Good morning and happy Monday. As always, I hope that whoever takes the time to read what is likely to turn into a longer-than-originally-anticipated blog had a good weekend. My weekend had a three highlights; volunteering as a parkwalker at my local parkrun, completing two interval sessions in 12 hours, and Wolves winning.

The NHS Live Well website provided the following information about the interval sessions in Week 4 of the Couch to 5k training plan.

Each interval session started with a reasonably fast 5-minute warm-up walk and ended with a slower 5-minute cool-down walk. I supplemented the three interval sessions with cross training sessions on Monday and Saturday and rest days on Wednesday and Friday. I’m yet to buy an exercise bike, so cross training sessions comprised of 30-minute walks.

With apologies for the repetition, but as I want to complete the Couch to 5k, I allocated time each day to work through the exercise program provided by the NHS physio. I’m still absolutely useless at what the physio called monster walks. I worry that my form is so suspect I’ll inadvertently injure myself.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

Nothing beats starting the week with what I’d describe as far too technical for a Monday morning meeting. A lengthy phone call meant I decided to prioritise eating and responding to emails over heading out for a lunchtime walk. My review of Week 3 of my Couch to 5k training was published and I started to plan my training for the week ahead.

I looked at Tuesday’s weather forecast and saw the Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning.

⚠️Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️

Strong winds across parts of England and Wales

Tuesday 1200 – Wednesday 1500

Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs

Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/pUixRI6uSk

— Met Office (@metoffice) January 22, 2024

I didn’t fancy attempting to complete my interval session in strong winds, so I decided to set my alarm for 5am. I figured that if I managed to drag myself out of bed then I’d be rewarded with an interval session in reasonably calm conditions. If I didn’t, my tardiness would be rewarded with an evening interval session in more challenging conditions. I’d also have to cancel the evening reservation I’d made at the Quill and Taper.

As soon as I finished work, I got changed into some running gear and dug out my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun and spent a rather painful 30 minutes massaging my quad and calf muscles. I laid out some running gear, made sure my Garmin was charged, and checked my alarm was set for 5am.

Tuesday – 21.5 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins/walk 2.5 mins/run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins) Rest

After spending what felt like hours lying in bed overthinking and trying and failing to get some sleep, knowing I had a busy day of meetings and shortlisting ahead of me, I decided to cancel my 5am alarm. I figured I could always complete my interval session either during my lunch break or after work.

Work was so busy that I didn’t have time to complete my interval run during my lunch break. By the time I’d finished work, Storm Jocelyn had made an appearance, so I prioritised taking a power nap over playing dodge the wheelie bin. I’d arranged to meet a friend for an evening meal at the Quill and Taper. I know this is meant to be a running and not a food blog, but I thought I’d share some of the photos I took.

The restaurant was empty when we arrived. Unfortunately, it felt like Storm Jocelyn moved inside the restaurant when the family from hell arrived. Although the food tasted amazing, after working my way through a Chargrilled chicken, bacon and avocado salad, a side portion of fries, and a Salted Caramel Sundae, there was no way I was going to risk running.

Wednesday – Rest 21.5 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins/walk 2.5 mins/run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins)

Following another busy day of meetings, I was feeling so tired when I finished work, the last thing I felt like doing was completing an interval session. I didn’t want to miss the first interval session of the week, so following some post-work faffing, a Chinese takeaway, and some what I’d describe as life admin, I got changed into some running gear, worked through my stretches, and used my massage gun to massage my legs and calf muscles.

I completed my warm-up walk and discovered that Storm Jocelyn had been replaced with perfect running conditions. Delaying my interval session by 24 hours had been the right decision. I made sure I ran at a sensible pace throughout the interval session and as a result I found running for five minutes easy. I think it’s always a positive sign when I reach the end of an interval session feeling like I could have could have repeated the session.

Although my temperamental feet and calf muscles were pain-free throughout the interval session, my right calf started to feel tight during my cool-down walk. I completed my cool-down walk and then massaged both my calf muscles using my massage gun. I decided it would be sensible to move my Thursday interval session to Friday morning to give my legs a day to recover.

Thursday – 21.5 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins/walk 2.5 mins/run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins) Rest

This weekly update has already turned into one of my essays, so as Thursday was a much-needed rest day and I spent most of the day in meetings, I’ll fast forward to Friday.

