The ALL NEW Step Up to the Ten Mile Mark blog

That's really good going- well done! At the moment I can only dream of running that fast. It's odd, I sometimes feel like I've gone really fast and has been quite easy/ or slow and difficult and I've been running at about the same pace!

Murder mystery!! I'm going on one for my hen do in a month- so excited! It's two weeks before the half marathon so going to have to figure something out myself with training.

I managed to get out tonight to do the long run, postponed from Sunday. I got to the 2mile mark and was really struggling (the first two miles are pretty much up hill) thought- how am I going to manage this! So I walked for a bit and then started up again which was good. I ended up running 5.6miles and had 3 short walking breaks- took 1hr15 which is not too bad. I feel a lot better now as I found the last 2 miles the easiest.

x x

Good luck with this Carole. I managed a couple of 10-13 mile runs now but they are still few and far between. 10 miles is significantly more effort (in my view) in terms of impact, recovery, time out of your life than my other runs.

I also had really bad knees as I did my training - I didn't run for much at all - almost 2 months with only sporadic running after my first 13 miles. I am not sure that distance is for me. Thankfully the more recent attempts (much slower pace) have been less injurious. I had an ambition that I would do a marathon but I am not sure it is worth the body damage it might do.

still - keep updating us - it will help motivate me

Hi Random,

Thanks for the support. My knees certainly let me know they are there sometimes...I try my best to look after them by not slamming downhills etc.

I have a 6 mile run coming up on Sunday, and I've not done 6 miles since graduating B210K so it should be interesting seeing what sort of time I can do! Just under the hour was my best time before...

hi random

dont think I want to do any more than 10 miles. I am on the bupa plan with carole, but using the beginner plan & think that 10 miles will probably be my limit at this point. have worked it out to be almost 2 hours running & that may have something to do with it. perhaps I will feel different when I start running outside a bit more. am also worried that I will injure my knee again & have to take time off. took almost a month when I overdid it before. X

Hi guys,

Did you have any podcast support after couch to 5k? I am on week four of c25k and would like to have something to get stuck into after.

Beth

Hi Beth,

Check your message box on here...help is at hand!!

CaroleC

connect.garmin.com/activity...

This seemed to be very hard work this morning, but I didn't sleep well last night (night sweats) and had at least three hot flushes while running, as if I'm not hot enough already when I'm running! I think I was probably dehydrated as well as hadn't had much water/fluids before running.

Six miles on Sunday and I haven't run that far in ages, I'm going to take it easy and just try to beat the hour.

eyuck. hot flushes sound horrible!

good luck tomorrow with your big run. ran 5.8miles this morning in 60mins. it was such hard work. started at 5.6mph then moved it up to 5.8 as it felt like I was really plodding. alternated incline between 1 & 2 cause treadmill is squeaky at 1 & it kept annoying me. the last few minutes I ran at 7mph. wow, that was hard but felt amazing when Id finished. todays run was hard. I was very red & hot when I finished even though I had drunk half a litre of squash during the run. next week is easier & I even have a 30 minute run thrown in, but I have promised to do all of week 5 of c25k outside with my girls as there is 3 different runs. wish me luck! it will be my first time running 8 & 20mins outside & Im quite nervous aswell.

Good luck with that Shelley and well done with your 5.8 miles, it is hard work to keep going for so long. We got back from our weekend away and after seeing to the chickens I got my kit on and out I went. We had an awful lot to drink last night at our 70s disco themed murder mystery lol, so I'd been drinking lots of fluids to try and get myself fit to run!!

Anyway, the Garmin says: connect.garmin.com/activity...

The end result was 6.5mph, and as I was so close to the hour at 6 miles, (I hit 6 miles at 55 mins and 11 seconds!) I kept going and did 6.56 miles in the end. Quite pleased with that considering. I felt that I could have done a bit more but decided I'd better not as I don't want to get an injury adding on too much distance. The best part was burning nearly 700 calories lol.

Week 8 and a 40 minute easy run tomorrow!!

wow, great distance for the hour run. well done.

like you week 8 first run is a 40 minute run. ran todays run at 6mph all the way. covered 6miles & nothing to say about the run really. just ran & drifted off into my music away from everything.

next run is only 30minutes! woopwoop!

then another hour run this week to finish off.

good luck with your 40mins carole.

jen, how you getting on with your training? & guess what, kate only has one more run until she graduates c25k so kate, if you havent run yet, good luck! we are all routing for you! X

Wow- well done guys! Carole and Shelley- you're so quick! I went out on Sunday for a 6.4mile run- it took me a bit longer though- about an hour and 25. Although in that time I went to a shop and bought a drink and had a little walking break so not too bad really. I had an attack of runners stomach and was looking for a toilet but after my drink seemed to be okay- phew! Was a good run, aside from the very slow pace, at the end, felt like I could keep going. I think it helped that I was listening to a really good bit of Harry Potter.

I'm planning 2x 30mins this week then 7.5miles this weekend. When are your next big runs?

Hi Jen and Shelley,

I didn't do my 40 mins easy today as my knees and hamstrings were hurting after the fast 6 and a half yesterday. I really don't want to push it with my knees. The easy recovery run isn't supposed to be till Tuesdays anyway - I'd only been doing it on Mondays because OH was doing his C25ks on that day and I was going out with him. He has had a bad cold this last week and is taking a break from the C25k until it's better.

I have a 50 mins tempo on Wed and a 40 min speed run on Friday as well this week, and then...8 miles on Sunday!! I won't be going too fast for that one I can tell you! I've not yet run for 8 miles nonstop so will definitely have to pace myself.

wow your plan really pushes you. I dont build up to the 8 mile til the end of week 10, then have a 90min run week 11 with my final week 12 being the big 10miler.

will be looking closely to see how you get on with the 8 miler.

hope the knees & hamstrings are feeling better soon.

shelley X

Hi Jen, Shelley, and everyone else!

40 min easy run tonight, didn't feel easy on my legs which are still suffering from Sunday's 6.56 miles. My knees sort of feel like they are floating on jelly? Hamstrings both aching a bit too, but you know how I am, I have to by dying before I drop a run. The Garmin shows how easy I was taking it: connect.garmin.com/activity...

