Good morning. 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, I hope that the next seven days are kinder to you. My weekend had two highlights; walking Sutton Park parkrun with Ellen and running for 25 minutes without having to take a walking break.

The NHS Live Well website provided the following information about the three training runs in Week 6 of the Couch to 5k training plan.

My Wednesday and Friday evening interval sessions started with a fast warm-up walk and ended with a slightly slower cool-down walk. I supplemented the interval sessions and Sunday morning run with cross-training sessions on Monday and Saturday and rest days on Tuesday and Thursday.

As I would love to complete the Couch to 5k, I dedicated time every day to stretching, strength and conditioning. I also used my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun to massage my quads and calf muscles when I felt my legs needed more massage.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

 My May Day Bank Holiday got off to a productive start as I spent an hour vacuuming the house and then walked the mile and a bit to and back from the local shops to collect an M&S order. I can’t remember if I mentioned my goals of walking 100 miles in May and walking every day in May, but I’m determined that May is going to be an active month. I made the most of the much better than had been forecast by the MetOffice weather, and once I’d recovered from what had been a slightly warmer than-anticipated walk, I spent a couple of hours gardening. I like to think that the weeding I did counted as a form of cross-training.

I had a less energetic afternoon; I think the highlight of my Bank Holiday Monday was ordering another pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers from Sportsshoes.com. The trainers were already reduced, and I used the 15% birthday discount code I’d been sent by England Athletics – TTHUE2 – which meant the trainers cost under £60. Although the comments made during my birthday meal meant I felt guilty for buying more trainers, I figured it was sensible to stock up on trainers that suit my running style.

I noticed that the newly released Mizuno Wave Inspire 20 trainers have an RRP of £139.99. Fingers crossed my stockpile of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers last until the price of the Inspire 20s is reduced.

Tuesday – 24 mins intervals (run 5 mins/walk 3 mins/run 8 mins/walk 3 mins/run 5 mins) Rest

After a week of annual leave, on Tuesday it was very much a case of back to work, back to reality. At least the May Day Bank Holiday meant it was a shorter week. After spending the morning deleting what felt like a slightly excessive number of emails, I was left with 101 emails to read and respond to and a laptop that seemed determined to not allow me to access my time recording spreadsheets. After a somewhat frustrating morning, I decided a lunchtime walk would help to clear my mind. Summer had finally arrived, and it was warmer and more humid than I was expecting. After an hour of gardening and heavy lifting after work left me with a painful right knee, I decided to be sensible for a change and delayed the first interval run of Week 6 of the Couch to 5k by 24 hours.

Wednesday – Rest 24 mins intervals (run 5 mins/walk 3 mins/run 8 mins/walk 3 mins/run 5 mins)

I’ll fast forward to the evening and my much, much later than originally planned first interval session of the week. After an accidental nap, I got changed into some running gear, selected some cheesy dance music, and then headed out at 10:15pm into the dark to complete my warm-up walk. It was so warm I almost instantly regretted wearing my Proviz reflective gilet.

I found the interval session a lot easier than I was expecting, possibly because I was feeling so shattered. My knees felt great, and I enjoyed every second of the interval session. Although my pacing didn’t feel that inconsistent while I was running, when I looked at my running and recovery splits, it was clear my pacing was all over the place and what I’ve described in the past as consistently inconsistent running.

I captured this slightly dubious selfie which I’ve included because it provides an accurate illustration of how I felt at the end of the interval session and then completed a much-needed cool-down walk.

I got home, drank a couple of glasses of water, had a shower, and then struggled to get to sleep as I was feeling wide awake after my run and my bedroom was like a sauna. A reminder why running so late in the evening isn’t the most sensible option when you’re insomniac.

Thursday – 23 mins intervals (run 10 mins/walk 3 mins/run 10 mins) Rest

This weekly update has already turned into one of my essays, so as Thursday was a rest day, I’ll fast forward to my fourth appointment at the Ebrook Osteopathy and Sports Clinic in Sutton Coldfield. Despite the best efforts of the rail network, I managed to make it to Sutton Coldfield just before my post-work osteopathy appointment with Lina.

After I’d explained my gardening-related mishap, Lina treated me to another slightly painful at times leg massage and some rather painful shockwave therapy.

The appointment flew by, and my knees and legs felt a million times better at the end of the 45 minutes. I booked another appointment for a couple of weeks’ time and more by luck than judgement, managed to get straight on a train that was travelling to Lichfield. My legs were starting to look a little bruised, so I was pleased to get out of the centre of Sutton Coldfield.

Friday – Rest 23 mins intervals (run 10 mins/walk 3 mins/run 10 mins)

My Friday afternoon routine has become quite predictable, so if you’ve made it this far, you might want to skip this paragraph. As I’d completed my hours for the week, I was able to finish work at 3pm. I love flexitime. I sorted out four loads of washing, had a quick nap, and then ordered a takeaway from the Hungry Sparrow Chinese. Once I’d eaten far too much unhealthy food, I completed two weeks’ worth of ironing while watching the Diamond League Athletics in Doha and got changed into some running gear.

