And onto week 5...

Three different runs for this week according to the NHS C25k plan with the last one being a 20minute run which is already giving me nightmares..!!

However I felt like that when I started week 3 and agan in week 4 and I've got both of those cracked now so maybe I'll be okay and if not I've already booked a table at La Tasca for Friday night so I'll just drown my sorrows in sangria and try again the week after.

As I'm now half way through the 9 week programme (though I'm repeating some weeks when I need to) I thought this might be a nice time to remind myself just how far I have come. When I first started out I honestly couldn't run from one lamp post to the other, I can remember by 12yr old son looking at me with disbelief saying "Come on mum it's only like 10metres" and me huffing, puffing and collapsing on to the nearest garden wall.

Now I can run for a full 5 minutes x 3 (as long as the last one is downhill and I have an upbeat tune playing along)   I plan to take him out with my again during the Christmas holidays and let him see the difference, hopefully it'll be a positive look of disbelief next time round :)

I finally did it!

I managed to run week 4!!

I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks as I've been stuck running week 3 and while I could see I was getting better each time it still didn't really feel like I was moving on much but today I thought I'd give week 4 another go and I did it

Tiny blip when a small dog thought it was okay to attack me which threw me off my stride a little bit but I carried on going so in total I ran for 16minutes today.

Yay me!!

Am I dead?

I certainly feel like it - no wait a minute I'd probably not be breathing if I were dead and I am puffing like a steam train at the minute.

I thought I'd give week 4 a try and OMG!  It looked terrifying just on paper

5 minute warm up  |  3 minute run  |  1.5 minute walk  |  5 minute run  |  2.5 minute walk  |  3 minute run  |
1.5 minute walk  |  5 minute run  |  5 minute cool down

The reality of my run (with internal monologue to bring it really alive for you) is as follows:

Right, I'm going to do this.
Am I ?
Yes I am, I may as well try and I can always go back to week 3 next week if I don't manage it
Why don't I just do week 3 this week?
Get out of the door and do week 4
Okay, I'm going!
Warm up, fine.
3 minute run - maybe I shouldn't have changed my route to take me up an hill - ah yes but this means I can run down hill for my 5minutes, okay I can do this.
Walking now, hoping the 5minutes run starts soon or I'll run out of downhill.
Running now, downhill was a good idea, this isn't as bad as I thought.  Damn I did run out of downhill, no prob I'll take this shortcut - oh look the sun is shining on me just because I'm running  - actually I don't think I can do this. I want to be sick.
Thank god I can walk again now.  My next 3 minutes are definitely going to be uphill though
Running again well moving my arms  I can't feel my legs anymore to be sure what they're doing but I'm sure it can't be classed as a run.
Walking again and my virtual coach is telling me how to combat stictch - I wish she'd just explain how I'm supposed to breathe properly as this is killing me.  Christ those 90 seconds went fast, back to running.
And I'm supposed to do this for another 5minutes. No chance.  I'll just go to the end of this street and then I'll call it quits.  And I still have to walk home!

So I didn't quite manage it but I'm glad I tried. And points for doing the first 5minutes run okay.  I didn't really think I'd even manage that. I think I'll have to come up with my own midpoint plan something that is a step up from week 3 but not the I'm going to throw up and die effort of week 4.

Happy Weekend!

Exploring

One unexpected positive side effect I've been meaning to mention for a while on my blog is the fun of exploring.

I'm learning to run on the same streets I used to run up and down with my friends when I was a child.  I pass by the swings I used to play on and the school I used to go to.  So much has changed though and with new housing estates popping up, new leisure centre and library being built, there are lots of new streets to explore on my thrice weekly runs.

It does help keep each run fresh too, taking just a slightly different turn, even if it means doubling back on myself when I reach the end of an unexpected cul-de-sac that I swear used to have a shirt cut at the bottom, is good fun. I even ended up running uphill yesterday which I definitely wouldn't have planned for if I stuck to the exact same route every day.

So getting to re-know my neighbourhood has been great and something I would definitely recommend to everyone.

What to do on days off running..?

I'm now running 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday - though I had a bit of an abberation last week and ran Monday, Thursday and Saturday instead but what should I do on the days I don't run?

I know I need the day off (Laura from the NHS Couch to 5K told me so!!)  and I have definitely seen that I run better with that day's break but I feel lazy not doing anything on the Tuesday and Thursdays and mush as it's tempting to sit on the sofa for an hour's lunch break instead and watch the Christmas film channels (call me sad I don't care I LOVE Christmas) I do want to be doing something every day to build up my stamina and fitness levels.

