C25k Graduate - Woo hoo!!!

Guys, I can't believe it Week 9 has been a rush. All 3 runs in Week 9 were set for 30 min runs with no breaks. Wk9R1 was hard. I don't know what happened but from the start until the end I just felt like quitting. There wasn't any stage where my breathing came together and I could relax and enjoy. Maybe it was the drop in temperature or Laura/Claire only giving 10 min warnings or a combination of the two! Wk9R2 was tremendous. The guys over on the HealthUnlocked C25K forum lifted my spirits and to be honest the run couldn't be worse or as bad as Wk9R1, could it?! Wk9R3: well, this is what it was all about, eh, and finally got there. Instead of waiting for the 9am Bedford Park Run as I initially planned, I started just after 8am. The run felt tremendous. My Garmin watch was helping where Laura/Claire was giving minimal notifications. When I hit 30 mins I decided to carry on and try and hit the 5k. Result: did it just under 40 mins. Elated! That was Saturday and 2 days later I feel good and ready to start a new programme. Active 5k to 10k looks like a go-er. B210K had some fairly bad reviews. 10k Pink looked like a starting programme for people who haven't done anything like C25K. Onwards and upwards. 9 weeks ago I could barely run for a minute, now 30+ is the standard!

Couch25K Week 7 Run 1

Man, if you thought Week 7 would be a return to small runs, think AGAIN! Run 1 is 25 mins no-break running with 5 mins either side, warm-up and warm down! A repeat of Week 6 Run 3. As it happened, I enjoyed it yesterday (Tuesday). It was hard work and unlike Wk6R3, I was aware of each of Claire's 5-minute warnings so that's what made it harder. I've learned to breathe independently of my stride. This is a huge improvement from Week 1 when I tried to match my breathing to my stride. Maybe it works for some but not me. Bedford Park is beautiful and as I was a little late starting at about 0620hrs, I saw a few more folk. There are the folk that say hello/acknowledge you and there are those that don't. This used to bother me before but not any more. Either I say hello first or they say hello ... if they respond to my greeting, all well and good ... if they don't then they were preoccupied or just loners. No skin of my nose. This running thing is so addictive and I want more data. I've had a look at the Polar Personal Trainer website but I feel a little short-changed on the data from my Polar FT7. And after all the shenanigans with Polar Support, I'm going to try out the Garmin Forerunner 410, recently discontinued GPS watch available at lovely prices, and have a look at what the Garmin website offers. Meantime roll on tomorrow morning and Run 2!

Couch25K Week 6 Run 3

On Saturday morning I was keen to get Run 3 done. This consisted of 25 mins non-stop running. My only target is to do the time and not concern myself with distance. I've got into the habit of running in Bedford Park. Nice environment and not as busy as the streets. Just after 6 am, the park is quiet bar the occasional visitor. Most noise comes from the squirrels who I discovered are accomplished scavengers. They scramble out of bins disturbed by my approach. My pace is slow and Claire's voice (Get Running Android app) is there to give me encouragement. The 1st 5 mins is reasonable. I concentrate on breathing naturally, in through the nose and out through the mouth. With all the warnings from my brother and brother-in-law about the risk of running at my age and weight (which was circa 248lbs at the start of the programme) I opt to mostly run on the grass at the side of the tar path. It's a little uneven and probably worse for me, in hindsight. Each 5 minute notification from Claire urges me on but this was a bit harder that Week 5 Run 3. From the start of that run I felt tremendous and after 5 mins I felt this was easy. Not so this time around, I don't feel as comfortable, it's hard work. I keep control of the breathing and keep to the pace. My worry is that there is no room to slow the pace if push come to shove, I am at the slowest pace I can go without stopping. Thankfully the 20 minute marker comes and I gain encouragement to keep going. I actually think about mindful meditation and if it's possible to meditate whilst running ... like walking meditation. I'm still contemplating that. Then the final minute comes ... 24 minutes done. I can actually increase my pace, not by much but enough to feel I am coming to the finish line. Yes, it's great to meet the target. I didn't feel as elated as on Week 5 Run 3, that 1st 20 mins complete was a major breakthrough... but I do feel good! 5 mins walking and then I do a bit of stretching. I need to spend some time learning what stretches I should do. I use the stretches from the Insanity programme, good old Sean T! I must start and finish that insane programme, one thing at a time, though! On Tuesday I'll start Week 7 Run 1. C'mon!