After a few too many failed attempts at completing the Couch to 5k last year, I wasn’t going to publish weekly training updates, but I love writing them and people have said that they enjoy reading my training (and life) updates and. I also hope that my random thoughts help other runners who, like me, are tackling the Couch to 5k after being injured.

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. I can guarantee the updates will be filled with typos as I’m still getting to grips with my new laptop.

I decided to 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 1 of the Couch to 5k training plan.

My Tuesday, Thursday, 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 interval sessions with cross-training sessions and two rest days. I’m not a member of a gym and don’t have access to an exercise bike, so cross-training sessions comprised of 30-minute walks.

As I would love to finally complete the Couch to 5k, I dedicated time every evening to stretching and strength and conditioning. I’d love 2025 to be the year I complete the Couch to 5k and get back into running consistently.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

Last time I decided to restart the Couch to 5k I was on annual leave and could run whenever I wanted. This time I decided to restart the Couch to 5k during a busy week which would involve a return trip to Leeds and a Friday evening concert in Lichfield. And that’s without including a load of health and house-related stresses.

Following a morning of data requests and report writing, I packed my laptop away, checked I’d got everything I needed for my overnight stay in Leeds, and then walked to the train station. I like to think my speedy walk to the station while carrying a heavy rucksack counted as cross training. Anyway, almost four hours after leaving home I arrived in a colder than anticipated Leeds.

I managed to navigate my way to my hotel without getting misplaced, checked in, dumped my rucksack, and then walked through a still rather festive-looking centre of Leeds to Five Guys to grab something to eat. I’m not convinced the hamburger, small fries, and large Diet Coke was worth what it cost but I didn’t fancy eating on my own in a busy restaurant.

I navigated my way back to the hotel room and spent what was left of the evening watching a selection of police-related programmes on Channel 5. There are some nasty people out there.

Tuesday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

My meeting wasn’t scheduled to start until 09:30, so in an ideal world, I would have treated myself to a rare weekday lie-in. I don’t live in an ideal world and my hotel room was located at the front of the hotel on a main road, so I was woken bright and early by the sound of people shouting. The view from the room went some way to make up for the early morning wakeup.

I hadn’t booked breakfast in the hotel, so after a lot of worrying I’d left something in the room, I checked out and walked the short distance to McDonald’s to grab myself a healthy breakfast. My line manager is going to love my expense claims. I was able to grab myself a window seat, so what should have been a quick breakfast turned into 30 minutes of people-watching.

The meeting I’d travelled up to Leeds to attend was very productive, after spending most of the last five years working from home, it felt great to meet up with some of my colleagues for the first time in several years. The meeting finished just after 15:00 which gave me time to grab myself something to drink in Leeds station. After a quiet journey between Leeds and Birmingham New Street, I got back to Four Oaks, walked to Mere Green, and ordered myself a Chinese takeaway as I hadn’t eaten since lunchtime.

Sorry, this is meant to be a running blog and not a food blog. An hour after eating, I got changed into some running gear, spent some time stretching, checked my Garmin was working, and then headed out the door. I’d love to be able to say that the first interval session was a huge success, but it wasn’t.

I’m aware I’m repeating myself, but the first interval session after a break from running due to a running injury always feels quite stressful. All sorts of slightly negative scenarios involving my right knee imploding were going through my mind during the 5-minute warm-up walk. I had to remind myself that running is meant to be something I enjoy! Something to help me forget about the real world for a few minutes. My pacing was all over the place and for some reason my new trainers felt about as cushioned as a pair of clogs. Although I found running for a minute at a time easy, my right knee twinged a couple of times, and my right quad felt a little tight.

I walked home feeling a little frustrated and questioning if it was time for me to retire. I figured if my knee couldn’t cope with a minute of running then it wouldn’t cope with the rest of the Couch to 5k. It’s always good to feel positive after an interval session. With apologies for the earworm, “Things Can Only Get Better”.

Wednesday – Rest

I’ve already waffled on far too much and Wednesday was a much-needed rest day that featured tears and a lot of stress, I’ll fast-forward to Thursday.

Thursday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

I think the highlight of yet another stressful day that left me feeling completely overwhelmed and like an imposter was receiving a message to say my passport application had been approved. I figured having a passport would enable me to go travelling if the house purchase fell through.

I finished work and instantly found myself ordering myself a takeaway. Usually, a takeaway from a local Chinese restaurant makes me feel better. Unfortunately, the food I’d ordered tasted bland, made me feel guilty for wasting money, and did nothing to improve my mood.

