I am a runner ...

I am still running.  Had a few weeks off while I recovered from chesty coughs and had to repeat a few weeks to regain fitness after the cough BUT.

I am a runner!

I know as Laura (the 'voice' of the NHS Couch to 5K podcasts) said I was.  She gives you this reward at the end of the last run of week 6 (25 mins of continuous running)  and it brings such a wave of emotion.  6 (or in my case a few more) weeks of hard physical exercise and mental fortitude to keep going finally pays off.  I am a runner.  I can run.  

I still have my goal of a 30 min 5K to achieve and I know to do that I have to build more pace and more stamina into each run.  However I have another 9 runs to do that in and it all feels achievable.  

Earlier in the course there are certain runs that fill you with horror as the length of time spent running is cruely ramped up.  The 3 min run in week 3, The 5 min run in week 4 and the largest of them all the first 20 min run at the end of week 5.  But I have conquered them and there are no more left, just a gentle increase in duration till we hit 30 mins.  Feel a little like Frodo after throwing the ring into mount doom.  The main obstacles have been completed.  Sure it is still a long way home to the Shire.  But I've got this far, I can keep going to the end.

I have also found out that sharing my progress has inspired two others to start running.  One is about to start week 4 and the other week 1.  I never EVER thought that me doing exercise would inspire someone else.  I was always the one that needed the inspiration to do anything physical.  

I've lost weight, my belts are all on the last hole and I need new trousers.  My shirts fasten around the collar and suit jackets are no longer straining the buttons.  This feels terrific.

If I ever meet Laura I owe her a drink.  The podcasts have tangibly changed my life and made me healthier where gyms and diets have failed.

Just need to keep running and finish what I started and do a sub 30min 5 K run.  But this is no longer a pipe dream.  It is realistic, the hard work is over I just need to keep going

Keep on Running

10 runs into the year and I am surprised that:

1. I am still running even though
2. I was surprised with how incredibly unfit I was and that surprises me that
3. I am actually getting better

The couch to 5k programme that I am following now has me running for 3 minutes.  180 seconds of running doesn't seem a lot, but 10 runs ago I couldn't go for 60 seconds so this is a massive improvement.  My last run detailed here: http://runkeeper.com/activity?userId=39119029&trip=502547270 was the first run that I didn't do as a loop.  I ran from the Mountbatten centre through to cosham centre.  Although not the greatest distance, mentally it felt great to start in one place with a certain destination in mind.  At this point in my training plan this has been very helpful.

As I said when I started this http://outspokenhobbit.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/1st-run-of-year.html I have been gathering statistics on every run and averaging them out over each week of the C25K programme.  I've decided to make this public in case anyone is interested. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-7xcvGz_rH-HVOS9o4qSADZZ4iFWtFigdp-tGxYg--o/edit?usp=sharing  Apart from the raw data I have learnt a few other things:

1. Running with spectacles, in the rain, while getting too warm means you spend way too long trying to wipe away the rain and haze.
2. Hills are hard, but only in one direction
3. Never judge a run by your heart.  I can feel that a run has gone badly but the realz of the stats show that the run was awesome
4. Running makes me feel so much better

1st run of the year

After my new years resolutions I had to commit and actually run.  Naturally being a nerd this activity required tracking and monitoring. I spent quite a bit of time working out how to track my run, what I was going to listen to and where I was going to run.

Tracking my run.
I have started using run keeper on my phone for this task.  It tracks my run via built in GPS, gives me details of my progress every 5 mins and then saves all the stats of my run to the cloud.  I did consider a fitbit or jawbone device but this app was free and seems to do a fine job.  The app also allowed me to design routes online and then view them on my phone.  Quite handy to see where I was going to be running and how far that was in advance rather than just be running aimlessly.

What to listen to.
Instead of just picking a random running album I decided to use the NHS free couch to 5km podcasts.  Each one uses intervals of running and walking to build up stamina over a period of 9 weeks where hopefully I should be able to run 5km.  I transferred the podcasts to google play and then stream them to my phone.  Having someone tell you when to run and when to walk was quite helpful

Gear
So no need for any new toys.  Amy had already bought me some trainers and I have clothes that I can run in.  However since my phone was going to be my tracker and music player I invested in a karrimor arm band to house my phone and a pair of runners headphones.  Both were half price.  The headphone were very comfy and the arm band although too tight to fit on my upper arm kept my phone safe on my lower arm.