Friday – Rest 30 mins cross training

Thanks to the flexitime system, I was able to finish work at 3pm. I could have completed my interval session while it was light, but I decided to spend some time in the garden. Once it got too dark to see what I was doing, I remembered a friend had asked if I could find him some wide fit trainers, so I ended up on SportsShoes looking at options for people with wider-than-average feet. I’ve no idea what happened, but I ended up buying myself a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers.

Unfortunately, treating myself to another pair of trainers didn’t motivate me to get my interval session done. The combination of fresh air and having nothing to eat at lunch left me feeling slightly woozy, so I ordered a Chinese takeaway, inhaled my food, and completed a 30-minute power walk. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to delay my interval session until after parkrun.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training 21.5 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins/walk 2.5 mins/run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins)

I should have switched off my ‘parkrun alarm’ as I was parkwalking rather than marshalling, but I completely forgot. After a fair amount of faffing, I left the house and still managed to arrive at Boldmere Gate 45 minutes earlier than I needed to. Like last Saturday, I was treated to a stunning sunrise.

I got chatting to some parkrunners from Lichfield and was introduced to a lady called Sally. I discovered Sally has organised a coach trip to Bushy parkrun and that there would be space for me. Completing the Bushy Pilgrimage Challenge is one of my goals for the year ahead and I’ll hopefully be able to run 5k in March, so I took Sallys contact details.

I met up with Helene and Ellen and following a chatty but slightly speedier than planned walk around the Sutton Park parkrun course, crossed the line in 438th place in a time of 52:49. In five weeks’ time, I’m hoping to knock at least 20 minutes off that time.

After a productive Saturday, it was very much a case of third time lucky as I decided if I didn’t get my interval session done, I’d record my first training failure. I worked through some strength and conditioning exercises, massaged my calf muscles, and then headed out into the cold. Predictably, my legs felt stiff to start with but were fine when I’d completed my warm-up. I ensured I paced the interval session sensibly and ran at a pace I could maintain. I once again found running for five minutes easy and reached the end of the interval session feeling like I could have carried on running. Given some of the ‘interesting’ characters I encountered during my cool-down walk, this was probably very much a good thing.

I completed my cool-down walk, took a couple of somewhat dubious selfies, made myself a cup of tea, stretched, and as I was hoping to complete the final interval session of the week the following morning, massaged my calf muscles.

Apologies for the far-from-flattering and slightly blurry post-interval session selfie. I’ve accepted that running in the dark on my own will result in not overly blogworthy photos.

Sunday – 21.5 mins intervals (run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins/walk 2.5 mins/run 3 mins/walk 90 secs/run 5 mins)

You all know my Sunday morning routine now, 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 some strength and conditioning exercises and stretches. I popped to the loo, had a cup of tea, and then headed out into slightly cooler conditions than I was expecting. I completed my warm-up walk, adjusted my laces, and took yet another sunrise photo.

Throughout the interval session, I was mindful that I was running for the second time in fewer than 12 hours. My legs felt slightly fatigued to begin but seemed to wake and warm up midway through the first five-minute running repetition. The final five-minute running repetition was ruined slightly by the strong smell of cigarette smoke. At least my attempts to keep my distance from the source of the smell forced me to slow down.

I completed my cool-down walk and headed home. The rest of my Sunday was fairly mundane, so I won’t go into loads of detail. I couldn’t face watching the West Brom v Wolves match, so I spent the time reading ‘The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels’ by Janice Hallett. The Bambi’s bakes order I’d placed on Monday made an unexpected but very welcome appearance.

So, that’s week four of the Couch to 5k completed. Although my knees were niggle free throughout this week’s interval sessions, my calf muscles twinged occasionally and felt quite tight during my walk to Sutton Park parkrun on Saturday morning. I just hope that the increased intensity of the interval sessions next week doesn’t put too much strain on my fragile knees, feet, and calf muscles.

The fifth week of the Couch to 5k training plan looks difficult. Just looking at the interval runs makes me feel slightly nervous. The duration of the longest run interval increases from five minutes to 20 minutes. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, but the prospect of running for 20 minutes does feel a little daunting.

Training totals

• Runs: 12 (out of 12)
• Time: 4 hrs 1½ mins
• Distance: 21.44 miles

Niggleometer

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

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