I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I almost abandoned the Couch to 5k after only completing one interval session. I didn’t feel like running, so after spending a couple of hours feeling sorry for myself, I decided to go for a short walk to clear my head. A couple of minutes into what was only ever meant to be a walk, I realised I was feeling well enough to tackle a run. Twenty minutes later I’d successfully completed the second interval session of the week. I wouldn’t recommend running in jeans and worn-out trainers, but my right knee was niggle free throughout the interval session. I didn’t take any photos.

Friday – Rest

Although I usually don’t provide much insight into what I get up to during my rest days, on Friday evening I headed into Lichfield for a Music of John Williams concert featuring the International Film Orchestra, so I thought I’d share a couple of photos here.

I’m going to blame drinking too much gin and tonic for booking myself a seat in the very front row of the concert. When I sat down, I realised I would be spending the concert less than a metre away from the concertmaster.

The concert was out of this world and featured music from Star Wars, Jurassic Park, E.T., Jaws, and Indiana Jones to name a few. We were told photography was prohibited, so once the concert started my phone remained in my pocket.

I was feeling hungry – my stomach rumbled a few times during the concert – and didn’t fancy standing around in the cold, so I headed to the warmth of McDonald’s to grab myself a healthy Friday evening meal. Following a short but highly entertaining train journey back to Four Oaks, I walked back home in sleet and snow and wondered if parkrun would be cancelled the following morning.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

I didn’t want to drag myself out of bed as I was feeling shattered after a late night and a stressful few days. Had I not arranged to meet Ellen and set myself a target of completing 50 parkruns in 2025, I would have probably gone back to sleep. I’m pleased I made the effort to drag myself to Sutton Park parkrun as I loved my walk and talk with Ellen, even if this photo makes it look like I wasn’t enjoying myself.

Following parkrun, I spent some time in the Communitea Café in Boldmere talking through some of my moans and groans was dropped back near Mere Green and then headed to the Fox and Dogs as I’d arranged to meet a friend for a drink.

My friend had to leave early, so after spending almost an hour drinking on my tod, I decided to head back home. The quick conversation I had with someone outside the Fox and Dogs turned out to be the last time I spoke to anyone during the weekend.

Following a reasonably productive afternoon and evening, I laid out some running gear and headed to bed with my latest book; “The Trading Game” written by Gary Stevenson. Sometimes I ask myself when my life became so incredibly mundane.

Sunday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

I found myself wide awake at 6am. I lay in bed in the dark for a couple of minutes contemplating staying in bed before convincing myself that running in the morning would increase the likelihood of me actually completing the third and final interval session of the week. I got changed into the running gear I’d laid out the previous evening, worked through some strength and conditioning exercises, had a productive loo visit, drank some water, and headed outside into the dark.

I completed my warm-up walk, checked my laces weren’t feeling too tight, selected some trance classics on Spotify, and started to run. The interval session was enjoyable and pain-free. I managed to run the first run repetition at a sensible pace, this set the tone for the rest of the interval session. I reached the end of the 20 minutes feeling like I could have carried on running. I still need to work on my action photos.

I got home, made myself a cup of tea, and then headed to the local Co-op to pick up some groceries before heading back to bed for an hour. I really do need to work on my post-run recovery routine. The remainder of my Sunday was not exactly what I’d describe as blogworthy, so I won’t bore you all to tears with the details.

So, that’s the first week of the Couch to 5k completed. I just hope that my knees and feet continue to cope with the training. After so many failed attempts at completing the Couch to 5k, I’d love to be running 5k in eight weeks’ time.

Week 2 of the Couch to 5k training plan looks achievable, I just need to make sure I run at a sensible pace I can maintain for 90 seconds.

Training totals:

• Runs: 3 (out of 3)
• Time: 1 hr 0 mins
• Distance: 5.00 miles

Niggleometer:

• Right knee: 310
• Left knee: 3/10
• Left foot: 3/10

Did you have a good weekend?

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

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.

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

After an unplanned break from running due to illness and slightly temperamental knees, I was a little nervous about restarting the Couch to 5k at Week 6, so I decided to repeat Week 5. I rescheduled all the training sessions on Garmin Connect and made sure my Garmin updated and wondered if I’d be able to run continuously for 20 minutes.

My Wednesday morning and Friday evening 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 20-minute run with cross-training sessions on Monday and Saturday and rest days on Wednesday and Friday.

