Week 41 - Furthest distance and other stuff

I ran non stop for 8k/4.9miles while I was away at the weekend. It was going to be a 6.5k run but I jogged the 5 minute warm up and then just carried on along a river, around a citadel, through the woods and back to the hotel. It took me an hour to do so I reckon my 10k with take about 1hr 20 minutes. It is slow but I'm not trying to break any records. I just want to have done it.
My original plan was to increase my distance by 0.5k each week but now I think I will do another 8k this week and then maybe some 9k's next week. After a long spell of relatively mild weather here in the south east of Blighty we now have a very very cold snap which I hope won't last too long as I fear it will put me off going outside.

While my kitchen is being renovated I have no washing machine and no means of cooking food apart from the kettle and toaster. My new, all singing, all dancing combo microwave was going to arrive last week until they realised they had my address down wrong. Typically they couldn't just deliver to my correct address. I had to phone John Lewis (a department store, for my non UK readers) to get them to right my address then they resent the info and I have to wait, it seems, another week! Meanwhile, it should be easy to "just eat salads" but when you want it to be bit more interesting the amount of hidden calories in a seemingly healthy salad accompaniment is astonishing! Bread has become the easiest staple in the last week or two!
I also have to visit the local laundrette at least once a week with each wash load costing a whopping £3.50!!!! The washing machines, I might add, are also rubbish at washing too! I usually use my machine at home every other day as I have a sports wash and a 15 minute wash cycle which are both excellent for mud splattered, sweaty running gear. What with no clean clothes and its freezing out I'm full of excuses for staying in snuggled in front of the telly with toasted bagels, crumpets, muffins, hot cross buns, well hey, if it fits in the toaster it will get toasted.

Week 40- Station run PB and a 6k run

I've been quite good this week I managed a PB on my station run of 14.48 minutes covering 2.26k/1.36 miles which I was really pleased with although I didn't manage to top it this morning with my poultry 15.16 minutes. It must have been all that salad I ate last night.

Yesterday I went out for a 6k run incorporating a 5 min warm up and cool down plus another 5 minutes to get home so all in all I covered 7.48k/4.6 miles which felt good. My ankle started to ache quite badly in the evening though, but felt fine this morning. My plan is to do another 6k tomorrow then do 3 x 6.5k's next week and up the runs by .5 k each week. The 10k run on 4th March is looming and I must say I am a bit worried...

Not sure of the weekend running plans as yet because I am away but weigh in is tomorrow morning so will keep you posted.

Food wise I am still on salads all week but am expecting my new combi microwave to arrive any minute which means we can finally have some cooked, hot food!

Week 40 - 5k Parkrun, British Military Fitness and Weight Loss

I haven't run all week as my kitchen has been pulled apart back to the brickwork and I've spent the week filling up the skip, taking the cabinets apart and digging up tiles off the floor. I have blisters, cuts and broken finger nails to prove it!

Despite my lack of running I still managed the 5k parkrun on Saturday morning. I thought last week may have been mistimed or a fluke so I was very pleased to see I managed a similar time this week but 10 seconds slower. If only I put that little bit more effort in!! Oh well, next time...

In my local park there are also British Military Fitness classes. I do need to do an all over fitness regime so hubby  and I thought we would give it a go. We filled in our forms and set off to the park this morning (Sunday). One of the questions on the form was "how fit are you?" I put average (B). They divide people into teams depending on their fitness level. When I handed the form in the guy said "lets put you in the beginners to start with so you can see how it is". Well, alright then........

O M G!!!!!!!!!!! 

It was really, really, really hard work! I seriously considered giving up half way through as it was only a trial session but I didn't want to tell the guy, in front of everyone else, I wanted to stop . I was by far the slowest one there. It involved A LOT of running, star jumps, burpies, planks, and press ups. I was not ready for that much effort. But, I did do the whole thing and was very grateful when it finished. The others where really friendly and very encouraging. However, I'm not sure I want to do it again. I think I will try something more me next time, like Zumba, so I will need to find a class.

On the eating front I have a very makeshift kitchen in the front room now and all I have in the way of electricals is a toaster, kettle and fridge, so no means of cooking. So it's been salads for most of the week and will be for all of next week too. I realise I haven't updated my weight loss since just before Christmas (partly because I was very pleased with that particular weigh in) so I have updated it now. Bear in mind I had put almost 5lbs on over Christmas and have now lost  3.5lbs since. I know its not a lot but it's still a loss :-)))

Week 39 - very pleased with myself!

I did the 5k parkrun on Saturday and knocked 2 minutes off my PB.

