightly more dramatic right? What you have to understand is that my fiancé was in the army for 5 years and, even on an off day, is a million times fitter than I am. This has always made me slightly apprehensive to go running with him. I always had visions of me huffing and puffing on hands and knees fifty metres behind him while he runs at a tenth of his normal pace. So I decided to wait until I would be able to keep up and show him how much I'd improved. (Pride is a funny thing isn't it?) 

Anyway, the run went really well. Yes, he did have to slow down so I could keep up but not to the cartoon-like exaggerated extent I had been picturing. Yes, at the end of the run I was in large amounts of pain. On the upside, the reason for the large amounts of pain was that his naturally faster pace made me speed up to try and not slow him down too horrendously. Which resulted in me shaving two more minutes off my time! 

So here we are. One more demon defeated. One more milestone reached. 

Basically, yay me. 

The end of a (tiny) era.

This Monday was my last run club lesson in South Oxhey. It feels like it was just yesterday that I started that course and yet eight whole weeks have passed. It started out with around ten of us not being able to run for more than a couple of minutes without needing to stop and re-inflate our lungs, and ended with about four of us (the hardcore four!) running for thirty minutes non stop, up and down hills, chatting away. Lungs of steel obviously fully developed! 

I have to say I am genuinely going to miss run club on Mondays. It was a really invigorating way to start my week and it was great to be able to do it with a group. The next thing we will probably do as a group will be triathlon training but that won't be until April (more on that later). In the meantime my Tuesday run club in my town is still going strong and, hopefully, I have managed to convince one of the Monday girls to come join me and the Tuesday lot. So yay!

An extra positive to add to all of this is that the trainer from Monday run club has very kindly put together a training plan for me to help me increase my running distance and actually be able to do the half marathon I signed up for in Brighton at the end of February. So if you were thinking that activity levels would drop around Christmas you were wrong! Ha. 

I leave you with an oh so attractive photo of the four of us hardcore ladies that made it all the way from lesson 1 to the final lesson 8. Many high fives were given. 

End of week 8

Bang goes the other shoe!

Remember my last post where I talked about how everything was feeling good and I was getting the hang of things, and that it all made me very nervous and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Well, drop it did. I have to hand it to those Running Gods their vengeance is swift. This time it took the form of a stinking cold which appeared on Saturday and stuck around until Friday, meaning I missed both running classes (and my dog's training class too but that's off topic). Normally I wouldn't worry about missing a run but the problem with missing a class is that they all move onwards and upwards without you. So when I came back to class yesterday I was told that we would be running for 6 minutes and walking for 1. The last class I had done with the group we ran for 2.5 minutes and walked for 1. Quite the jump in my opinion! Obviously I set off way too fast and spent the rest of the time mentally kicking myself for it. As we got to the last repetition I genuinely felt like crawling and am amazed I managed to make the drive home without my legs spontaneously dropping off. 

I woke up this morning slightly stiff (to be expected I guess) dreading this evening's run club. I battled the urge to miss this one too and dragged myself there only to find I was one of only two others who had managed to come along. While that made me feel happy (in a sort of proud we-are-so-hardcore way) it also meant that somehow the pace was sneakily increased to the point where, not only did we run 4K non stop but we also ran it faster than we ever have before, shaving three whole minutes off our time from two weeks ago. This makes me very happy. It also makes me very worried. Worried about how achy my poor, barely recovered body will feel tomorrow. 

Still, three minutes faster. Boom. 

When did that happen?

Yesterday I had a sort of out of body experience. Well, not really an out of body experience exactly. Not like the ones you hear about, when people are dying in hospital and they say they just floated up out of their body and watched themselves down below. I didn't have that. What I had would maybe be better described as an "out of personal context" experience? I know that's not much better. Bear with me and I'll try to explain. 

I have been doing my Tuesday run club now for four weeks and my Monday one for two. Last week I did my Monday class, my Tuesday club, and I went for a run on the Thursday too. It was only yesterday, halfway through my 4k run with the ladies from run club (that's right, 4k without stopping, check us out!) that I realised I had become the person I used to watch running down the street, on their second out of four potential runs that week. That infuriating, super motivated person who didn't look like they were actively dying right there on the street. There I was, in the freezing cold, dark October evening, jogging along quite happily, chatting to the ladies about how easy this was all getting. (Chatting while running! Actual speech creating capabilities. While running!)