With apologies for the repetition, but as I want to complete the Couch to 5k at the beginning of June, I allocated time each morning to the strengthening exercises I was provided a couple of weeks ago.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

This won’t be a ‘normal’ weekly training update blog because I was on annual leave. Nothing beats that feeling of not having to spend 7.4 hours a day sat at a desk staring at a screen. I’ve not gone into much detail in this blog, but I’ve been finding my job incredibly difficult recently and had reached the stage I needed a break. I wrote myself a ‘things to do’ list and then spent the morning catching up on some embarrassingly overdue household chores. I’m hoping vacuuming the house counts as a form of cross training, it felt more physically demanding than my usual lunchtime walks.

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

As I wanted to run on my 45^th birthday, I decided to switch some of my training sessions around. What should have been a rest day ended up being quite productive. I woke reasonably early as I had a doctor’s appointment in the morning. After I’d been to the doctors, I remembered to drop my ‘parkrun coat’ off at the local launderers to have the zip replaced. I popped into the local charity bookshop and bought some more books to add to my ’to be read’ pile and then headed home.

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs you’ll probably already be aware I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with the Giggling Squid in Mere Green. A warning, this weekly training update is about to morph into a not very informative food blog. I met up with my friend Vic for an early birthday lunch and ended up ordering a selection of smaller dishes from the lunchtime menu.

The food tasted amazing, and I regretted not ordering more. I wasn’t expecting to be presented with this after I’d eaten my dessert

Such a kind gesture considering it wasn’t my birthday. The rest of my final day as a 44 year old was so mundane I’m struggling to recall what I did when I got home from the Giggling Squid. I have a feeling I treated myself to an afternoon nap and made sure I’d set my alarm for 5:30am the following morning.

Wednesday – Rest 21 mins intervals (run 5 mins/walk 3 mins/run 5 mins/walk 3 mins/run 5 mins)

I woke well before my 5:30am alarm, got changed into some running gear, had a productive trip to the toilet, drank some water and completed some stretches. I must admit I was feeling quite nervous about running for the first time since I’d started treating my knees and legs to weekly osteopathy treatments. I found the interval session easy and was reminded that I’m more of a morning than an evening runner. My knees felt great, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover my fitness levels hadn’t disappeared. When I checked out my running and recovery splits, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my pacing was reasonably sensible by my standards.

I still need to work on my post training session selfie skills. I’ve decided to include the selfie I took just before I started my cool-down walk as it’s my first photo as a 45 year old.

I got home, had another glass of water, and then spent the morning tackling some of the chores on my ‘things to do list’. At midday I had a shower, got changed and then walked the short distance to the Quill and Taper pub for my birthday lunch.

It was lovely to have an unplanned catch-up with Sarah from parkrun. I know this is meant to be a running and not a food blog, but I thought I’d share two of the photos I took. As it was lunchtime and I knew I wouldn’t be ordering a dessert, I ordered breaded mushrooms for the first time this year.

I’m a creature of habit and I didn’t feel like eating a hot meal, so I ordered the chicken Caesar salad and a side portion of fries for my main course.

The food tasted amazing, and it was lovely to catch up with my brother. It’s just a shame my birthday meal was somewhat ruined by a snide comment made by my stepfather Colin. According to Colin, when I buy my own property I won’t be able to buy myself new trainers. I was left with the impression all I would be able to do is work and then go home; having any sort of hobbies or fun would be completely out of the question.

I did my best to not let this snide comment upset me but admit I spent the rest of my birthday feeling quite gloomy.

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

This weekly update has already turned into one of my essays, so as Thursday was rest day, I’ll fast forward to my third appointment at the Ebrook Osteopathy and Sports Clinic in Sutton Coldfield.

I should probably rewind a few weeks. I’m ashamed to admit I had a slight meltdown as I was fed up with not being able to run and was worried I’d never be able to train consistently. Rather than feeling sorry for myself I decided to do something practical, so I visited the Ebrook Osteopathy and Sports Clinic website and completed the contact form.

Four days later I had my first appointment. I was diagnosed with Runner’s Knee, treated to a rather painful leg massage, given some homework to complete and told I would be able to run again. My legs felt amazing after the massage, and I was able to navigate the stairs at home without flinching.

The following week I was given another slightly painful leg massage and I got to experience Shockwave therapy for the first time. I was also able to record my homework, this gave me the confidence to complete the stretches. On Thursday I got to experience dry needling for the first time.

I was pleasantly surprised it didn’t hurt at all and my knees and legs felt amazing after the treatment. I left the appointment wishing I’d had the confidence to visit the Ebrook Osteopathy and Sports Clinic at the start of the year.

