Good afternoon. Happy(?) Monday. As always, I hope that whoever takes the time to read this weekly life and training update had a great weekend. If for whatever reason, you didn’t have a very good weekend, I hope that the week ahead is kinder to you. My weekend had a couple of highlights; volunteering as a marshal at Sutton Park parkrun and catching up on some much-needed sleep.

Following several years of limited running, I decided to go back to basics and start again with the Couch to 5k training plan that is available on the NHS Live Well website. This version of the Couch to 5k training plan is spread over nine weeks.

The NHS Live Well website provided the following information about the interval sessions in Week 3 of the Couch to 5k training plan.

My Tuesday, Friday and Sunday interval sessions started with a fast 5-minute warm-up walk and ended with a slightly slower 5-minute cool-down walk. I supplemented the three interval sessions with cross training sessions and two rest days.

I’m aware that I’m repeating myself, apologies, but as I want to give myself the best chance of completing the Couch to 5k this time, I dedicated time each day to stretching and to strength and conditioning. I’m determined that 2024 will be the year I finally complete the Couch to 5k and get back into running consistently.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

I’m not sure why, but I was surprised when I looked out my bedroom window and saw the pavement and the road outside my house were covered in a layer of snow. My review of Week 2 of my Couch to 5k training was published and I had a reasonably productive Monday morning. I admit that I’m a wimp, but as the pavements were still looking quite hazardous, I decided not to risk a lunchtime walk.

I made up for the lack of walking outside by completing a 30-minute stair session after work. I found walking up and down the stairs at home hard work, not helped by the fact I had the heating on. My knees didn’t appreciate the stair session and I ended the session feeling like I’d made yet another poor training decision.

The MetOffice updated Weather Warnings for the next four days. I didn’t feel overly confident I’d be able to complete my Tuesday and Thursday evening interval sessions. I decided to stick to the Couch to 5k training plan and to avoid repeating the week as my fitness levels hadn’t been an issue.

Tuesday – 18 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 90 secs/run 3 mins/walk 3 mins x 2)

My knees felt so niggly when I first dragged myself out of bed, I spent some time massaging my quads using my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun and stretching. Following a morning of meetings, although the snow had disappeared and the pavements were almost completely clear, thanks to the combination of hunger and laziness, I didn’t head out for a lunchtime walk.

Thanks to a later-than-originally planned evening meal, I wasn’t able to head out to complete the first interval session of the week until quite late. Although it was very cold, I quickly discovered that the pavements were completely clear. Despite wearing several layers and thermal running tights, I got colder during my so-called warm-up walk. It was so cold, that I found breathing quite difficult and had flashbacks to when I was misdiagnosed with exercise-induced asthma.

Unfortunately, both of my feet felt painful, and my calf muscles felt tight throughout the interval session. I resolved the first issue by loosening my laces when I reached the end of the interval session and suspected the second issue would be more difficult to resolve. Apologies for the slightly grumpy-looking selfie.

I hobbled back home, made myself a cup of tea, and then dug out and dusted off my foam roller. I massaged my calf muscles using my massage gun, both calf muscles felt sore and then attempted to use my foam roller. I suspected my inactivity since Sunday morning had contributed to the issues with my calf muscles.

Wednesday – Rest

This weekly update is getting far too long, so as Wednesday was a much-needed rest day and I spent most of the day feeling like I was getting a migraine, I’ll fast forward to Thursday.

Thursday – 18 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 90 secs/run 3 mins/walk 3 mins x 2) Rest

The unwelcome combination of a migraine and the rather icy-looking pavements outside my house meant I decided it would be sensible to delay my Thursday evening interval session by 24 hours.

Friday – Rest 18 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 90 secs/run 3 mins/walk 3 mins x 2)

As I’d already completed my hours for the week, I was able to finish work at 3pm. I spent an hour ironing, treated myself to a nap, and then ordered a takeaway from the local Chinese restaurant. I almost fell into the trap of spending more time thinking about running than actually running, but just before 8pm I got changed into some running gear and spent some time stretching.

Midway through my warm-up walk, I realised that although most of the pavements were clear, some sections were still coated in a layer of ice. I reached the end of the warm-up walk, loosened both my laces, and then mentally plotted what I hoped would be an ice-free route.