Seriously when did that happen? I can't remember there being an actual moment where this transition noticeably came about but somehow, running is no longer wholly unpleasant for me. It's not fun, let's not exaggerate now, but it is definitely not unpleasant. 

I do feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop though. Like maybe the Running Gods are just lulling me into a lovely false sense of achievement before they make me twist my ankle or some such punishment. While I wait for the other shoe to drop I plan to revel in this realisation that I am edging ever closer to being able to call myself a proper runner. "Proper" by the standards which I have set for myself, not any ridiculous standards set by those photoshopped running magazine ladies. (Psst: they're not real!). 

Run Club: week 3 & Running Class: week 1

This week marked the start of my now weekly double whammy of running classes. Today's class, like every Tuesday, is more informal, a group of ladies who aren't "proper" runners just getting moving and motivating each other. Monday's classes, which started yesterday, are a bit more formal, and take place in South Oxhey. Both classes aim to get us running non stop for 30 minutes. Which a present I really can't do.

I definitely enjoyed yesterday's class. We did 8 reps of minute and a half jogging and minute and a half walking. There were slight inclines involved and we were also switching from pavement to grass, which always unnerves me cause I have endless visions of me slipping and landing oh-so-elegantly on my bum. Thankfully that hasn't happened. Yet. At the end of the class we were given homework. Yes, homework. Homework which consists of doing the same 8 reps two more times before next class. It's going to hurt is all I can say on that subject for now.

Despite warming up properly and cooling down properly with stretches and walking, I still woke up this morning feeling very stiff. This did not help motivate me to go to today's run club. Especially since it's so dark and damp out, and my house is warm and has a soft puppy in it. I dragged myself out anyway and I am glad I did. Normally we run around a park and do some interval training around a tennis court but as it was so dark today we decided to stick to the roads and just jog. And jog we did for 3.5km without stopping. It's the furthest I've ever run without stopping or slowing to a walk so I am really pleased with myself. 

I am not looking forward to waking up tomorrow and inevitably not being able to move but I will just try not to think about that for now and enjoy the fact that on a dark damp night I get to come home to a warm house with a soft puppy in it. 

Run Club: Week 1

Today was the first day of my local running club. I turned up expecting maybe four or five women total but there ended up being around ten of us! The lady running the course, Debbie, was really encouraging and simultaneously evil, making us sprint up and down a tennis court over and over again. Yay.

The class started out with a brisk walk/jog from the community centre to a nearby field and some stretching. We did some more jogging round the field, mixed in with some side steps before heading into the nearby tennis court to do speed intervals. These involved much sprinting at full pelt and then jogging and some changes of direction. Before I knew it we had been running around solidly for almost 20 minutes. Longer than I have ever run without stopping to walk! I am genuinely surprised by this and it just goes to show that any doubts I had about being able to run without run/walking were all in my head. 

After the speed intervals we were told to make our way back to the community centre at our own speed (but encouraged to jog), so I jogged back - much to my legs' displeasure- and we all did some stretching when we got back to the centre. All the ladies seem friendly and it's nice to know it's not just me starting out from the beginning. I am definitely looking forward to next week's run!

Anyway, I am starving now so am going to make myself some yummy dinner...and maybe some ice cream for dessert. I feel like I've earned it! Sort of. 

The Silver Lining

Hello again. I hope you have all had a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend. Mine has been rainy. Biblically so. Summer is most definitely over. Anyway, I am going to get straight to the point here. Over the course of the weekend circumstances have conspired against me resulting in my having to back out of my 10K race in Windsor. I am frustrated and upset but there is nothing I can do to change the fact that this is the way things have gone. 

If I am totally honest, along with the frustrations and upsets, I am just a teeny tiny bit happy that things have gone this way. I know deep down that I wouldn't have been ready for this race and would have gone out of stubbornness and probably taken hours to get round in the best case scenario, or done myself an injury in the worst case scenario. However, the main feeling at having to cancel is disappointment. I was looking forward to running this course. The distance, the location, it all appealed to me. Oh well. 

So where's this silver lining I mention in the title? Well, here we go.

I have been rummaging around the internet recently trying to find a running group/club to help motivate me to keep running now the weather is against me - who enjoys running in the rain, seriously? I found a running group near me but the best bit is that I also found a running course. It takes you from the very basics of running (technique, breathing, stretching etc) all the way through to being able to run solidly for 30 minutes, which is something I would like to be able to do, despite my quite liking my run/walk routine. 

