Alarm Off, Sleeping In

Friday: Though I had planned to run today, when the alarm went off at 5.45, I thought I deserved a break. This was a rare moment, me being happy not to run. I caught up on much-needed sleep and later felt pleased I had rested myself, and willingly so. Perhaps I am slowly beginning to think like a proper runner, and accept my body's need to rest and repair itself. I am in two minds over running tomorrow, since I have a study tutorial to attend, and I am thinking of having another rest day, then possibly running on Sunday morning. It's taken time but I am finally feeling better about having rests, perhaps due to exhaustion! As much as I am enjoying the early morning runs, I find myself very tired in the afternoons. This is short term though, I should be back to mid morning runs next week, when the kids go back to nursery and school. I am just relieved that this temporary training plan is working out and that I am not wasting a week sitting at home.

4 Miles At Dawn

Thursday: As much as I enjoyed yesterday, getting out of bed was difficult this morning, and there was much grumbling and muttering at the alarm clock demanding I wake at 5.30am. In order to keep my strength up, I was able to drink a glass of milk and eat a Tracker bar for breakfast, which isn't the best thing but it was all I could manage. Last night, I mapped out my route on fetcheveryone.com, a website recommended by my runner friend, and it is fantastic in providing an accurate reading of distances covered. I was relieved I didn't have to rely on the temperamental pedometer and I marked out a 4.17 mile route. I think I should be doing at least 4miles every time I go out, it's the minimum level I am setting for myself. It was cold but not as bad as yesterday, and as planned, I left the car in the driveway, and started my warm-up walk as I left the house. I did a 5min warm-up, 15min run, 5min walk, 15min run, 22min cool down walk, which makes it 62 mins for 4.17 miles. It's a good thing I'm not worried about speed right now :o) But I do have a competitive side and whilst I focus on my endurance when I run, I am keen to know my time/distance ratio when I get home. The run was very good today, I am trying to get in more uphill bits, but I end up with a fair bit of downhill, which does feel like cheating sometimes. The first run is better than the second generally. Today's second run started really well, but it was very difficult half way in, and I was gasping for air towards the end, slowing my speed right down and desperate to make it to the full 15mins. I noticed I put a lot of weight on my right leg, which is perhaps the reason my right calf twinges, so I made a conscious effort to ease off the right leg and make the left leg work harder. Also, I felt I ran better today, I ran too fast yesterday, though it didn't feel like that at the time. Today, I was much more controlled with my breathing and keeping myself slow, even though I could have gone so much faster, in order to make my body last for the timed session.
I didn't like the busy main road today, far too noisy despite the early hour, and too many people on the streets. Also, the view was far from inspiring, roadworks and shops don't conjure up the romance of running, as trees and lakes do. I do miss the park for its beauty, I admit. Though, whilst looking at the fetch website, I realise that it cannot measure distances in the park area, which makes me wonder if I am better off running away from it, in order to track my time/distance progress. Both Great Runs are 10km each, or 6.22miles, and knowing I am doing 4 miles now (even though it's not all running), is a hugely motivating thought.

Crack of Dawn

Wednesday: I crawled out of bed at an ungodly hour (5.45am to be precise), having had four hours sleep, and pushed myself to get ready to run. And I am so pleased I did. I drove to the park, only to find it closed. I parked at the top of the uphill road and decided to run along the main streets. It was very dark, and extremely cold, I regretted not having my gloves with me. I hadn't had anything to eat, the idea of food so early in the morning made my stomach turn. I had my other half's old woolly hat on, to keep my ears warm, and armed with pedometer and mobile, I began my session. It wasn't perfect: my earphones played up, falling out of my ears all the time, despite having been fine for a while; the stopwatch function on my mobile played up, stopping without me wanting it to; the pedometer read I covered 7.67 miles, which I knew was grossly wrong. So, I estimated I covered 4 miles or so, in 60minutes, which includes warming and cooling down, plus a 12-14min run, a 3min walk, and an 18ming run. Any other day, these problems would have had me huffing and puffing in anger. But after a long rest and battling obstacles to get running time, I was just grateful I had run today, and run near to schedule. I was quiet hot and sweaty by the end, which helps to measure how much effort I put in. It was surprisingly lovely running in the dark, and watching the sun come up, see the city waking up as I pounded the pavements. I enjoyed listening to the new music I had downloaded for running and the bitter cold made my eyes water a great deal, but I didn't care, even though passers-by must have thought I was crying. The uphill bits were obviously hard for me but I persevered, and towards the end of the run, I saw the park had opened, so I finished there, sitting on a mound, lying on my back on the grass gasping for air, watching the sky in all its colourful glory, planes flying in and out of the airport in the distance. Today felt great, really hard in places, but so good to be out there. At the end of the day, I find my right calf is tender and the ache has spread the right knee. A hot shower after the run helped it, but at night, it aches and throbs a little. My chest also feels a little tight, when I take deep breaths, perhaps the cold morning air was a bit too cold for the lungs. I plan to make sure I eat something before the run, I felt a little dizzy and light-headed after the run, while I cooled down. I must find something my stomach can take, in order to prevent fainting from fatigue. Also, I must remember my gloves, it is much colder than I expected. And finally, I won't be taking the car, as driving back to my house, I found a shortcut I could walk to the park. This means my hobby is even cheaper than I thought :o) That will only happen for this week, though, as the children go back to nursery and school next week, and I will go back to the more normal running times of mid morning. I aim to run for the next two days, taking a break for Saturday and getting out for Sunday as well, which is merging next week's programme plan with this week's. This is of course dependent on my right calf's situation, and my ability to drag myself out of bed so early :o)