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

Following a quiet morning where I contemplated running but decided I’d need to be on top form later in the day, I spent most of the day at my twin niece’s birthday party. In an attempt to deal with a room full of small very energetic children, I somehow managed to consume several glasses of pink Prosecco. I’m not saying I’d had a fair amount to drink, but the camera doesn’t lie!

I got back home and then spent ages weighing up the pros and cons of attempting to complete an interval run while feeling slightly merry. I decided to listen to some music to help with my pacing and to take my mind off the pink Prosecco.

I got changed into some running gear, selected some trance music, and headed out into the torrential rain to complete my warm-up walk. I can honestly say I don’t remember much about the second interval session of the week. My pacing was what I’d describe as slightly erratic, and it looks like I found the end of the interval session difficult.

I’ve included the selfie I took just before I embarked on my cool-down walk stagger as a reminder to not drink and attempt to run.

I got home, drank a couple of glasses of water, had a shower, made sure my Saturday morning ‘parkrun alarm’ was switched on as I was barcode scanning at Sutton Park parkrun and headed to bed.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

I’m not blaming the pink Prosecco, but I woke well before my Saturday morning ‘parkrun alarm’ feeling anything but refreshed. I walked across Sutton Park and arrived at the location of the start of Sutton Park parkrun near to Boldmere Gate just after 8:15am. I spent a few minutes chatting with some of the core team and then met up with and headed off for a pre-barcode scanning walk and talk with Helene.

Barcode scanning was a success, and I was only presented with one completely impossible to scan barcode. Volunteering complete, Helene and I popped to the Bassetts Pole for a McDonald’s birthday brunch.

As the events of the week had caught up with me and I was feeling tired, I had a relaxed and not overly productive Saturday afternoon. I caught up with some blog and eBay related admin and made a start on my 41^st book of the year: ‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry. I laid some running gear out ready for the morning, made sure my alarm was set, and headed to bed at a sensible time.

Sunday – 20 mins running with no walking

My alarm woke me, and I spent a couple of minutes lying in bed debating getting up. I decided running early in the morning when it was cooler and quieter would be the best option, so I got changed into the running gear I’d laid out the night before, worked through some strength and conditioning exercises, had a productive loo visit, drank some water, and then headed outside into what were perfect conditions for running.

I completed my 5-minute warm-up walk, selected some music from the London 2012 Opening Ceremony and started to run. Last time I ran for 20 minutes I set out at a pace that was far too ambitious for my current fitness levels. This time I made a concerted effort to maintain a sensible pace that I knew I’d be able to maintain. I found the first ten minutes of the run easy, and it felt like I was running at a fairly consistent pace. Although my pacing during the second ten minutes felt a little more inconsistent, I made sure I only increased my pace when I approached the final few minutes of the run.

I captured this post-run selfie and then spent a couple of minutes reflecting on what had had been an amazing run, such a contrast to last time I ran for 20 minutes. I completed my 5-minute cool-down walk and then walked home.

And yes, I’m acutely aware I’ve said I would be cutting down the number of selfies I share, so here’s a bonus photo I took of what is usually a busy road not far from my house.

I got home, drank a couple of pints of water and spent some time massaging my calf muscles. As it was too late for me to head back to bed, I decided to have a quick look at the splits from my run.

Although my pacing was inconstant and I clearly started to speed up towards the end, I managed to run a pace I knew I’d be able to maintain for 20 minutes. Unlike the last time I ran for 20 minutes, I reached the end of the 20 minute run feeling like I could have carried on running. Progress!

So that’s the fifth week of the Couch to 5k training plan completed. The sixth week of the Couch to 5k looks challenging and I’m aware that my lack of recent consistent training might come back to haunt me. As the duration of the longest continuous run increases from 20 to 25 minutes, I might complete the run at Beacon parkrun. The course is flat, and I find running with others 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: 2/10
• Left knee: 2/10
• Left foot: 1/10

Did you have a good long weekend?

Have you ever experienced dry needling?

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.

Here are the links to my previous annual review posts, there’s most definitely a theme 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021

January

History repeated itself, and I started 2022 with a knee injury which meant running was still very much something other people did. Despite this, I could still walk, so on New Year’s Day I volunteered as a tail walker at Sutton Park parkrun.

The hour spent walking around the Sutton Park parkrun course was the perfect way to start 2022 as was the social event immediately after parkrun. The low point was injuring my knee on my exercise bike, my cycling session on New Year’s Day would be the only time I rode a bike in 2022.