I've tried exercising with a 6kg powerball but I could barely walk the next day which isn't good as the next day would be a run day.

I have got some dumb bells but I don't know what to actually do with them (well I know to lift them obviously)

So I know I don't have that many readers but the few of you I do have, can anyone recommend any weight programmes for beginners? Or point me in the right direction?

Thank You!

Happy Belated Birthday to me!

It was my birthday yesterday so I treated myself to a day off running so I could go shopping for new boots  instead.  I even got my lovely, husband to share my day off and come with me which was amazing as I can still remember the day 17years ago that he vowed he would never,  EVER shop for shoes with me again.

Anyway I'm now 38 years old which means I have two years to reach my aim of being fitter and hopefully thinner by the time I'm 40 and I'm feeling rather positive as I think I've done really well these past couple of  months.

If you'd have asked me a few months ago what I was expecting to get for my birthday I'd have listed the usual chocolates, bubble bath and furry socks.  And while the reality yesterday did seem me unwrap chocolates, bubble bath, furry socks - I also requested and received a long sleeved running top, running socks and running gloves too (from the above mentioned lovely husband)

And these lovely new gifts have worked their magic as I'm just back in from completing a week 3 run which saw me running 2 x 90 seconds runs and 2 x 3minute runs :)  I wasn't fast by any means but I did it!

Yay me!

You know you've had a busy day when...

1. The kids are home from school but to you it feels like it's still morning.
2. You haven't had chance to look at Facebook once all day
3. You realise your husband is home from work soon and not only have you not cooked any dinner for him and the kids but you're still sat in your running clothes promising yourself you will have that shower after just one more email...

Or in my case today, all of the above!

I don't know where today has gone or why when I still have emails pinging in to my inbox and dinner to cook for my kids before taking one of them to gymnastics I'm sat here typing my blog - guess this is now my me-time :)

My run was okay today, my head wasn't totally in the right place though as I couldn't switch off from work stuff.  Normally I'm fairly good at allowing myself half an hour to just concentrate on running but today my head was still at my desk even though my body wasn't.  

I also think I feel a bit demoralised with myself after not managing to complete my week 3 run 1 last week (once my delivery had actually urned up).  I did the usual 5 minute warm up walk, a 90 second run, a 90 second brisk walk, a 3minute run, a 3 minute brisk walk, a 90 second run, a 90 second walk but then stopped 2 minutes into my final 3 minute run.  So I was only 1 minute off but I still feel like I've let myself down a bit.  I'll give myself a stern talking to once I've finally had my shower, turned off the PC and eaten some dinner and hopefully I'll be back to positive thinking soon!

Waiting in for a delivery sucks!

So I was meant to start week 3 of the c-2-5k plan today and I was feeling nervous but at the same time looking forward to seeing whether or not I could actually complete it.

I normally run in my lunch hour, though I work from home so that's flexible and I then treat myself to something nice to eat afterwards, as a well done to myself.

All usual plans are out of the window today though as I have to wait in for a delivery and what sucks is that I just know the courier will arrive about 5 minutes after I leave the house to collect my daughter from school so all my wasted waiting time will have been for nothing.  Why is it that always happens? Is it just me who never sees a delivery man face to face but is in first name terms with the guy at the collection depot?   Still it's preferable to pushing my way round the shops full of Christmas shoppers!

I guess I'll be trying running in the dark tonight! Best dig out something reflective...

I found today's run a bit hard

As I said a few posts back I've started the NHS Couch to 5k plan again, today was week 2 run 3, and while I've been surprised at how far I can actually keep running for overall, I found it a bit hard today.

Week 2 is 6 bursts of 90 seconds running interspersed with 2 minutes of walking.  By the last run today, my legs were like jelly and I had to stop - I only chopped 10 seconds off the final run but it's not a good feeling, especially when I should be moving onto week 3 on Friday...

I thnk it might have to do with all the Bonfire toffee I consumed last night or maybe the fact that I had to stay up until very late to make sure the bonfire was actually out.  I know when I've slept poorly in the past I've not had the energy to keep up a run the next day.

I think I'll go back to my earlier posts and remind myself how far I've actually come rather than sit here feeling sorry for myself though.

