Only just got around to posting, as is generally the case for me My 2 small boys take priority at the moment - understandably!
Completed Week 9, Run 3 yesterday morning I always start my run around 7:30am to allow time for my breakfast to settle and to ensure I'm back home and showered before my partner leaves for work. Thank goodness that's what works best for us as a family because it's been BOILING here in the UK most of this week! The heat levels were definitely much more bearable early in the day Week 9, Run 1 was a good run, but Week 9, Run 2 (Weds) was HARD WORK! I don't think I drank enough on Tuesday and that, coupled with the heat, meant I had to pause my run twice during the last 10 minutes of the run. It was only for about 10 seconds each time, but it helped. I was knackered! I don't think I could even have walked for those 10 second bursts. Normally, I'm okay with the heat and tend to struggle more with colder weather, but it was a killer on Wednesday!
Week 9, Run 3 (yesterday) was hard going but great! Part of that feeling obviously comes from the fact it was the final run of the programme, but it was also that I was better hydrated. I drank loads on Thursday because I was worried I'd have a repeat of Wednesday otherwise. I also decided on a route that didn't have any big inclines in it (I live in Derbyshire, which is pretty hilly in parts, so I have to plan my routes so I have a mixture of gentle inclines and gentle slopes. Some of the streets in my town are only gently inclined, but they're long streets so I mix it up a bit to even things out over the course of the run). It definitely paid off as I didn't struggle as much and managed 5:78 km over the 30 minutes, which I was really happy with! I've done this programme in the past and I'm an active person anyway (I don't drive and I've been pushing pushchairs, carrying small children up and down stairs for 4 years now) so I'm not coming at this from the position of someone who was previously inactive. I've had a head start with it, I would say. That said, I'm not going to attempt anything more than 30 minutes for a while yet. I don't feel anywhere near ready and just want to concentrate on consolidating what I've done so far.
Another 30 minute run on Monday morning I guess