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C25KRunning

C25K – Week 3 – Run 2

13th June 2018 — 0

Now I know it’s doable I couldn’t fail on the second run. Amazingly my feet had recovered I was honestly expecting them to be a problem after the last run. Very much emphasised the importance of having a day between runs.

It’s fair to say none of these runs are easy but what I am finding is the nausea I would suffer towards the end of runs is not as severe.

I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on running look for hints and tips especially on the mental aspects of running. Specifically how the hell do you keep going when your body is telling you to stop.

My reasoning went, week 5 with the dreaded 20m run was less than 2 weeks away at this point. The physical aspects of running are certainly making positive changes in conditioning my body. But the reality has to be that this is going to be more of a mental challenge than physical. That is, I probably have a 20m or even 5k run in me right now, so why can’t I do it?

One of the talks I found very useful was the very new age sounding Ted Talk by Ned Philips entitled “How endurance athletes are using the power of the now”. Ned run’s ultra-marathons quite an inspirational story of how he got there.

Ignoring the fact it all sounds a little bit Zen, something about just focussing on doing the best next step you can sounded like something I could have a crack at. Rather than the current cycle of focussing on everything that hurts, how much time I have left and other random typically negative thoughts.

One of the mental tricks I had already realised was to not think about the time left (it’s difficult, especially at 2 min mark). Coupled with the idea of just focussing on the next step and trying to exclude any other thoughts. As Ned says it’s difficult but I really believe it’s helping, or at the very least the mental gymnastics is distracting enough to not notice the fatigue!

Run Rating : 

Week 3 - Run 1
Week 3 - Run 3

C25KRunning

C25K – Week 3 – Run 1

11th June 2018 — 0

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It’s the week of the 3m run! Another landmark. But don’t panic I’ve invested in some new Nike trainers, special running socks and a belt to carry my crap in, like I can buy the performance I’m so sadly lacking.

Amazingly 3 minutes turns out to be totally doable, who would have guessed. Certainly not me. In fact I was spot on, I could get to 2 mins quite strong and then the last minute it all gets a bit puffy.

That said, it was probably not the best time to break in a new pair of trainers, it literally crippled me. I managed to stagger back to the car and it took a few minutes of sitting before I painfully drove home. wondering if I’d ever walk let alone run again. I’m having to admit I actually prefer to run on my own, having run with someone and without I find I run better on my own, it allows me to focus. Not to mention the headache of synchronising schedules as opposed to the flexibility of just popping out the front door when I have an hour.

And best of all, the park guys have mowed the grass round the outside of the field, they must have heard me or one one of the Velociraptors ate someone’s pup. It really helped cut down the drag.

The new running belt was excellent, I was running with a small backpack before and the belt was so much better, I almost couldn’t feel it. The only problem I had was my phone’s bluetooth would keep cutting out. In fact I had to re-run one of the runs because the bluetooth totally died. Not sure what the issue is, will need to investigate,  it works fine if the phone is in my pocket. So that’s the plan for now.

The socks well they look cool, but I’m not sure they made a huge difference when I’m only running 9 minutes, might help on an actual 5k, I’ll report back when I get there.

Having done quite a few sessions now I thought I’d summarise my observations of the types of people I meet when out and about. One of my big concerns when starting C25K was what other people would think about a sweaty middle age man trying to give himself a heart attack.

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Week 2 - Run 3
Week 3 - Run 2

C25KRunning

C25K – Week 2 – Run 3

8th June 2018 — 0

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Well last run of the week and I’m back on my own again. My running partner has called it a day after damaging his knee. Having a set of working knee’s is somewhat important in their line of business, so it’s not something they can afford to ignore.

So back to the country park, back on with the headphones and head down. They will need to do something about the grass here it’s starting to look like something from Jurassic Park, replete with velociraptors in the long grass.

Actually, as runs go this was very straight forward. I was finding I was recovering pretty much after each run within the 2 minute walk period. Which makes a huge difference, certainly psychologically. In fact the last run I extended out to 2 minutes to see what it was like ahead of next week’s sessions.

Running on my own allowed me to focus on my own pacing, which was certainly slower and hence less stressful than the last two runs. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, i.e. should I be being pushed to go faster at this stage or as many seem to indicate get through the program at any speed and then focus on building up speed later when you have the distance. I tend to think the latter is a probably the better route, or at least the less painful one.

I will need to get some new running shoes the soles on the ones I have are starting to fall apart. Sad really because it’s not through over use, rather probably a result of sitting in sun in the porch for 5 years not being used. I think I’ll also sort out the rucksack, it’s starting to annoy me and as it’s total overkill to carry my keys.

