A catalogue of issues

The ole back is a causin me issues!
I've had to be very restrained the last few weeks with at least two weeks with no running at all! Now I am very behind on my training schedule. I can still only run 3 miles continuously which is a bit of a nightmare as I need to be running twice that in less than two months!! Can you sense the panic?!
I'm going for a 3.2mile run tonight with the running club but I'm going to need to work on more fitness and then start running further.
More bad news! To compound my woes the hubby has completely screwed his knee and now can't run in the 10K at all!! I am completely gutted about this as one of the main appeals of taking up running to get us fitter and thinner was that we could do it together. He has run 10K whilst training so at least he knows he can do the distance but he won't be doing the race. The race day for me now will not be so much fun, I am genuinely really sad that M can't run.
Finally my concentration eating wise has completely gone. I am back to my old ways after having successfully got on top in the first six months of training. I have put on weight and I'm not eating the right things as well as eating too much.
So right here right now I am recommitting. I am going to run 10K...I am going to finish bad back or no bad back...I am going to get fitter and I am going to raise loads of money for Gloucestershire Bundles! (and if I can get thinner too then all the better!) xx

86 days

Oh dear people! It has been a while...for just about everything. Our family have been hit by bugs united for the last few weeks and so the blogging and the training has been suffering. I had a particularly vile tummy bug which mean I was out of the running and training loop for over a week. However this last week has been great. I have run every other day getting slightly longer each time to help build myself back up. Two weeks ago at training with Jon I even managed to lift a 16K bell weight which I know will make you laugh at how small that is but for me it was equivalent to lifting a house! I have a new running buddy for Wednesdays to make sure I go out midweek, the great thing about this running lark is that I am making new friends too. I am now managing almost three miles continuously running which is brilliant but still only half the distance I need to run in May so I have plenty of work to do. The 86 days in the title refers to the amount of days left before race day so I am going to need to concentrate a whole lot harder and avoid those germs!!

Getting there

This week my homework for running club was to run 2 miles...I was worried! In the last couple of weeks I had been struggling to consistently run a mile as I had been able to do previously and I was panicking. However whilst the time and the pace was woeful and the route as flat as a pancake I did manage to continuously run for 2 miles and still be upstanding by the end. I am so pleased with myself 7 months ago I could barely run for five minutes continuously. I am pleased to see the difference and I know if I could just concentrate more on doing the strength exercises and focus on my eating better, I could improve even more. My more immediate challenge is to work on fitness to get running uphill as the distance I can run continuously reduces significantly if there even a slight slope involved. This will be my half term challenge to myself I think. Jon has given me a running plan to get me up to 10k within the next two months...I think it might take the full three months left before the race for me to manage it but I am determined to to try! Hubby and I have decided that I am not worrying about my time for the 10K I am just aiming to finish, timings can come later...maybe.

It's official!

Today A and I entered the team for the 10K race in the Forest of Dean on 25th May...no backing out now!

Run Rabbit Run

You might be forgiven for thinking I've given  up in my quest so long is it between posts! Yet fear not people I am still going...just! I'm still training every Tuesday with the marvelous www.jongloverfitness.co.uk  last week it was just me as poor V had been attacked by the same germ she had bravely battled with the week before! Jon and I battled the snow and ice in the park, we worked on my running technique as I am quite flat footed. I had to try and lean forward a bit to try and get my toes to land first, apparently the more I do it the less I'll have to lean which is a good thing because I nearly ended up face first a couple of times!
Then on Friday I joined the Churchdown Ladies Running group on the second week of their course 0-3 miles in ten weeks. Lovely lady in charge and nice friendly fellow runners. All a lot more accomplished than me but I didn't totally disgrace myself, looking forward to next week. Today Sunday I did the "homework" we were set from there which was to run the same route again which I have just done...am knacked now! Collapsed on doorstep, entertained hubby as he opened the door to my collapsed frame. Seriously unsure how I am going to do 10K...still...it's not till May right?!

Brrrr

Yesterday the training was good but the weather was cold. It was so slippy on the grass we had to go steady on the jumping jacks. I had a bad headache and really struggled throughout the session but persevered and Jon was kind and went easy on me. Big shout out to V though who had been ill the previous two days but still trained and did really well....she was hardcore!

Uphill

On Saturday morning whilst the boys were at football I went for a run...uphill! Big deal, I normally run on the flat. As suspected it was hard work but I managed a very short gentle run up Parton Lane...don't think I'll be hill running anytime soon but I've got to start somewhere.
As Yazz would say "The only way is up Baby!"

Oooh New Shoes

So I ended the last post saying I needed new running shoes...
I got some!
Should just give hubby some credit here as he won some shopping vouchers for being part of the winning team in a fitness challenge at work last year and so I happily spent them today!
It was exceedingly exciting, I went to a sports shop and had a "gait assessment" this is nothing to do with garden gates but instead involved me running on a treadmill so that the man could assess how I ran. It turns out that I slightly turn in on my left ankle when I run. My right foot is fairly neutral which is good. This means I didn't need a cushioned trainer but just one with support. I also ended up with a cushioned insole. The man in the gloucester store of http://www.dwsports.com/stores was friendly, knowledgeable and unpatronising! He did though get a mouthful when I discovered that the store had no size 9 running trainers for women!!! I had to buy ugly mens running shoes!!! So unimpressed!!!
Anyway I'll give them a try this week and let you know how I go :)

New Year

Happy New Year! Last night we had a lovely night with old friends, the inlaws were complete troopers and had the small one overnight so we could party in peace and this morning when we woke up it was a real pleasure to go for a run with my hubby! We always have to go on our own normally as one of us is boy watching and so today it was brilliant to go together for the first time. M is a much better runner than me and so we compromised...I went further than normal and he did a shorter run. I ran continuously for 15 minutes which is the longest I've ran without walking ever. I was dead at the end! M had his new running shoes on...I need some of them!!! :)

So how far can you run?

Over the Christmas period I was able to catch up with loads of lovely people from different places who I haven't seen for a while. They were all quite shocked that I was running and working out a bit! They know me from days of old and quite rightfully were finding the concept of me running a bit hard to swallow. Many of them asked: "So how far can you run?" and the answer was always..."I'm not really sure!" This is mainly because all my running to date has been in "bursts" so three minutes running and three minutes walking on repeat for as long as I could before I started to collapse. On December 27th I decided to set my stopwatch for ten minutes and started running! The aim was to see if the 10 minutes finished before my lungs/legs did! I was delighted to discover that I managed 12 minutes! I didn't walk once! My hubby later tracked where I ran and to my delight I realised I had run my first ever mile! In fact it was 1.1miles and I was ecstatic! Now obviously 12 minute miles are not very impressive but when it's your first you''ve got to be happy....gotta start somewhere!

Catch Up

Goodness this blog is a bit out of date! The main problem has been due to a bit of a bad back twinge I  couldn't train for a while and then we hit silly season (or Christmas to you and me!) and so the blog and the training has all gone a bit to pot! However the back is finally working properly again and I have started to go out running. Woo hoo!