Only 6.1mph. 4.1 miles in 40 mins and 26 seconds. I did have a bit of trouble at the end as I'd taken a slightly different route from usual and managed to get myself a bit lost in the back streets at the end; I spent a couple of minutes jogging slowly around and up a big hill I'd never been up before trying to orientate myself!!

Anyway, tempo run tomorrow and 50 mins of it too! I really think it's going to be an effort of will, also, will see how the knees feel tomorrow.

CaroleC

woohoo. I did first run of week 5 c25k outside with my girls after school today. fantastic. brilliant. 3x 5mins. we all did it. sporty spice found it easy & 12 year old paced herself well but did find the second run difficult. she told me afterwards she was going so slow she was able to walk if she needed to

but knee hurts & 12 year old is complaining that her legs hurt behind the knee & her calf muscles are tight. lots of stretches found in my running books so hopefully they will help her & my knee will take care of itself. & lots of well earned pancakes for pancake day!!

carole, glad to hear you managed to get out for your run. just take it easy. you dont want to risk injury that puts you out of running for a while. is it wise to do a tempo run if your knees are a bit twitchy? especially after running tonight?

good luck with tomorrows run. got my nice easy 30min run so going to the gym for that one then finishing off with an aqua class with all the lovely old ladies.

X

Oh, aqua class with old ladies sounds lovely and relaxing after a run. Shelley, I'm going to see how the knees are...if they still feel weird I will do the run, but just take it easy, not do it as a tempo. The speed and tempo runs are about building speed, I just want to build a bit more endurance atm, especially going towards the 8 miler!! :S

hi carole. today was a disaster. it was sooooo hot in the gym & I missed my fan that I have set up when I run at home. I managed a whole 10mins & that was it. did do a few minutes of intervals running faster afterwards but felt very disheartened then did 10mins on bike & went swimming. aqua class cancelled so just swam for about 1/4 hr. not sure if it was hard after running outside yesterday as I dont normally run every day, or just so hot in the gym. & dont know whether to repeat this or just move on to the next run in the plan at the weekend...aaaaarrrghhhhh

Hi Shelley,

Ouch, sorry you had such a bad run! I know exactly what it's like. I am still debating on how to do mine this evening, knees still not brilliant.

I'm not sure what to advise on yours, I think it depends on how you feel. It's not set in stone so if you feel you need to repeat it then do that. However, I think we've both built up to a level of fitness where we can skip the very occasional run. My work filter won't let me check what you have next (it doesn't like the BUPA site for some reason). I say go with your gut feeling!!

Carole C

next run is a 6 mile timed run & I try to do the timed runs as tempo runs. then next week its 40mins then 2 lots of 60mins.

I am sure that I wont have any problems if I do them at home, but I also have 2x8mins & the big week 5 20min run with the girls this week. think if I do 60mins saturday & 20mins with girls sunday that will slot in nicely.

I still havent told them no 3 is 20mins. they think its 2lots of 10min. not sure if I should tell them or not. at the moment speedy doesnt even listen to the cool down walk, shes straight onto listening to one direction & just takes this in her stride & I think 12 year old would analyze it too much & get herself in a state (just like I did first time round). those pesky running demons

hope tonights run is ok. take care of those knees

Hi Shelley,

Knees still not feeling great so I've decided I'm not going out tonight; I'm going to save them for Friday's speed run and Sunday's 8 miles. They aren't exactly hurting me all the time, more like they just feel very weak and when I go up and down stairs they are quite sore then and I'm doing one step at a time trying to find a comfortable way to do it!

On my easy 40 mins last night I tried to pay attention to the advice on a website I found about how to protect them when running, not overstriding/heel striking, not lifting the thighs in front of you but rather leaning forwards and pulling your heels up more behind you to kick off. Concentrating when going downhills so that I didn't slam down them.

I think it's also partly due to the tempo/speed work I've been doing and the increased mileage with the four runs a week as well as longer runs on Sunday. I know when I started on the B210k I had a few days when they felt like this - you probably remember me moaning about it, but eventually they were ok, and they will be again with care.

With much deliberating, I think it's better to be prudent and be able to carry on with the programme without injury, than be obstinate and try to stick to the programme to the letter. I read somewhere else that the world won't come to an end if we miss out on a training session. I think that might even be true!!

CaroleC

good idea carole. about a month after c25k I did an interval run using week 1 & running fast on the running bits & then after thought I would try running with the incline set quite high. felt great at the time but the following morning I got out of bed & one knee clicked. I did still try running on it as I thought that would "warm it up" & make it better. wrong. had to take a month out of running & stairs were exactly as you are describing. I think you are right to make sure they feel ok again. possibly the big increase is causing the niggles ~ think that running almost every day each week is making an impact to me 5 o'clock lull is back with a vengance!

I do youth mentoring once a week and went to the gym with my mentee. However I stayed off the treadmill and used the crosstrainer, the cycle and the rowing machine for aerobic workouts and the weights, paying particular attention to some strengthening on the knees. 45 minutes in the gym, so felt I'd done a little bit today!

CaroleC

Oh dear, oh dear lol.

We're going out at 6.30pm tonight SOOOOO...the run had to be done this morning!!

By some incredible superhuman effort of will I dragged myself out of bed at 5.45am this morning to get out the door by 6am and get on with my 40 minute speed run. I ran to Wk 1 of the C25K programme; that is, 60 second bursts of "speed" (ha!!) followed by 90 second recovery jogs. I built in three hills as well. My knees had me hobbling for the first five minutes until I warmed up and found the pace that doesn't hurt!

Then I messed up the Garmin timing by thinking I'd pressed the stop button but hadn't pressed it firmly enough and it was still timing me after a minute's walk back. Anyway, it was 6.2mph, 4.13 miles in 40 mins and 11 secs up to the time I stopped running. Not great, not where I've been in previous "speed" sessons. Not sure what the problem is, but could be hormones and overtraining.