I felt reasonably confident I’d be able to call myself a runner again, so I shared my running, walking and parkrun goals for the year ahead.

I read a lot in January and published a Books I’ve read recently post. I volunteered as a tail walker at Sutton Park parkrun five times, and got to experience some stunning but chilly January mornings in Sutton Park.

As I was still working from home and not getting anywhere near my old target of 10,000 steps a day, I entered Runuary and set myself a target of walking 100 miles in January. Although I didn’t manage to meet my distance target – this would be a common occurrence in 2022 – my evening walks around Four Oaks were one of the highlights of the month.

Another not quite as healthy January highlight was the reintroduction of regular Saturday lunchtime visits to the Bistrot Pierre restaurant in Mere Green.

Spending a few hours every Saturday out of the house (except when Wolves were playing at home) made the temporary weight gain worthwhile. At the end of the month I met up with a running buddy for a walk in Sutton Park and was introduced to the delights of the kiosk at The Bracebridge. I can’t wait to return.

February

Looking back, February was not the most positive of months and I struggled a lot with my mental health. I entered the Miles for Mind February virtual event and set myself a target of walking 100 miles. A loss of motivation meant that I even failed to achieve my reduced target of walking 75 miles in February. I was unfortunately on the receiving end of a rather snarky comment at my local parkrun.

I was accused of hogging the tail walker role and of not letting other people have a go at tail walking. And I thought volunteering was a case of first come, first served. I know I shouldn’t have allowed one comment to upset me as much as it did, but when my mental health is suspect, I have a habit of over-thinking. In a rather childish attempt to make myself feel better, I wrote and published what would be my last blog for a couple of months; a Rants and raves post and switched to volunteering as a marshal rather than a tail walker.

March

At the start of March I celebrated(?) two years of working from home. Although I’ve enjoyed not having to spend three hours a day commuting on unreliable and overcrowded trains, I was feeling increasingly isolated from my colleagues. Although working in a small area-based team means that the days I literally don’t speak to anyone are rare, they do still happen. I can’t wait to finally meet my not so new team in the New Year, I just need the trains on the West Coast Mainline to run.

In 2021, parkrun was still a distant memory, happily for this parkrun addict parkruns were able to continue throughout 2022. I’m not sure why I was posing on my own with the International Women’s Day parkrun selfie frame, but I’ve included this photo as I think I look relatively normal.

That’s more than can be said for how I looked in the photo taken of me testing out my knees with a sneaky jog during Sutton Park parkrun a fortnight later.

This photo actually made me cry, pathetic I know. Although I was smiling and clearly enjoying myself, I hated how I looked and was left asking myself what on earth had happened. Sometimes a reality check is a good thing. Whereas I would have usually ordered myself something unhealthy with a side portion of chips, when I was treated to lunch at the Dog Inn in Nether Whitacre, I opted for the duck salad.

 I’m pretty sure I ordered exactly the same flowers for Mother’s Day last year. A slight fail on the daughter front.

The lighter evenings meant that I spent more time outside and I did my best to head out for a walk every afternoon after I’d finished work. While I didn’t manage to meet my original target of walking 100 miles in March, the March Spring in Your Step virtual event motivated me to walk more than 75 miles.

April

I suspect that in years to come I’ll look back at what happened during April 2022 and will laugh. The month didn’t get off to the best of starts when I was struck down with a mystery illness that resulted in me missing five days of work. Spending a lot of time in bed had one positive; I managed to reach the bottom of my ‘books to read’ pile.

I’ve realised like last year; I’ve barely mentioned running and this is meant to be a running blog. After three cancellations, I had an initial ‘phone consultation with a first contact practitioner. While it felt good to feel like I was finally in the ‘system’, I spent the consultation feeling like I was being fobbed off and not listened to. I was given the phone number of physio services and warned there might be a bit of a wait. I must have sounded disappointed as the first contact practitioner agreed to see me and my knees the following week.

I’m not sure what possessed me to travel up to Beacon Park in Lichfield, but the second Saturday in April I managed to jog around most of the Beacon parkrun course.

Four days after parkrun, I had a face-to-face appointment with the first contact practitioner. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I found the appointment somewhat underwhelming. The first contact practitioner only looked at my right knee and somehow concluded I probably have a small tear in the cartilage of my knee. I was told to contact the Orthopaedic Triage Service as I needed physio, which I did when I got home.

