Which Head Am I Wearing This Week?

No running stats for me this week as I've got nothing to report!

My Frustrated Head is sitting on my shoulders right now, carrying my getting Smarter Brain!   At least I suspect it's getting smarter because said Smarter Brain has decided that next time I'm running and I feel a pain that doesn't go away after a half mile or so it will send the STOP signal to my feet - and the RING HOME FOR A LIFT signal to my fingers and all might be better than it is right now!

So, as I've mentioned - this week I've dusted down my Frustrated Head. I've also dusted down my Anxious Head - and I'm wearing both of these - mostly at alternate times but now and again they both appear on my shoulders at the same time  - which must look rather odd!!

My Frustrated Head is one that I don't wear too often as I'm usually on a fairly even keel and nothing much really phases me in my day to day life.  I tend to take things in my stride - only now and again getting frustrated. This week I'm feeling utterly frustrated at the apparent lack of healing that's going on with my foot.  Even walking my dogs in the morning is a struggle, although I'm finding that it feels ok during the day when I'm working even though I'm on my feet all the time. This is probably because I'm trying to walk faster when I'm out with my dogs. Pottering about doing housework for people is a nice slow moving job - no strain there!

As for my Anxious Head - well this one usually (but not exclusively) comes out of the cupboard when things are going on in my life that I feel I have no control over or things that involve authority! Anxious Head carries Stressed Brain in it! This week my Anxious Head is out for an airing because I'm probably consuming more calories than is good for me - not only that but I'm craving chocolate and sweet stuff!  Anxious Head keeps whispering about putting on weight - something that I don't really need to worry too much about when I'm running.  So I'm feeling very anxious about when I'll be running again!

As I've stated numerous times before. I run so I can eat cake, drink beer and not get fat! 

I'm not keen on this non-running state that I'm in at the moment!  Not keen at all!   Stressed Brain has decided to send signals to my back/shoulder - this always happens when Stressed Brain is in control!  So not only do I have a foot that's playing up, I'm now suffering pain in my left shoulder. I think I might have to bite the bullet and pay another £32 to go and get Nichole at the Newland Chiropractic Clinic to torture me again this week to see if she can put things right!   I think running takes away a great deal of my stress as I've not been troubled with my back/shoulder for months.   What an utterly crap state of affairs!

So, currently I have BOTH HEADS out - but I'm mainly wearing the Frustrated one!




My friend Adrian, who isn't allowed to run because of injury at the moment  has my full and complete sympathy!

Hopefully I'll be able to start 13:1 Week  6 soon!

Thank you dear reader for taking the time to view my moaning groaning blog this week.  Fingers crossed for a more upbeat report next week!

Bridge 2:10k Week 6 - I'm almost there!

This weeks Treadmill Torture features the following workout x3

5 minute warm up walk
60 minute jog
5 minute cool down walk

Oh, and lets not forget that there's a fourth run this week - my GRADUATION run!


OMG what was I thinking of when I agreed to do this!?

HOW IT WENT:
Tuesday 12th July 2011 - Week 6 Day 1
I was rather surprised how comfortable I felt doing the run this morning.  I dropped my jogging speed down to 4.8mph and after jogging outdoors on Saturday this treadmill jog felt pretty easy. The temperature was ok at 69*f and I remembered to put a wet flannel by my treadmill to help cool me down. I overheat very quickly even with the ceiling fan on.  As a departure from my normal habits I dissolved a Reviving Effervescent Tablet into my water today and was determined to make sure the water bottle was empty before I finished my workout.  I'm guilty of NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER.  

I know I need to drink more.  I just don't!  

My daughter swears by these tablets and I thought - it can't do any harm!   I surprised myself by finishing my water off by the time I was half way though so I must try to remember to put 2 bottles in my tray next time and try to get into the habit of drinking while I run (this is a lesson I learned on Saturday when I forgot to carry water with me and was having random thought's about mugging some of the other ladies for their water during the Race For Life!)

Yesterday I injured one of my toes when I caught it on my Total Core Sit Up Implement of Torture. I swore rather a lot and even He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored looked at me in shock.