Incredibly hard work this morning tho'. I spent all last night awake on and off with night sweats (flipping menopause, seeing the Dr next week for HRT!!!) and had more hot flushes throughout the run. For the first time ever, I actually tipped a bottle of water over myself at 29 mins of running, over my head and down inside my tshirt back and front. Good job it was dark and quiet with nobody around!!!

I'm keeping fingers crossed that the eight miles on Sunday goes ok.

Good news, hubby is back running after his week+ off with his heavy cold. He was up to Wk6/7 when he stopped and did not use the podcast this time but ran to his own stuff using the timings. He was a bit stiff this morning after his week off but was very happy to have got back out there!

Keep on keep on running!!

CaroleC

hi carole. how did you get on today?

I havent run since my disaster run on wednesday so wasnt sure how it would go today. son had a birthday party at 12 so was a bit pushed for time so decided to do 30mins. once I got running I kept upping the speed. I suppose I wanted to prove to myself I could still run. silly I know. anyways, I did 5k in 28mins & 4seconds. my best yet. finished with a great big grin & a bright red face

have decided that I will see how I feel on my next run. if I stick to the plan it is 60mins but the run after that is 45mins. might do the 45mins as week 9 has 2 60min runs anyway.

am also out again with my girls tomorrow for the 2x8mins & so the next run after that will be a massive 20mins with them. not looking forward to that one.

went for a treadmill analysis as my left shin is playing me up after running outside & I overpronate on my left foot & need new trainers. the same ones as my daughter, except the next size up. shop didnt have them so they have been ordered off ebay & should be here tuesdayish. also managed to get a sportsbra that fits perfectly ~ yippee, but that set me back £37!

this running lark is an expensive thing isnt it?

Hi Shelley,

Yes, running can be expensive, especially us poor women who need sports bras! I don't have much up top but it still needs a little support!!

All day, while I've been scrubbing out my chicken coop, cleaning out the greenhouse, hanging out two loads of washing etc I'd been thinking about the eight miles I had to do. OH did over 30 mins on his exercise bike as his aerobic workout tonight to try and protect one of his knees which is a bit dodgy - I bit the bullet and went out the door.

Fifteen minutes in my extra layer came off, I ran round the upper part of Saltash and over the Tamar Bridge into Devon, right down to Devonport Army Barracks, quick loop around a lamp post, and back up the road and into Cornwall again.

Here are the stats, connect.garmin.com/activity...

It comes out at 6.3mph which I was quite pleased about for an 8 mile distance. 8 miles in 1hr 17 mins. I stopped the Garmin and walked for a minute to get my breath back as I'd finished on a long gradient. Then did a slow jog the last half mile home. My target had been 1hr15min so I was a little disappointed but heyho, I did the run and if anyone had told me last September that I could run 8 miles straight off I'd have phoned for the men in white coats to come and take them away!

Spent a while stretching out, but can feel my legs stiffening up as I sit here.

OH did have our evening meal ready for me by the time I'd had my shower!!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

oh well done carole. thats brilliant. & that time aswell. I am very jealous. 6 miles takes me 63mins at best, so your time is fantastic

how did you find the extra 2 miles? was it a big effort or had you got into the swing of things by then?

was the weather nice today where you are. it has been absolutely beautiful here on the south-east coast. lots of people in tshirts haha. & on the beach aswell. mad.

enjoy your relaxation. you arent out tomorrow aswell are you?

& liking the new notification thingy. I got an email to say you had posted

X

Hi Shelley,

I like the email notification as well. Yes, the weather was ok, mostly for the first part of the day, then it clouded over a bit. By the time I was running (about 6pm) it was comfortably cool and fine for running once I'd warmed up and got my top layer off.

I ran back up the hill from St Budeaux in Plymouth towards the Tamar Bridge at a much faster rate and feeling much more comfortable than the last time I tried it. This was about the 6.5m mark. I said to my OH when I got in that I am obviously and endurance runner rather than a speed one as I felt at that point I could have gone on for much longer. By the time I'd gone up the last gradient towards the 8 mile mark I was ready to stop though.

Feeling that I probably can do 10 miles in a fortnight! Next week is another 8 miles, then the week after it is the 10. The Sunday after that it's 6 miles at race pace, and the last week is 10 again.

What after that then??

CaroleC

hi carole

45 minutes today. meant to be 40 but forgot! was just a nice steady run at 6mph all the way. joy

did 2x8 mins outside with the girls last night. more joy!

have decided that once I have finished this program then I am gonna concentrate on the outdoors. am finding it quite inspiring & want to get back out there. big 20 min run at the weekend. girls want to repeat their last run on the treadmill & Im not sure if my legs could cope yet anyways.

got my new swanky trainers today. may have a treadmill run on them thursday or save them as they will be my outside shoes. oh they are ugly. arent running trainers ugly. they look like boats on me!

so you have to do 10miles twice on your program? on week 9 I have a 90min run so if Im close to that magic 10miles & Im feeling up to it I think I may carry on for the 10. if I manage it that will be the end of my bupa plan.

talk soon. shelley x

Hi Shelley,

That's a good run you had today, isn't it nice when you just want to keep going? Can you remember when we started and we were dying after five minutes??

I ran my 40 mins easy last night but didn't get time to post about it as I was being taken out for a comedy show at the Uni almost straight after showering and eating. I too ran over the 40 mins: 4.7 miles in 44 mins and 46 seconds. 6.4 mph, 9.4 min miles. I was very happy with that seeing as it was supposed to be easy, and it felt easy too. I was really enjoying myself although it's so mild I was really hot again. No real struggles, not even up the hills. Knees didn't feel too bad despite the left one feeling tight so that I can't kneel right down (where you put your heels on your bum I mean) on the floor. They are positively creaking when I go up and down stairs.

I've decided I'm going to cut one of my four runs. I'm supposed to run Tues, Wed, Fridays and Sundays with the Tues being "easy", the Wed being "tempo", Friday's "speed" and Sunday being the long run. I think my knees have been playing up by having a tempo session just the day after the easy one, and then trying to do an interval/fartlek/hill session just two days after that. I'm going to amalgamate my tempo and speed sessions to one run either on a Thursday or Friday (depending on another commitment I have) when I'll decide if it's tempo or speed. The other two runs will stay as they are. I'm hoping this will give me knees more time to strengthen up! I can always put a run back in when I feel I can cope with it.

