Good morning and happy Monday. Apologies for the silence on this blog. I’m hoping that life has calmed down a little and that my blogging mojo has reappeared. After not running since September last year and a lot of strength and conditioning, I would love to be able to run 5km in approximately six weeks’ time. We shall see. Anyway, I hope that whoever takes the time to read what I suspect will turn into quite a long blog containing all sorts of randomness had an amazing weekend. My weekend had a couple of highlights; lunch at the Giggling Squid and an enjoyable interval run in the rain.

So, it’s been almost a year since I last attempted to complete the Couch to 5k. I guess by running every step of Beacon parkrun in Lichfield I did sort of complete the Couch to 5k. It’s just unfortunate I injured myself in the process. If you’re new to this blog, please check out my previous Couch to 5k attempts, there have been quite a few. I’d describe myself as a somewhat injury prone runner with fragile knees and feet.

I’ve decided to share weekly updates again as people have said that they enjoy reading my training (and life) updates. On a more selfish note, I know that writing these updates will help motivate me to get out of the door. As always, I can’t guarantee that these updates will be interesting or that they will contain blogworthy photos, but I promise to be completely open and honest and to share the highs and lows.

As I’ve failed to complete the Couch to 5k training plan a few too many times, I decided it was time for me to try something a little different. I spent a bit of time researching alternatives to the Couch to 5k and came across the This Messy Happy six week Beginner to 5k training plan which is available along with other training plans here.

The This Messy Happy website provided the following information about the training sessions in Week 1:

Last time, I supplemented the three Couch to 5k interval sessions with two cross training sessions and a couple of rest days. The This Messy Happy Beginner to 5k training plan is awesome as it includes a variety of strength and conditioning sessions and rest days.

Each strength and conditioning session in the training plan contains a link to a YouTube workout video. For example, last Monday’s strength and conditioning (strength) session contained a link which took me to a video of a single leg workout. I’ve found the amount of information available on YouTube overwhelming, so I found having YouTube videos of suitable workouts I could easily follow at home provided really useful.

The Beginner to 5k training plan also includes four ‘rules’:

1. Respect the rest days.
2. Don’t neglect the ‘Strength and Conditioning’.
3. Stretch after every session.
4. Enjoy!

If you’ve read my previous Couch to 5k attempts, you’ll know I’ve been far too good at number 1 and not very good at numbers 2, 3 and 4.

Monday – Strength and Conditioning (Strength)

When I started sharing weekly Couch to 5k updates last August, I was working from home and had yet to meet any of my colleagues. Fast forward almost a year and I’m still working from home, and I finally met some of my colleagues last month. I’m still enjoying my job but due to a lack of resources it gets quite stressful at times, and I still occasionally wake up feeling completely overwhelmed. The CBT sessions work organised for me a couple of years ago are unfortunately a distant memory and a lot of my negative habits have made an unwelcome reappearance.

Apologies for the random waffle, some things never change! After a relatively quiet but productive Monday, I shut down my work laptop, powered up my personal laptop so that I could watch the first strength and conditioning session in the Beginner to 5k training plan, got changed into some gym gear, and spent an enjoyable 25 minutes trying to follow this single leg workout. I didn’t want to risk upsetting my knees on day one, so I ended up making the most of the alternative exercise options when available.

Once I reached the end of the strength and conditioning session, I reached for the Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun I’m currently reviewing, and spent an enjoyable(?!) 15 minutes massaging my legs. I’d love to say that I then prepared and cooked myself a nutritious meal, but I’m afraid that my diet is still not very good. I’d already downloaded the first Beginner to 5k interval session onto my Garmin and laid out my running gear, so I was as prepared as I could be for my first interval session.

Tuesday – 30 mins intervals (5 mins warm-up walk then 3 mins walk/1 min run x 5 then 5 mins cool-down walk)

I’d set my alarm for 5:00am as I wanted to complete my interval session when it was quiet. I’ve no idea what happened, but I somehow managed to sleep through my alarm and didn’t wake until a couple of hours later at 7:00am. This left me with two options; attempt the first interval session either during my lunch break or after I’d finished work. My last meeting wasn’t scheduled to finish until 5:00pm, so I decided a lunchtime interval session would be the safest option.

As for the interval session, I wasn’t expecting to spend the first eight minutes walking.  I found running for 60 seconds at a time relatively easy and reached the end of the 30 minutes feeling like I could have completed more running repetitions. Like last time I attempted to follow the Couch to 5k my right knee twinged a couple of times when I was running, I was expecting this as I’ve been warned it will never be 100% pain free.

Once I’d completed the interval session, I walked home, drank a pint of water, stretched, got changed into some ‘normal’ clothes and returned to work looking like a beetroot. I’d love to say that I remembered to take a couple of photos to document my first run in almost 12 months, but I completely forgot.

Following an afternoon of meetings, I finished work at 5:00pm and spent an hour preparing Chilli con carne from scratch following the recipe in ‘The Runner’s Cookbook’. Although the Chilli tasted okay, I have a feeling I might have overdone the Chilli flakes. I probably wouldn’t risk eating my Chilli the night before an early morning interval run.

