Week five: now you are talking

The first run of week five and I was feeling quite close to keen to get on with it!  I have been away from home for a day or so visiting my brother in South Wales so I had missed two days rather than the one which the Couch to 5k programme requires.  I have developed a real fear of missing so many days that the small amount of progress I have made disappears and it feels as though I am starting from scratch so I was planning as I was driving back yesterday when and where to run today.  I decided to go down to the river again as I like the combination of flat land to run on and the variety of things to look at produced by the fields to one side of the track and the river to the other.

It was cold again today so once again I layered up with my thermal vest and long johns underneath my running clothes. Some people get quite warm and sweaty when they run but I suspect I don't run fast enough to make myself sweat, certainly I have never been too warm when running!  Today was three runs of five minutes, interspersed with three minute walks.  The first five minutes were slow and clumsy and I really could not get going but miraculously when I started the second five minutes it was much better.  The ten horses have gone from the field by the track so there was no livestock to see today.  The river was running full and fast.  Someone was working by the house at the end of the track where a new pond has been created.  If I had been walking I would have stopped to admire the pond and to chat for a minute but as it was I turned back each time before I got close enough to exchange any conversation.

Checking after I had finished the run and returned to the warmth of the car I see that the next run is two lots of eight minutes of running with some walking in between and then, unbelievably, twenty minutes of running when I reach run three of the week.  I absolutely and utterly can't imagine that I can do that.  So we will just concentrate on one day at a time!

Run 2
Well reporting back from run 2 in high delight!  This run was two lots of eight minutes running with five minutes walking in between and it was the best run yet!  I have kept hoping that following the couch to 5k programme would mean that at some stage what I was doing would feel easier instead of the slog which has been the case for much of it so far.  Running for eight minutes today seemed like a big step up from Sunday's five minutes but to my astonishment it was no trouble at all.  I kept it slow and steady and distracted myself watching the horses in the field by the track deciding to go exploring in the woods above the pasture.  They are not fenced off so I assume that there is no problem with the horses having access.  There are ten horses, ranging in colour from purest white (grey I know!) to two bays with rich brown coats and black manes and tails.  One of the bays seemed to be leading a procession of horses up the hillside and then into the trees.  I was so interested in watching this play out that coming to the end of the first eight minutes took me by surprise.

The walk in the middle allowed me to get my breath and look at how much water is running in the river right now.  There is a place which in summer makes a tiny beach and another where I take the grandchildren down to paddle where the water runs shallowly over a stony bed, firm under little wellington boots.  Both places were deep in water today and the tiny island in the middle was even tinier than usual.

And then it was time for my second eight minutes.  By the end of the session my legs were getting a bit tired but really no more than has been the case when I have been running two and three minutes in earlier weeks.  With every session that passes I have more and more faith in this programme.  Every time I have thought I couldn't do the next stage, but have pressed on nevertheless, I have been able to do it, and let's face it, if I can do it as a sixty four year old, anyone can!!

Anyway, general rejoicing today.  Thursday's run is meant to be twenty minutes without stopping.  Easy! (gulp)

Comments

  1. Glad to hear the eight minute runs went well. I’m quite sure you’ll manage the twenty minute run. I know it sounds daunting but your sense of achievement once it’s done will be immense. So impressed you are keeping to the schedule so well and in this cold weather. I look forward to reading your next post :) B x

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Barbara! To be honest the main reason I am sticking with it despite the cold is the fear that if I stop now I will lose whatever gains I have made and might not be able to wind myself up to starting again! It seems amazing to me to think that on Thursday I might do the twenty minute run. It is quite a leap up! But you have been here before me haven't you and that is encouraging!

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  2. I am SO impressed by you; well done!

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  3. 🏃🏼‍♀️ 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 X

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