What are we going to do after this? I saw my Dr today (for HRT advice) and told him I was running and had run 8 miles on Sunday. He was very pleased to see I was "looking after my joint health re osteoporosis" and my weight and blood pressure were very good. Once I've hit 10 miles I'm going to keep up a long run once a week and two other runs as well. I want to be able to pick up a half marathon if something comes up in the Summer, I am desperate to do one just so I can say I've done it!

I'm glad that you are enjoying the outdoor running, it's only going to get better as the weather improves. Laughed at your comment re "ugly trainers". I never thought of them that way; what do you usually run in??

CaroleC

haha I normally run in my slippers

no, seriously I have basic adidas duramo 3 trainers for inside. nothing shocking but I would prefer converse style trainers, but, alas they dont do them in that style!.

also having to go up a size to keep my toenails doesnt help. I may be 5'8 but size 8 running trainers are eyuck. my swanky new trainers are asics gt2160s ~ they sound like a sports car with hot pink splashes & what looks like a net wash bag hidden underneath the stitching (you know, the net bag that you are supposed to put your delicates in).

I will just have to get running outdoors on a muddy day & make them dirty

I think that losing a day should help with your knees. mine play up when I cut out fabric on the floor. I have wooden floorboards in my workroom so have invested in boxing knee pads & they are great. why on earth are you kneeling on the floor?

I dont know how you can run consecutive days anyway. & your plan calls for lots more running than me. I have 2 60min runs this week left to do. what do you have?

& how is hubby getting on? he must be nearing the end of c25k now.

X

I was kneeling on the floor to prove that I could! I won't tell you how I found I couldn't! :S (TMI)

Hubby is having problems with his knee, he bought a fancy knee brace but it's not helping atm. Hopefully he will get back out there soon; meantime he is using his exercise bike.

I know what you mean re the "netting". Mine are like that too. Were they expensive, your ugly new trainers? I went up a size too, (to a 7) to protect my toe nails, but despite there being plenty of room in the toebox, and not feeling any discomfort at all when I'm running, I still have one very black toenail (the one on my left foot next to my big toe) and two mucky thick looking nails on the other foot, (same toe plus the one next to it). These toes are NOT longer than my big toe, so how does that work??

I am going to do 40 mins speed on Friday ( I have gym with mentee tomorrow so will be on the cross trainer, rowing machine, etc plus weights) and then eight miles again on Sunday (can't wait for that one, hope to do a better time than last week).

Keep running!

CaroleC

carole, you will have to do what I did last year. it was about july when I lost my toenails. the ones next to my big toe (they are longer thought). I like to wear sandals so I painted my toe where the nail should be luckily both have grown back & you wouldnt know that they were on holiday last summer.

listen to you ~ hope to do a better time than last week! wow, I just HOPE to be able to do 8 miles hehe

ugly new trainers. in the shop £65. ebay running shop £28. last years colours apparently.

looking forward to the weekend now to get them dirty & find some big muddy puddles

talking of mud, my treadmill is backed up to a wall & I had to move it a bit today & there is a pile of mud & crap on the floor at the end. more eyuck!

swanky new trainers at the ready & go...

60mins running. mostly at 5.8mph apart from the last 10mins when I upped it to 6.5mph. 5.9miles run. but boy was it hard today. I had been dreading this run anyway. was supposed to do it yesterday but 2 late nights on the trot & felt knackered so went back to bed after the school run for a couple of hours kip (felt very guilty, this isnt something I normally do). then planned to have a go in the afternoon but had to take 15year old to A&E with suspected fractured hand ~ angry daughter who hits the wall instead of her sisters no fracture but 4 hours spent at hospital...

next run is another 60min but feel ready for that now.

I downloaded ministry of sound run to the beat 2010 & very much enjoying listening to that.

am a bit unenthusiastic with the 10mile plan now. I think it is because all the runs seem so long now. still, only another 10 runs to go

& new trainers felt weird on my feet. definately corrected the shin pain but my toes felt long & bendy & finished with cramp like feeling behind the left knee, which did stretch out ok.

good luck today with the speed work. X

Hi Shelley,

You can waste an awful lot of time in hospitals! Glad your daughter was ok.

Hmmm, must go and look for the Ministry of Sound music, I am getting a bit fed up running to the same stuff all the time.

We are going out tonight almost straight from getting home from work so I had to drag myself out of bed to be out by just after 6am this morning for my 40 mins mixed speed/tempo run. It was cold, not dark but foggy!! I had my hi vis vest on and my flashing armband, didn't want to get hit in the mist!

Here is a very odd thing - I'm posting from my last few minutes in a very quiet reception at work, so I can't post the Garmin stats, but I can tell you that 40 mins tempo/speed, done as two tracks of the mp3 player as a warm up, then fast one track, easy the next for 6 tracks, then the last two tracks cool down, comes out at 6.3mph!! How does that work against a 40 mins "easy" which comes out at 6.4mph?? Surely my faster intervals should have knocked it the other way. I just don't get it? The only thing I can think of is that I'm not so good at 6am; and it DID seem like enormously hard work this morning as I was trying to maintain the faster pace on hills as well, the sweat was pouring off me. My 40 min easy was done on Tuesday evening after work. Hair was soaking wet but that was within five mins of going out with the damp fog on it.

Anyway, that's Wk9R2/3 done, 8 miles on Sunday - here I come!!

Keep running!

Hi,

Just refound the thread- yay! Sounds like you're both making excellent progress! Carole- sorry to hear about the black toe nails, my friend lost some of her nails from running last year- the extra room at the end of your trainers is suppose to help- you should have a thumb width distance. I'm currently waiting on a new pair of trainers, well getting 2 pairs as there's an offer in the shop. Sorry to hear about the hot flushes, my friend from work is currently swaering by putting a magnet in her underwear to stave off symptoms n my dad's OH swears by hemp seed capsules.