Good job it wasn't Friday night darts when I used that sort of language or I'd be skint (I have a swear tin - 50p for a moderate swear word, £1 for the F word and should I ever even think of using that other disgusting word - that's £20!  I should point out that there's no danger of £20 EVER going into the tin.  Thinking the word but not uttering it is a £10 fine.  And I'm not likely to do that either.  I was brought up well by my parents!)   Last darts season I raised £52 in fines which I gave to the dogs home where I got my beautiful Bobby from.   They did ask me to thank everyone who swore and I felt rather ashamed when I had to admit that it was just me.... (that reminds me - we had the first game of the new season last Friday - I.O My Swear Tin ££2!)

Towards the end of the 60 minute jog my legs were feeling a little tired but I felt I could have continued for longer after my 60 minute timer went off.
 Week 6 Day 1

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Jog Speed	Temp
70 mins	567	134	153	5.41miles	3.7mph	4.8mph	69*f

I find myself wondering if I will ever be able to do the half marathon distance. Then I remind myself that not too long ago I didn't think I'd run 5k, which I can now do.  I'm looking forward to finishing the Bridge 2:10k and getting started on half marathon training.  I'm not convinced that I will be able to do the distance outdoors but I feel that I might be able to do it on the treadmill. Not too long ago that seemed like it was an impossible dream. Now, I think with a lot of hard work and time I will probably make it that far.

Thursday 14th July - Week 6 Day 2
Nice run today. The cooler temperatures make it much more comfortable. I thought I'd increased my running speed up .1 today but I was mistaken :(   On my final run of Week 6 I will have to remember to notch it up a little!   My heart rate was fine and I wasn't as hot as I usually am.  I did drink 2 bottles of water today. (75cl each)  I can't even contemplate running an outdoor half marathon if I cant increase my water consumption while I'm running as that wouldn't be safe.  My nose started to run part way through - I wonder if I'm coming down with something?   Worryingly this morning I felt a bit woozy after my jog. I tend not to eat before hand as I find it hinders my run. Maybe I'm at the point where I do now need to eat beforehand.  Or maybe my head was awash with all that ruddy water?!  With about 19 minutes to go the water started to filter it's way through too - hmmm...
Week 6 Day 2

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	Temp
70 mins	550	132	147	5.48miles	3.7mph	4.8-4.9mph	65*f

Saturday 16th July 2011
Week 6 - last run of the week!

Reasonable Temperature For Jogging

After the wooziness of my previous jog I've been worrying about it and feeling a little concerned about jumping on the treadmill again in case I feel "off" again. Before embarking on today's workout I'd decided that I would eat breakfast and not drink so much during the run and see how I feel at the end. 

It was reasonably cool outside this morning - and more importantly - no sunshine at all hitting the conservatory - in fact, the only thing hitting the roof was about a thousand gallons of water a second. It's been chucking it down here in Lincoln UK! Luckily I just got back from walking my dogs a few minutes before it started to pour!

I felt a little queasy this morning while I was out with the dogs - I think that maybe fresh pineapple and yoghurt isn't an ideal breakfast after all. My tummy felt so unsettled that I thought maybe I wasn't going to get this run in today - no point starting it if I needed to bail out part way through!    My tummy did settle down after about half an hour and I was able to get onto the final jog of the week!

5.32 miles - around 5 miles jogged

I felt rather hotter than I did on my previous run - I have increased the jogging speed a little though, so that might account for that - and the temperature is a couple of degrees warmer than my earlier run.  I think I've got a remedy for overheating though - this morning  I bought myself a little hand held fan which has a small water reservoir - with luck that'll keep me cooler!  It doesn't help matters when you're a "certain age" and get hot flushes!  Bah!  Mother Nature!  It occurred to me during todays Treadmill Torture that I'm 50 years old for goodness sake - and here I am - suddenly discovering the joys of jogging!  

I wonder if this is my version of a mid life crisis?  I do think about some crap while I'm jogging -  you just wouldn't believe the sort of things that go through my head!                                                           

So, those vital stats for today:

Week 6 Day 3

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	Temp
70 mins	628	140	158	5.63miles	3.7-4mph	5-5.2mph	67.8*f

**********Bridge to 10k Graduation Run**********

Rather unclear - but it says 71.49 minutes  6.22 miles

I feel like these stats should be accompanied by a fanfare or something but you'll just have to improvise and hum your own!    Well, I've done it!  I've graduated the Bridge 2:10k Treadmill Torture.  I have to admit that the euphoria I felt when I completed the couch to 5k program just wasn't present today as I completed my run - could be because I was utterly knackered?!  The temperature was comfortable, my ceiling fan was on (actually forgot to put my treadmill fans on!) I had some new music on my ipod - best song I ran to today was a real oldie - Bananarama - It aint what you do (it's the way that you do it!)  I didn't exactly like it when it was in the charts all those years ago but it had a great 5.5mph running beat to it which I focused on as I ignored the distance sliding by.