Wednesday – Rest

This weekly update is already in danger of turning into one of my essays, so I’ll share some of my Wednesday highlights. I think the main highlight was waking up to relatively niggle-free knees. Another highlight was being able to finish work at 4:00pm and spending an hour preparing another batch of Chilli con carne. Following a reasonably productive evening – at some point I’ll talk about what’s going on in my life – I laid out my running gear, set my alarm for 5:00am and headed to bed at a sensible time.

Thursday – 30 mins intervals (5 mins warm-up walk then 3 mins walk/1 min run x 5 then 5 mins cool-down walk)

I’ve no idea why, but I woke well before my 5:00am alarm. My bed was so warm, and it was dark outside, so I briefly debated delaying my interval run until lunchtime, but I decided to get my training session done and dusted. I decided to run towards Mere Green and found the route I’d selected was so quiet, I was able to complete all of my run intervals along the roads rather than along the uneven pavements.

I found conditions slightly more challenging than I was expecting, possibly because I’m so unfit at the moment. It was so windy; I was grateful I only had to run for a minute at a time. Hopefully the weather is a little kinder when the duration of the run intervals starts to increase.

I’m still incapable of taking action photos when I’m running, so I decided to take some photos to illustrate my chosen route through Mere Green. It’s hard to imagine that just a couple of hours later, both roads would be chock-a-block with cars.

I also discovered I’m apparently not capable of predicting the distance I’ll cover during a 30 minute interval session. On the plus side, the 15 minute walk home allowed me to capture this slightly dubious post interval session selfie.

The rest of my Thursday was so mundane and I’m trying to cut down the amount I waffle, so I won’t bore you all to tears with the details.

Friday – Strength and Conditioning (Yoga)

Friday was a very good day, mainly because I wasn’t working and had been able to book the day off as flexi leave. Following a productive ‘getting shit done’ type of morning, I walked into Mere Green as I’d arranged to meet up with a friend for lunch at the Giggling Squid.

I want to start with a bit of a disclaimer as I’m aware we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis and know I’m fortunate to be able to afford to eat out a couple of times a month. I’m also aware that I should be saving rather than spending money, but I won’t be going away this year, I enjoy getting out of my house and having a break from cooking, so I’ve been treating myself to occasional meals out and takeaways. I was feeling quite peckish, so I ended up ordering sticky chicken, vegetable spring rolls, egg fried rice and crispy garlic prawns.

The food tasted amazing but made my 35 minute yoga workout more challenging than it needed to be. While on the subject of challenging, I saw the weather forecast for the weekend.

#StormAntoni has been named and is forecast to bring unseasonably strong winds and heavy rain to the UK on Saturday

Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/ilyBMhrWFV

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 4, 2023

I love running in the rain and the Birmingham Triathlon meant Sutton Park parkrun had already been cancelled. I figured I would be able to complete my interval session and then head back to bed for a couple of hours. I decided to set my alarm for 5:00am and as I had no idea what the weather would be doing, laid out a selection of running outfits.

Saturday – 30 mins intervals (5 mins warm-up walk then 2:30 mins walk/1:30 mins run x 5 then 5 mins cool-down walk)

My Saturday mornings usually start with a 6:15am alarm, a four mile walk across Sutton Park to Banners Gate, parkrun itself, and then if I can blag myself a lift, breakfast at the Communitea Café in Boldmere. I’m already looking forward to completing the third interval session of Week 3 of the training plan in Sutton Park.

I was fast asleep when my alarm woke me at 5:00am and it took me a few minutes to wake up. Although it was cold, wet, and breezy, the rain and wind weren’t as bad as the forecast had suggested they would be. I actually didn’t think the conditions were that bad.

I enjoyed every minute of the final interval session of the week and even remembered to take a couple of photos.

I reached the end of the cool-down walk and captured this selfie. If you follow me on Instagram, you’re probably about to experience a spot of déjà vu. I took dozens of photos on Saturday, this was the best of a bad bunch.

The cancellation of Sutton Park parkrun meant that I was able to treat myself to a rare Saturday morning lie in. Although I love parkrun, I can’t say I was too disappointed Sutton Park parkrun was cancelled on what would have been a miserable morning for volunteering.

This weekly update is getting ridiculously long, so I’ll stop waffling on now. The rest of Saturday saw me watch Wolves beat Stade Rennais, spend a couple of hours reading ‘The Saturday Morning Park Run’, spend some time preparing eBay listings, treat(?) my legs to a massage gun massage and finally, some somewhat overdue what I’ve described in the past as adulting tasks. I can’t wait for Sutton Park parkrun to return next Saturday.

Sunday – Rest

Ending the week with a rest day feels a little strange. Normal service will be resumed next week, as Sunday will see me attempting to run 1 km without any sneaky walking breaks. I just need to remember to be sensible and to run at a pace that I can maintain.

So, that’s the first week of the Beginner to 5k training plan successfully completed, just another five weeks to go. The rest of my Sunday was so boring, I won’t bore you with the details.

Week two of the Beginner to 5k training plan looks reasonably straightforward. After finding running for 90 seconds quite easy, I’m confident I’ll be able to run for 3 minutes. I’m not sure how I’ll find the final session of the week which will hopefully see me running 1 km without stopping.

Training totals

• Interval runs: 3 (out of 3)
• Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Distance: 6.90 miles

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 2/10
• Left knee: 1/10
• Left foot: 0/10

Did you have a good weekend? Did you manage to complete a parkrun or another organised event?

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