I'm plannig on a 8 miler tomorrow- will probably take me like 1hr 45- will definately need a sports drink with me to keep me going. Only 4 weeks now to the big race- arrh. I did manage to to move house last weekend so missed my long run but hopefully should be okay.

X x

a magnet in your pants!! thats one to remember

good luck you two with your 8 milers

havent run today as supposed to cause am just soooooo tired at the moment. have been all week. time to get back into healthy eating I think...

Hi- oh dear- didn't do 8 miles today- was all rainy n cold n don't have proper water proofs so just did 2.5 so better than nothing.

Yeah magnet in her pants- she bought it off amazon but then lost a part of it so has been using a fridge magnet since she's a bit of a character.

X

Hi guys!

Ok, I did it, I didn't WANT to, lol, it was freezing cold, very windy and had been raining this morning. We went out this morning to get some grocery shopping done, and because we were out last night (dinner and theatre) and had had wine, cocktails etc, I wasn't hungover, but just tired (nightsweats again last night, fed up with it now, might have to try the knicker magnets/hemp seed!!) thanks to the late night and lack of sleep. I tried to have a nap this afternoon but then we had a visitor and I thought it was rude to stay upstairs while the OH entertained so down I came for a chat. For two pins I'd have stayed there too, but some sort of demon sits on my shoulder and has "strong words" if I don't do what the programme says!

Eventually I managed to get changed and got out the door after 4pm.

So here we go, over the hills and far away into Devon and back: connect.garmin.com/activity...

6.3mph, but I did manage to knock 34 seconds off last week's time so I was happy with that, although it seemed like very, very hard work battling up the last hill to home under the mental stopwatch to hit 1hr 16 mins and 23 seconds!

I stopped the Garmin, walked for a couple of hundred yards to get my breath back then jogged slowly home. Shattered now, but it's over 800 calories burned so am enjoying a guilt free tea.

its horrible out there. go girl!! & you broke your record aswell. woop woop.

my demons have been very noisy so have penciled in my run for 8am tomorrow morning as hubby is doing the school run. must admit I am itching to run now which is a good sign.

my girls repeated their wk5r2 tonight & both were fantastic & pleased with themselves ~ I think they were determined to sort of beat each other & sporty spice needed to prove to herself that she could do it again! big run down for tuesday now, weather permitting hehe

enjoy your feast

did it. didnt run at 8 as planned but it wasnt long after!

did my hour run. first 5 mins my right leg felt a bit strange from the knee down (swanky new trainers) but once I got into it this run was great & I felt as if I was running on air took less than 10mins to settle into todays run but I could have stopped any time during the last 5mins.

5.9mph so 5.9miles run little 1 percent incline which was upped to 2 at points where I could hear my feet plodding hehe

so thats week 9 all done now. roll on week 10

its amazing. today I felt as if I wanted to do a half marathon ~ a first for me! but will have to wait & see how I cope with 8 miles first.

Hi Shelley,

Well I certainly took it easy tonight - and every time I found myself speeding up, I slowed myself down, so I ended up doing 45 mins+ at 5.9mph, and did 4.55 miles. Quite nice mild night and felt ok. One group of the local running club ran past me at a good pace, but still light enough for them to be chatting to each other; then I passed another two of their groups going the other way a bit slower.

Friday will be 40 mins tempo. Then Sunday it's the first big ten miles. I know I can do it, but no idea what time I'll manage it in.

sounds like a nice easy run tonight

I dont think I could go any slower if I tried especially after this afternoons run.

we did it. 20mins outside. woohoo. 3 big smiles on the way home. 12 year old ran further than us as she had to keep running in circles while we caught up with her, then she'd just run away again!

hips on this old girl moaning ~ must be my age as my youthful daughters are just feeling overjoyed with their achievement. haha & they thought I was joking earlier when I announced that today was 20 minutes without stopping hehe

if hips still moany in the morning will put off week 10 til thursday morning.

off to bed early me thinks. need a good nights sleep to recover

happy running xXx

ha. no running today as was back to A&E at 10pm with 15 year old who we thought may have had 2 severe reactions to medication that she has just started. not home til 2.30am & up again at 7 to get other children up for school. daughter fine (still has blinding migraine type head) but given the ok with a "come back if it doesnt get better" from the dr. just thought Id have a look around & see if you had posted anything tonight carole before I head for the land of nod...

Yay I've found your thread again! Blimey you're doing great - keep it up! I'll add this to my favourites on IE so I can keep track - it's a good read

<<<<<<waves to Kate, hi Kate!! Glad you found us; it's a real pain the way the blog just disappears further and further awaaaaaayyyy!!!

hi carole

supposed to be 45mins but miscalculated my route & plotted it as a walk instead of a jog!

went outside ~ feeling confident ~ did my 5min warmup walk on the treadmill then walked up the hill & started running at the top of the road. stopped after about 5mins just to take my jacket off then started up again. ran for another 22mins then walked/ran the rest of the way home as by then most of it was uphill. damm those hills. wow, arent they hard?!! it felt great being outside & luckily for me the sun was shining over the flat sea & it looked beautiful. covered 3.11m exactly (5K) from the top of my road back to outside my house. feeling quite chuffed with myself. in total was out for 36mins.

have noticed that running downhill is about the same as running on the treadmill, effort wise. I suppose the ground comes back to your feet without as much effort as uphill or on the flat.

even ran on an incline, except it was sideways instead of upwards. thats hard on the ankles & I was really aware of trying not to get an injury.

lots of people walking dogs who moved out of my way before I got to them so I think they either heard my feet slapping the ground or my heavy breathing

Lol, Shelley, people hear me coming from about a mile away! I normally have my music on loud so I can't hear myself, but they know I'm on my way unless it's a youngster who is plugged into their own music, then, if I'm approaching them from behind I have to yell "EXCUSE ME!!" to get them to shift.

Trying to make up my mind when to run tomorrow; if I am feeling motivated (hahaha) I will get out at 5.30am and get it out of the way before work, if not, I know I'll only be fretting over it all day, and it's 40 mins speed work or tempo. Was thinking I might dig out one of the first B210K podcasts and do some ten minute tempo bits?

