Reading back over it, I was struck by three thoughts:
1) How clever would I look if I went back into that original post and amended it with my insights on global pandemics?
2) Could there be a way that I could combine the letters F, J, L, M and N into one short, pain- and sweat-free session? (Suggestions are always welcome)
and
3) How can I STILL be so crap at running?
I mean, since that post I have almost worked my way through the alphabet of sports, including joining with the fantastic people of https://www.goodgym.org/ (read about it here) and miserably failing at an obstacle run (which I kept very brief here).
I had kind of hoped that a year of blogging would improve my fitness. By improve, I mean that by now I should at least be on an Olympic team. Granted, I could not have predicted the events of the past year; and there is a chance that not doing any exercise for a large junk of that time may have affected my chances of a gold medal.
But my little head voice repeatedly and annoyingly complained that it's really no good attempting any activity only once, before deciding that I'm no good at it an shelving it forever. Maybe, just maybe, I should give that "sticking with" malarkey a go.
Inspired by Simon and Yvette (the in-laws), and after having heard so many good things about the app from friends and colleagues, I decided to give the C25K APP a go. I could not possibly let Boris' daily allowance for lock-down outdoor exercise go to waste.
I had previously attempted it, and gave up very quickly. Looking back, I may have made a couple of beginners mistakes. For some reason, I arrogantly decided that I didn't need to start on week one. (I mean, why? What train of thought lead me to the conclusion that - being particularly useless at any kind of physical activity - I should set myself a higher bar than people who are clearly much fitter than me?) The other mistake I made was to get all the gear, before I had any idea. One of the items I bought was a set of earphones so that I could listen to the app. I since learnt that I hate earphones, and I cannot stand having anything near my ears when running.
So this time round, I made sure to learn my lessons. Obviously, I started with run one of week one. And I also decided not to use the app whilst running. Instead, I used a timer app, that would simply beep when the running- or walking-session was over. I felt so much more comfortable with that. That had of course to change in week four, when the run- and walk intervals vary throughout the session, but by that point I had developed my own strategies on running and dealing with everything else that the encouraging chatter no longer threw me off.
If you know me, I will most probably have told you (again and again) about how much I hate running, and how embarrassed I get about being seen running in public. By running, I really mean "in motion". Luckily, I've developed a sleeping pattern that sees me wake up at 4.30 most mornings; this allows me to pop out when the only other people around are not yet awake enough to see me. It also means on hot days that it's still nice and chilly, which makes it so much easier for me. I guess I'm good at sports as long as I don't feel sweaty, or tired, or challenged.
Surprisingly, I didn't only give it a go - I stuck with it and I finished the nine weeks programme that builds up your running from 1 minute at a time, to running for thirty minutes without stopping.
My worst moments?
- The night before run 1 week 3: For this run, you increase your running intervals from 90 seconds to three minutes. For some reason, the idea of running for 3 minutes without a break completely overwhelmed me. I could not sleep. I found myself at 2am, staring at my phone timer, trying to get my head around just how slowly the seconds went by. The next morning I overslept and decided to give up on the programme and that it was stupid, anyway.
The following morning I woke up at my usual dawn time, and run the 3 minute intervals without problems. And whilst I dreaded each new week with its extended intervals, I never worried about it quite as much.
- When someone spoke to me: My earlier runs fell into the days where lock-down was at its strictest. The very few people I saw when out running would join in my silent vow of giving the biggest possible berth to any humans within a mile radius. If I saw someone at the far end of the street, i'd cross over before I got close enough to make out if they were a person or a muntjack. If someone suddenly appeared on the path ahead of me, I would daringly step into the road without checking, because being mowed down would be preferable than to share a pavement with another person. And my pulse would race if the other party did not make an equal effort in avoiding me.
So that one morning when a dog walker - originally on the other side of the road - crossed over so that she would just pass in front of me, my outrage at such risky behaviour nearly made me miss the beep emanating from my phone. I gave her me best "I will say with my eyes what I am too polite to utter in words" glare, to which she smiled and said "good morning."
Reckless behaviour. Absolutely outrages.
- The times I ran the day after a core workout. Let me make one thing very clear: When I say "workout", I mean I had to sit up on the sofa to reach for the remote. I never felt that the workouts particularly had any long term consequences. But when running, I felt every single one of my well hidden six packs. Let's just say that it didn't happen very often.
My best moments?
- When- after completing week four - I googled "what is the hardest week of C25K and someone said week 4. I didn't read the full article, just closed the browser in the knowledge that I was a winner already.
- When I ran the 28 minutes in week 8, and felt that I could speed up (marginally) for the final minute. I felt like high-fiving someone - I obviously didn't, I'm no maniac.
- When it was pouring with rain on the morning of what was meant to be my final run. I went back to bed. I fell back asleep. It was good.
- The 47 hours of peace between each run.
- And of course, when I finished c25k. But... I feel I worked quite hard for this, and I really don't want to lose it. So I'm now looking for different ways of somehow keeping it up.
Let's see how that goes.
But for today, I'll just celebrate the fact that my phone screen thinks I'm amazing.
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