Running Obstacles

Tuesday: I was supposed to be up at the crack of dawn, as that was the best chance I had to run, but I overslept by half an hour, which meant it wasn't worth going. This left me very frustrated, I have no-one else to look after the kids during the school holidays, and if I am not careful, this whole week could be wasted with regards to my training. Interestingly, after so many days of not running (let's not count yesterday's terrible attempt), my right calf still aches and requires lots of stretching and massaging. Today ended well, I went out for dinner with an Open University friend I hadn't seen for months. My friend was very supportive of my plans to do the two Great Runs, which I had told her about a couple of weeks ago. She actually said I inspired her to walk more, maybe take up jogging or running, which was pleasing to hear, and rather humbling, that something I did would influence someone in changing their lifestyle. A slightly over-indulgent meal made me feel a little guilty but it made me more determined to get running time completed this week. I plan to try waking up early again, for an early run, fingers crossed I am able to drag myself out of bed at an ungodly hour. I have downloaded music onto my mobile phone especially for running, I have the desire to run, I just need to make the time for it, and not let the obstacles stop me.

12 weeks to Edinburgh; 14 weeks to Manchester Run

Monday: A disasterous start to the week. The school mid term holidays mean my daughter is home this week, so I dropped my son at nursery, and went to the park with my daughter, with a plan in mind. However, I could not run around the play area, I would not have been able to see my daughter properly and there were odd characters hanging around the area. After playing with her, I tried to get some very slow running in, but it was far too slow, slower than walking at points, and my daughter dragged her feet moodily. I timed 15mins but I didn't break out into a sweat or feel tired, I had not gone fast enough for that. Frustrated, I picked my son from nursery only to be told there had been a mix-up and he was also on holiday this week. Training with one child had been impossible, with two, I may as well give up this week, I thought. Such a wasted session ruined my mood all day. After much deep thinking, I have decided to try and run very early in the mornings this week, when the kids are in bed, or at least under their father's care. What I can try and learn from today's awful experience is to try and plan better when the kids are home from nursery and school. I feel I need to be training harder now at this point and a day like today is demoralising. I overindulged with food over the weekend when I had staying guests, and I feel the need to burn it off, and get back to my healthy eating plan. The frustration that comes from not running well is unexpected for me, there was a time I would have relished taking things easy in terms of exercise. But I have lost no weight at all lately, rather, the scales are tipping back up the way, which is annoying when I feel I have tried so hard to run more than is expected of me in the training plan. Tomorrow, fingers crossed I can drag myself out of bed so early for the park, and may the weather be kind.

End of Week 2/16 - Reflection

Sunday: The fourth rest day of the week, in accordance with the great trainer programme. Again, I was preoccupied with guests, and despite the desire to go running first thing today, I was truly too fatigued to put the plan into action. I did a lot of walking today, as I went shopping, and a lot of leg stretches, as both calves were sensitive today. The right one is much more of a pain, ready to cramp or ache at the smallest thing. I'm glad it hasn't prevented me from making progress, though. This week has been a solid week, I feel. I trained above what was recommended and still felt great. I followed the number of rest and training days as advised, which I hope will reap results in my performance next week. I am pleased that I am running for longer periods, that is a fantastic feeling. Focusing on endurance at the expense of speed has allowed to me to make good progress. The main worry for me, and for most runners anyway, is that of potential injury. I avoid running on grass, despite it apparently being a better surface to run on, because it is so muddy these days, I fear slipping and injuring myself. I am trying to be sensible about staying injury-free, and at the same time, I push myself to the limits to be ready in time for both Great Runs, which is a challenge indeed. Next week is a case of continuing to focus on endurance, and drink more water and eat healthily. I plan to keep monitoring how much distance I'm covering, to see how I am really progressing.

The Rest Goes On

Saturday: Yet more rest, which I was keen to break, but I didn't, out of sheer exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Visiting relatives kept me busy and in the evening, we went out for dinner, which was definitely a big night off from the whole healthy eating plan. As delicious as the food was, I know I shall pay for it in training next week. I did console myself with walking for around a mile and a half after the dinner, a brisk walk, albeit in heels, which made me feel a lot better.

Resting As Planned

Friday: Personal commitments meant today was swapped from being a training day to a rest day. I am finding myself feeling more tired and more lethargic on my rest days, today being typically so. As much as I try to eat healthily and drink lots of water, I find myself desperate to drink coffee to keep myself awake and alert. Perhaps I need to sleep more, though that is difficult with the other metaphorical balls I juggle.