After what felt like hours listening to this hold music on repeat I got to talk to someone. I found out that I’d got to wait to receive a letter through the post before I could get my name on the waiting list for a physio appointment. I stupidly attempted to punish my knees.

On the penultimate Friday of April I answered the kind of ‘phone call no one ever wants to answer. A close friend called to say they’d had an accident and were waiting in A&E. A gardening injury and a dislocated knee were mentioned. It later transpired that in the process of dislocating their knee my friend had torn a tendon and would require urgent surgery.

I spent the final week of April trying and quite possibly failing to look after my friend, we both found out that it’s a good job I’m a hydrologist as I’m not a very good nurse. My friend needed a lot of assistance and was understandably feeling incredibly frustrated and grumpy. It was almost a relief when he was given a time and date for his operation for the end of April. The last parkrun in April helped me temporarily forget about my friend’s operation.

May

At the start of May, I celebrated my 43^rd birthday. After my lockdown birthdays of 2020 and 2021 I’d hoped my 43^rd birthday would resemble my birthdays before Covid. That was before my friend had an operation to repair the tendon in their knee 24 hours before my birthday. I spent a large proportion of my birthday waiting for my friend to be discharged from Heartlands Hospital. I guess there’s always next year.

I spent the rest of the month trying to balance supporting my friend while working a fulltime job that was becoming increasingly pressurised due to the dry weather. The experience was a huge reality check for me, a reminder of what a lot of people have to deal with on a daily basis. I got to spend a lot of time in hospital waiting areas, some of the injuries I witnessed made me realise how insignificant my knee issues are.

In an attempt to escape from the real world, I read a lot and published another Books I’ve read recently post. I unfortunately missed every parkrun in May as I didn’t want to leave my friend alone for too long. When I did get out of the house for some fresh air, I made sure I didn’t walk too far from my friend’s house.

At the end of May I headed to Bistrot Pierre in Mere Green for my belated birthday meal. Although I haven’t included an all too predictable photos of a burger and chips, I thought I’d share the selfie I captured in the restaurant. I still need to sort out my eyebrows.

I’m going to sound incredibly selfish, but I hope I never experience another month like May. With the exception of quick trips to the local Co-op, I hardly ever left the house. I struggled with my mental health, distanced myself from most of my friends and family, and spent far too much time on social media comparing my life with those of people with far more interesting lives. Comparison really was the thief of joy.

June

June started with the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend; the Queen made a completely unexpected but very welcome appearance at Sutton Park parkrun. I clearly missed the fancy dress memo and came dressed as a parkrunner.

After parkrun, I headed to Bistrot Pierre in Mere Green to meet a friend for lunch. This would turn out to be our last visit to Bistrot Pierre. I could cope with waiting 45 minutes for a couple of starters to make an appearance in an empty restaurant. I could cope with lukewarm mains. I struggled to cope with being charged multiple times for lunch. I felt slightly better after ranting about Bistrot Pierre in a Rants and raves post.

The first Tuesday in June saw me step out of my huge comfort zone when I headed to the Massage Company in Sutton Coldfield for a complementary sports massage. I’d never had a sports massage, so I looked forward with some trepidation to reviewing the Massage Company.

I thought I had quite a high pain threshold, the sports massage demonstrated that I’m a wimp, especially when it comes to having my legs and lower back massaged. I’m not sure if I’ll return for a second massage. The Saturday after the massage I enjoyed a relaxed stroll around the Sutton Park parkrun course.

After the Bistrot Pierre payment saga, I figured it was time for a change, so I booked a table in the Giggling Squid the Thai restaurant next door to Bistrot Pierre. The food tasted amazing and was only slightly more expensive than Bistrot Pierre. I was also only charged once.

With all these food photos, this annual review post is in danger of turning into a food blog. Sorry! While I was still unable to run, I was able to eat, and walk. My relaxed Saturday morning walks through Sutton Park were the best way to start the weekend.

By supplementing my Saturday morning walks with some longer Sunday morning walks, I finally achieved my target of walking 100 miles in a month and was able to thoroughly review some Fizzy Foot Foam. On reflection, although my mental health struggles never completely went away, June was probably one of the better months of the year.

July

July was probably the most positive month of 2022. At the start of the month I published what turned out to be one of my most popular posts of 2022 – 10 reasons to volunteer at parkrun – the following morning, after swapping volunteer roles a few times, I volunteered as the funnel manager. Sometimes I forget how tall I am.

