Week 2 - Trying to get disciplined...
Week 2 - 9/Jan/06 - 15/Jan/06
So here I am at the end of Week 2 and I'm still writing my blog! Oh yeah - and still running!
It's been a long old week work-wise and the biggest consideration at the start of the week was to remain disciplined to get out there and get the miles in.
After the 'success' of my 5 mile run (well, it was a success for me!), I was actually feeling pretty good heading into Week 2.
I managed to get my four runs this week ("you can't cheat your legs"), which felt great. As I said, it was a long week at work so the late nights meant my two of my three 'shorter' runs were done on the treadmill. Although I haven't found it written anywhere that running on the treadmill isn't as good as running in the fresh air, I think there is enough anecdotal evidence to corroborate it.
The major upside of running on the treadmill was having the ability to regulate my tempo. Set at 7.5 or 6.8 or whatever it is and you know you can just sustain that, step after step after step.
The first run felt good, 3 miles. I managed to do it in 23.5 mins, which felt good. I actually didn't feel too bad after that although - again - my hamstrings felt pretty tight.
The second run was Wednesday after work. I managed to hit 4.1 miles this time. Yeah baby! I pushed myself on the treadmill and managed to do it in 32 mins. Very pleased with the time. The book says don't get cocky and, I must confess, that is blatantly what I did this time! But I thought, given I was feeling good.. why not!!
The third run was a bit harder to motivate myself - why the blazes do I leave it to Friday night?! Having no plans for a night out on Friday certainly made it easier. Avoiding the rush to The Pod at 5.01, I headed back home. Got home and before dinner, got changed and hit Clapham! It felt like I was running for bloody ages yet my 'trusty' pedometer only told me I had run 2 miles!! I plugged away for another 15 minutes though and eventually I went past 3 miles (got 3.3miles). Hallelujah! I 'cooked' some pasta (big achievement, don't sneer).
Now bring on the big run. Well, after a day of rest.
Sunday- the Big run:
It took me a bit of time to get ready, but, after only a bit of heisitancy, I did it. I planned to run down Wandsworth, Battersea and then back to Clapham. At 2.3miles I remember letting out a yelp at one point - surely I had been running for longer!! But with the 7 mile target in mind, I desperately wanted to keep going. I kept running and running and running. It felt ok though, I kept pounding the pavement... I was listening to music for the first time for a longer run and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Kaiser Chiefs in the ears.. good running music, I've decided. I headed up Battersea and, to be honest, felt like I may have gone a bit too far if I wanted to loop back so, just after the Battersea Dogs Home, I ended up coming back on myself and back to Clapham. 1 hour and 23 minutes - holy moly! I felt knackered but great!! The pinnacle of my running career... OK, I am sounding a bit melodramatic, but I really felt great. My pedometer said I had run 7.4 miles but I thought it might have been higher than that. Given I had run on main roads the whole way, I jumped in the car and measured it out. It was, in fact, 8.8 miles. What a feeling... but it wasn't without cost. My knees were very sore. My left foot had pins & needles after 5 miles. My right shoe felt like it was tied too tight and so was a bit sore. But with a smile on my face, it was time for bed.... Week 3, here I come.
So here I am at the end of Week 2 and I'm still writing my blog! Oh yeah - and still running!
It's been a long old week work-wise and the biggest consideration at the start of the week was to remain disciplined to get out there and get the miles in.
After the 'success' of my 5 mile run (well, it was a success for me!), I was actually feeling pretty good heading into Week 2.
I managed to get my four runs this week ("you can't cheat your legs"), which felt great. As I said, it was a long week at work so the late nights meant my two of my three 'shorter' runs were done on the treadmill. Although I haven't found it written anywhere that running on the treadmill isn't as good as running in the fresh air, I think there is enough anecdotal evidence to corroborate it.
The major upside of running on the treadmill was having the ability to regulate my tempo. Set at 7.5 or 6.8 or whatever it is and you know you can just sustain that, step after step after step.
The first run felt good, 3 miles. I managed to do it in 23.5 mins, which felt good. I actually didn't feel too bad after that although - again - my hamstrings felt pretty tight.
The second run was Wednesday after work. I managed to hit 4.1 miles this time. Yeah baby! I pushed myself on the treadmill and managed to do it in 32 mins. Very pleased with the time. The book says don't get cocky and, I must confess, that is blatantly what I did this time! But I thought, given I was feeling good.. why not!!
The third run was a bit harder to motivate myself - why the blazes do I leave it to Friday night?! Having no plans for a night out on Friday certainly made it easier. Avoiding the rush to The Pod at 5.01, I headed back home. Got home and before dinner, got changed and hit Clapham! It felt like I was running for bloody ages yet my 'trusty' pedometer only told me I had run 2 miles!! I plugged away for another 15 minutes though and eventually I went past 3 miles (got 3.3miles). Hallelujah! I 'cooked' some pasta (big achievement, don't sneer).
Now bring on the big run. Well, after a day of rest.
Sunday- the Big run:
It took me a bit of time to get ready, but, after only a bit of heisitancy, I did it. I planned to run down Wandsworth, Battersea and then back to Clapham. At 2.3miles I remember letting out a yelp at one point - surely I had been running for longer!! But with the 7 mile target in mind, I desperately wanted to keep going. I kept running and running and running. It felt ok though, I kept pounding the pavement... I was listening to music for the first time for a longer run and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Kaiser Chiefs in the ears.. good running music, I've decided. I headed up Battersea and, to be honest, felt like I may have gone a bit too far if I wanted to loop back so, just after the Battersea Dogs Home, I ended up coming back on myself and back to Clapham. 1 hour and 23 minutes - holy moly! I felt knackered but great!! The pinnacle of my running career... OK, I am sounding a bit melodramatic, but I really felt great. My pedometer said I had run 7.4 miles but I thought it might have been higher than that. Given I had run on main roads the whole way, I jumped in the car and measured it out. It was, in fact, 8.8 miles. What a feeling... but it wasn't without cost. My knees were very sore. My left foot had pins & needles after 5 miles. My right shoe felt like it was tied too tight and so was a bit sore. But with a smile on my face, it was time for bed.... Week 3, here I come.
posted by Vinay at 8:56 PM
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