Mischievous night tonight

The 4th November is known as Mischievous Night -  in Yorkshire at least!

Every so often during the year - generally after we've got through the hilarity that is April Fools day - my two children remember that there is another day when they can pull pranks but funnily enough whenever they ask me about it, I can never remember the exact date.  I would say the memory loss is a clear indicator that I'm getting old but to be honest the real sign that I'm getting old is that I no longer find the pranks funny.

Knock a door run was hilarious when I was 10 but not so much when you actually own the door!  And as my kids idea of a prank is to put salt in my tea or jump out from behind the door wearing a scream mask you can see why I'm not too keen.

Though I could pretend I'm just being a very good parent and trying not to confuse them by allowing them to cause mischief one night and telling them off for the same "joke" the next.  Actually that sounds much better doesn't it so scrap all the stuff about me just being old and boring, it's just good parenting.

Anyway back to the real reason for my blog, I did go for a run today!  The second run of week 2 of couch to 5k.  Jelly legs but I did it all again.  I'm thinking I might have to repeat week 2 at least one extra week though so I feel more comfortable before moving on to week 3.

Am I being boring by not telling my children the date so they can have their own laughs?

Week 2 of couch to 5k is a killer

I could barely lift my arms to drink from my water bottle after the last run and the fact that I then had a hill to climb to get back to my house (and bed) was a kick in the teeth.

Still it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be and again much easier than when I've attempted it in the past and had to stop after the second run, so knackered I might be but knackered for a reason.  Even the fittest people are knackered after pushing themselves aren't they?

The best thing was I realised as I was half way round that I was really looking forward to the day when I can just run the entire route without the walking bits to break up the running.  I'm still a couple of months off this - IF I stick to the plan - but I actually feel positive that I will get there.

I've just got to hope now that we don't get any snow between now and christmas or that Santa brings me an early present of a treadmill :)

For anyone interested, this is the running plan I am now following (again but properly this time round)
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k-plan.aspx

Happy Halloween

Not only have I not been running today, I've also spent the day creating lots of calorific food with my children in our own version of GBBO -

"The Heaton Halloween Bake Off" 

We did this at Easter and it was great fun, apart from the fact that I didn't win that time (yes my memory is long and it istill hurts)

Here's my entry this time.  I'm hoping the little ghosts with their chocolate, popping candy truffle middle will appeal to the judge - aka my husband - who I know has a sweet tooth.

Unfortunately, he also happens to be a daddy and the other entrants are our children so I tend to think I won't win again.  No doubt it will be the child who remembered to put a layer of jaffa cake in the middle of his buns, even if he did then just cover them in slime with no artistic consideration at all!

Ah well, the judge will just be tricked not treated tonight!

Autumn is definitely here

Not just because it's cold and Autumnwatch started on BBC last night :) - it's the amount of leaves on the ground as I run now, it's like a soggy gold carpet!

I'm now worried I'll slip and make a fool of myself. Maybe I've got my priorities wrong though as I'm sure most people would be worried about falling and actually hurting themselves, not how they look to anyone who happens to see them fall!

I have beaten one bit of self consciousness this week though, I used to stop running if there was someone in front of me too nervous to pass them but instead now I feel the teensiest bit smug when I overtake them :)

Nice milestone on my runtastic app today, I've covered 50 miles since I started out last month. Nearly 17hours racked up and 6,900 calories burnt off.  It might not seem much but I'm stunned that I'm still getting up and going out nearly every day.  I think I mentioned that I'm back doing the NHS couch to 5k plan and I'm finding it so much easier than I ever did before so while I'm never going to be a marathon runner, I am definitely getting fitter which is the only aim I have :)

Let half term commence

I haven't been looking forward to Half Term and I usually do, I love having my kids at home full time  (at least at the start, there might be occasions  towards the end of the school holidays when I wonder what on earth I was thinking!!)

This time I was wondering how I'd be able to keep up my usual lunchtime run while looking after two tweens!

Would they come with me?   Would I be able to leave them on their own?  Should I take a week off?

Well the answer to the first question was No they wouldn't and the looks they gave me made it very clear I was lucky they'd even got dressed this morning!

And I didn't want to take a week off, especially after getting such a buzz after my Friday run last week.

So could I leave them on their own? To put it in to context they are 10 and 12 and the 12 year old has been staying home alone for a good few months now and so far he hasn't burnt down the house or injured himself.  But leaving them alone together is a different ball game.  They love each other very much and the majority of the time they do get on brilliantly but when they do fall out, they FALL OUT - it's not pretty and it can get violent, and that's with parental supervision.