It was probably a good job it was so dark I couldn’t see how icy the pavements were in places. I’ve no idea how, but I somehow managed to time my running repetitions so I generally avoided having to run where it was icy. The icy conditions made me slow down and run at a sensible pace meaning that the interval session felt a lot slower than Tuesday’s interval session. I somehow ended up running further. I completed my cool-down walk, took a couple of photos, and then walked home.

I was feeling so cold I made myself a much-needed cup of tea. I then worked through my strength and conditioning exercises, massaged my calf muscles, had a quick shower, dug out some warmer clothes to wear at parkrun in the morning, and then headed to bed.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

My ‘parkrun alarm’ woke me at the earlier-than-ideal-for-a-Saturday-morning time of 6:30am. Following an enjoyable walk across Sutton Park, I arrived at the location of the start of Sutton Park parkrun near Boldmere Gate just before 8am. The sunrise on Saturday morning was so stunning, that I thought I’d share a couple of the photos I took.

Did you know that a red sky appears when dust and small particles are trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure? I didn’t. According to this MetOffice article, this scatters blue light leaving only red light. “Red sky in the morning, shepherds warning” means a red sky appears due to the high-pressure weather system having already moved east meaning the good weather has passed, most likely making way for a wet and windy low-pressure system.

I met up with Helene and we walked and talked our way around the majority of the Sutton Park parkrun course, headed back to the finish area to collect our pink parkrun high-viz vests, lanyards, and a load of cones, and then walked the short distance to where we were marshalling.

I’d been allocated my favourite marshal location next to the Ford at Wyndley Gate. I spent an enjoyable but cold 30 or so minutes supporting a surprising given how cold it was number of parkrunners. I had the added ‘bonus’ of having a couple of patches of ice to warn the parkrunners about. Luckily, most people listened to my warnings and took notice of the cones we’d put out. I even had time to sit back and rest my legs.

[Photo – Rob Andrews]

Following breakfast and banter in Boldmere, I headed home and tackled a couple of embarrassingly overdue household chores. As I was feeling tired after my early start and a lot of very fresh air, I had a relaxed Saturday afternoon. I spent some time reading my twelfth book of the year: ‘The Cornish Guest House’ by Emma Burstall and treated myself to a takeaway from the Hungry Sparrow. I watched the second episode of Gladiators, laid out some running gear ready for the morning, and headed to bed at a sensible time.

Sunday – 18 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 90 secs/run 3 mins/walk 3 mins x 2)

After six consecutive early starts, I hadn’t set an alarm, but I was still wide awake before 7am. I tried and failed to get back to sleep, so I got changed into some running gear and worked through my strength and conditioning exercises and stretches. I popped to the loo, had a quick drink, and then headed out into surprisingly mild and calm conditions. I completed my 5-minute warm-up walk in what turned out to be perfect conditions for running, did some calf stretches, adjusted my laces, and then started my interval session.

The interval session itself went well and I managed to maintain a sensible pace during the running intervals. My legs didn’t feel too fatigued after yesterday’s walks, my feet didn’t feel painful, and I ended the final running repetition feeling like I could have carried on running. A good sign as the duration of the running repetitions increases again next week.

As I’ve shared enough sunrise photos for one week, I took a photo of what will be my mantra for the remainder of the Couch to 5k training sessions, completed my 5-minute cool-down walk, and headed home feeling pleased with myself.

The remainder of my Sunday was unfortunately a complete write-off. I still occasionally have days where I feel like I’m completely lacking in motivation, sadly yesterday was most definitely one of those days. Such a waste of a day.

So, that’s week three of the Couch to 5k successfully completed. I just hope that my temperamental knees and left foot continue to cope with the training. I also hope the weather doesn’t prevent me from training. The way I feel at the moment, I’m not sure I’ll cope with another lengthy break from running.

The fourth week of the Couch to 5k training plan I’m following looks more challenging than the previous three weeks. Unless I run at a sensible pace I have a chance of maintaining, I know from past experience I’ll struggle to run for 5 minutes. It’s clear from reading my previous Couch to 5k training updates I’ve always found Week 4 of the Couch to 5k difficult.

Training totals:

• Runs: 9 (out of 9)
• Time: 2 hrs 57 mins
• Distance: 15.31 miles

Niggleometer:

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

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