Yes, you are reading all of this right. I will essentially be taking running lessons. I am aware of how silly that sounds. Surely it's just left foot, right foot....repeat at speed until required distance is reached or heart attack sets in. However, I feel like this course will not only teach me some useful tips like how not to die of a stitch halfway round but also get me meeting some potential future running buddies near me, which all adds to future motivation levels. The course starts sometime around the middle of this month (this month being September - when did THAT happen?!) and I will be hearing back soon about whether or not I have managed to get a place on the course. 

So there's the silver lining. One thing has fallen through but perhaps it did so to clear the way for this new chapter of my running training. 

Also, for those of you wondering when my next race will be, the only race I have booked for now is the Brighton half-marathon at the end of February 2016. I might enter another 10K before then but then again I might not. You, my lovely readers, will of course be the first to know whatever I decide. 

Race For Life Hampstead Heath

The big day has finally arrived. I went to bed last night thinking I'd actually manage to get a decent amount of sleep. Ha. Of course last night would be the night a thunderstorm decided to come rolling on through. Don't get me wrong, with the heat we have been having recently I'm glad it happened. I just wish it could have happened when I wasn't trying to sleep. Anyway. I got to Hampstead Heath an hour before the race (which is what the organisers say you're supposed to do) and found there was absolutely no point in me getting there that early and I could have had an extra hour's sleep instead. Never mind. It was a gorgeous day today which was both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because it's always uplifting to see clear skies and feel the sunshine on your face, but curse because it was 26 degrees and humid so not ideal for running really. 

There I am before the race, still feeling fresh and showing off my number and sign at the back. Everyone else who was running today was over by the stage taking part in a group warm up but given the heat I figured the last thing I would want to do would be to stand in a large crowd under the beating sun and jump up and down for fifteen minutes so I gave it a miss. 

The race started on time (to my surprise and the organisers' credit) and the 1000+ people all set off. There was no staggered start so it took about five minutes for me to even get past the start line and, once past it, another while for the crowd to thin enough for me to actually be able to run without trampling anyone. 

Making my way slowly towards the start line

Now, the description of the course on the website said there would be "a few hills and mostly tarmac surfaces". HA. Where it says "hills" read "small, extremely steep mountains" and for "tarmac" just substitute "the entire course was gravel or uneven woodland". To say I was unprepared is an understatement. I have been training almost exclusively on nice, smooth tarmac roads and, while on my usual route I have to navigate a few inclines, I have never come up against something quite like this. So that was frustrating. I tried to stick to the pace I had set for myself but soon found that I wasn't going to be able to keep this up and, much to my disappointment, I had to stop running and walk between Km2 and Km3. Still, the park is beautiful so I tried to  soak in my surroundings and the atmosphere instead of dwelling on how my plan had completely gone out the window. By the time I got to Km4 I had perked up a bit, felt less sorry for myself and managed to find my rhythm again. While kilometres 1-3 were out in the open under the beating sunshine, the final two kilometres, thankfully, were through the woods and thus in the shade. I could hear the crowd at the finish line as I passed the 4km marker and before I knew it I was passing a sign telling me I only had 500m to go. I felt like I had enough left in the tank to sprint the final 500m and it felt great to speed through the finish line within the time I had set for myself. 

In all honesty today didn't go how I thought it would but, once again, I have nothing to blame but my over-inflated expectations. I didn't factor in the heat and how much all the unexpected hills would mess with my pace. Still, I made it in one piece, I wasn't the fastest by a long way (apparently the fastest person crossed the line in 23 minutes) but I also wasn't the slowest by a long way.

Overall I would say today has been a success and I'm very happy I did it. I probably won't be able to walk at all tomorrow but I am glad nonetheless. 

Here I am looking decidedly less fresh post-race but I got a nice shiny medal for my efforts so I'm ok with that.

Last but not least, I would just like to say thank you so much to those of you who sponsored me. And now I'm going to go have a nap.

People suck

I don't like people. I try to minimise the number of times I have to spend in crowded places with lots of people I don't know. Crowds of people irritate me. I'm sure we've all felt this at some point. You know when you're walking down your high street and there's some person in front of you walking so slowly it's incredible? And they seem to somehow take up the entire pavement? With their sixteen bags and a pushchair and a little scooter and twelve children and an old person? Staring at their phone and bumping into everyone in front of them? You know that person. We all know that person. Let's call that person Meandering Man. Well today when I went for my run Meandering Man was out and had brought some friends along. 