                                                                             
                                                                                 
BRIDGE TO 10K - GRADUATION RUN STATS:

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	Temp
71minutes 49seconds	752	152	164	6.22miles or 10k	no walking	4.8-6.0mph	67*f

Many thanks for following me on my Bridge2:10k journey. Please feel free to leave me a comment and stop by soon - when I'll tell you about my 13.1 (half marathon) training...

The Morning After The Day Before

 Sunday 10th July 2011



He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored was smirking at me yesterday afternoon because I was reporting that my legs felt fine after my efforts doing the Race For Life.

"Hahaha - just wait until morning - I bet you wont be saying that then" he chuckled  

Well, I'm pleased to report that my legs feel just fine today!  I do feel a little bit dehydrated - but that's down the the take away pizza we had for dinner!  Can't blame that on the race. 

He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored seemed a bit disappointed that I have no aches and pains and asked - how come I always ache after I've worked out?  Well, that's because you go for it hell for leather my dear and I follow a strict program so I don't over-do it!  I thought..... (smug look)       

I said nothing - just smiled :)

Directly after the race He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored took us to Daisy Made (a local ice cream parlour) for a huge dollop of real dairy ice cream in a chocolate cone.  Just to get our sugar levels up, you understand.   I felt very proud to walk in there with my race day outfit on and my race number showing.  As we were telling  the girls behind the counter what we'd been up to an old face from the past came wandering round the corner - our old friend Dave "Arnie" Walster who we've not seen for several years.  He didn't actually bat an  eye lid at the outfit (shows you how strange he thinks I normally am?!)    As we were leaving he did ask what all the names on my ribbons were all about so I took a strand and told him exactly who the names on that strand were - Bessie Gunner, my sister in laws mum who fell to cancer, Wendy, her sister, a survivor, Teresa, my friends daughter, currently fighting breast cancer, Gordon, an elderly gentleman I work for -  a survivor of testicular, bowel and prostate cancer, Joyce Chetwyn, my nana who fell to cancer in 1977.  At this point he reached into his wallet and produced a tenner.  I'm amazed at how generous people can be - even when you're NOT asking them to dig into their pockets for a donation!

Not long after we left Daisy Made my mum and dad phoned to congratulate me which I thought was so sweet - bless their hearts.  As they live so far away I didn't really expect them to remember that I was doing this race, never mind remember the day correctly! Dad rarely comes on the phone - he usually leaves all the chatting to mum (I think that's fairly typical of dads, isn't it?!) but he swiped the phone off my mum and we had a little chat.  He pledged a tenner to my fund raising and good as his word when my sister popped round to visit them later in the day they went online and my dad donated a tenner - Ted Lee - thank  you so much for your donation.  Having your support means so much to me!

So that's it.

My first Race For Life is done and dusted and is now fading into memory, becoming part of my history, part of what makes me who I am. 

I feel great today. My medal will take pride of place on my running board where I put items of interest to keep me occupied while I'm on my treadmill.

Next stop, I have to do Week 6 of the Bridge 2:10k -
5 minute warm up walk
60 minute jog
5 minute cool down walk
Then a graduation run where I just keep on going until I reach the 10k mark.
No time to sit on my laurels after that Janet and I are going to launch ourselves into 13.1 training.  (Half marathon)  To be honest, I don't think I've got a hope in hell of finishing a 10k run outdoors, never mind a half marathon but this is all about keeping me fit, keeping me healthy and having some fun. If I never progress beyond running 5k outdoors and have to do 10k and 13.1 on my treadmill then so be it.

Thanks for reading.


You'll find my full Race For Life Race Day Report in my menu of "Netty's Other Pages" on the right hand side of my blog. I've popped it there so that it doesn't get swallowed up by future posts and archived along with the rest. I felt it was such an achievement I wanted it to be where I could lay my hands on it easily! 

If you'd like to leave a comment about my Race For Life report please feel free to do so here as the other page doesn't support leaving  comments.   :)

Bridge 2:10k Week 5 - the pressure builds!

