Good morning and happy Monday. I can’t believe it’s the first day of June and we are almost halfway through what is turning out to be a somewhat challenging year. As always, I hope that whoever reads my latest training and life update had a great weekend. I think the highlight of what was a challenging weekend was being included in this Metro feature along with nine other awesome women.

After the success of last year, I did think about having a go at completing Juneathon again. I decided not to, as unless something terrible happens, I’ll be publishing these weekly updates throughout the month.

Week three of my Couch to 5k training plan looked like this.

As I’m trying to avoid a repeat of what happened earlier this year, each interval session started with a 5-minute warm-up and cool down. Cross training sessions comprised of 30 minutes of gentle pedaling on my exercise bike while pretending to cycle around Lake Garda. So, how did I get on during the third week of my Couch to 5k training?

Monday – 30 mins cross training

I actually managed to forget it was a Bank Holiday and got as far as switching on my work laptop and accessing my work emails. Luckily for me, my Outlook calendar informed me it was the Spring Bank Holiday.  Once I’d realised my error, I shut down my work laptop and got ready to spend 30 minutes on my exercise bike.

Last Monday, I suspect that I overdid it slightly on the exercise bike as I ended the session with legs that felt like jelly. This time, I decided to be sensible and maintained what felt like an easier pace. I took the fact I could still walk when I reached the end of the 30 minutes as an indication I’d been pedaling at the correct level of intensity.

Although I wasn’t able to do very much due to the current restrictions, I enjoyed the Bank Holiday and as my noisy neighbours had gone out for the day, managed to spend most of the day gardening. I probably shouldn’t be admitting this, but after a productive day, I treated myself to another Chinese takeaway.

Tuesday – 30 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 2 mins x 6)

Documenting my previous Couch to 5k training means that I’m able to identify which weeks and individual sessions I found challenging. When I attempted the third week in March, I found running for three minutes rather than two minutes difficult, mainly because I completely failed to pace myself. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes again.

Once again I woke just before my 5am alarm and when I looked outside saw what looked like perfect running conditions. Conditions were perfect and largely because I remembered to run at a sensible pace, I enjoyed every minute of the interval session. Back in March, I did my best to avoid having to run up the numerous small hills in Four Oaks. This time, I embraced the hills and didn’t panic when I realised that the final interval would coincide with one of my nemesis hills. I was thrilled when I managed to successfully navigate my way to the top of the hill without even thinking about walking.

I still need to work on my photography skills. I have no idea what I was actually doing in the bottom photo, some sort of pretend post-run stretching. Incidentally, the slightly overgrown looking path to the right of the house in the pretend stretching photo is apparently a public footpath. I’ll have to go exploring.

Wednesday – Rest

This update is turning into another one of my essays – it’s a shame I don’t find writing hydrology reports as easy – so I won’t describe my rest day in great depth. Highlights of the day included preparing (and eating!) my favourite Italian oven-baked penne recipe and some amazing customer service from Pete Bland Sports. The lowlight was the sudden appearance of a small bump on my right heel. Definitely, something for me to keep an eye on.

Thursday – 25 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 2 mins x 5)

I don’t want to sound like a drama queen, but when I first set out on my warm-up walk, I wasn’t confident I’d be able to walk without my foot hurting. Fortunately, my right foot felt ‘normal’ during the warm-up, so I decided to see if it reacted in any way to running for three minutes. Happily, it didn’t and I was able to complete the interval session in what were perfect conditions for running. I even remembered to take a couple of photos.

After taking some post-run selfies for a competition – I really want to try out Oofos – I walked home, had some chocolate milk, and headed back to bed. I’ll miss my post early morning run naps when I return to the office. The rest of the day was relatively mundane, by the afternoon I was starting to experience work Zoom fatigue. At 4pm I closed down my laptop and as I wanted to make the most of the amazing weather, headed into the garden. I’m sure it was a coincidence that the minute I headed outside, my neighbours decided it was time to blast out some music. This happens every afternoon and I’m starting to feel paranoid.

Friday – Rest

Lockdown seems to be turning me into a shopaholic as all of the highlights of my Friday seemed to involve my credit card. After the cancellation of the Boston Marathon, I deferred my entry into this year’s Chicago Marathon. I don’t want to sound negative but I can’t see how any events will be able to take place this year.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

Once again I started my weekend with a virtual ride on my exercise bike around a section of Lake Garda. Lake Garda looked stunning when life returns to some sort of ‘normal’ I know where I want to visit.

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My exercise bike session, unfortunately, was the highlight of what turned out to be a not so enjoyable Saturday. Let’s just say my neighbours were so noisy, I found spending any length of time in my garden stressful rather than relaxing. In an attempt to get away from the noise I spent most of the day inside with all my windows closed.

Sunday – 35 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 2 mins x 7)

A strange noise outside, I’ve no idea what it was but didn’t spend too much time thinking about it, woke me before my 5am alarm. Getting to witness the most stunning sunrise was worth the slightly earlier than planned Sunday morning start. The photo I took during my interval session doesn’t do it justice.

There’s not much I can say about the actual interval session. I was mindful that I’d struggled with the same session back in March, so I ensured I set out at a sensible pace. I selected a route that contained a couple of hills and was a little more challenging I figured that a couple of hills would be very effective at slowing my pace down. I ended the 35 minutes feeling like I could have carried on, always a good sign.

Like last week, the remainder of my Sunday was a relaxed affair. I completed and scheduled a couple of blogs, treated myself to an afternoon nap, and ate the takeaway I’d ordered from my local Chinese in record time.

So that’s week three of the Couch to 5k successfully completed. I don’t want to tempt fate, but my fragile body seems to be coping with the training at the moment.

The fourth week of my Couch to 5k training plan looks like it should be achievable. However, without sounding overly negative, I’m not completely convinced I’ll be able to run for five minutes at a time. I’m aware that I’m repeating what I said in March, but I think it will be interesting to see how my right knee copes with the longer running intervals.

Training totals

• Runs: 9
• Time: 4 hrs 6 mins
• Distance: 20.61 miles

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 4/10
• Left knee: 3/10
• Right foot: 3/10
• Right heel: 2/10

How are you coping with the current situation? I am starting to find everything a little too predictable at the moment. The news I may have to work from home until my contract ends didn’t help.

Do you think deferring my place in the Chicago Marathon was the right decision? Someone contacted me on Instagram and said I should have waited until later in the year. I personally can’t see any large-scale races going ahead this year.

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