I have only just seen your post up top late re your 15 yr old's allergic reaction!! I hope she is ok now, you must have been worried sick.

Well done on getting out today after that late night, were you not exhausted??? It was nice weather for a run tonight, but I had my youth mentoring to do after work and we didn't do the gym this evening as he didn't feel like it but went for a long walk and catch up chat instead. I was thinking about what you said on what walking burns calorie wise and we were going up a steep hill but I certainly didn't feel like I was working!!

Anyway, I will be posting about a run tomorrow at some point; I can feel the ten miler on Sunday looming its long shadow over me, am I going to be able to do it???

Fingers crossed, (but not toes or I'll fall over!!)

carole, do you stop for a walk, even just to catch your breath, whilst you do the longer runs?

my next hurdle is to be able to do the whole run I did today, minus the hill, in one go. then, & only then will I tackle that big hill

I felt guilty stopping even though it really was for between 30-60seconds (I kept a close eye on the stopwatch).

15 year old fine now. headache almost gone & breathing fine. lots of viral infections going round so maybe it was just co-incidental with her starting her medication. yes, was very frightened, especially when lady at nhs direct said that if she stopped breathing in the car on the way to A&E I was to call an ambulance immediately!!

Hi Shelley,

Glad your teenager is feeling better now. Scary isn't it when they get poorly?

I went out just before 6pm tonight ready for 40 mins speedwork. I had been looking forward to it as it seemed a long time since my recovery run on Tuesday. Well, it all seemed very hard work, couldn't seem to get going. Legs and knees felt fine, lungs were really struggling?? I couldn't seem to get enough air into myself to keep up the speed parts. I ran to wk2 of C25k which is 90 second fast runs and 2 minute slow runs.

connect.garmin.com/activity...

Barely 6.2mph, very depressing, whatever is wrong with me?? 4.5miles in distance. I'm wondering if I'm going off the boil and need to step back up to 4 runs a week?

I am on these hormone pills now, for HRT, possibly this has knocked me off my game a little?

I hope that this is just a blip and that I can get going again, especially with the ten miles coming up on Sunday.

To answer your question, no, I don't stop on the long runs, I slow down a little when I need to on hills etc, but I don't walk, I daren't as I wouldn't want to start again, especially as it gets near the end.

Good luck with your next run Shelley, I'll be waiting for your next post.

(ps, had big netbook probs last night, and I think it's holding on by a thread, so if I disappear for a day or two, you will know why!)

Ouch, ouch, ouch and ouch a wee bit more! Started out at 6pm. connect.garmin.com/activity...

I was trying to beat 1hr 40min. Mistake - did not take fluids/water with me, STUPID!!

About three miles in my right lower shin and ankle area started hurting, but I was out there so I was going to keep going after geeing myself up for this all day (and the whole week!). At 30 mins in I was at 3.17 miles, at 60 mins in I was at 6.11 or so, but after that I slowed down a bit. Right leg was still hurting, and it was all getting painful. I went past last week's 8 mile mark (didn't go over the bridge so it was a different route altogether) at about 1hr19 (last week was 1hr16 and some seconds). After that it all just got much tougher and I scraped in at just over the 1.40hr, 5.9mph.

Around the 4-5 mile mark I was feeling mentally ok, the ankle was hurting, but the adrenaline had kicked in and so it didn't feel so bad then, however it was bad when I stopped, and I literally limped home across the football field.

Had to ice up my right knee and ankle on coming in, water, lucozade sport lite, stretching, shower. Then some food. So tired!!! At least just over 1000 cals burned so that's good.

My ankle is very painful, and I just hope that it doesn't swell up overnight. Not quite sure what I did to it as I wasn't going particularly fast??

Tuesday is 40 mins easy/recovery again. Really hope I will be ok to do it.

This was a tough run - no getting away from it.

I hope you're ok, not seen you about for a day or two???

(still smiling somehow lol)

woohoo carole. 10miles you did it woopwoop!!

sounds like it was tough though. I really hope you havent done yourself an injury

havent run. to be honest, running outside has awakened all these new muscles in my bum & coupled with being glued to my chair & workroom with 2 bolero jackets & a magicians cloak on the go, has kept me away from running.

tomorrow morning, after dropping off the boleros I will do my 5mile run, inside, on the treadmill am quite looking forward to it.

magicians cloak ready for a fitting & daughter has washed kitchen walls so painting tomorrow aswell.

what fun...

happy running/resting!! & again, a big well done to you carole X

Hi Shelley,

Your sewing sounds like fun - I do a bit of machining occasionally, curtains etc.

Drank so much on coming in from my run last night that I was up twice in the night to go to the loo. The first time I hobbled in, ankle throbbing. The second time I could hardly put weight on it at all and didn't get back to sleep for an hour and a half with the pain. Started thinking all sorts of dire thoughts about stress fractures lol and wondering where the nearest x-ray unit was!! Oh the dark thoughts we think in the wee small hours when everything hurts!!

Anyway, this morning, the ankle does look a wee bit swollen but around the other side from where I'm feeling it, which is on the inside up and down around the inner ankle bone. Am just going to take it very easy and get our brilliant first aider at school to strap me up when I get in...I'm not good with support bandages.

Just hobbled out to sort the chickens out and now off for my shower and work. I won't be running my recovery run on Tuesday unless I have some sort of miracle cure. This might be a week or two off...and no sympathy from the OH as he's been telling me for weeks that it'll end in tears with the longer runs lol.

Oh no Carole! Sorry about your ankle I hope it gets better soon. Well done on reaching the 10 miles though

hi carole

managed to get on the treadmill this morning for week 10, run 2. 5miles. took me 48mins to do this. did first 25mins at 6mph then upped speed up & down between 6.3 & 6.8mph. was a lovely run till about half way through where I felt Id just had enough. did push through the dreaded demons who kept saying "just turn it off!!"

so, now just 8miles to do

take care & rest up. shelley x

today was supposed to be 8miles. Im feeling a bit run down ~ late nights, early mornings & painting & now a cold to top it all so decided not to tackle the 8miles today. it was a toss up between going back to bed or going for a run. sun was out so the run won.

went outside again. did the same route as last time. took me a couple of minutes less today so more running than walking & did manage to make a start on that big hill. ran 1 lamp-post, walked 2 then ran 2 til it was over with then ran the rest of the way home through the park & along the clifftop overlooking the beach & the harbour.