The pressure certainly is building!   I checked out my friend Janet's blog earlier this week and thought - that's odd, she's gone from doing 66 minute workout during week 4 to only a 55 minute workout on Week 5 Day 1 - hmmmmmmm... how odd, what's going on?   Then I made the BIG mistake of investigating further and discovered what's in store for me this week:

It SCARED the life out of me when I first looked at what's in store - but then I got my sensible head on and thought - actually, the first 2 days I'm working out for less time than I have been during week 4 - and then on day 3 I'm only actually doing an extra 5 minutes more than I have been doing during week 4. 

I can do this!

(Then I think back to how confident I felt at the start of Week 4 - I really MUST take this slowly - this is a race I can win if I take it slowly, don't get over confident and wear myself out before I can see the finish line! )


Let the workout begin.....


Week 5 Day 1
5 minute warm-up walk
Jog 22 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Jog 22 minutes.
Five minute cool-down walk
55 minutes in total. 

Here's How It Went:
Amazing!  This can't be right?!  I actually managed todays workout without any major dramas or problems - until I came to blog my results - and then the problems started!   I'd written a huge amount this morning but blogger just wouldn't save my work so it was all lost. Anyway, not to worry - I'm back from work and trying again - Firefox still wont allow me to access my blog so I'm having to fire up IE (which pains me as I loathe and detest IE) however, at least I can report that my jog went well and (hopefully) I can now show you my stats!    My average heart rate seems quite low compared to previous runs which is odd. My maximum is around the usual rate. I'm not sure why.  It was rather cool in the conservatory today and I had the ceiling fan on maximum too so I was nice and comfortable - I wonder if that might have made a big difference?  I also had plenty of time to get the workout done before work - so I was very relaxed.  I wonder if that made the difference. 

I wonder....if changing my treadmill from kilometres to miles hasn't gone well and it's not configured itself correctly?   I suppose the only way to find out will be to do exactly the same workout on my old treadmill and see if I get pretty much the same result?

 Week 5 Day 1 - those vital stats!

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	°temp
55mins	369	129	154	4.39 miles	3.7	5.0-5.4mph	64°f

NOTE: the final 10 minutes of the second jogging increment was at 5.4mph. All other
jogging was at 5mph





 Week 5 Day 2
5 minute warm-up walk
Jog 25 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Jog 25 minutes.
5 minute cool-down walk
61 minutes in total. 

Here's How It Went: 
Another great workout today!  Our dogs woke us up at 6.30 - it hardly seemed worth going back to sleep, even though I'd only had 6 hours sleep I got up and got on with it!  Today I made sure my ipod didn't die on me (ran it on mains power not battery while I ran) so at least I had music all the way.  I started out listening to a talking book but I couldn't concentrate on the plot so I changed back to music. I think I need to put some new stuff on there. I'm getting bored with what I've got - either that or I'll "borrow" Neil's ipod and listen to Meat Loaf for a change. 


It's great running at the weekend with no pressures on my time.  I feel relaxed and happy knowing that I haven't got to stress about getting the workout done before grabbing a shower and dashing off to work! By the end of the workout I could have continued but I do like to be exact in what I'm doing - that way I can make a good comparison of my progress against Janet's weekly stats.   I did decide to jog on after I'd written down todays B2:10k stats though.  I had intended to run another 3 miles but in the end I decided that one mile at 6mph was enough thank you very much!   I forgot to put my foot pad on today - and with 6 miles of jogging done I was feeling a little bit tender.  Must remember to put it on for the next few weeks just to be sure things are ok.


 Week 5 Day 2 - those vital stats!

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	°temp
61mins	465	138	157	5.05	3.7-4.0mph	5.0-5.4mph	68°f

Week 5 Day 3 
5 minute warm-up walk
Jog 30 minutes
Walk 1 minute
Jog 30 minutes
5 minute cool-down walk
Total Treadmill Torture: 71 minutes


Here's How It Went: 
This is my last B2:10k workout before I do the Race For Life this coming Saturday (9th July 2011) so I really wanted to get it done early in the week to give myself plenty of "rest time" before the big day.  I started to do this yesterday but at 88°f it was just too hot - and it wasn't much cooler in the garage where I have my stand-by treadmill.  My foot is also still a little tender after my previous run.  I seem to be plagued by aches and pains of one sort or another! It's very frustrating.   After flinging the french doors and the side doors and all the windows open I embarked on Week 5 Day 3. I struggled a bit today and it wasn't until part way through the first 30 minute jog that I realised that the side door had blown closed - no wonder I was melting! I had to jump off the treadmill at the end of the first 30 minute jog portion and used my 1 minute walk time to prop open the side door AND get a cold wet flannel before leaping back on for the next bit of the torture!   The jogging portions seemed to go on and on this morning - I don't think the temperature helped matters at all.  Goodness knows how I'm going to cope when I do the 13.1!  (ah, did I tell you about that yet?)