Still it would only be for half an hour, I only run 2 miles in a circuit so if anything did go wrong I could get back to them very quickly.  Decision made - but it still wasn't easy to walk out of the door.

They were fine.  In fact when I got back they couldn't believe I'd even been gone a full half an hour.
They hadn't killed each other, they hadn't broken anything, the cats were still asleep on the sofa - SUCCESS - minecraft is just as good a babysitter as CBeebies used to be when they were tiny :)

They've now been fed to keep the happy mood going and are upstairs playing happily with their Lego. Totally unaware that they've done something momentous today, being left alone is a big step but it seems like it's only a big step for mum!

Good session today

Feel really pleased with myself :)

2 miles (well maybe 6 steps less!) in 33 minutes - 1st mile done in 15.18min and 2nd in 18:46min
I worked out a new route that takes me mostly downhill or flat on the running bits, so the only uphill parts are my warm up and cool down walk.

And you can see from my map opposite I didn't have any really slow bits in between my running bits either.

NEXT STEPS!

I've not been actually losing any weight while I've been doing all this extra exercise but I haven't changed my eating habits at all.  I'm still eating too much bread and cheese and having my malteasers at weekends.   I'm not worried about that as I needed to get my head right for this exercising thing and not set myself too many challenges at the start and fail too quickly.

I think I've proved to myself now that I am going to keep the exercising going - I've not missed may days since I started and when I have it's been for a genuine reason such as being too busy with work stuff.  I even found myself bored one evening this week and thinking I could go out for a run (it was dark, rainy and my husband told me not to be silly and I didn't argue) but you see my point.

So next steps is to change my eating habits too.  I'm not going to diet diet, I don't want to start some ridiculous plan (not at this stage anyway, if I can't lose weight just being sensible then I might change my mind) but for now I'm going to use My Fitness Pal to count my calories and keep under 1,200 a day.

So have set myself a challenge - with the support of a friend - and we're going to aim to lose half a stone between now and 29th November.  We've got half term next week and it's always harder to plan work / exercise / healthy eating when the kids are off school so we'll start iproperly the week after.

To be honest I'll be happy if I just lose 1lb a week between now and Christmas, I just want to know I can do it if I try, I don't want it to be hard.  But then I can really buckle down in the New Year!

The best thing about jogging...

is that moment when you get home and can take your sports bra off!

1.5miles today in 25minutes, not great but after sitting in my home office freezing, it was a surprise to open my front door and get blasted with sunshine.  There were even two young men walking up the street with their tops off (note how that wasn't the best thing about jogging, they really shouldn't have done it)

So yes I am contrary - I complain that I can't run when it's raining but I use the sunshine as an excuse for not running well too.

And now I'm worried that tomorrow will be dry but not sunny which should be by default perfect conditions and I'll be expected to get my best time ever!! Don't worry, I'll find another excuse by then :)

Yesterday must have been a fluke

As I was back to my usual 16minute mile today.  I did do ten minutes of medicine ball exercises first though so maybe that had an impact or maybe I just had the rush on Monday because I was due to pick the little one up from school :)

Anyway, the whys aren't important.  I still went out and came back redfaced so still a plus and I'll still go out tomorrow (weather permitting).

Off to make a cake for my Nan's birthday tomorrow now which will undo all my calorie loss for the week in one lovely slice !

Beat my own record

Although I'd clearly stated in yesterdays blog that there was no way I was going out in the rain, by school run time it had calmed down a bit and as I was going out anyway I thought I may as well leave a bit earlier than normal and walk / jog the long way round to get her.

And get this, I did a mile in just over 13minutes.  Yes I know some people do a 4 minute mile but if you've been reading my blog at all you know I'm so far off being that kind of person.  13 minutes is very good for me!

What made me laugh though is how long it took me to do the mile home again once I had the little one in tow, as you can see from the split distance below :)

Definitely soup weather today

It's not just raining outside, it's worse than that - in fact there is a full river running down the road outside my house so I'm not going out today as while I may not melt, I do think I could very easily be washed away :)

Instead I've done half an hour on the wii fit and burnt 200 calories doing step - heart rate up to 158bpm, so not a total cop out.  Then I've made a very healthy low calorie soup to have for dinner this evening.  2 x carrots, 1 x potato, 1 x butternut squash, pinch of chili, cumin and paprika plus rosemary and bay leaves from my garden (and I did get very very wet just picking those!)