Another unexpected benefit of running is, I’ve actually developed a tan and one that actually protects me from the sun. It might seem like an odd thing to those of you who are lucky enough to be able to tan, but given my Welsh DNA, I have a tendency to go from pale white directly to lobster red, even with the application of factor 30 sun block. I suspect it’s a situation not helped by spending 20+ years under florescent lights. I came home after today’s run to wash the sweat off my face only to find myself looking at a face full of freckles, a sight I hadn’t seen in a very very long time. Skin cancer here we come!

Overall week 2 has been a lot easier than week 1, which I guess should come as no surprise, probably made even easier by re-running week 1. Next week the program ramps it up to 3-minute runs which is a bit worrying, I’ve seen I’ve got 2 minutes in my legs but another minute? Hmmm not so sure.

Run Rating : 

Week 2 - Run 2
Week 3 - Run 1

C25KRunning

C25K – Week 2 – Run 2

5th June 2018 — 0

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Back to the country park for another 9 minutes of running in 30 minutes. Honestly doesn’t sound like a lot, so I’m still coming to terms of why it’s proving to be so difficult.

It’s becoming harder and harder to keep up with my running partner’s pace, even over these short runs. They are adapting quicker than I am, in my defence they are also carrying significantly less weight. Coupled with a longer stride it’s obvious I’m either going to be holding them back or I’m going to end up killing myself chasing them.

There are two physical aspects of running that are proving the biggest challenge for me at the moment, nausea and foot pain.

No surprise the last two runs have proved to be the hardest, I start to get the feeling of nausea in the last 30 seconds of run 5 and for much of the last minute of run 6. It’s probably the worst aspect of running, I can handle most of the other physical side effects but this one is difficult to ignore.

The Internet offers lots of suggestions most really can’t be applicable given that it’s only a 9-minute run. My general conclusion is it’s a combination of the blood being redirected from the digestive system to the legs and lungs, and possibly lactic acid build-up as it only really starts to happen when I’m digging deep. The general answer seems to be slow down a bit, something I’ll have to try on the next run. I suspect it’s a side effect of not yet having found a good sustainable running pace.

The other problem is my feet still continue to hurt on the recovery walks, not while running, and it’s a very much more demanding pain than the feeling of nausea. It takes almost the full 2 minutes to walk it off and it starts pretty much after the first or second run. I suspect it’s poor circulation to the feet, resulting in either lactic acid building up or the feet just not getting enough oxygen. The fact I can walk it off makes me think it isn’t an issue with the type of running shoe, i.e. pronation or supination.

One more run to go this week, I don’t feel I’m making a lot of progress. I clearly am as I was struggling with 60-second runs last week. I just need to keep going, trust the program it’s worked for others.

Run Rating : 

Week 2 - Run 1
Week 2 - Run 3

C25KRunning

C25K – Week 2 – Run 1

3rd June 2018 — 0

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The program steps up in week 2, less overall runs 6 vs 8 from last week but they are all 90 seconds, The only saving grace is that the recovery periods have increased to 2 minutes as well. I was really not looking forward to this, although I could see a little bit of improvement in re-running week 1, I’m not convinced it would translate into this week.

In the back of my head, I felt I could probably make it to halfway, i.e. the first 3 runs, but anything beyond that was going to be a voyage into the unknown.

We went back to the country park, on a slightly overcast but warm Sunday afternoon.

Turns out running 90 seconds as opposed to 60 seconds doesn’t make a massive difference. The session seemed to be over very quickly, the last two runs were as always a bit tough. Really just hanging on, lots of puffing and panting and trying to fight down rising nausea in the last 30 seconds. The biggest issue I had, and I noticed it on the last week 1 run, is that I’m tending to have to chase after my running partner rather than run at a pace that’s comfortable for me.

As discussed previously he has a naturally longer stride than my dwarf legs and over even 90 second period he’s getting a few metres ahead. In the last couple of runs, I was really struggling to keep with his pace and I was having to dig deep to maintain any sensible gap.

That and the grass is starting to get very long around the outside, helped by recent rain, to the point I’ve ended up with grass stuck in my sole where a piece of the rubber is coming off. Hopefully, they’ll get around to giving it a mow before it’s up to my waist.

So totally possible to run 6×90 seconds, but it’s not fun and it’s becoming a real challenge to keep up.

Run Rating : 

Week 1 - Rerun
Week 2 - Run 2

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