A good run!

Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash

I had a good run today! So there is such a thing. 

Today was the first run of week 8. The intervals were:

Run 15 Walk 5 x 2

It wasn't easy motivating myself to do it, especially when I stepped out of my warm office and into the cold breeze. However, my training plan assured me that one day there would come a time when I felt "fitter", and today I definitely did.

There were no objections from my leg muscles or lungs, the rest buzzer came earlier than expected, the hills weren't an issue, and I was actually annoyed when a car appeared and I had to get off the single track to let it past (in previous weeks cars were great because they forced you to take a sneaky unscheduled break).

I finished the run feeling like I could have run longer. 

End of Week 2

I've completed week 2 and as the picture above illustrates, it's been a wet and windy one.  Deciding when to run has become a bit of an art, hovering by the window trying to predict how long until the next grey cloud of doom will arrive and unleash its misery upon those of us trying to train below.  My shell jacket and trendy cap have been invaluable, as have a pair of thin gloves which I've worn a few times to combat the wind chill.

Looks like I'm actually going through with it...

So...this happened.
Yes, I've actually committed to running the Derby 10K. I've registered, chosen my shirt size, and speculated that I'll make it round the track in under 60 minutes. My fiance has entered too to offer moral support :)

My predicted time is a complete guess of course.  I'd like to think I could run 10K in under an hour, but progress lately has been lacking. Who would have thought that motivating oneself to run when tired, raining, or when pretty much anything else is preferable, would be so hard?

The countdown on the race website reassures me that there are 202 days until race day. That said, on the 5th April this year I embarked on a 12 week training programme that meant I should have run my first 10k distance at the end of June. It's now mid-September and I'm still lingering around week 3.  Yes, I quite agree, that is useless. It seems to reveal that I'm having difficulty getting into the habit of regular running exercise. Forming a new habit is hard. Some say it takes 21 days, but this article seems to dismiss that as a myth. Try more like 2 months, minimum.