When I started my run today I felt positive (shocking, I know). It wasn't raining or overly sunny, my new shoes are still comfy and I had just put a couple of new songs on my mp3 player that really got me in the mood to run. Everything was fine until I reached the main road and realised that the town fair was today. I had been hearing about it for weeks but completely did not realise that today was the day. Silly me. Aside from the millions of cars parked everywhere, including halfway on the pavement, there were millions of Meandering Men (and Wandering Women, don't get upset). Everywhere. This made running in a relatively straight line impossible. It would genuinely have been easier and possibly safer to run on the actual road. Which at one point I had to do because Meandering Man, Wandering Woman and their entourage took up the entire pavement and grass verge. Any plans I may have had to run three miles today went swiftly out the window. I was not putting up with this chaos any longer than I had to. Adding to the fun was the fact that many very fit looking (fit as in healthy not the other "he looked wellll fit innit" way) firemen and military personnel were at the fair, making me feel very inadequate and at the same time incredibly aware of how un-sexy I must look. Damn it. 

Anyway, back to my main point. Having to navigate past, around, through, under and over these many Meandering Men and Wandering Women added a good 40 seconds to my run time (picture my unimpressed face) and resulted in me feeling absolutely knackered. Genuinely the most exhausting run I have been on since I started. So in conclusion, I refer back to the title of this post. People suck.

Except for my readers. I love all of you. :)

Real Runners

I don't consider myself a real runner. Of course not, you'll say to yourselves, it's only been a month. But it's deeper than that. As a staunch non-runner throughout my life, I don't think I will ever see myself as a "real" runner.When I was at school I ran twice a week in PE class but that obviously doesn't count because that was enforced running. Real runners do it because they love it, or to lose weight or get fitter or for tons of other valid reasons. I am surrounded by lots of super fit running people. People who have been running for much longer than me, which somehow legitimises their "real runner" status. They belong to that club. Those people you see running down the road who don't look like they want to die, and who are clearly not having trouble pacing themselves and who definitely, definitely don't have to stop running every couple of minutes to walk for one minute. The people who eat all the right things know all the fancy stretches and muscle names.

Last week's setback definitely made getting back out there this week much harder and I don't think I've ever felt less motivated. Or less like a real runner. Real runners wouldn't struggle this much or take this long to bounce back. Then again maybe I'm just being too hard on myself. Still, the thought lingers in my head and I can't seem to shake it. 

Like this guy. Who looks like that when they run?? 

But you know what?

I'm ok with it. I don't think running will ever look good on me. I'm never going to be effortlessly running along, holding a conversation with a fellow running partner (who has that much leftover breath that they can just waste it like that?!). But I will be running. If I need to stop and walk every now and then to get there then that's fine too. Honestly, I would rather do that and not be a "real runner" than keep running non-stop and end up overdoing it or injuring myself. 

Who knows? Maybe one day I will change my mind and think of myself as a real runner. But for now, I'm happy on the outside, in unreal-runner-land. Unreal-runner-land has doughnuts.

Setbacks

Apologies for my lack of posting this week. After my fastest (so far) two mile run last Monday, the Running Gods obviously decided I was starting to get far too happy about this running malarkey. Their course of action this time was to send a large dose of the cold my way and so I face my first setback. I can't describe how frustrating it has been not to be able to keep up with my plan. I missed three scheduled runs. In the grand scheme not much but right now it feels huge to me. I had been finding it easier and easier to motivate myself to go for a run and I worry, now that I'm better, that I will struggle to get back into the swing of things. Not to mention I am now a whole week behind schedule!

Still, stubborn as I am, I refuse to let the Running Gods win this one. Yes, they kept me out of action for a week and yes, I am behind schedule but this has actually lead me to make some changes to my training plan. I can't catch up the week I missed, I just have to accept that life happens and move on. So instead of making myself feel bad I have taken control and really thought about what the plan was asking me to do. Having been running for a couple of weeks, I know now that the plan that was set out for me isn't realistic. It expects me to go from running three miles to running six in just over one week. When I started out I had no idea if this would be possible or not but having struggled through some three mile runs I can safely say that I am nowhere near ready to run twice that! 

