Late resolutions. More running. More blogging. Less procrastination.

One of the motivators I use to combat the pain when I’m running is composing blog posts. Of course the ones I think of while running are incredibly witty and clever. Unfortunately they never read back quite as they sound in my head 🙂  but then I’ve never claimed to be a great writer, and as nobody reads them apart from me, who cares!

I have got to start putting more into my running. I’ve maintained a steady 4K once weekly run since my last post (about 6 months ago) but it’s not very impressive. I’m not hugely ambitious, I know I’ll never run a half marathon and I won’t be running a 5K in 20mins but I am setting myself a target of 5K in 30mins. This has been a vague ambition for a while though, perhaps I need to put a deadline on it? After all, let’s be honest, at my age I’m not likely to improve much and the longer I leave it the harder it will be.

So, time for a late new years resolution. Resurrect the blog and decide on a deadline (wouldn’t want to be too ambitious 😀 )

Back to Blog

I didn’t realise it’d been quite so long since I last blogged. Shame on me 😦 I haven’t been idle though, I have been running, albeit not as often as I’d like. I seem to have settled into a pattern of Sat morning 4K runs. Not bad but not great either. Often enough to maintain a level of fitness but not often enough to improve.

I have done a few 5K parkruns but without more midweek practice it’s a bit of a slog. I have a couple of weeks off work after this week and though I’m away for a few days I’m hoping to get back into a few more regular runs. If I can keep it up I’m hoping that it may cool down enough to run at lunchtimes in Sept. Ha! I’m now wishing away the good weather so I can run. I didn’t think running would alter me that much 😀

Do Gadgets, Geeks and Running go together?

Not posted recently……….too busy running! Not all the time admittedly but I have manged to run more regularly recently.

I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. I’ve done the 5K parkrun the last few weeks, consistently taking time off my pb, I’m down to 5K in 36mins – just 6 to knock off to reach my target 😀 . I didn’t go on the run this week as I’m not hardy enough to brave the sort of storm that was raging on Saturday morning. I don’t mind a bit of rain but thunder and lightening is too much for me. Instead, I went for a shorter run between the showers. I’ve managed to up my normal run to 30mins and I’m covering 4K ***loud cheers*** It may not sound much but when I started accurately measuring my running I was doing about 3.2K in 30mins.

I must admit, I didn’t think it would, but the Garmin 110 has really helped. I absolutely love uploading the info and checking out the map of where I’ve run. I run along thinking about satellites and being monitored from Space. I’ve always been a bit geeky at heart I suppose, but at least now I’m geeky AND can run 🙂

Getting warmer, Summer must be on the way

I went for a 30min run yesterday lunchtime. Nothing unusual, not a fast pace but pleased I went. What I did notice though was how hot I was! I’m not the sort of person who needs to wrap up for a run even in midwinter, long sleeves and trouser legs is enough. But I do get hot.

Because I work full time and find it hard to motivate myself in the evening (I have never been a morning person). I generally run at lunchtime but I think I will need to think again. Yesterday was by no means a hot summer day but just that rise in temperature of a few degrees has rung alarm bells (not to mention the warning sign of a face that looked like it was lit up with a red light).

I think I might see if I can arrange a few runs with other people. Unfortunately I don’t have the sort of friends who run (apart from a few who take it far too seriously for me). I might have to brave the local running club. Way out of my comfort zone.

A small achievement but definitely an achievement

I completed the 5K Parkrun on Saturday and ran the whole way, HURRAHHHHHHHH 🙂 . I was a bit slow, I’m still some way off my goal of 5K in 30mins, but I figured it was better to run the whole thing slowly than walk parts of it more quickly. I also came in faster than 10 other people, 10, I was amazed. Admittedly most of them were quite elderly, but not all (1 was a small child) and I know it’s not a race!

I’m still a bit unclear about my motivation for running but I definitely get a great sense of achievement from doing it even if I’m not sure that I enjoy it at the time.

2 runs in 3 days!

This is amazing consistency for me. I’m still running slower than most people’s walking speed, elderly folk with walking frames overtake me, (well they would if there happened to be any getting a breath of fresh air wandering around a couple of football pitches), but I did 30mins on Mon and again this lunchtime. I’m almost tempted to start setting myself targets. I am thinking a minimum of 10 runs a month. Not much I know, but doable.

Internal conversations

It’s early days but my new GPS sports watch (or toy) seems to be doing the trick. Yesterday I was having the usual internal argument:

Need to go for a run

Why?

Because you’ll feel great afterwards

But I can’t be bothered

You’ll be so cross with yourself if you don’t go today. It’ll be ages until you can go again

But it looks a bit windy out there

You’ve got a new toy

and?

It’ll make a new map and you may even get a new PB

ok then

………………….another 30min run to upload. I am such a pushover 🙂

New Gadgets and old trainers

I went online and bought myself a new gadget last week. I really need some new trainers but I bought A Garmin 110 GPS enabled sports watch instead. I have no idea if this will motivate me or not and obviously I don’t need it to run, but I felt I could do with a bit of motivation and I like a new gadget 🙂

It arrived on Friday so I wore it on Sat. I am still a pretty terrible runner, I didn’t run any longer or further, but I like to look the part 😀 

 

Running out of excuses

The 5K Parkrun didn’t happen for me this weekend. The plan was, as a motivator, I’d take the kids (my regular companion couldn’t come). I had an early night on Friday and set my alarm. Saturday morning and 1 of the kids wasn’t well. The other had had a late night so in the cold light of an 8am start at the weekend, the idea of going for a run didn’t seem so attractive. Unfortunately the nearest parkrun is 20miles away. So, the prospect of going on my own and not knowing anybody there plus a 30min drive, I didn’t feel very enthusiastic either.

I did go for a run though 🙂 Along the river for about a mile or so and back, I ran for 28mins so felt pretty pleased with myself. By the time I got back home I’d started mapping out a running program in my head. With the clocks changing and the lighter evenings I am running out of excuses not to run.

Spring has sprung. Motivation is rising (cautiously)

Another 5K done, (A proper one this time), and in less than 40mins. The weather has picked up and one of my friends, (who is much better self-motivated than me), has been encouraging me so I am feeling much more positive about running than I have for some time 🙂 This week my brother joined me in a parkrun and very kindly ran alongside me the whole way. My new PB was his new PW 😀

It was a bit of a novelty for me having somebody to run with so though I didn’t run it particularily quickly, I did run it and manage to have a conversation at the same time – definitely a sign of better breath control. I don’t think I’ll run another Parkrun for a few weeks but when the clocks go forwards in a few weeks in the UK, I’m planning on running at least 1 evening after work. I am determined to break the 35min barrier.