As always, once I've completed the workout I feel bloody marvellous! So pleased with myself for not giving in and for pushing on even when I really would like to stop!  I blame my friend Janet for this. I WILL NOT give up! If Janet can do it - I can do it too!  :)    Once again, thanks to my virtual Jogging Buddy for being there, pushing me onwards and for helping me to leave my comfort zone right back there in the far distance, almost a memory away!

Week 5 Day 1 - those vital stats!

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	°temp
71mins	574	142	162	5.69	3.7-4.0mph	4.8-5.3mph	77 °

I'm just loving the amount of calories I've burned today! Woohooo! Cream cake here I come! ;)

Bridge 2:10k - Week 4

Bridge 2:10k - Week 4 - Just past the half way point - and there's just one question on my mind....
What's expected of me this week?

5 minute warm up walk
18 minute jog
1 minute walk
18 minute jog
1 minute walk
18 minute jog
5 minute cool down walk

CLICK THE ABOVE LINK TO SPONSOR ME

A Total Treadmill Torture of 66 Minutes!  Lovely!

Pre-start thoughts:  This is just one minute per jog longer than last week and the week before - nice easy increments. I'm not intimidated by this weeks workout and I only have to find an extra 3 minutes in total to fit into my busy day!  That's 3 extra minutes of jogging - hmm... I can do this AND with a bit of luck and  a fair wind - I might even be using my new treadmill (already nicknamed The Beast) for week 4's workouts  :)  Hurrah!




Week 4 Day 1 - How it actually went....
Reading my pre-start thoughts - I think I might have been a little over confident!

I was out of bed a little later than usual and we went out shopping earlier than normal to beat the traffic so when I should have been doing my workout, in the cool of the morning, I was sat drinking tea, then getting dressed and then shopping at Morrisons and Pets at Home!  I thought I might leave Week 4 Day 1 til tomorrow morning but then thought I'd give it a go as I was eager to get on The Beast and give it a whirl - which was probably not the best idea I've had recently!  The temperature was 85° in the conservatory which was way too hot to run  in for me! I thought with the onboard fan and the ceiling fan I'd possibly be ok. In my eagerness to get on I forgot to open all the windows and forgot to open the french doors too.  I did manage to do 30 minutes of the workout before I had to admit defeat and give up.  I hate doing that - but it really was just way too hot in there! I couldn't even use the old back up treadmill out in the cool of the garage as He-Who-Is-Never-Ignored was busy out there - trying to get it tidy enough to fit the old treadmill in!

The Beast!

A few hours later, when the temperature had dropped to around 70° I thought I'd try again!   I found it rather strange trying to figure out the speeds I needed to be running at (I'm used to miles per hour - and now I'm having to think about kilometres per hour) and I'm used to watching the miles roll by - not the kilometres - all very odd!    Before I started I made myself a little conversion chart which isn't scientifically accurate but is close enough for government work!  This gave me a good idea of how far I'd jogged and how fast I needed to be going compared to my old treadmill.

Considering I'd already done half this workout a few hours earlier and had to give up I think I did pretty well to finish this time. My legs were already tired when I started and the ball of my right foot is rather tender. I think maybe I've bruised it a little. I hope that's all I've done at any rate!  Hopefully I wont have to take time off as I'd really like to graduate this workout before my Race For Life event on 9th July 2011 but the Race For Life has to be more important - as I have a lot of sponsorship riding on it - so I might need to consider taking a few days away from running next week if things don't improve.

Week 4 Day 1 - those vital stats!

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	°temp
66mins	538	143	155	5.32	3.7	5.0-5.4mph	70°

**************************

Tuesday 21st June 2011 - yesterday I should have done the bridge Week 4 Day 2 - however, the tender foot I mentioned previously has stopped me from running.     I've got it padded out to keep it protected and have been resting it on an ice pack when I get chance.  I'm on my feet from around 5.30am until 6.30pm most days so it's not easy to rest it!  I'm not very happy to be slipping further behind my friend Janet  because it's so motivating knowing that you're running along at the same point as a friend....however, I'm focused on getting this foot right and being able to run in the Race For Life on July 9th.  I can't risk not being able to take part in that!    Hopefully it'll just be a few more days until I'm ready to run again - and I think I'll just start off very easy - maybe I'll go back to c25k for a first run just to ease in gently and see how my foot copes.  And if it doesn't, then I'll just have to rest it until just before my race to make sure I'm properly fit and healed.  It's so frustrating!

