Week 45

Right, my mission is to lose that final stone by the 27th April. I had this stone lurking since November. I need it gone so I can buy a new slimline dress for a family wedding.

I have a 10k on Sunday which I am not prepared for at all due to an attack of posterior tibial tendonitis! But I started with my short run this morning to the station. Now I have to sort a 10 week training plan and think about what to eat for the week.

Week 44 - ageing

Just a little walk this morning to get the car. I jogged the last 300 or so metres. My foot didn't like it much although it eased up as I got to the end of the jog.
My back was quite stiff in the last couple of days - probably from spending the day rolled up on the settee on Monday!
I only have next week to train for my 10k. I may have to pull out altogether if my foot doesn't improve but I will decide that at the end of next week.

My physio said to me on Monday "people who start later usually do get little injuries and niggles". For a moment I thought he meant people who start running later in the day and then realised he meant later in life! I'm so busy being 23 in my head I forget I'm living in a 43 year old body and clearly, a 43 year old face too! :-(

Week 44 - Physio

Sorry I'm not doing well at keeping the posts coming, I've been a bit busy with my kitchen refurb.

Anyway, I did my parkrun on Saturday getting another PB of 33.22 so I'm really pleased with that. I did a long run and 3 short runs last week during all of which my back was pinching a bit. I've mentioned this before but I am also getting some pain in the arch to inside ankle of my right foot. It doesn't happen when I am running but hurts when I get up from sitting for a while. Hubby made me an appointment to see a rather 'brutal' physio on Monday. He stuck his thumbs right into the back of my shin bone  (between the calf muscle and shin bone) until I nearly cried. The interrogation unit should employ him to do that - he would get information out of anybody! He also said my back was tight and my glutes on the left side weren't engaging so he gave me some exercises to do. I see him again next Friday. I cant wait.....

In the mean time, after the physio, I came down with a temperature of 100.8 and a sore throat so I had to rest up for the day. This morning though the throat was still a bit sore but the temperature was back to normal. No runs for me yet this week. My leg feels sore where the physio attacked me so I will try for a run tomorrow (Wednesday) as I would like to get another parkrun pb this Saurday and the 10k is looming nearer....

Week 43 - Weight loss

Well, I must admit I haven't been brilliant of late. I haven't fallen completely off the wagon but, kind of, dragging my backside along in the dirt with one hand on the wagon and one hand in the bread basket.

Last week I only managed one long and one short run. My waist band on my jeans are feeling tighter and I haven't weighed myself for a couple of weeks.

Big mistake.

My plan at the beginning was to lose 42lbs. So far to date I have lost 25.3lbs. My best loss was recorded on 22nd Decebmer 2011 at 30.9lbs but since then a few lbs have crept back on. Most of these 25lbs were lost between April and September last year. Since then I've kind of got stuck in a rut. Possibly because I already feel so much better having dropped almost two dress sizes and being able to run further than people I know who are slim. I feel I have achieved something big. And I have.

I think my problem at the moment is that in order to get further with my fitness and weight loss I need to up my game. This takes effort, more effort than it did to start this journey in the first place.

I need another "moment", another switch in my brain to make me want to do more.  When I stepped on the scales on Sunday and saw I was almost 5lbs heavier than at Christmas my heart sank.

What would be the point in all this if I was just going to put the weight back on?

I had to sort myself out.

So, on Monday I took myself down to the river for a run. I ran 5k, turned round and headed home. I ran/walked the next 5k as my legs just weren't interested - serves me right for not being consistent with running. But I did cover 10k in 1hr 12 minutes. This pleased me because with the 10k race looming up on 4th March I know I can do it nearer to 60 minutes than I origionally thought.

This morning I got up and went out for my short run to the station. I fully intended to run a PB. After the first kilometer my back started to pinch. Damn! I walked the rest with a little jog at the end where it was still pinching. My back hasn't niggled for months. I hope to do another long run tomorrow so for today I will have to get a massage and a hot water bottle on my back and keep my fingers crossed.

Oh and by the way. When I weighed myself this morning I've already lost 1lb and we are only half way through the week!

Week 42 - I'm inspired!

I gave myself a good talking to since yesterdays post and not only did my station run in a good time of 14.27 but then took myself out to Bushy Park and ran round it for 8.5k. So today I ran a total of 10.69k/6.6 miles and burned approximatley 907 calories!

Week 42 - Inspirational people.

Well, my house is an absolute tip! Dust everywhere, constantly. I only managed 2 station runs last week, both of which were PB's I might add. My fastest station run to date was last Thursday morning at a record time of 14 minutes 9 seconds. Thats a whole 10 minutes better than the first time I did it last year - ok that did involved a fair amount of walking, but still, it's a vast improvement.

I didn't do any other runs for all sorts of excuses I can make up - I have no washing machine, therefore only smelly running gear, I have workmen in and out of the house all day, I'm working, but most of all, it's been flippin' freezing! I can see I am going to be a fair weather runner! We had a little snow over the weekend and I definitley was not going to go running in slush!

I hate to admit it but I am lacking in motivation at the moment. I'm getting a bit bored of my usual run along the river. It gets very wet and full of puddles and I get fed up of dodging them. Hubby suggested I go to the gym so at least I won't stop running all together. I know I will get back into it with gusto as soon as the weather gets a bit better though.

I've been watching Biggest Loser UK and USA and a UK show called A Year to Save my Life. I can't believe the exercises these people complete. It's truly inspiring! There I am just a stone to my target, not wanting to go out for a run because its too cold or too wet and these people with 10, 15 stone to lose are out there sweating their backsides off! I've never really watched these shows before but I will from now on.

One person in particular I find truly inspiring is a guy called Sam who I have never met in person but know from the Couch to 5k forums from last year. We were neck and neck with our weeks on the programme so we kept each other posted. Since April last year where I have lost 2 stone and managed a number of official 5k runs, Sam has lost almost 8 stone, run countless 5k's, a number of 10k's and some half marathons! I asked Hubby what time he is aiming for for his 10k, when he said around 44 minutes I thought, "hang on I'm sure thats what Sam has done". We looked it up and he completed a 10k in 46.21. Hubby said that was a very good time! Look Sam up here for real inspiration runningsam.com.
I would love to have the dedication that Sam has but I think my 10k time will be about an hour and a half......