I didnt really have time to take in the scenery as was too busy looking ahead of me, especially on that big hill. but the smells were fantastic once my snotty nose had cleared. smells of spring

got back 90mins ago. still have bright red face but did fall asleep in the bath. hoping that its not suntan!! I have quite sensitive skin so I know I wont be able to run in sunscreen without it sweating off or bringing my face out in a rash.

Im now gonna be one of those people heading for the shops for a bumbag, haha & a baseball cap (been 30 years since I wore one of those).

looking good

hope you are getting better carole. take care. shelley x

Hi Carole

woohoo I just ran 8miles. it was a brilliant run. no running demons at all today. took me 84mins & 3seconds. not very fast. a nice easy 5.7mph & a little faster at the end. I still cant believe I did it.

Ive got 40mins as my next run so I am going to do that outside & I WILL finish this program. I am determined to do so now. I have really enjoyed running outside but as I only have another 6 runs til the end of the bupa program Im gonna concentrate on this first. then I can get outside a bit more

hope that ankle is holding up & its not too long before you are back running.

carole, what are you planning next??

X

Hi Shelley,

Well the ankle is still a little swollen and still a lot painful so I really don't know what to do with myself. I'm going to start using OH's exercise bike to keep my aerobic fitness up for another week until I dare try the roads again. I can't do another ten miles for a while that's for sure. I will have to ease myself in by doing 5ks 3 times a week for a week or two until I'm happy with the foot/ankle. I saw my chiropracter tonight for my regular monthly manipulation and he told me has just started a sports masseuse and sports injury therapist two mornings a week, soooo, what I thought I might do, is if the ankle is still hurting at the end of next week when I finish up at school for two weeks, I'll see him the following Tuesday for a consultation and see what he recommends. I am hoping that it won't come to that as he charges £30 for the first consultation and god only knows what for subsequent treatments!!

Anyway, sorry, terrible manners! Congratulations on the eight miles, that is a big step isn't it?? A good time too, you are making me jealous, I want to be out there!! Did you see my answer to your rear end pain??

Carole

yes I did, thanks carole. will look into stretching more. tis ok now just dull ache yesterday. the back of my right knee feels really tight & knotted today. am joining you & wearing a stretchy bandage over the knee area.

& me & the girls will sign up for a race for life on 29 july. just waiting for them to come home from school then we will join up as a "group" hopefully.

sorry to hear the ankle doesnt seem any better. it must be very frustrating. do you have a local college that does sports science/therapy. we have one that offers free treatments so that the sports students get to try out their stuff. I have friends that have used this for personal training & massages & had their hair/nails done cheaply by students. perhaps this might be another option. Im sure everything is overseen by a tutor.

how long now til you hope to be back running? are you still hobbling or can you put pressure on it yet?

take care. shelley x

Hi Shelley,

I am doing lots of stretching and flexing of the joint to try and loosen things up. Sometimes I'm convinced it feels better and sometimes (like now while I'm sitting her typing this) it just throbs. I can bear weight on it, and if I really try I can walk normally, but it's in the pushing off part of the walk that it hurts. When I push off pain shoots up the inside of my ankle and around the inside ankle bone. Sometimes it goes right up the inside of the shin. I am going to have a go on OH's exercise bike tonight - I was going to last night but we have a sickly chicken and by the time I'd done my nursing bit and bedded her down for the night it was time to cook dinner for everyone (two of my sons are staying over and they are hungry lads!)

I am really hoping that another week's rest will help things along.

CaroleC

have just got back from a run outside listening to the new audiofuel male laura podcast. it was very good. also the warmup was good as it makes you run slower so I can appreciate now what you were saying about "recovery" running. it actually felt nice & easy to run slower.

anyways, just plotted my run & it was 3.6miles in 40minutes. I even tackled my big hill. got up to 3 lamp-posts this time, walked 2 & ran the others & another hill into the park & all the way home. Im quite happy with that. 31miinutes running in one hit. 2 minute walk then another 9 minutes to take me to my 40 for week 11, run 1. I felt that if I hadnt had that big hill I could have run the whole 40 minutes in one go, maybe more.

sun was shining ~ what more could you ask for

how did your ankle hold up on the exercise bike? & being nosey now, how many children do you have carole?

Hi Shelley,

Audiofuel male Laura? What am I missing?? Can't wait to get out again on the road. I was driving home tonight thinking what a beautiful evening it was and that I wanted to be out running.

I have a confession to make, I haven't yet made it to the exercise bike. Been nursing a sick chook for two days on getting home, making sure she had yoghurt, olive oil (crop impaction and candida) and plenty of massage of the impacted lump. Got her to the vet tonight and had to wait ages while she sat with her head out of the top of the box looking at everything and all the cats and dogs looking at her!! By the time we got her meds (Nystatin for the candida), nipped to the shop for bread and I got home and cooked tea for everyone (still have one son here) it is just now 8pm and I'm far too full to do anything lol.

I am mentoring tomorrow and have a gym visit so will be doing everything except anything that stresses that joint - ankle still very sore and I had to walk down into town today at lunchtime from work to pick up maggots for the chook as they are the best thing for eating out an impaction, and the walk really made it throb.

Friday evening we are out, so I'm going to try the exercise bike in the gym tomorrow, no excuses, i will be there!

Good news is that our school have just opened a new fitness suite and staff can use it really cheap/almost free. Another member of staff and I have our induction booked for next Monday!! It will be idea for next winter if we get snow, I can use the treadmill there.