**************************

Saturday 25th June 2011 - Week 4 Day 2 -back on the treadmill after a few days break! I intended to take things easy and just do a few minutes jogging - something like couch to 5k week 5 or something easy like that -  but in the end I thought - sod it - just go for it - at the very worst I'll have to rest again until my Race For Life day so I took off and did the Bridge - Week 4 Day 2!   I had a good run - my foot felt a little bit tender to start with but then eased off so I finished the workout and was very pleased with myself, and very pleased to be running again!  Just to be on the safe side I used an ice pack on my foot for half an hour after my run.   I will probably give my foot an extra day to recover  - so Week 4 Day 3 will probably be on Tuesday.

Week 4 Day 2 -

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	° temp
66 mins	521	140	163	5.30miles	3.7mph	5-5.5mph	68°f

Tuesday 28th June 2011 - Week 4 Day 3 - and also my mums birthday!  I must give her a ring when I've done blogging! She's 71 today :)

My foot is giving me discomfort of around 5% compared to 100% a week ago but I'm still wearing the foot pad on it all day long to protect it. I'm on my feet all day during the week - my feet do take a hammering!  Then I go and abuse them by running. No wonder they're complaining!

The weather has cooled down quite a bit and there's no sun pushing through the clouds so the conservatory was a mere  69°f this morning - quite a reasonable temperature for my Treadmill Torture!  I was looking forward to getting todays run out of the way with so I can push on to Week 5. Because of my injury I'm over a week behind schedule! Not good. I do like things to run smoothly and go according to plan. I feel quite put out when things go wrong! 

The Important Bit:  ---- My run went well this morning. Minor discomfort in my left foot. The ball of my foot held up very well but one of my toe rings has shifted position and was digging into my other toe a little bit.  I might have to take the toe rings off! I wear them 24/7 and have done for years so I'm not too keen on removing them but needs must when the devil drives!   During the second 18 minute run I started to get a bit warm even though I have the ceiling fan right above me on maximum speed!  Mind you, I did push my speed up a little to 9kph so no wonder!   During the third 18 minute run my face was glowing like you would not believe - than goodness I have face wipes in one of my treadmill cubbys so I can grab one cool myself down a little.  With around 10 minutes of jogging to go my ipod decided it'd had enough and died on me! (not a permanent sort of death, you understand, more the type where it's done too much work between charging and decides it can go on no longer until you feed it some electricity!)  I have to say that although it was a little bit boring running along with no music I actually got into a better rhythm because I wasn't constantly fiddling with my ipod or having the songs change my tempo!   I wonder if listening to one of my podcasts might be helpful - Disney Brit, Eye On Orlando, The National Archives, or maybe I could listen to one of my talking books?   I might give that a go for Week 5 Day 1.



Week 4 Day 3 -

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	*
66 mins	530	142	162	5.41m	3.7	5.0-5.6mph

 NOTE TO SELF: I must stick to slow jogging and finish this - rather than going too fast and ending up exhausted and unable to finish.


So that was Bridge2;10k - Week 4. Just 2 more weeks to go! I can't believe I've managed to get this far. Will I actually finish this in one piece?

Watch this space...

Bridge 2:10k - Week 2

Somehow I always manage to get myself stressed about day one of any of my workouts!  I started to do that after I got out of my comfort zone on C25K and I'm doing it now on B2:10k!   Sometimes I infuriate myself with it!   Last week on day one I was stressing because my ipod wouldn't pick up the running podcast from my laptop - so I was having to time my intervals on my phone - no big deal, I know, but the playlist sounded good and I just thought it'd be easier if it was all on my ipod and all I had to do was follow instructions!

My Race For Life Back-Card!

