Final run for this month done. A fairly comfortable 10k in just under 68 minutes.
What a month it has been...
Started with a rotten cold and didn't run at all during the first week. By the time I sat down to type this, despite that set back, I'd managed 14 runs covering a total of 92k. In those 14 runs, I managed 4 x 10k and a further 5 x 5k.
My 10k time fell from just under 74 minutes to 67 minutes, and my 5k time fell from 32:36 to 30:41.
My year to date totals are now 104 runs covering 515k.
Oh, and on top of all that, just before Christmas, having been pretty inactive for much of last year due to my oft-mentioned tendonitis, I topped the scales at 15st. Today, I am under 13st for the first time in about 15 years.
I've been on quite a journey since I decided back in March to give this running thing another try.
I turn 49 on Saturday. I'm fitter than I have been since my mid-30s. My modest aim is to get my 5k and 10k times below 30 and 60 minutes respectively before I turn 50. If you'd suggested any of this to me this time before my last birthday, I's have probably told you to get your head examined. It's definitely been an eventful few months.
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sTrongFuse
Graduate10
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Great month for you sTrongFuse, both in running times and weight loss, congratulations on both fronts.
As far as myself, it's been pretty good as well, I ran a 5K and 10K PB, a teeny bit slower than you, but of course I am not too worried about that, not concerned about my weight, when I began C25K I was around 11 stone, I am now, without going on any special diet around 10st.8lbs, perhaps that's something to do with running and the other exercises I do such as push ups, sit ups, kettle bells swings and planks.
In May I completed UNM's 100 push ups a day challenge on all the 31 days of May
I was never that bothered about my weight. I was considerably heavier than I am today in my playing days, but I did pack a fair bit more muscle back then, and I was in my 20s. I knew last year wasn't great because of my knee problem but I never expected to get to 15st; that was the wake-up call.
I'm not actually doing anything different in terms of diet. Slightly less alcohol, but I still eat what I've always eaten, just a bit better at controlling the portion size. I'm a middle-aged referee these days, not a young-buck back row forward. The body has different requirements to what it had back then.
Just out of interest, did you notice any major benefits from doing the 100 push ups a day challenge? I can barely manage 16 in a row and that is in the easy position not full on legs out!
I think I did notice a slight benefit when I did UNM's challenge, slightly more muscle in my arm, a bit more "six pack" when I only wear shorts when looking at myself through a mirror, my son in law always asks me to sit on the back seat of his car because I have a thinner backside than him or my 40 year old daughter, his wife, by the way my daughter gave me her yoga mat, that is the mat that I do planks on. 😊
You also have a talent for info gathering...I have no idea how many runs I've done this month, let alone this year, though I'm sure fitbit and mapmyrun do if I bothered to look!
Well done on your many achievements, you've lots to celebrate this birthday...have a good'en 🎉
This is a lovely read. Well done Strongfuse on your progress and you’ve got some great goals to keep you motivated. It’s been quite a journey this running and hopefully it’s now a lifelong habit
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