So, instead of trying to fit myself to the plan and feeling bad when I don't match up, I am making the plan fit me. My first race is a 5k in July so the focus of the next month's training will be to get to the point where I feel comfortable running that distance and hopefully do it at a pace that makes me happy (aiming for the 30 minute mark but no promises!). Between now and race day I can't imagine I will be running any further than five miles at a time. Does that mean I won't have run the roughly eighty miles I thought I would at the beginning of training? Yes. Do I see that as a setback? Slightly (but only cause I'm a pessimist!). One thing I have learned: setbacks aren't always completely negative. This one has helped me understand that what I need doesn't always necessarily fit into tidy little colour-coded boxes. 

Although let's not lie, my new plan will obviously be colour-coded. Life is too short for greys and whites!

Great Expectations

I was meant to go for a run yesterday. It didn't happen but not for lack of motivation. When I went for my run on Tuesday I pushed myself a bit too hard trying to hit a certain time. My legs were still quite sore yesterday (even after a full rest day and a yoga day) so while I could have tried running anyway on Friday I probably would have ended up doing myself more harm than good, especially given the extra mile I was meant to be doing. My legs felt slightly more normal this morning so off I went and while it was definitely not a pleasant experience it could have been much worse. I ran 3.12 miles in 38:45. Slower than I thought I would do it which is a bit disappointing,

This is my main problem, I think. I expect too much from myself. Partly in a naive "it can't be that hard" type of way, but also in an impatient "why aren't I improving faster" sort of way. I can't describe how frustrating I found it yesterday not being able to go for my run, even if deep down I knew it was the right thing to do for my body. I know that at this stage all I should be doing is just going out there and enjoying it and be happy that I manage to run the distance at all, without worrying about speed, but I can't help it. Every two mile run I've done so far has inevitably found me checking my watch to see if I am going to make it home faster than the last time. Which I have, every time. While this makes me very happy, I think it is also part of why I am fairly disappointed with today's performance. Before I set off this afternoon I tried to guess how long it would take me to run my three miles. But I based this prediction on my times and speeds from my two mile runs. I should have known that keeping up that pace for an extra mile wouldn't have been possible at this stage but, being pig-headed like I am, I figured I could probably make it home in 34 minutes. When that time (and an extra four minutes) ticked by on my watch it irritated me. I felt like I had failed. Even worse, this run gave me my first look at what my 5K running time could be and, I have to say, I didn't like it. 

This is what I'm talking about, though. I need to remind myself that this is still early days, this is all still new for my body, that I still have six weeks until race day and that I just need to cut myself some slack sometimes. It's easy to write it down here say this is how it's going to be from now on. Taking my own advice next time I look at my watch mid-run might not be so easy. 

Races

As I mentioned in my first ever post, I need a certain level of motivation in order to keep going with my running plan. Part of that motivation (other than the pretty new running clothes) comes from the fact that I have signed up for some races over the space of the next year. I can't back out. I have spent money on entry fees and running kit, all of which means that if I don't follow through I will not only have wasted money but also wasted running spots which could have been occupied by "real runners" (more on them later). 

It all started with the Race for Life 5K run in Hampsted Heath this July 4th. Having not run at all for over half a decade I figured this would be the place to start. Nice and easy. 

See? Proof this is actually happening. Has my name on it and everything so now I have to go through with it.

After the 5K I plan on doing a 10K. Haven't decided which one yet but this hasn't stopped me from going ahead and entering a half marathon in the new year. Yes, you read correctly. I have gone from 5K to contemplating running just over four times that distance. I signed up to the Vitality Brighton Half Marathon mainly because I have heard some very good things about it and also because the course takes you along the seafront for most of the race. At least I will have something pretty to look at while I curse myself for ever signing up for things like this. This will be happening on the 28th February next year. Did I mention that is two weeks after my wedding? No stuffing my face with cake and slacking off training for me!

Finally, I have thrown my name in the hat for the big one. The 2016 London Marathon. Odds are slim, given that almost a quarter of a million (247,069!!) people are hoping for a place, and I am not holding my breath but it still acts as motivation. If I do get a place and don't train I will be in a sticky, awkward situation. If I don't get a place I plan on running a marathon anyway, it just won't be the London one. 

So there we are. A year long plan with nice little distance markers along the way so I feel like I'm  constantly accomplishing things. 

Wish me luck!

