The next two weeks appear to be the ones where I transform from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Going from 5m to 20 mins and onto 25 mins. Reading other peoples feedback, post W5D3 they actually started to hate having to walk in week 6. That is either a sign of madness or a complete mindset change and one I can’t quite fathom at this point in time.
That said, I have enjoyed the longer runs over the shorter ones, but that’s mainly because there are fewer of them, so maybe there’s a trend that this week should crystallise.
Well let’s start with I screwed up thinking I was running day 2 today (i.e. 2x8m). Somehow I skipped over this run, what a let off. I know I can run 5 minutes, 3 of them with 3 minute breaks, yeah I can do that. Beautiful summer day in the garden of England, it doesn’t get any better. Did the usual once round the field to take it all in.
The first run went well. I was only just starting to feel it and breath heavy by the end (last 30 secs). Recovery time was about 90 seconds. So I actually had a full 90 seconds to get my self ready for the second run, great!
The second run, again not bad starting to get a bit fatigued/laboured in the last minute. Recovery time was again a little over 90 seconds. Looks like this fitness thing might actually be real.
Third run, didn’t need to attack it mentally, it’s just a matter of fact I will finish it, because it’s only the same again. Last minute was a little tough, I was slowing and only at this point did I feel a few seconds of nausea. It’s a feeling I’m start to associate with digging deep – stretching myself, the bit where it counts. Recovery time probably a little over 2 minutes. Job done!
Physically not that bad. I’m still perplexed why my feet hurt during the walks, I don’t feel it as much when I’m running but when I stop, it’s like my shoes are 3 sizes too small. It’s nowhere near as bad as it was in the early days, but it’s odd that they hurt more when I walk than when I run, given the stress of running. No other aches or pains to speak off.
Mentally it didn’t take much effort, it did help getting the wrong day for sure. No visit to the interrogation room, I find just focussing on a steady, efficient rhythm, not wasting effort and trying to avoid too many stray thoughts helps. In the middle of the 3rd 5 minute run I did think to myself where is that wave of mental/physical agony I usually have to fight through?
I did have an internal dialogue with my brain/body that went … “you just run and do your thing and only tell me about it if there’s a REAL problem. I’ll be over here keeping an eye on things. Stop telling me about all the little niggles because nothing short of losing a leg is going to compel me to stop, so you just need to deal with it”. I seemed to get the message, on the whole.
So all in all, today’s run was pretty easy (relatively speaking), on par with the last run. Now let’s see what happens with these 8 minute runs, because that’ll be a real test of my mental/physical conditioning.
Today’s play list was just one of the many random playlists I have on my phone, shoved on shuffle, so totally random:
Road Rage – Catatonia
If there’s one song that sums up my mind set in life at the moment it’s Road Rage. I’ve reached a point in my life where I don’t need to work to just live anymore, after spending 20 years living and breathing work in the City of London. It has left something of a vacuum, and left me wondering just what it is “I” want to be doing. It’s actually been a question I’ve yet to answer to my satisfaction, when your career has defined your entire life so completely for so long, it’s difficult to see beyond it.
Cerys Matthews vocals makes this track something special, and there’s just something about how she’s says RRRAGE I love.
*You, you’ve been racing through the best days.*
*Space age, road rage, fast lane,*
Pretty much sums up all the missed sunny days stuck in the office working on mission critical IT projects (i.e. all very space age). When running it’s a reminder to me to be grateful, that I’m out in the sun doing something I want to do. All those years of looking out the window wishing I was outside enjoying it.
*And if all you’ve got to do today is find peace of mind*
*Come here, you can take a piece of mine.*
A very basic truth, ALL I have to do in my life is have peace of mind. I don’t have to meet other peoples expectations I just have to be happy! More importantly in the context of this run “peace of mind” is just focus on maintaining an efficient pace.
*You could be taking it easy on yourself*
*You SHOULD be making it easy on yourself*
More reminders to slow down and pace myself, it’s not a race. Too quick now and you’ll pay for it later (later of course being 3 minutes away).
*But as all you’ve got to lose, alludes to yesterday,*
*Yesterday’s through, now do anything you please.*
Another reminder that previous runs (and my old career) is in the past and it’s up to me what I do now – i.e. I will finish this bloody run for starters!
Teenage Wasteground – The Who
I must have listened to this track a thousand times without analysing the lyrics, but today it’s getting the “running” treatment:
*Out here in the fields*
*I fight for my meals*
*I get my back into my living*
*I don’t need to fight*
*To prove I’m right*
Well I’m in this field, I haven’t eaten breakfast but as soon as I’m done here I’m having a meal. I don’t have to fight, yet another reminder to pace myself. It’s not a fight I don’t need the adrenaline, it’s an exercise in avoidance not fight or flight.
*Don’t cry*
*Don’t raise your eye*
*It’s only teenage wasteland*
Just DO IT! Keep your head down and get through this wasteland. Yea okay, it was a lovely meadow a minute ago, now it’s a lava strewn burning cinder for my purposes. Crack on.
Skyscraper – Demi Lovato
Into the 2nd minute of the last run, deep in new territory and what we really need is a power ballad. I’ve not heard this track much, don’t even remember adding it, but it’s a cracker. The chorus kicks in:
*You can take everything I have!*
*You can break everything I am!*
*Like I’m made of glass,*
*Like I’m made of paper…*
*Go on and try to tear me down,*
*I will be rising from the ground*
*Like a skyscraper!*
Yeah that’s the good stuff right there, it just needs a chant of “Rocky” on the end. It has the desired effect I there is no way I’m giving up, even if I am wondering if the c25k app has crashed, surely Laura should be telling me I’m half way already!
*Go run, run, run!*
*I’m gonna stay right here*
*Watch you disappear, yeah!*
*Go run, run, run!*
*Yeah, it’s a long way down,*
*But I am closer to the clouds up here!*
Nothing is going to give you more incentive to run than a song that actually tells you to run. Just need to attenuate the adrenaline rush and the jobs a good ’un.
Roll on the next session.