Roll on tea time when the kids are home from school and we can tuck in.

Have you ever played the classroom game

Unfortunately.... Fortunately...

That's how my usual lunchtime wander went today!

Unfortunately... I woke up with a very stiff back
Fortunately... it was a bit better by lunchtime so I could go out
Unfortunately... the local comp must have been on a sponsored walk or something as the streets were crawling with teenagers
Fortunately... I knew another way I could go
Unfortunately... this took me past the local chipshop which made me feel hungry
Fortunately... I didn't have any money with me
Unfortunately... this made me want to cry
Fortunately... I am good at lying to myself and told myself that fruit salad would be a much better lunch

Unfortunately... that was a lie and after a mile and a half walk / running I really really wish I had a quid for a chip butty

Still it's Friday and I'm having green fish thai curry tonight so I'll treat myself to an extra chapatti for being good at lunchtime :)

One or the other

But not both...

Okay so I've figured out I can't do a 20 minute 6kg medicine ball work out and then run - or at least not without wanting to curl into a ball when I've got to the bottom of the street and I'm thinking about the fact that I have to run back up that hill that seemed so easy to come down!

So less than a mile today but all in all the same 35 minutes worth of exercise so not terrible.

I think I need a smaller medicine ball too!!

Stepping it up

I've done 19 walk / jog sessions over the past 4 weeks and while I'm not getting any faster I can now run for a bit longer than I was at the start, even if those bursts of running are bracketed by longer lengths of slow crawling while I get my breath back.

I was shaving my legs in the shower last night  - as you do - and realised that my calves are definitely more toned - yay me! So I've decided to try and focus on the rest of my body too.  So after my half hour walk / jog today I picked up my 6kg medicine ball and had a go at some of the exercises my husband showed me - OMG, I managed 3minutes and my arms wanted to fall off.  So I laid myself down and did 5 sets of ten tummy crunches and now I feel like I want to throw up too.

Really hoping this pays off as feeling sick and losing sensation in my arms isn't filling me with confidence right now.

So overall statistics 

19 sessions
34.69 miles covered
10hours 44 minutes out in all weather
3866 calories burnt off

Stepping it up now so hopefully in another 4 weeks I'll be able to post an update saying I'm a bit more toned elsewhere too :)

Lovely day

It does make a change after the horrible weather we've had up her the past few days but it was lovely and sunny on my walk/jog today.

I had a smile on my face and had to stop and take this photo of the sun streaming through the gate at the top of this tree tunnel, it does make it easier to run when it's not grey, gloomy and wet.

And to prove my point, it's one of my better times today too.  34 minutes, 25 seconds.  I'm not shaving much time off (if any if I'm honest) but I'll still out there every day which has to count for something.

Not too bad for a monday

Not very fast today but I went back to doing the NHS couch to 5k plan, starting at week one - again -  and it was easier than it's been before.  I even managed to do some extra running bits after the plan had finished as I wasn't quite back home yet.

I do wish I didn't live near so many hills though, I reckon I could do so much better if I could just run downhil all the time and magically portal back home maybe??

The plan is meant to be followed 3 times a week so I'm thinking I'll do Monday, Wednesday then either Friday or Saturday but still go out Tuesday and Thursday anyway.  I might change my mind tomorrow though, who knows!

Pat on the back

So it's saturday, it's pouring with rain and I still got my gear on and went out - I seriously didn't want to but I didn't want to not go more :)

It wasn't awful either, for a change of pace I'd downloaded my music from my son's phone to mine and it's surprising how a bit of PSY and The Wanted can spur  you on - jogging up the hill with a bright red face, dripping wet hair and singing to Sexy Lady did make the whole exercise a lot more fun :)

Annoying thing is that the GPS on my app didn't pick up until I was half way round my route so it looks like I didn't actually go far but as the starting point isn't anywhere near my house I hope you'll all believe me.

 

Bad start, good ending

Really wasn't up for it today.  The day started bad by me skipping out on my daughter's harvest festival - it was just too cold to sit in church for an hour and I had way to much work nagging at the back of my head to make me feel comfortable about starting so late - though I must say my lovely boss didn't mind at all.