The Running Gods

Generally speaking I am quite a pessimistic person. I expect the worst case scenario. I try not to get too overexcited by or about things. This way, when it all goes wrong, I will be prepared. Healthy? Probably not, but it works for me. When I came up with this whole running plan I was, of course, not too hopeful I would be able to do it but as I got to the end of the first week I was feeling more optimistic. I had survived the first three runs and was improving with each one. Things were good. So when I cautiously started looking forward to today's run, the Running Gods had obviously had enough of all this positivity nonsense. 

Time for them to step in.

And step in they did. Today was drizzly day. It rained on and off from the moment I woke up. It even hailed briefly at one point. I nevertheless got dressed in my kit and forced myself out the door. As I started running I shouted a mental "HA!" at the Running Gods, as if to say "see? It is mildly damp out and I am still running. So there." 

The Gods obviously didn't appreciate this impertinence.  

As I got to the end of my road and started up the only hill of the run the clouds emptied their entire contents of water on my head. I was still close enough to home that I genuinely considered turning back. Then I thought that's exactly what the Running Gods wanted so I defiantly ran on into the rain. Five minutes later the rain fizzled out. I thought to myself, it was a test. They were just testing my resolve, to see if I would turn back and give in but I didn't, I won. I WON. Take that Running Gods!

Big mistake.  

They unleashed their best weapon. Hail. Yep. Hail. It fell almost horizontally right into my face (that'll teach me). By this point I was so far into the run that there was no point turning around. I kept going because now I didn't have anything left to prove to the Running Gods. I had to prove it to myself. I came across two other girls running through it all and as we passed each other we shared an exasperated look and a thumbs up. This show of solidarity surprised me and gave me the boost I needed to finish the run.

I got home and peeled my sopping wet kit off and looked at my stopwatch. I had shaved 50 seconds off last Sunday's run time. I had really really wanted to get out of that rain. Not to be outdone, the Running Gods had a final cruel laugh at my expense: the second I got into my dry clothes, the sun started shining. 

Post run - slightly damp!

Week one down!

Week one is over. Two surprising things. First, I really didn't think this week would go by so fast. I genuinely thought it would drag on in a never-ending haze of achy muscles. Second, I'm shocked I actually did what the plan said and didn't just stay on the sofa watching another How I Met Your Mother rerun. This week I ran seven miles and lost my yoga virginity so, all in all, I feel like I have accomplished something. Do my legs still hurt more than ever? Oh, so much. Still, when I got back from today's two mile run (in under 23 minutes) I had nothing but smiles!

...well, smiles and a yummy banana

Hopefully next week will go just as well. My long run next friday gets moved up from two miles to three but seeing as I already accidentally did that this week I don't see it being too much of a shock to the system! Roll on week two!

Here We Go Again

Run number two. After the first run's super uphill-ness I decided to change my route. I figure I should allow my legs some time to get used to the idea of running before I throw multiple hills at them. It's only polite. I managed to find a two mile route in my area that had minimal hills (zero hills is impossible I have found out) and while I was at it I created a similar three mile version for the next stage of my plan where my runs start getting longer. 

Music in my ears and sun shining, off I went. This time I thought I had managed to pace myself a little better as I set off. I made a conscious effort to rein my stride in knowing I would thank myself later. I kept to my two minutes running/one minute walking strategy but as I got to around twenty minutes into the run I started really struggling. I started thinking that this run was feeling and taking way longer than the last one. I started wondering how I could be so much slower this time round when there were fewer hills to navigate! I was thinking I'm obviously just not cut out for this running business and why am I putting myself through it anyway? Nevertheless, I kept trudging on, feeling frustrated, for another eleven minutes until I got home. I went to log my workout, feeling quite upset and confused. Which is when I realised something.

I had accidentally run the three mile route, not the two mile one!

Pretty much sums up my feelings right now!

Granted, I took the teeniest of shortcuts on the way home so I actually ended up running 2.72 miles, not the full three but still, no wonder I was exhausted and it took so long! I feel silly for not having realised that I had been running for almost a whole extra mile but at the same time quite surprised that I had managed to keep going at all. I did it in exactly 31 minutes which, I have to say, I am quite proud of. Compared to today, this Sunday's two miler should fly by! Hopefully. 

Yoga

This post I will be talking about yoga, my chosen form of cross training for the time being. However, before I get into that, I'd just like to preface this by saying a quick word.