2 WHOLE MINUTES!!!!!!!

I could not believe it. I thought I might get a few seconds off but this was brilliant! I really pushed it at the end and actually overtook 5 people! It only hurt a little. My legs where fine but my lungs had to work for it.  I wore my Skins and new running shoes so I think they did the trick. It was very frosty in the morning so I had my gloves on and a zip up top over my long sleeve top. At km 3 I had to take the top layer off which got stuck over my gloves, so I took off the gloves and shoved them in my mouth while I took off the zip up and tied it round my waist, all the while running. By this time I nearly suffocated myself with the gloves! Next time I won't wear so much stuff. I probably could have knocked off a few more seconds....

I haven't been great at counting the calories since my last post as I said because our kitchen is being gutted. Everything is in the front room and the place is a bit of a mess. Its a bit of a pain to keep on top of the calorie counting as well. It will be mainly salad type stuff over the next couple of weeks anyway coz I don't have an oven or a hob. I may get a take away in from time to time though. Having said that I don't think I have been too unhealthy eating wise. I've kind of got out of the habit weighing in on a weekly basis too but I will definitely do that on Friday and let you know the results!

Week 38 - New shoes! :-)

I haven't posted for a while mainly because there has been nothing to say on the running front as I didn't run at all last week, but, I did buy some new Brooks running shoes on Sunday and have managed 2 good station runs this week so far. My foot seems to be much better and having new shoes to run in makes me feel much "bouncier" too! I didn't think there was anything wrong with my old shoes as I haven't even had them a year yet but the difference to new shoes is amazing! Anyway I will definitely do the 5k parkrun this week and I am still supposed to be in training for the 10k run on 4th March but haven't managed a proper long run for almost 2 weeks!
This week has been a bit problematic time-wise with work and we are gutting our kitchen at the moment so I am having all sorts of visitors to give various quotes at all times of day. It also is still getting dark quite early and I don't like running in the dark! Next week I have to get back into my routine.

Oh and we only have one box of chocs left which is still in its cellophane wrapping. Hubby suggested to give them away but they are faaaar too good to give to anyone! I think a night of chocolate and champagne calls on the 14th of next month....

..and I have been eating too much bread this week...

confessions over.

Week 37 - Not a great start to the new year!

Just thought I would let you know I have a pain in the arch of my right foot which resonates into my ankle. Its not really painful, more, uncomfortable, but enough to make me not want to run with it. I have investigated the symptoms and with the aid of google, the best I can come up with is a condition called posterior tibial tendonitis. This article makes it sound much worse than my symptoms are. It doesn't hurt when I press it with my fingers but it is uncomfortable to stand on. Much like your muscles feel when you have overdone it. Anyway having made my back far, far worse in the summer by ignoring the symptoms I am now hyper-aware of not injuring myself further, so I have taken the week off running. Not a decision made lightly I might add.
I am going to get some new running shoes this weekend to see if that helps. I probably need a new pair by now anyhow as mine actually look like runners shoes all covered in mud and everything! :-) Hubby is desperate to smash his pb at the parkrun this Saturday so I have agreed to Marshal.

So, no running this week. I have finished the out-of-date mince pies (which were fine), we finished the Christmas pudding, we still have some chocolate in the house which I have hidden but keep thinking about! I haven't had any wine since New Years Eve and we are finally down to rations in the kitchen so I am back to shopping on a daily basis for dinners.

I hope to be back running again with gusto next week and will have organised the weeks meals properly too. I don't hold out much hope for tomorrows weigh in!

On a lighter note, my sister has started the couch to 5k programme and is doing week 2 this week. I'm very proud of her because she is running in the wind and rain and its hilly where she lives. Diana if you are reading, you go girl!!!!!

Week 37 - Happy New Year!!!

Well, now the holidays are finally over and the new year is upon us I am now eating consciously again (i.e. entering everything I eat in MyNetDiary). I still have chocolate, cheese and mince pies in the house but I will have to write them down if I eat them. We are re-doing our kitchen over the next couple of months so I am also trying to use up all the food in the freezer and cupboards.

I did manage a few runs over the holidays but not as many as I would have liked. I am now due for run 2 of week 4 of the bridge to 10k programme which is 3 x 18 minute runs with 1 minute recovery walks between and I can tell you it is really quite hard going! I don't know if its the weather (cold and wet in the UK) or the fact I am officially a lazy pot bellied Christmas piggy! Hubby came with me on my run the other day and if he wasn't there I definitely would have given up after the 2nd run. Instead I did it all and managed to cover 9.7km/6.02 miles and burn off 709 calories. Thats a hard slog for 6 mini mince pies!
All in all since the last count I have run 23.84km / 14.81 miles and burned 1791 calories but still managed to gain 4lbs! However that is not an official weigh in. As I said in my last post NewYears weigh in will be this friday so I will try to lose the excess by then.