I’ve done quite a bit of
running since the last time I wrote. It’s difficult to find time to run AND
write but I am determined to record as much of my journey to the Great North
Run as possible!
I’ve been feeling a bit lost
with running over recent weeks, literally just taking it from one run to the
next and not really sure what I should be doing and when. I’m starting a 10
week training plan with my coach on Monday and I think this will be a great
help! I still don’t think it has sunk in that it’s only 10 weeks until I am
running an actual half marathon! I know that with hard work I will do it, as
this time last year I couldn’t even run at all! That said, it doesn’t make it
any less scary or daunting!
I’ve been going to quite a few
running sessions in Cramlington (Dynamics Personal Fitness) and I am really
enjoying the social aspect of running too. I’ve made some new friends and
everyone is so supportive that it makes even the difficult sessions that little
bit easier.
I went to a track session at
Whitley Bay a couple of Saturdays ago with Dynamics and although difficult, I
really enjoyed it. I couldn’t make it last Saturday as I was working but I was
excited to come home to my first ever copy of Woman’s Running (and it was free
too!)
On Monday I went to training
with Rachael. I picked her up from work and we got ready at my house. I didn’t have
any Lucozade Sport for after the session, so we called into the shop on our
way. The chocolate muffins at the till were calling out our names and we bought
them as post-run treats! All the way through the session we were running for
cake! (not the healthiest post-run snack, but a well-earned treat!)
I am particularly ‘enjoying’
the strengthening and conditioning sessions on a Thursday evening. (You may
notice my use of inverted commas for enjoying – I use this term loosely as they
are really hard sessions!) They always make me feel like I’ve done a good
workout though and I can usually feel it for a couple of days after, therefore
I know they are doing me good! This also highlights, how little used a large
number of my muscles are!
On Thursday evening the
session was challenging again and it was purposely more difficult than the
previous weeks. When Steve told us he wanted us to do some press ups, my heart
sank. I’ve never been able to do them but I was determined to give it a go as I
never used to be able to run. Steve demonstrated, and although I found it
difficult I was able to do ‘an almost press-up’. I did the next ones using my
knees as a lever and although they were still difficult, I was proud that I was
getting better at them. We ran for 200m between each set and by the third set
of press-ups my arms were shaking. We did a variety of other exercises, all of
which were equally challenging and I was proud of myself for doing it. They are
all things I once would have said ‘I can’t do’ – which just goes to show that
anything is possible if you try! The session ended with hill sprints which were
really hard – but no pain no gain!
I was expecting to ache
yesterday morning, and was really pleased that I was feeling fine. I shouldn’t have
been so confident though, because as the day went on I started aching more and
more! I’m aching a lot today – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness has definitely
kicked in! My sides, and the front of my shoulders are particularly achy, which
shows that the press-ups obviously did something! :)
During the session on Thursday
we were talking about generally being fit and healthy, running and weight loss.
I mentioned that I started running as a way of controlling my weight and that I’ve
dropped a dress size, without altering my diet very much. Five years ago I lost
a stone and a half with slimming world but began to put some of this back on
last year. I hadn’t been weighed for a while but at Steve’s suggestion on
Thursday I just got weighed today and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I
have lost half a stone since I took up running! And I haven’t had to stop
eating chocolate and cake!
Most of the running I have
been doing recently has been at Cramlington with the running group but I did go
out on my own for a 5 mile run last week. I intended it to be longer but it was
so warm that I cut the route shorter! I still had to walk some of it but I was
proud that I did it (with a couple of hills thrown in too!)
A few months ago I signed up
for the Lambton 10k and later found out that it’s a very hilly run (this serves
me right for booking it without checking such a thing!) I wasn’t too concerned
as ‘it’s still ages away’ and I got my brother in law to sign up too! Time
passes by so quickly and I cannot believe that it’s actually tomorrow! I am
also excited that the run is on the Lambton Estate, where The Paradise was
filmed (not the most logical reason for booking a run though!) :)
I am using it as a training
session rather than a race, as it’s terrain I’ve not ran previously and I can’t
compare it to my previous 10k as they are so different. Two weeks tomorrow is
the Great North 10k and I am hoping for a pb for that. My best friend, Rachael and
her boyfriend Karl are coming to cheer us on and a number of the girls from
running are doing it also so it should be a good day out! And hopefully I can
still walk on Monday (just as well it’s scheduled as a day of rest!)
Thanks again for reading! :-)