OUCH

The past two days I have felt every single muscle in my body scream like it never has before (or at least, not in years and years). I can feel discomfort in muscles I wasn't even aware I had. Don't get me wrong, I knew this would happen and I braced myself for it but it has still taken me a bit by surprise, especially in terms of which muscles hurt the most. Obviously my legs take top spot there (no surprises as they did the bulk of the work on Tuesday) but an unexpected second place goes to the tummy muscles. Who knew? Actually, I'm sure lots of people knew and will be shaking their heads in a "silly girl" sort of way but, like I said, I am a complete newbie and so I reserve the right for things like this to still take me by surprise! So basically, to recap, everything (still!) hurts.

Moving on. Yoga.

I chose yoga partly because for the time being I don't have a gym membership so gym-based activities/classes are out. I will eventually join a gym so I can take part in some of the fun classes my local one has on offer but for now, home-based activities are where it's at. The other reason for choosing yoga is because I have read that it is helpful for stretching out those post-run aches and pains and can help prevent running injuries. And, you know, the whole relaxing, achieving calm and serenity stuff, that too. 

I thought I would just youtube a yoga video and that would be that but then I came across a website called Do Yoga With Me. There are hundreds of videos for different ability levels and different yoga styles, as well as for targeting different parts of the body and they are all lead by experienced instructors. I signed up (it's free) and downloaded a 6 week program for absolute beginners which included suggestions for which videos and tutorials to follow, as well as shorter classes if time is an issue. So far I'm feeling very guided.

The first video it suggested for me had some lovely calming music in the background and the man leading the exercises had a very soothing voice. It took me through some basic stretches from my arms to my upper body down to my hips. I have to say, while I certainly couldn't hold some of the stretches as long as the man could, I definitely feel much more relaxed and sort of looser in a way I can't quite describe. It was a very relaxing experience and I am actually looking forward to the next video this time next week. I may even squeeze in an extra session this weekend. Safe to say, I can see myself becoming a serious yoga convert!

First Run

So there I am. Pre-run. Obviously, cause I'm actually smiling. Almost looking smug, like yeah, running is going to be awesome! Silly past me. Fast forward to now and I just got back from my first 2 mile "easy" run, as prescribed by my plan. Long story short: it was unpleasant. Painful, even. Made me question this whole idea of mine that running is something I could do. 

Long story a bit longer: 

I left for my run, all kitted out in my new motivating running leggings. I had my mp3 dangling from my neck and neatly tucked into my bra (more on that later) and my man's ancient casio watch on my wrist. I didn't have space for my phone anywhere and have no fancy GPS pacing watch so I just set off and hoped for the best. As I realised half way through the run, I obviously set off waaayyy too fast. Way too fast. Add to that the fact that, unbeknown to me (I should have known, really), most of my route was uphill. Oh and in a final karmic twist, no matter what direction I ran in, the wind was constantly against me. Are you feeling the unpleasant? Cause I definitely was. 

I set off telling myself it's only two miles, you can run that without stopping, that should totally be achievable. Boy, did I underestimate how unfit I am! One minute into the run, halfway up my first uphill, I decided that running all the way was not going to be an option. At all. In any way, shape or form. So, I adopted an approach I've heard many people have had success with. The run/walk. You alternate a certain amount of running time/distance with a smaller amount of walking time/distance. Most people I have read who do this seem to manage 4 or 5 minutes running for 1 minute's walking. I went for 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking. It worked quite well, by which I mean it stopped me feeling like my lungs were going to pop out of my mouth. 

In the end I managed to get home in 19 minutes, 11 seconds (and 81 milliseconds) and realised that I'd forgotten to take the long way back past my house which was part of my route, which meant that I actually only ran 1.7 miles, instead of 2 miles. Still, that means (according to my running app thingy on my phone) that overall I ran at 5.6 mph. Definitely faster than I thought I would do. 

Reading back over this post as I write it definitely seems like the whole thing was deeply unpleasant, and honestly, as I neared home at the end of the run I felt like I never wanted to do this again - so much for runner's high! But now that I'm home, out of my icky clothes, have done some stretching and had some water and a banana I can truthfully say that it wasn't as unpleasant as it felt at the time and I am actually looking forward to my next run this Friday. Although, I will definitely be amending my route to include fewer hills, at least until my legs and lungs have gotten used to the idea that running is a thing that is happening now. 

Post run looking less fresh