 Week 2 Day 1 dawns and I do my usual dog walk before jumping on the treadmill - stressed as usual! This time I know the running podcast is on my  ipod however, I'm a bit pushed for time (Monday is my day to start work early) but I know that I really do need to make a start on week 2 - and I'm also thinking that the jump from 10 minutes of jogging which I did last week to 15 minutes of jogging this week is quite large. Now, that's a silly thing to worry about because I graduated C25K - so I know I can run! Even before I've hit the start button I'm thinking of reasons why I might fail!   My friend Janet said that psychologically she felt better about there being just 3 reps of 15 minutes (last weeks running involved 4 reps of 10 minutes)  I have to say that I wasn't convinced!
Podcast started, 5 minute warm up walk was done and then - Boy oh boy what a HUGE disappointment that long awaited for podcast was!   Now, don't get me wrong - the music was good - and somebody has taken the time and trouble to put it together and make it available for us to download - but it was NOT music to run to - the beat just wasn't heavy enough nor at the right tempo (in my humble opinion)   So, I found the run on day 1 rather monotonous to say the least!   The good news is  I got through the workout! I had a bit of a twinge going on right at the bottom of my right shin/ankle/foot but I chose to ignore that! Mind over matter and all that! I found the workout was not as bad as I'd built it up in my mind to be!
NOTE TO SELF: Delete Bridge2:10k podcast  - it's doing you no favours!

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	*
57 mins	426	137	152	4.47	3.7	5.0	*

My Ribbons of Remembrance

Week 2 Day 2 and I was feeling pretty confident.  I dumped the podcast for my own choice of music (Queen, Simply Red, Annie Lenox, Police, G4, Billy Idol, Sisqo, to name but a few) and off I went with a "done it once can do it again" attitude!   My final 15 minute rep was done at 5.1mph but the first 2 were just at 5mph.  I stuck to walking at 3.7 which is comfortable for me. The twinge in my shin didn't return today, however I did get a bit of discomfort in the left groin area and after my run I found that my left hip was feeling a bit achy. I did all my warm up stretches and had been on a good walk before hand so I should have been ok.  I think I might have to do more before my runs.  Trouble is, the intervals take 57 minutes of my day and time is precious just before I go to work - still, I'm on week 2 of 6 so this isn't forever.    I'm considering setting up a yoga workout on my wii to give me some extra stretches... I have to MAKE THE TIME to do more stretches!       Not too long ago I was glued to my xbox sat on my idle little arse playing games whenever I had chance - now all I want to do is run or walk!    Not a bad thing I suppose!  I wonder if He-Who-Must-Be-Ignored would consider allowing me to become a housewife again so I can pursue my hobbies and have all the time in the world.......



Day 2

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	*
57 mins	411	135	174*	4.5	3.7	5.0-5.1

*Max heart rate of 174 seems pretty drastic doesn't it?  Well, in my defence I would like to say that while I was jogging I was thinking about what I was going to write on my Race For Life Back-Card and when I thought about my mum (who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year) I got all choked up and upset.  I love my mum so much and the thought of her being ill scares me to death!   My heart rate dropped back to normal really quickly once I told myself to get a grip and stop being silly!   :)


Week 2 Day3: I had a really bad night sleep last night last night - concern about my dads health (he was taken to hospital last night - released later but it still caused me to worry) followed by restless dogs who wanted me to get up at stupid o'clock - these events conspired to make me feel very tired and grumpy when I got out of bed!   My usual 3 to 4 mile dog walked turned into a strut of 1.4 miles (I was very annoyed with my dogs and didn't feel charitable enough to take them for a long walk!)   I have to say I now feel like a bad mummy - it's not their fault but it's just not what I needed!     

Looking on the bright side -  My B2:10k workout went very well today.  When my timer went off to indicate the end of my first 15 minute jog I really couldn't believe it and had to check my watch and still didn't believe it!   The middle 15 minute jog I did at a slightly faster pace and felt pretty good through that too but during my final 15 minutes I was feeling some discomfort in my left hip area again - but I ignored that - I can't afford to let a bit of discomfort stop me from getting on with this.  I am considering visiting my chiropractor, Nichole, though - maybe the week before Race For Life just to make sure I'm in good condition.

I was really looking forward to doing an outside run again tomorrow morning but I've decided that I'll probably make tomorrow a rest day and will try to push on with week 3 on Sunday - I'm really looking forward to week 3!

Watch this space!!

Duration	Calories	Av. ♥	Max ♥	Distance	Walk Speed	Running Speed	*
57.00	447	140	156	4.63	3.7	5.0-5.3mph	*

Full stats for all my weeks can be found by clicking the link on the right - Bridge to 10k Weekly Torture Stats.

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY - please feel free to leave a comment to let me know you've been. Have a fantastic day