The following Tuesday, I treated a friend to dinner at my local pub, the Quill and Taper. I was clearly not what I call in blogger mode as I forgot to take any photos of my food. I was able to make up for this failure a couple of weeks later.

The second parkrun of the month was very chilled out, just what I needed to temporarily forget about the dry weather and work. I walked and talked my way around the Sutton Park parkrun course with Gary and Helene.

The following Saturday we got to celebrate Robs 100^th volunteering stint at Sutton Park parkrun. The Communitea Café was sadly closed, so we headed to The Bishop Vesey Wetherspoons opposite and spent a couple of hours soaking up the July sunshine. I’ve no idea who took this photo, but I love the way I was taking my role as cake supervisor so seriously.

Almost four months after my ‘phone call with the first contact practitioner, I found myself walking across Sutton Park so that I could attend my initial appointment with an NHS physio. I’ve no idea why I was looking so worried, perhaps I thought I was about to be told my running days were over.

The physio I saw was lovely and instantly made me feel positive about my long term running prospects. We talked through my medical history, and I did my best to explain what triggers my knee pain and what I think caused it. We worked through some tests; these indicated that structurally my knee is sound, and my tendons are fine. My right kneecap is slightly misaligned, hence the pain. I have weak glutes and quads, tight hamstrings, and poor flexibility.

I was tasked with completing a series of exercises and stretches. The exercises were described as easy exercises and included glute walks and quadriceps stretches. I left the initial appointment with a follow-up appointment for three weeks later.

A few days later I returned to the Quill and Taper pub with a friend, and I actually remember to take a photo of my main course. I decided not to share a photo of the huge chocolate ice cream that left me feeling slightly nauseous.

The end of July marked the first anniversary of parkrun restarting. I’m not sure why – perhaps seeing all the Commonwealth Games themed signs in Sutton Park inspired me – but I decided to see how quickly I could walk around the Sutton Park parkrun course.

I managed to walk the course in 41:15, inadvertently upset some runners in the process, ended up doing a great impression of a lobster, and found getting out of bed the following morning difficult. At least my knees didn’t react to my stupidity.

So, if I ignore my power walking exploits and failure to walk 100 miles, July was a positive month. I had an encouraging first appointment with an NHS physio, I received a local recognition award at work and was nominated for a second award. I got to eat out several times during the month, something I never take for granted, and I volunteered most weekends at parkrun and got to celebrate some parkrun milestones with some amazing people.

August

If I ignore work, which was incredibly stressful, August was another positive month. The first Saturday in August I volunteered as a marshal at Sutton Park parkrun. I remember walking the parkrun course up to Position 10 where I’d been asked to marshal, and then starting to feel quite cold waiting for all of the runners and walkers to come past me.

The following Wednesday, I headed back to the Cottage Hospital in Sutton Coldfield where the physio gave me some additional, slightly more challenging exercises, emailed me some Pilates videos, and gave me permission to start running again. Yes, I could run again! The physio said she was happy to discharge me from the physio service there and then, however, I felt this was slightly premature, so I asked if I could have another appointment. I wanted to see how my knees felt after completing the first few weeks of the Couch to 5k. I left the Cottage Hospital with a time and date for a third appointment in September.

I was aware that as I’d not been able to run consistently for well over a year, I needed to be sensible and to build up my running slowly. I decided to restart the Couch to 5k the following Monday. On what would turn out to be the hottest Sutton Park parkrun on record, I volunteered as a marshal at the turn around point. Although I’d completed the Sutton Park parkrun course dozens of times, I was still paranoid I’d place the cones in the wrong place.

The following Tuesday I started following the Couch to 5k. I set my alarm for 5am, this meant I was able to complete the first interval session before it got too warm.

I posted regular updates on Instagram and shared more detailed progress reports in my Couch to 5k Week 1 and Week 2  posts. When I was writing this review post, I loved being able to look back at my training updates and hope that other runners found these updates informative.

The Couch to 5k didn’t mean the end of parkrun. I decided that walking the Sutton Park parkrun course would complement my Saturday cross training sessions. After finding walking in the August heatwave difficult, I vowed to continue with my early morning interval sessions.

The following weekend I volunteered as a number checker at parkrun on the Saturday and headed across to Wolverhampton to watch Wolves on the Sunday.

By the time August came to an end, I was midway through the third week of the Couch to 5k. My temperamental knees seemed to be behaving themselves and I was looking forward to September and completing more of the Couch to 5k.

