I am due to run Run 2 of Week 6 today. Weather is not great though so trying to find the motivation to get out there! I also got new running shoes that need breaking in after my visit to the Sweatshop on Sunday
I was running 3 times a week until the beginning of November. Then due to being away a lot with work at conferences and meetings I fell away from regular running. I got out during Christmas and New Year but my fitness has fallen away. I can no longer run 5K without a walking break or two. I decided to do a challenge to get back into the swing of things.
I have entered a Challenge online to do 5K everyday for the month of January. 5K can be done by running, Jogging or Walking. I plan to run 5K every second day and walk 5K every alternate day. The challenge is for a Charity for Mental Health. On the 28th of January everyone doing the challenge meets up in the Midlands in Ireland to run, jog or walk 5K, donate €30 and receive a T-Shirt.
Ran and walked 5K yesterday and Walked my 5K today. Day one and two ✅ done. 5K run tomorrow. It will be a great way to run off the excess of Christmas and the last 2 months. It will also help me get back some fitness, speed and shed some of the excess weight I acquired over the last few weeks.
Had to do two runs on consecutive days to fit in enough runs this week. Yesterday W8R2 28 mins and today W8R3 30 mins. Not recommended. My legs know all about it right now! Week 9 next and 3 x 30 mins.
I’m just starting out W1R3 done.. I decided to do my run the day of New Year’s Eve so I could have New Year’s Day off. So far so good. 3 runs is more than I’ve done in the previous 3 years if not more.
I finished week 8 yesterday; I wish I'd taken a kite along as the wind was having a party. Week 8 has gone well considering the New Year's Eve excesses and inability to read my Garmin without glasses. The second saw me running 34 minutes and not even knowing. That sort of supports my decision to ditch the C25k app and time the runs myself once I got into the continuous runs on Week 7: although great while on walk/run splits, I realised that I was happier just settling into a rhythm and found the interruptions unhelpful, even from the blessed Jo Whiley. By setting the timer on my watch I can just zone out and not fret about Jo telling me I have only done half the time I thought I had and then blubbing stupidly in front of embarrassed wildlife. I have always been happier, especially in long swims, just to retreat into the 'Little Birdhouse in my Soul': I sometimes spout about it being restorative, mindful...but in reality I think it because nobody can get at me in there.
The other thing I am working on is to slow down and stick to a steady pace when every fibre in me wants to push, push, push ...because that is what I have done in most of the sports I have loved. I have realised that I am now a bit older and the Time Fairies have made my mitochondria less mighty and my heart less hearty. I intend to make this running malarkey my long-term exercise form and am convinced by all I have read -here and elsewhere-that as 'The Eagles' said, I must 'Take it Easy' ( it would be nice to be able say shout, 'It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me'...but I fear those same Time Fairies have ensured it will be the Local Community Nurse, wondering if she should get the De-Fib out of the boot of her Ford Focus).
Anyway, looking forward to a gentle potter towards Graduation, just one step ahead of the Time Fairies...little buggers.
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🍏New Graduates Chat Week 2 January 2024