I have three sons, eldest 24 lives with his dad (1st hubby) while looking for work that will use his very expensive degree! Second one is 22 and lives in Plymouth while studying law at uni there, and the third one is 18 and is at Southampton uni studying physics. He's over here for his easter holidays. At least I have a chicken sitter while we go away to Cardiff this weekend for a big concert. We are staying over at Caerphilly Sat night and visiting the castle etc.

Anyway, just watching Dirk Gently, so I will catch you again soon!!

CaroleC

Hi Shelley,

Did the gym thing tonight (45 mins total) and the exercise bike in there was fine, as was the rowing machine and all the weights (as long as I took it easy on any weight machine that affected the leg/ankle area). The only thing that made my ankle hurt was the cross trainer; must be something to do with the action needed to make it move if you're not using your arms too hard.

I tried running a hundred yards after dropping my young person home and it is still hurting even though I have been stretching the joint a lot in the last 48 hours.

Today is the first day I've been able to walk normally without limping - although as I said above, it is still hurting and I know it's there, but I can do the normal walk.

We will be doing a lot of walking in Wales at the weekend - I am really hoping to make a start back to running next week, maybe just go back to W5R3 of the C25k to see how trying twenty minutes feels. I am fine with working my way back up again - I was shattered after only 8 mins fast on the crosstrainer tonight, sweat running off me - I can really feel the aerobic fitness draining away!!! I cannot believe it is less than two weeks since I could do ten miles. Saying all that, my knees are feeling the best they have done since I did the B210K!!

Good luck with your next run Shelley and I will check back here soon!

CaroleC

week 11, run 2 ~ 60mins

did this outside today. it was brilliant. sunny & kept in the shade where I could. 2.2miles to little boys school & did that in 22mins. overall did 5.3miles in my 60mins. walked for a min at 49mins as big hill just toooo big to handle. carried on running & was surprised to find that at 55mins I found my stride. everything just fell into place & even jogged up hills the same as jogging down them (long strong strides). at 61min mark stopped & legs went to jelly!! it just didnt feel normal walking. legs ache behind knees & did lots & lots of stretching before my power nap in the bath zzzzzzzzz

awake now & feeling refreshed but still with red face 2 hours after getting home. luckily legs happier now

good luck wednesday carole. X

week 11, run 2. should have been 90mins but just not feeling up to it. my last run was for an hour outside & body just not used to outside yet. am now gonna have 2 days rest & sunday will step back on the treadmill for the 90mins. I have plotted an outside 10mile run for next week but with this sunny weather I need to get a baseball cap first. you should see my freckles!

decided that I would run to Broadstairs the road way (oh no, someone might see me!) then along the clifftop back & through the park. this worked fine. the road way is mainly uphill. nothing major to look at but a long gradual hill about 3/4 mile long. I can only look about 6' in front of me as otherwise I just wanna give up.

now, that big hill. last time managed 2 lamp-posts. today did 3. it had better watch out. its only one more lamp-post to the top of that big hill so I walked for just a minute. got my breath back & ran the rest of the way home, which included another big hill which was run with baby steps hehe but I did win that hill.

I read on here about putting your hands on your head after a run as this opens up your lungs. I think it works. looked a bit daft though & nearly poured my drink over my head

good luck tonight carole. cant wait to hear how you get on. X

3.5miles in 41mins with 1min walk included ~ slow but steady

hiya. went out this morning. couldnt face the thought of a 90min treadmill run. ran 5k in 36 mins with about 90seconds walking on the big hill. body not happy about todays run. legs felt really heavy, but I did it

now, this 10mile plan. I think Im gonna give the rest of the plan a miss & work back up to it outside. I am sooooo enjoying the change. I do have a 10mile route planned so once Ive done another hour run outside I will think about doing that route.

hubby has bought me a garmin forerunner 110 but it wont be here til after easter as lady is away til friday so wont be able to post til then. (ebay) Im so excited!!

question though carole. does it tell you how far youve run while youre running? I just wondered as I didnt want to think Id run 10miles then find that once I got home & plugged the watch in it was only 9.5. if Im planning to run 10miles then I wanna get it right

& talking about long distance, did you see that Jen is running a half marathon today?? wonder how she got on.

enjoy the rest of the weekend. X

Hi Shelley,

I didn't run on Wednesday (did a walk with my mentee instead) but went out with hubby on Thursday night and we did the lanes all around 3.5 miles nice and easy. There were a few hills (one extremely steep one) which we walked. I was going to do a half hour 5k yesterday (ankle feels fine btw!) but OH had planned a long bike ride for us both up over Dartmoor with lunch at our mid point destination and then a ride back down to Plymouth again. connect.garmin.com/player/1... for today.

We had bought a new roof rack for my little car and two bike rack things to sit on top of that so that the bikes stood upright on the roof. We were doing just fine driving to the start point (Plymouth) when hubby tried to drive into the park and ride carpark at Coypool (start of the cycle trail north to Horrabridge) and seemed not to hear me saying that the height restriction bar on the carpark seemed a little low!! Needless to say he managed to knock his bike completely off the top of the car and mine went down sideways onto the roof. We were scared to get out to see what damage had been done!!! In the end, apart from an old penny sized dent in my roof and one other slight indentation nothing much had happened to the car. It's going to take a very long time before he lives this one down I can tell you!!

Anyway in the end, we did about 24 miles (the Garmin says less but that's due to me forgetting to start and stop it when I should have!!) Legs ache, bum hurts, but apparently we burned 2000 calories so that's ok then!!

I am off school for two weeks now so will definitely be back out on the road, and will be slowly working up to the ten miles again. I need to work back up slowly and not hurt myself again.

Oh, your question about the Garmin. Yes it tracks your distance, time spent out and average pace as you go. You strap it on, turn it on, and once outside press the bottom left button for it to start searching for satellites. Normally by the time I've walked (warm up walk!) a couple of hundred yards (or less) down the road it has found them and I can press the stopwatch start button and get going. It's a brilliant little machine and I used mine (as I posted) on my bike ride today as well. The Garmin Connect software lets you choose your sport when you attach it to your pc, so you can choose running, walking, cycling etc. It's supposed to be waterproof to a metre as well if you wanted to swim with it but I'm not sure if I would trust it for that.