Good Day

Friday: Today was the first time when I sat in the car and seriously considered not running, as it rained heavily. But I pulled myself together, rain is always going to be an issue, and I am glad I got out there. I spent 35 mins in the park, including 6 minutes of initial walking to get me warmed up for running. I spent 5 minutes walking after that to cool down. I do wonder if I am walking too much, however. I was pleased with being able to do lots of 2 minute walks to one minute runs, but I found myself getting tired at the 25 minute mark. I think maybe my body wanted a rest, even though mentally I was quite eager. The rain wasn't too bad and is actually quite refreshing to a hot and sweaty face as the run progresses. I had my 'full gear' today, my hat and earphones are definitely a vital part of my running. It was a very good session for me, I was a little disappointed with my stamina but overall, I had a great time. End of the day, I am feeling strong aches in my right knee and I have an irritating blister on my right foot. Massaging my knee helps but I have no idea about the best treatment for blisters. I assume lots of air would be part of treating it, I'll be checking runners world for advice. All in all, the week didn't begin well, but I think I managed to get a lot out of it as my health improved. The next two days are rest days, and it'll be interesting to see how my body reacts to that.

Back on Track

Thursday: I had to delay running but I am glad I made it. I forgot my hat but at least I had my earphones, a cold head is more bearable than being unable to listen to motivating and uplifting music. It was very windy and towards the end of the run, it was raining very hard. But today was definitely a successful session. I timed myself as much as possible, varying between 2 to 4 minutes of walking to 1 minute of running. Towards the end, I tried lengthening the running to a minute and a half, and for the last one, I went all out into a run-like-a-madwoman sprint, which lasted nearly four minutes. I spent around 25 minutes in the park today, and I would have spent longer but I had to pick up my son from nursery. By the end of the day, I report aches in both legs, but it feels good in a way, because it reminds me I had a productive session. My right leg, specifically the lower thigh and general knee area, is particularly tender, possibly due to uneven weight distribution. Though runners world would suggest a rest, I figure I must do a session tomorrow, because the whole of the weekend is going to be a rest for me. Having a great day like today spurs me on to more excitedly to the next run. I noticed a few joggers today, young fit people who didn't make eye contact. What a contrast to the countless elderly dog-walkers I saw, each of them gave me a big smile and remarked on the weather being the usual rain and pain. It makes a difference when people smile, made me feel more 'welcome' in the park. Looking forward to tomorrow already :o)

The Power of Rain

Wednesday: Despite not feeling 100%, I mustered enough strength to get to the park and I started well. The rain persisted but I was pleased to be timing myself and concentrating on my breathing technique, getting warmed up nicely. Then disaster struck - I hugely underestimated the depth of a very large area of water, and ended up knee to thigh deep in freezing water. I ran, well, swam, thru it, as fast as I could but my bottoms and trainers were soaked beyond belief. All running after that was comical, I was slipping, stumbling and forgot about breathing properly, which led to more chest pains (the cough and sore throat persist). I struggled to make it to 30 minutes, but most of that was walking, trying to stop my legs from seizing up in the cold. I tried to get some solid bursts of running towards the end of the session, but then I suddenly felt dizzy and faint, most probably due to dehydration. Luckily, I wasn't too far from the car, so I slowly made my way back, hoping not to collapse in the mud. By the evening, I had had two very hot showers to stop me getting hypothermic and the trainers were fixed firmly on the radiator, drying for tomorrow. So lessons learned today - a) drink a lot more water to keep hydration levels normal, b) avoid big puddles (so as not to go down the 'vicar of dibley route', as one person kindly described it (it's lucky I laugh at myself all the time!), c) stick to timing myself as it was making a huge difference to the efficiency of my running. This week really isn't going as smoothly as I hoped, but as I reflect on the run, I feel it is better to have gone out and breathed in that fresh (rain-soaked) air, than not at all. I suspect my right leg is weaker than my left, as it feels twinges a lot more, even when I have done little exercise. Also, I hope my left toe won't be an issue, it has behaved perfectly for days, but today my son stood on it while wearing boots, and it bled. Back to the park tomorrow, hoping the rain will back off, let it shine, I say :o)

Reluctant Rest Day

Tuesday: As decided yesterday, today was a rest day and time that would have been spent running, was spent on a short nap. There was heavy rain in the city today, and contrary to the view 'a little bit of rain never hurt anyone', it might very well have hurt to run today. However, as the day wore on, I wished deeply I had had a run. I realised today I get a lot out of it emotionally, and taking days off disappoint me tremendously. Today has been another round of plenty of fluids and struggling to keep food down. The lack of food has left me feeling a bit weak, though the coughing is reducing and the throat is definitely improving, slowly but surely. I plan to get back to it tomorrow, even if I have to take it slowly. I went back to the runners world website to remind myself of their advice, and I plan to time myself properly. This week hasn't started brilliantly but I hope to salvage some progress out of it.

Bad Start to Week 2

Monday: Despite feeling awful, I decided to go for a run anyway, to keep up the momentum. Also, knowing my son had settled so amazingly well at nursery, I felt that if I gave in to an excuse now, I would keep giving in. However, I later realised it was a valid excuse. I did about 18 minutes of walking and jogging, equal amounts, and had to stop after getting chest and lung pains. It was very windy and no colder than usual, and I had managed to avoid the rain for that short run. However, I couldn't ignore those pains and had to stop, much to my disappointment. I had to rest when I got home and have spent much of today, like yesterday, drinking lots of warm orange juice and hot mugs of tea. It is probably best I have a rest tomorrow, to recover fully. Not feeling any aches at all, probably dulled by the pain in my throat and chest. Fingers crossed, back to it on Wednesday.

Week 1 - Reflection

Sunday: The right leg feels a little stiff, but am surprisingly fine aches-wise. However, I awoke this morning with a bad cough and was barely able to speak. I have since been drinking copious amounts of warm orange juice to clear my throat and chest, which has had some effect. I hope this won't be a problem tomorrow, I am really looking forward to getting back into the running, having felt lazy and sluggish this weekend.
Looking back, I am really pleased with having taken the steps to changing and improving my life. Only one week gone, and already, I feel fitter and more energetic. The runners world website emphasises to take care to prevent injury and this is something I need to focus on, I think I have been lucky so far. Also, I think I just need to keep at the pace I am going, any slower and I'll be disappointed with myself. A great first week for this newbie runner, here's to improvements and major weight loss in the weeks ahead :o)