Good afternoon and happy(?) Monday. As always, I hope whoever takes the time to read what is likely to turn into a lengthy weekly update blog containing a fair amount of waffle had a great weekend. My weekend had three highlights; volunteering as a parkwalker at my local parkrun, somehow managing to run for 20 minutes, and a homecooked Sunday lunch.

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

Like the last time I attempted the fifth week of the Couch to 5k, I looked forward to tackling three different training sessions. I uploaded the interval sessions onto my Garmin and tried not to waste time worrying about running for 20 minutes.

My Tuesday evening and Saturday morning interval sessions and Sunday morning 20-minute run started with reasonably speedy 5-minute warm-up walks and ended with slightly slower 5-minute cool-down walks. I supplemented the interval sessions and Sunday morning run with cross-training sessions on Monday and Friday and rest days on Wednesday and Thursday. And yes, I know taking rest days on consecutive days isn’t ideal, however, thanks to a two-day training course in Birmingham and some poor planning, I had to rearrange some of my training sessions.

With apologies for the repetition, but as I want to complete the Couch to 5k this time, I allocated time most days to work through the exercise program provided by the NHS physio a couple of summers ago.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

After a couple of days of freedom, it was sadly a case of back to work, back to reality. My review of Week 4 of my Couch to 5k training was published and I started to plan my training for the week ahead. As soon as I finished work, I got changed into some running gear and spent a somewhat painful 30 minutes massaging my quad and calf muscles using my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun. I laid out some running gear, checked my Garmin was charged, and made sure my alarm was set for 5am.

Tuesday – 21 mins intervals (run 5 mins/walk 3 mins/run 5 mins/walk 3 mins/run 5 mins)

I’ve no idea why, but whenever I set a 5am alarm, I struggle to sleep. After a couple of hours of overthinking, I switched off my alarm and woke at my usual time feeling like a zombie. After a couple of hours of work, my Tuesday morning didn’t improve when I was quoted £300 for a pair of replacement retainers and my dentist informed me that my teeth were in such a state, I’d need to bring my next hygienist appointment forward by two months.

I left the dentist feeling slightly peeved, walked to Four Oaks station, travelled to Birmingham, and spent the rest of the day preparing for a training course. Although I enjoyed catching up with people, after an entertaining train journey back to Four Oaks – I’d forgotten Aston Villa were playing at home – I’m not convinced I could cope with my old daily commute. By the time I’d walked home, it was very much a case of I need to run now as it was gone 8pm, so I got changed into some running gear and headed out into colder than I was expecting conditions.

I discovered a new way to reduce my running pace, run when feeling tired and hungry. I found the interval session easy; my calf muscles, feet, and knees were niggle-free throughout the 21 minutes, and I reached the end of the final interval feeling like I could have carried on running. When I checked out my running and walking splits, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my pace was reasonably sensible by my poor standards.

I’ve decided to include the selfie I took before I started my cool-down walk as it captured how shattered I was feeling. I’ve no idea why my eyes were so red.

I got home, cooked, and inhaled a pizza in record time, spent some time massaging my quads and calf muscles using my massage gun, had a much-needed shower, and then headed to bed at a slightly later than sensible time.

Wednesday – Rest

This weekly update is getting far too long, surprise, so as Wednesday was a much-needed rest day, I won’t go into too much detail. I spent the day helping deliver the first day of a two-day training course. The venue was great, but the food options were a little dubious.

This is meant to be a running and not a food blog, so I’ve no idea why I’ve shared the photo I captured of my ‘Aston burger’. I wouldn’t order the same meal again and hope the menu is better when I return to the training venue in March.

Thursday – 21 mins intervals (run 8 mins/walk 5 mins/run 8 mins) Rest

I knew I was staying at the venue on Wednesday night, and I knew I would have access to a fitness centre and swimming pool. Dedicated and more organised runners would have taken advantage of the facilities and would have completed their interval session on Thursday morning. I’m not a dedicated runner and decided to prioritise having a lie-in over completing an early morning interval session.

I had originally aimed to get home before 5pm, have something to eat, and then complete my interval session at around 8pm. I ended up visiting the snack bar on the way home from the training venue.

I ended up spending an hour having a drink and catching up with one of my colleagues from Wallingford and didn’t get home until after 6pm. I decided attempting an interval session after drinking a pint while feeling shattered wouldn’t be very sensible, so I decided to spend what was left of the evening tackling some household chores.

Friday – Rest 30 mins cross training

My Friday afternoon routine has become as predictable as my Saturday morning routine, apologies for the repetition. As I’d completed my hours for the week, I finished work at 3pm, spent an hour ironing, treated myself to a longer-than-originally-anticipated nap, and then ordered a Chinese takeaway. I was feeling so shattered I decided to delay my interval session until the following day and completed a 30-minute walk instead.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training 21 mins intervals (run 8 mins/walk 5 mins/run 8 mins)

I’ve no idea what happened but I woke well before my Saturday morning ‘parkrun alarm’. I’d originally aimed to complete my interval session after parkrun, but I decided that as I was wide awake at 5:30am, I had plenty of time to run before parkrun.

