Been running outside in the cold

I have been running on and off, but in the last month I have been running around the block. I have got a route that I can do 5k so I am trying to run that without stopping to walk.

I am finding the motivation very difficult as the days as got very short. I generally go out about 6pm, it is dark at this point and recently has been getting colder.

 

I have just recently bought a Nike Vapor Light jacket, this has helped in keeping the cold air and wind off me, but it does have a couple of areas where it allows to breath. I is shower proof, but being a dry weather runner I am not going to test that part of it out.

 

I can’t run the 5k without stopping to walk a good handful of times, this is a bit annoying but it is the best I can do at the moment. I am also finding that I have very sore lower legs after the run and find it very difficult to walk around for the first 30 minutes when I get home.

 

I am aiming at running 3 times a week the same circuit with the first goal of not stopping to walk as many times and the final goal is to run without stopping to walk at all.

 

I went out yesterday and found that once I had uploaded the data to the Garmin Connect site I had done a 5k in a 30:30 which is very good for me. I don’t think I can better that at the moment, but you never know.

Garmin Connect – Run around the block (5k)

It’s been a long time since the last blog

It has been 2 months since the last time I blogged, my life has changed since the last blog. I have had the redundancy confirmed and my last day was 31-Jul-2012. There are IT jobs about but not the type of job I can apply generally, there has only been a couple that I could apply for.

During this time I have been mainly doing 5k runs on the treadmill, this has been very difficult due to the heat in the room. I have had all the windows open and a fan blowing air around, but it has been just too hot resulting in me feeling a bit faint at times after the run. I have managed to do a 4 mile run when the temperature was a bit lower but that has been the furthest I have run in the last couple of months.

For the last couple of weeks I have been doing a 3.5 mile walk around the block in the evening with my partner, these have been fairly slow going which has taken just slightly over the hour to complete. I few nights ago I did the same circuit on my own and completed in 45 minutes, which for a walk was as fast as I could possibly go.

I plucked up the courage last night to try a run. The last time I ran outside was ages ago and couldn’t even run a mile without stopping and I ran too quickly. Last night I got ready and set my Garmin for a 3 mile run, now I am fully expecting to stop for a walk on a number of occasions during this run, but the main thing was to run at a steady 6 mph (same speed I run at on the treadmill) to see how I get on.

I started off and run out the estate and on to a path that ran alongside a main road. I kept checking the Garmin for the speed and before I knew it I had completed a mile, I carried on running and concentrated on the speed and my breathing.

The second mile came along and I found I was getting a bit out of breath, but this was a record for me I had never run 2 miles outside before non-stop. I decided to carry on and see if I could complete the 3 miles that I had set on the Garmin. I was finding it fairly difficult at this point as there was a bit of up hill running which I am not used to doing, this did tire me out but I still carried on.

When the Garmin beeped and buzzed I had a sense of relief that the run was over but an over whelming sense of achievement that I had completed at 3 mile run without stopping. The next stage for me is to do this same run a few more times before even thinking of extending the mileage or running faster.

Garmin Connect – Walk around the block with my partner

Garmin Connect – Walk around the block on my own

Garmin Connect – Run around the block (3 miles)

1st week back from holiday, its been a difficult one

This week was all about running 5ks to get back in to it. I started the week off on a high. I went to work on Monday and spent most of the day going through emails and catching up with where I left off before going on holiday. I came home eager to get on the treadmill and knock a 5k out. I found myself running with fresh thoughts of the holiday which made the run go fairly quickly.

I went in to work in the Tuesday and went to a 9:30am meeting to find out that I am now on a 30 day consultation period as my job is at risk of redundancy. This is the time when you think ‘oh Christ, that’s all I need’. I was told during the 30 days consultation period that I will not be required to go in to work. I went home in disbelief that this was happening and decided to jump on the treadmill to do a 5k run, I’m sure you can appreciate this run was not full of thoughts of the nice views at Santorini, it was full of work. I found that run went by quickly but was hard due to the heat.

The following two days I have done 5k runs with thoughts full of work. Both runs were hard due to the heat but went by fairly quickly. I have now put a fan in the room to try and get some air movement as just having the windows open is not having much effect on its own.

Until the temperature gets a bit cooler then I can’t see myself getting past 5k. I really have found them difficult with not much energy left afterwards.

I wonder what next week brings.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 1)

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 2)

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 3)

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 4)

1st run since coming back from a break at Santorini

I have spent a couple of weeks away from the treadmill and found the first couple of days in Santorini (Greek Island) I had aches and pains. During the course of the holiday the aches and pains went away. I did notice that a few people were running early in the morning, but even in the morning it was still hot. I did take my running gear out there just in case I wanted to do just a couple of miles, but looking at the people running it just looked too painful and they looked a lot fitter than me. I did quite a bit of walking around and swimming so I was reasonably active as I only put on 4-5 pounds of weight over the two weeks.

