When I sat down last week and wrote about my Couch to 5k experiences so far and first asked people to sponsor me I wasn’t quite expecting the response I’ve received from friends and family. Not only have you all helped me to smash my initial sponsorship target for Save the Children (thank you, thank you, thank you!), but there have also been loads of supportive message. Not only from people I see daily on the school run, but old friends that I’ve not properly caught up with in years, but also online friends that I’ve not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person. You’ve all been amazing – thank you so much.
Week 7 of the Couch to 5k programme hasn’t exactly been easy. All three training runs followed the same format of a five minute warm up walk, 25 minutes of running, then a 5 minute cool down walk. The first of these was quite frankly a bit of a disaster. I was feeling all on top of the world after so many of you wonderful people sponsoring me and possibly set out a bit too fast, but in the running section I found myself having to stop to walk a couple of times and then my phone did something strange so it didn’t record how far I’d gone or how fast, meaning like I felt that I didn’t really know how I’d really done. I came home feeling low and worrying slightly about a niggling pain my right leg. I was worried that the whole plan might be about to come crashing down around me.
Luckily the second run of the week couldn’t have been more different. I managed to run for the whole 25 minutes (excluding a few seconds’ pause as I crossed a main road) and it was also the first time that I managed a full 5km in the time I was out (over 4km running and another km during the warm up and cool down walks). I now know that in 35 minutes I can cover 5km and that achievement has come with an amazing feeling of satisfaction.
This afternoon was the third and last run of the week and despite a slightly different route this time (so I could drop off a birthday invite for LMC en-route) I again managed to run for the whole 25 minutes. My legs felt more tired at the end, possibly due to a longer more gradual uphill section that my usual route, but I figure that I need to get used to hills as the route for my race includes several hills in Verulamium Park that I will need to conquer. Again my total distance covered in the 35 minutes was 5.2km so I know that my race is achievable, I just want to try to do the whole thing in sub-30 minutes now!
As for that running bug that I first wrote about when I started on this journey – well I think it may finally be biting. I’ve actually found myself this week wanting to go out for a run rather than feeling it’s something I need to do. I spent most of Saturday sat on trains doing a day trip to Harrogate and when before I would have happily just sat there watching the countryside go past, this time I wanted to be out there feeling the wind on my face. The stretch from York to Harrogate is always particularly beautiful and I found myself wondering what it would be like to run somewhere stunning like that rather than just pounding the local streets. I’ve even been and ordered myself a proper pair of running trousers to replace my cheap supermarket ones that are now showing signs of wear and tear after years of just being in a drawer before.
All the data generated by my Couch to 5k app on my phone has become fascinating and I’ve also just started wearing a new Fitbug Orb that I’m reviewing to keep track of not only my daytime activity, but also how well I’m sleeping at night. One of the first things I did after getting in from my run this afternoon was look at my data – how sad is that? A sure sign the running bug is biting hard!
In the palm of my hand – my new geeky fitness accessory, the Fitbug Orb
When I started running one of the driving forces was to get healthier and lose some weight. The weight loss is still non-existent, but I can tell that my health has improved massively already. Just the fact that in 7 weeks I’ve come from puffing and panting after a rushed school run to being able to run for 25 minutes is amazing and I’m actually rather proud of myself. The running will continue, but I think it’s also time to look at the rest of my life and how I can improve that too. It may be finally time to get rid of my emergency chocolate supplies and start being healthier from within. After all this running I’ll be gutted if I end my 5km race as heavy as I was when I started the training!
Huge thanks to everyone who has sponsored me so far. You’re not to late though and if you want to help me raise money for Save the Children then please pop over to my Just Giving page here.
Disclaimer: I asked the PR for Fitbug if I could review an Orb after finding the original Fitbug Air that I reviewed last year hard to use whilst running. A full review will follow once I’ve put it through its paces!
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