Once I was confident I’d left enough time after eating to run, I headed out into what was a rather lively Four Oaks and completed my warm-up walk. I selected some suitably upbeat music, checked my laces felt comfortable, and set out on what will hopefully injury and life permitting be the final interval session of the Couch to 5k training plan. I found running for 10 minutes easy and my knees and legs felt great after my osteopathy appointment. When I looked at my running and walking splits, I was frustrated to see how inconsistent my pace was, particularly during the second run interval.

I didn’t take a post-interval session selfie as I was desperate for the loo and headed straight back home. I’m sure people will be pleased to know that I made it to the loo in time and didn’t have a mishap in public. I drank a couple of glasses of water as I was feeling quite dehydrated, stretched, and massaged my calf muscles. The Northern Lights were something other people saw.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

I wasn’t volunteering at Sutton Park parkrun and therefore didn’t need to get to Boldmere Gate for 8:15am. A sensible, well-organised Emma would have remembered to switch off her 6:30am ‘parkrun alarm’. I’m not sensible or organised, so I was showered, dressed, and ready to walk across Sutton Park to parkrun well before 7:00am. I delayed my walk by 30 minutes and still had enough time to spend some time relaxing, listening to some far braver than I am people swimming in Powell’s Pool.

At 8:45am I walked to the start of parkrun, spent a couple of minutes chatting with some of the Sutton Park parkrun regulars, got a little fed up with people asking me why I wasn’t volunteering, and then headed off in search of Ellen. I tracked down Ellen just as the Run Director said “GO” and we walked and talked our way around the course.

It was a lot warmer than I was expecting and the ice cream van at the Jamboree Stone was very tempting. A massive shout out to Rob for capturing this action photo, I really do need to find an alternative method of carrying my phone and keys.

[Photo: Rob Andrews]

I crossed the line looking like a beetroot in 40:53 and spent a couple of minutes posing for what will no doubt be slightly dubious photos. The weather was so perfect, it’s a shame a lack of parking meant we couldn’t head across the road for breakfast and post-parkrun banter outside on the Wetherspoons terrace.

As I was feeling tired after my faster-than-planned 5k walk, I had a relaxed and not overly productive Saturday afternoon. I caught up with some blog and eBay-related admin and spent some time gardening. I tried and failed to find a replacement for my Solomon running cap, laid out some running gear ready for the morning, set my alarm for 5am, and headed to bed at a sensible time.

Sunday – 25 mins running with no walking

After two late-in-the-evening interval sessions, when my alarm woke me at 5am, I made sure I got up and dressed straight away. I much prefer running when it’s cooler and quieter, so I got changed into the running gear I’d laid out the night before, worked through a slightly random selection of strength and conditioning exercises, had a productive loo visit, drank a small glass of orange squash, and then headed out into what were perfect conditions for running.

I completed my 5-minute warm-up walk, adjusted my laces, selected some 80s music, and set off on what I hoped would be my longest continuous run in over a year. Last Sunday I got my pacing spot on, and I loved my 20-minute run. Yesterday, my pacing was all over the place, my legs felt tired, and I found myself constantly checking how long I’d got left to run. Never a sign of a good run. I lost count of the number of times I wanted to walk, and looking back I’m actually quite impressed I made it to 25 minutes without taking one of my infamous sneaky walking breaks.

I captured this rather blurry post-run selfie which I later shared on Instagram and then walked home feeling slightly frustrated with myself.

I got home, drank a pint of chocolate milkshake, and then as it was still only 6:00am headed back to bed for an hour. Not a post-run recovery routine I’d recommend. When I checked out the splits from my run, I was disappointed to see my pacing.

Once I’d recovered from my early morning run, I spent a couple of hours gardening, went for a slow lunchtime stroll, and then had a quiet Sunday afternoon and evening.

So, that’s Week 6 of the Couch to 5k completed. I just hope that my knees continue to cope with the training. I don’t want to tempt fate, but my knees aren’t causing me too many issues at the moment. I experience the occasional niggle first thing in the morning when I get up, but that’s about it. I just hope that my knees cope with the final three weeks of the Couch to 5k. While I obviously hope that this doesn’t happen, if my knee starts to hurt when I’m running I’ll stop and make an additional appointment at Ebrook Osteopathy and Sports Clinic. There’s no point in running if I’m in pain.

Week 7 looks challenging but should be achievable if I run at a sensible pace I can maintain. I finally get to say ‘goodbye’ to interval runs as in the final three weeks of the Couch to 5k, all of the training sessions are continuous runs without recovery intervals. So, that’s no more walking and getting my breath back. I think my main concerns are how my knees will respond to running for 25 minutes three times in 7 days and getting my pacing spot on.

Training totals:

• Runs: 18 (out of 18)
• Time: 6 hrs 15½ mins
• Distance: 34.08 miles

Niggleometer:

• Right knee: 3/10
• Left knee: 2/10
• Left foot: 1/10

Do you listen to running (or other) podcasts while you are running? If you do, please could you share your recommendations with me.

How do you carry your phone, house keys, money, cards, etc while you are running? Now that summer has hopefully arrived, I need an alternative to wearing a running gilet.

---