Not been looking forward to jumping back on the treadmill, but I thought the longer I leave it the worse it will be. I got myself ready and jumped on the treadmill for the warm up walk which seemed to go by very quickly. When the Garmin beeped and buzzed I knew it was time to up the speed from 4mph to 6.2mph for a steady running pace.

I found that I was running a bit stiff but after 5 minutes I seemed to relax and found myself thinking ‘this is just great running without any aches or pains, I wonder how long this will last’. The run went by fairly quickly due to getting lost in the thoughts of the place I visited and the views on Santorini. At times I got so lost in the thoughts I felt like I was still there, with short bursts now and then back to reality of the running.

I finished the run feeling quite tired, so I am hoping that as the week goes by the runs will get easier. I am not planning on doing anything more than 5k runs this week to get back in the swing of it.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 1)

Last week before going on holiday and goals achieved

Today has been sunshine and showers, so I thought will it be cool enough to run 5 miles or should I stick to 5k. If I do 5 miles today and 5k tomorrow and the next day, then will I be injured for my holiday. If I don’t do 5 miles then will I feel I have failed and will it be too long since the last time I have run that distance by the time I get back on the treadmill, I have had all this going around in my head all day long.

As usual I made the decision when I got home and was ready to do the run. I decided to try 5 miles as last week I could not finish the run due to the heat. It was fairly warm in the room at 22.5c (72.5f) even with all the windows open to create a breeze.

I started as normal with the 5 minute brisk warm up walk at 4mph, I noticed my heart rate was slightly higher than normal at 95bpm (average). I thought maybe this is down to the heat and it might also be down to me feel anxious about the 5 mile run, should I be doing it or not.

Once I got to a mile in to the run I felt like I was running at a nice pace (6mph), but felt like I was starting to get a bit hot. I had a sip of water and carried on wondering if I will have to give up due to the heat.
2.5 miles in to the run I felt this was a good time to run through a few checks and have a mouthful of water, I am now half-way through the run and I am on the home straight.

At 3.5 miles in to the run I was feeling really hot, mouth was getting dry and I had to keeping sipping water. I was really hoping that I could carry on to the end, all I had to do was 1.5 miles which is around 15 minutes.

When I reached 4 miles I started to keep checking the Garmin, I was watching the distance remaining slowing diminishing. Every tenth of a mile takes around 1 minute, I just seemed to be willing the time away. I finally finished the run and did a cool-down walk for 5 minutes at 4mph as usual.

I felt good for finishing the 5 miles, but glad the ordeal was over, I felt so hot. After looking at the stats on the Garmin Connect website, I can see my heart rate was higher than normal and I also burned more calories as well.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5 Mile

I have now completed both 5k runs without any rest days. My legs do feel a bit sore, I expected that and I am sure the aches and pains will disappear in the next couple of days.

Both runs were done in a similar heat to the 5 mile run, I did not find them that easy but I felt I had to complete the goal I set myself.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 1)

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 2)

My task at the beginning of the year was to lose 1.5 stone and for my waist to go from 40 inches down to 37 inches, this I have achieved. I my other goal was to complete the ‘couch to 5k’ and then to build up to a 4 mile run. I have exceeded that goal by running 5 miles and also gaining a personal best 5k time. I feel happy to have got this far in 6 months and aim to improve on the distance when I come back from holiday and before the year is out.

I have kept a log of all the runs/walks I have done on a spreadsheet so that I can keep an eye on how I am doing.

Here are a few stats:

• Days of exercise: 71
• Total distance run: 159.8 miles
• Total time run: 1 day, 2 hours, 11 minutes
• Total distance walked: 94.5 miles
• Total time walked: 1 day, 50 minutes
• Calories: 26,360

It is now time to relax on holiday for the next couple of weeks.

Another week with a 5 mile run aborted

Today has been fairly hot all day and especially in an office with no air conditioning. I came home and opened all the windows as usual. After I got ready the temperature had come down to 26c (79f), so I started the run with a 5 minute walk as normal.

When the Garmin beeped I knew it was time to speed up and start the run, I wanted to keep the pace steady as my goal is to finish the distance rather than get the time down. After a couple of miles had gone by I checked the way I was landing, breathing, posture, heart rate and started to take on board some water, I was feeling good at this stage.

