iPods, shoelaces, coots and the canal has sprung a leak - W6R2 er done maybe!

[spoonierunning]

I wasn't going to go out this morning. I haven't been very well the last couple of days, but I woke up at 6am I told myself no we're not going out today, by 6.30am Ferdinand was wondering if we were going out cause he'd woken up too and it is a run day. Just before 7am we were out the door.

So this morning went something like this:

Walk to road leading to nature reserve, put on iPod and start the 5 minute warm up walk, deal with 'dog' stuff during that 5 minutes.

Get to the towpath just as the first 10 minute run was about to start - er Ferd the canal seems to be almost empty, Ferdinand NO, good boy. Knee protests at the thought of running, I ignore it and let the kinesiology tape do it's job. Get to the lock and faff about a bit, there is a small road it's hardly used but I am trying to teach Ferd to stop and wait for me to say walk on all without me having to put him back on the lead or grab his harness it's erm going sort of ok. Oh look Ferd this side of the lock has water in (guessing they are draining it to dredge). Get the you've done five minutes, ok I think come on we can do this. Oh god the man is there fishing again, huff and puff past. Ferdinand, No, with me, good boy. And well done 10 minutes is up now time for a recovery walk.

3 minute walk - thank the gods cause I don't think I could have gone on much longer. I recover pretty quickly and instead of being impatient for the walk to end I enjoy it.

Time for your next 10 minute run - and we're off. Oh god this is hard, I'm so tired. COOT. Ferdinand NO. Splosh. Jog on spot shouting at spaniel, deploy spaniel whistle, he comes back. And we're moving again. Well done five minutes, and I stop dead I'm done my head says and my body is wholeheartedly agreeing with this statement. I tell it to stop complaining we have only a mere 5 minutes to go. So off we start again and iPod dies. Oh $€#%. Sort out iPod and stuff it in pocket. Look at phone and think well we can just keep a check on the time, only need to do 5 minutes. Off I start. What's that flapping round my feet? Arrghhh sodding shoelace is undone. Deal with that and off again. Huff and puff past the man fishing. Feel a little smug cause you know his 'sport' is just sitting on his arse whereas I am actually getting my heart pumping. COOT. For the love of the goddess Ferdinand NO. Splosh. Grrrrr. FERDINAND NO, GET OUT OF THE SODDING CANAL THIS INSTANT. Put dog on the lead and moan that it started off so promising. No idea how long I've got left now so just run, until I get past the lock and a little further down the tow path. That's it declare it done.

Warm down walk. My toe hurts. My toe really hurts, my trainer is rubbing on my toe. Walking pace gets slower and slower until snails are actually zooming past me. All I can think is the bliss it would be to take my trainers off. Almost at my street. Oh look another snail whizzing past and I think sod it I'm walking the rest of the way home in my socks. And I did.

Water, feed dog, feed cats, feed giant rabbits, feed myself, water, feed little rabbits. Tea. Bed. Put tape over blister. Wonders why week 6 hates me.

[ChrisL Graduate]

Brilliant post! Love it.

[spoonierunning Graduate in reply to ChrisL]

Thank you.

[Hidden]

Great post. Canal looks like a nice place to run - fairly flat? I'm sure you will find the third run of this week a lot better as you won't have to worry about stop/start etc. The hassles with your iPod playing up didn't help. R3's a straight 25 minutes and probably a bit easier than the intervals. You'll be fine with it I should think. Slow and steady will get you there. Good luck and best wishes.

[spoonierunning Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Yes it's fairly flat, if I head off the other direction along the nature trail foot path there is a gradual incline but it's not so bad, but the downside is when I loop back to the towpath that stretch is awful big muddy puddles that stretch across the path and it's deep thick mud. When it's all dried out properly it will be a lovely route. I think it is the intervals that are my problem. I am going to move on to R3 and see what it's like, if I really struggle then I will repeat today, but I think it was really an issue with me not being at my best and I really think I should have held firm to another rest day. Trouble is I had this week and next weeks runs all worked out to ensure I get adequate rest for another interview and I didn't want it to get all mess up. Used to be me have to talk myself into runs and finding all sorts of reasons why I couldn't go and now I'm finding excuses to go out lol

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Loved your story. Running with a dog is always going to be a it of a challenge but he looks very cute. Well done to get so far - you'll do it.

[spoonierunning Graduate in reply to Ullyrunner]

Thank you, but at least I can never complain it's boring lol

Random I know but your screen name makes me smile I have a cat named Uli

[aliboo70]

Another entertaining read, love your photos, not sure how you get the split but its very effective! ferdinand is a great name! He is very handsome, and sounds like a typical spaniel!

But week 6 doesn't hate you, you sound like you are doing well -just little hiccups along the way! and in a while these will be fun memories to look back on on you c25k journey!

hope you toe feels better soon, and you have a rest before week 7.

you sound a bit like me putting your pets 1st! i have two guinea pigs, but new dog George jack russell wants to eat them so its a delicate juggling act when i go out to feed them, luckily their room has a strong door, but he did manage to get the old cat flap busted trying to get to them... Bad Dog! working on some new fencing for their outdoor enclosure thats George proof!!

[spoonierunning Graduate in reply to aliboo70]

Thank you. I use a picture app on my iPad. I am charging my iPod, drying my trainers off, washing my running kit all ready to complete W6, it's not going to beat me.

Sometimes feels like a full time job - we have what seems like a mini zoo (4 cats and 4 rabbits along with Ferd) luckily Ferd gets on really well with the bunnies and the cats are terrified of them (well the giants do chase them)

[AncientMum Graduate]

Great blog, I really enjoyed it. Planning to do the dreaded w3r2 tomorrow - this week is proving much scarier than I thought it would be.

Hope those blisters clear up quickly x

[AmberC Graduate]

So love your posts, you need a blog of your own, your writing is highly entertaining, as a fellow spaniel owner I can fully appreciate Ferds spaniel mentality. At least Ferd is a bit better than our Cocker Spaniel: Fudge, I could not trust her to run off lead....she is gorgeous but she has no sense (bless her). Lord knows where she would end up if I let her run off lead, so she is content to run alongside me, quite handy sometimes as she is especially good at dragging me up hills when I'm just about to give in! Week 6, run 2 beckons on Thursday. Personally I thought Week 6, run 1 was worse than week 5, run 3. Good luck and keep those posts coming.