I have had the guilt trip from said daughter when she got home, especially as she ended up doing a reading and I wasn't there to see her.  Can I also just point out that her dad didn't go either and he was worse than me because at least I went home and worked - he went home and went to bed, but only I got the "it was my last ever harvest festival" sniffles from her.

I absolutely love my job but this week has been so hard, nothing had been straightfoward and having to deal with a mare of a member today was the icing on the cake, if icing was a horrid thing that I never wanted to eat EVER.

So the plan was for me to run off my frustration but a few things went wrong

1.  I couldn't make my brain switch off from work
2.  I forgot my water bottle
3.  It was cold - really cold with a horrid wind and it hurt my chest.

So I gave it up as a bad job and came home after just under 1 mile.


Plus side, I booked Stewart Lee tickets for husband and myself for February next year.  A day can't be too bad when you know you're going to see the 41st best stand up comic ever again :)

Inspired but unfortunately not for running

I was getting a bit bored with my usual route so I went off in a completely different direction this afternoon and found a lovely public footpath.  The problem was it didn't inspire me to run, instead I wanted to slow down - meander, saunter, stroll - and none of those words equal speed!

This photo doesn't do it justice but the sun was shining through the trees, there were birds singing and no traffic sounds, I wanted to take my time, whistle and have a picnic (I don't actually take anything but a water bottle out with my though so that wasn't going to happen).  It was just lovely and after such a busy couple of days  - yesterday I didn't even have time to update my blog - it was really good to be out and find something to turn my brain off work for 10 minutes.

Unfortunately it didn't last long as I got so far down this lovely path and it was so boggy I had to turn right back round again and head back to reality - grey pavements and exhaust fumes (and a pretense at speed).

Yesterday's route
(Just to prove that I did still go out,
I didn't hide indoors and just not blog )

Today!

  

Short Walk - Huge Conker Haul

I spent the morning walking round Meadowhall as my daughter had kindly outgrown all her clothes (and I do mean all!).  I find Meadowhall exhausting, the busyness and the noise usually wears me out completely so I was surprised that when I came home I actually did want to go out for a run.

Maybe I just wanted to try out my snazzy new running top though - with it's pink go faster stripes :)

I made the mistake of taking my daughter with me - I wanted to run, she wanted to go conker picking.  I thought maybe we could do both - sounds easy enough.  I wasn't prepared though for the huge amount of conkers she actually collected and we had a very heavy bag to carry home with us!

Here's just a few of the conkers we collected!

And just for the record - here's the route we followed. But we're not telling you where our amazing conker stash came from as we are keeping that a secret for next year!

          

Todays' blog is brought to you with the words

Squelch and Blind....

It's one thing to set off while it's raining and be prepared to get wet, it's another thing completely to set off in okay weather and then have the heavens open half way round your route.

It rained so hard I seriously couldn't see - note to self: wear contact lenses next time!
It rained so hard that I had to take off my clothes as soon as got through my door and then streak past the open windows to get to the shower.  (An image I'm sure none of you wanted in your head this afternoon)
It rained so hard that my clothes had formed an actual puddle in the hall when I got back to them.

So a bit slower today but I think not being able to see lets me off a bit!

       

Starting to enjoy myself

Over 2miles today and fastest pace yet.  I'm really beginning to like this :)

This was my tenth walk/run and I've clocked up over 20 miles in just over 6hours.  Not bad to say this time last month I was mostly slothlike¬

Sporting the drowned rat look

It was absolutely throwing it down this morning when I woke up but I was determined to go out even though it would mean getting soaked and go out and get wet I did.  The powerful thoughts of the lovely warm shower awaiting me when I got back kept me going.

And I was faster today than ever before - I did my usual route backwards (ish) which meant that most of the first mile was either level or downhill and that made such a difference.

Screengrabs from my phone today as for some reason I can't get my map on the desktop version.

Feeling good :)

 

Weekend off and slow start

Feeling a bit bad that I didn't go out over the weekend but I had a busy Saturday and all my good intentions for Sunday were put off when my daughter practically gave me concussion kneeing me in the face while I was giving her usual sunday morning tickle - my cheek still hurts!

I'll do better next saturday I promise!

Anyway, bit slow today but it is Monday plus I stopped to pick up a massive conker stash I found - now if only conkering was good for calorie burning :)

Did not want to go out but surprised myself

I really didn't want to go out today, I am tired and just wanted to sit on the sofa and read my kindle.  It's still a workday though  - all be it a Friday - so that wasn't an option anyway so I gave myself a stern talking to, reminded myself it's only half an hour of the day and put my trainers on.