I got changed into some running gear, popped to the loo, had a drink, and worked through my strength and conditioning exercises and stretches. I completed my 5-minute warm-up walk in what were mild but breezy conditions, readjusted my laces, and then started what would hopefully be my longest continuous run since I last attempted the Couch to 5k.

As for the second interval session of the week, I found running for eight minutes relatively easy and when I looked at my running and walking splits, I was pleased when I saw how consistent my pace was, particularly during the second eight-minute run.

I’m not sure what happened, but I forgot to take a post-interval session selfie and headed straight back home. I made myself a cup of tea, stretched, and as my legs were feeling a little tight, massaged my calf muscles.

Following a faster than probably sensible walk across Sutton Park, I arrived at the location of the start of Sutton Park parkrun Boldmere Gate just after 8am. I spent some time chatting with some of the Sutton Park parkrun regulars and met up with Helene my parkwalking partner. Helene said she wanted to improve her time from last week, so we set off at a decent pace and after a speedy walk around the Sutton Park parkrun course, I crossed the line in 425th place in a time of 49:29. I clearly worked quite hard as I was doing a great impression of a beetroot after parkrun.

Following breakfast and more banter in Boldmere, I headed to Mere Green, bought some books from the charity bookshop, collected my M&S order, and headed home. As I was feeling tired after my earlier-than-planned start, interval session, speedy walk around parkrun, and a lot of fresh air, I had a relaxed and not very productive Saturday afternoon. I caught up with some blog-related admin and made a start on my sixteenth book of the year: ‘The People on Platform 5’ written by Clare Pooley. I entered the ballot for the Royal Parks Half, watched Gladiators, laid out some running gear ready for the morning, and headed to bed at a sensible time.

Sunday – 20 mins running with no walking

After six early starts, I hadn’t set an alarm but for some reason, I woke just after 5am. I tried and failed to get back to sleep, so I got changed into the running gear I’d laid out the evening before and worked through my strength and conditioning exercises. I nipped to the loo, drank a small glass of water, and then headed out into wet and breezy conditions. I completed my 5-minute warm-up walk in milder than I was anticipating conditions, did some calf stretches, and started to run.

It stopped raining and the humidity increased. I was aware that I was running at a pace I’d describe as far too ambitious for my current fitness levels. Despite my inability to run at a sensible pace, I found the first ten minutes of the run reasonably easy. The second ten minutes were more challenging. It was breezy, my legs felt fatigued after yesterday’s running and walking, and I stopped enjoying the run. I spent most of the final five minutes looking at my Garmin and counting from 1-100 in an attempt to distract myself. I reached the end of the 20-minute run feeling shattered.

I completed my 5-minute cool-down walk, captured this absolutely dreadful selfie, and then walked home. And yes, I know I said I would be cutting down the number of selfies I share, but I wanted to include this one as it accurately illustrates how shattered I was feeling.

I drank two pints of orange squash, struggled to remove my trainers which were soaking wet, spent some time massaging my calf muscles as they were feeling quite tight, and as it was still early, headed back to bed for a couple of hours.

When I looked at my running splits in more detail, my inconsistent pacing throughout the 20-minute run was confirmed.

This is definitely something I need to work on as the duration of the continuous runs increases.

A few hours and a short nap later, I was treated to my first homecooked Sunday lunch of 2024. And yes, I know it’s February, I know I’m 44 years old and I could and should cook for myself but cooking Sunday lunch for one feels like a lot of effort. The crackling was perfect, and I ended the meal with all of my teeth intact. My Sunday got even better when I discovered that Wolves had beaten Chelsea.

So that’s the fifth week of the Couch to 5k training plan successfully completed. The sixth week of the Couch to 5k looks challenging but achievable. I know that I said exactly the same thing last time I was following the Couch to 5k, but looking at the interval runs makes me feel quite apprehensive. There are three different interval runs which I suspect will help rather than hinder me. The duration of the longest continuous run increases from 20 to 25 minutes. I might head to Beacon parkrun as the course is flat and I know I find running with other people more enjoyable than running on my own.

Training totals:

• Runs: 15 (out of 15)
• Time: 5 hrs 3½ mins
• Distance: 27.37 miles

Niggleometer:

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

Did you have a good weekend? Did you head to your local parkrun, or did you take part in an organised event?

Have you entered the ballot for the Royal Parks Half? I very much doubt I’ll get a place, but I feel like I’ve got unfinished business with the race, and I want to improve my time from 2018.

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