I was in the zone and listening to a Formula 1 podcast, they were talking about the Monaco Grand Prix. Every so often I would take a sip of water to keep me going. Once I had been running for 30 minutes I started to get very hot, I took some more sips of water swishing it around the mouth trying to cool down. This had not made much difference and I could only last another 7 minutes until I just had to call it a day.

I am now left feeling fairly fed up as this was just down to it being way too hot in the room. I am now wondering if this should be the last attempt at running further than 5k before my holiday as I only have 2 week to go before I fly out to Santorini (Greek Island), I really don’t want to have aches and pains while I am there.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5 Mile (Did Not Finish)

I have put both of these runs together mainly because they were fairly uneventful. Even though the temperature in the room has been fairly hot, I have still been able to do these runs easily which is reflected on the Garmin Connect uploads.

I have noticed when comparing these runs to other runs of last week and a few weeks ago that my heart rate has fallen as well as the calories burnt.

My maximum heart rate was 162bpm (88%), while the average rate was 137bpm (74%). Calories burnt was 458c.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 1)

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k (Run 2)

A difficult week

I opened all the windows for ventilation and let any breezes through, then got myself ready for the usual Monday 5 mile run. I started off with the usual 5 minute walk and then followed on with the start of the 5 mile run. Once I started the run I had some pains just above the ankle on the inside leg and both hips where aching. After a mile had been completed I found that the aches had gone away and I had settled in to the run.

Once I got half-way (2.5 miles) I found that I was getting quite hot and my mouth was getting dry, I took a couple of sips of water and carried on. After a few more minutes I found that my face was getting tingly and I was feeling a bit light headed, I took on some more water and though this would just pass.

After a few more minutes I had to abort the run due to feeling very hot and light headed. After a 5-10 minute sit down I felt okay, but I am feeling very disappointed that I had to abort the run, this is the first time this year this has happened. I’m not sure why this has happened as it is not that warm, unless I have not drunk enough water during the day making me dehydrated.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5 Mile (Did Not Finish)

Throughout the day I had been drinking more water to make sure that I was hydrated. I had been wondering if I should take a day's rest to completely get over the run I had yesterday or to do an easy paced 5k run.

When I got home my legs were not too bad and I felt okay, so I decided to do an easy paced 5k run. I opened all the windows and got ready in to my running kit, it had been warmer today than yesterday so I thought what I will do is take frequent sips of water throughout the run.

I set the Garmin for the 5k run that started off with the 5 minute walk, followed by the 5k run. This run was to take about 30 minutes, so I had mentally prepared myself for that. After I had completed 10 minutes running, I checked the Garmin to see that I had completed about a mile so I knew I was on track.

The next check was at 15 minutes into the run, this was halfway and the Garmin should read that I have done 1.5miles with 1.5 mile to go. What I looked at the Garmin I couldn’t believe what my eyes saw, it said I had 3.5 miles to go. I thought ‘oh crap, I’ve only gone and selected the 5 mile run instead of the 5k run’. The thoughts going through my head at this point were, I wonder if I can run 5 miles as it is hotter today than yesterday when I had to stop the run. I am also thinking that I have mentally prepared myself to do a 30 minute run, can I now change my thought process into lasting out for 50 minutes? What if I can’t run 5 miles and have to abort this run like yesterday, how will I feel about that? By the time all this had gone through my head I had done 3 miles, so this meant that I had another 2 miles to go, which is 20 minutes.

What I thought to myself was if I think that I have run a mile, then mentally this will help me to complete the next 2 miles. This thought process only lasted for half a mile, but I told myself I only have 1.5 miles to go, that will be 15 minutes, so pace yourself to the end. I found the next 10 minutes went by quickly as I was thinking of work and the problems that I have dealt with during the day.

The last 5 minutes I just couldn’t switch off, they lasted a lifetime or that’s how they felt. I managed to finish the 5 miles and also noticed that I had finished of a bottle of water while running. I felt pleased to know that I have completed this week’s long run and after checking out the Garmin Connect website found that I had also achieved a personal best time as well, but only by a little.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5 Mile

I decided to do a run today even though it has been hot all day and I felt a bit drained from being in a hot office all day. I thought that if I just run at a nice steady pace (6 mph) then I should be able to zone out and the time will go by quickly.

It seemed that the plan worked out as I found the run fairly diffcult in the heat, but I could zone out to some degree. I made a conscious effort to keep sipping the water to keep myself as hydrated as possible without drink too much each time. I had plenty to think about work which really helped the time go by quickly, this seems to help my breathing as well keeping me calm throughout the run.

I found my heart rate a bit higher than it has been in similar runs, but I put this mainly down to the heat in the room.

Garmin Connect - Treadmill - 5k