I didn't run much though, I just did not have the energy but at least I was out and any exercise is better than no exercise.  About a third of the way round I realised I really wasn't enjoying myself so I turned off my music and just walked.

I changed my route slightly and wandered through the local park. I love autumnal colours and with the sun shining it was just lovely, quieter than when I'm (trying to) pound the streets and I just felt like I could breathe again - not that I was actually having trouble breathing but you know what I mean.

So I actually walked a bit further than normal, burnt off more calories than normal and though my pace was slower than usual, in the end I didn't hate it and I was glad I did go out.
This early on in my fat to fit journey I think that is a very big plus!

One week in

One week in - I've now been walk / running and blogging a whole week :)

In that time I've covered 12miles in 3hours 40 minutes and burnt 1,325 calories!  So that's a whole days worth of food burnt off.  I haven't been weighing myself as I don't want that to be the aim at the moment - I know if I don't see myself losing weight then I'll think what's the point and I'll just give up.

What I am going to do though is measure myself and if I'm really, really brave I might even post these on here!

How fast..?!!

Let me start by saying my usual routine was out of the window - I was out later than normal which was actually horrid as the traffic was horrendous and then I realized the local comp had just kicked out so I was also surrounded by gobby teenagers - not the nicest environment when you're already aware of your wobbly bits!

So I expected my stats to look much slower than normal but apparently I did 46 miles per hour..!!!

It takes a while for oxygen levels to normal out in my brain and then I realised that when I untucked my phone from my bra to change tunes, that jigglehad obviously tricked the app into thinking I was pounding the pavement at super speed!   (I never really thought I'd gone that fast, I thought maybe I'd broke the app!)

Let's see if I can get my son to believe I went that fast though - it's not often these days I can do anything to impress him :)

Other than that, my stats were okay.  Little bit slower but not as bad as I thought they were going to be considering I felt like I'd done much more walking than jogging today.

A minute off my usual time

A whole minute faster than yesterday but very slightly shorter route as I couldn't add on the extra few feetI I usually take to make it over 2miles as there were grave diggers in the cemetry I walk/run through.  Not sure why I was so surprised by that as they've got to do it sometime haven't they!  I only wish I could say it made me run faster but that bit of my route is uphill and there is no chance just yet :)

Start of a new week

Same route, overall time about the same but I did get up to 7.52mph at one point today.  I do wonder if I'll ever be able to sustain that for longer than 20 seconds though :)

I'm happy with that - I was absolutely exhausted this morning so really didn't even want to go out but figured I'd best go and at least walk it so I did okay and I feel much better for it which is even better.

Saturday walk/run gave me a headache

So my running guru boss told me I couldn't take the weekend off and she made sense, I need this to be a new lifestyle not just something I do to skip out of work for half an hour a day ;-)

I've done my usual route but with my little running buddy today. It was really hot and I don't think I should have gone out so soon after breakfast as I felt really sluggish.  Lesson learnt for next week.

Still not a bad time though considering...

Picked up speed just a little

Little bit faster today - max speed 6.18mph (I remember when I was first learning to drive and 5mph felt very fast) and I stopped to pick up some conkers :)

I changed the runtastic app I use to walking instead of running which shows a smaller calorie burn but I'm not strictly calorie counting anyway so it doesn't matter (might leave it on running though to make me feel better!!)  

Question now is, do I take the weekend off or do this Saturday and Sunday too?  

Guess I'll find out how I feel tomorrow !!

New to this

New to all this - new to blogging and getting fit!

Well not quite new to getting fit, I've attempted to make a start to get fit many, many times.  In fact since Feb of this year I've started the NHS Counch to 5k plan 4 times and stopped each time, I've reached week 3 for various reasons - weather, school holidays - really I just wasn't committed enough but now I am...

I hope!

So I have just over 2 years before I'm 40 and by then I'd like to be fit and 4 stone lighter (maybe even more but 4 stone before 40 sounded nicer to my ears !)

More important than the actual weight loss though I'd like to be fit and with that aim in mind I have started walk/running again today.

I'm not going to follow any plan (to begin with at least) I'm simply going to keep walk/running the same route at least 3 times a week with the aim of getting faster each week.  I'll walk when I want and run when I feel able and hopefully soon the running will be happening more than the walking.

So here's my very humble beginning.