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!