September

September was another positive month. The first week of September saw me continuing  with the Couch to 5k and despite some slight failures on the pacing front, I managed to successfully complete Week 3. The first Saturday in September I volunteered as a marshal and did an epic impression of a bag lady.

It took until Week 4 of the Couch 5k for me to start to feel like my fitness levels were starting to return. Although I was still finding pacing myself sensibly quite difficult, I started to find the interval runs a little easier. I was enjoying my early morning interval sessions, my knees seemed to be coping with the increased running, and I started to believe I would actually complete the Couch to 5k.

Looking back, I suspect I also enjoyed a few too many trips to The Quill and Taper pub. I like to think that I opted for the healthier options on the menu, the reality was my diet still left a lot to be desired. One of my personal goals for 2023 is to improve my diet.

The run at the end of Week 5 of the Couch to 5k left me with a slight dilemma. I didn’t feel overly confident I’d be able to run for 20 minutes if I stuck to the rather hilly route route I’d been using for my interval runs. I thought about running for 20 minutes at Sutton Park parkrun but ruled this out. I then came up with what I thought was a very cunning plan. I’d head to Beacon parkrun in Lichfield, complete the 20 minute run as part of parkrun and then walk the rest.

The 20 minute run turned into a sensibly paced 5km jog around Beacon Park. I’d somehow managed to run every step of Beacon parkrun and completed the 5k in a not too shabby 31:23.

Completing Beacon parkrun left me feeling more determined to continue with the Couch to 5k. When I shared my Week 5 Couch to 5k update, I stated that the fact I’d managed to run all of Beacon parkrun course didn’t mean the end of the Couch to 5k. As I didn’t want to attempt to do too much too soon, I decided to continue with the Couch to 5k and was looking forward to Week 6.

I decided to delay attempting Week 6 of the Couch to 5k by a week as my knees felt slightly strange after Beacon parkrun. Not niggly but just a little strange. It’s hard to explain, but my knees felt like they were just waiting to implode. I had my third and final physio appointment; the appointment went well, and I was discharged from the Cottage Hospital. It’s just a shame what was originally meant to be a week off from running turned into several months of no running and a decline in my mental health.

October

At the start of October I volunteered in the new to parkrun parkwalker role. I’ve no idea how, but in typical clumsy Emma style I managed to twist my left knee walking up the ‘Hill of Doom’. This was a little frustrating as I’d been about to restart the Couch to 5k.

A couple of days later I saw that applications to join the Brooks Run Happy Team for 2023 were open.

Application to join the Run Happy Team 2023 are open! Do you #RunHappy and love to share your passion and positive energy with your followers? Then we'd love to hear from you!  

Check out the link in our bio to find out how you can apply! https://t.co/4Z6bYxi1LD pic.twitter.com/x4WDZYGIn3

— Brooks Running UK&IE (@Brooksrunninguk) October 3, 2022

I decided that after three years of failing to hear back from Brooks after applying, it wasn’t worth me applying to join the Brooks Run Happy Team and feeling rubbish about myself again. I’d rather pay for my running gear and trainers.

The penultimate Saturday in October, I got to witness the most stunning sunrise during my walk through Sutton Park. Sadly, while the camera on my phone managed to capture the gloomy conditions, it failed to capture the sunrise.

Looking back, October was a positive month. I read a lot and published another Books I’ve read recently post. Perhaps I should focus on book reviews in 2023.

I entered the Miles for Mind October virtual event and set myself a target of walking 100 miles. Thanks to regular lunchtime walks, longer weekend walks, and the new parkwalker role, I was able to achieve this target. By the end of October my knee was feeling so much better, I was quietly confident I’d be able to restart the Couch to 5k

November

I started the month by writing and publishing what felt like a slightly overdue Rants and raves post. I’ve got everything crossed I don’t need to rant about exceptionally warm and dry weather in 2023.

I can’t remember why, I have a feeling it was raining, I missed first parkrun of the month. The following Saturday I walked and talked my way around the Sutton Park parkrun course and completed my 39^th parkrun of 2022. Seven days later marked the final time it was light enough for me to feel safe walking through Sutton Park.

I volunteered as a parkwalker and by completing my fortieth parkrun of 2022, finally achieved my Silver Obsessive badge.

I shared The True Cost of Running: the 2022 edition and not for the first time, seriously thought about the future of this blog. I may still give up blogging in 2023, I’m not sure yet but it does feel like blogging has had its day.

I ended November the same way I started November, I took one look at the rubbish weather and gloomy conditions and decided not to ask my friend for a lift to parkrun. I can’t wait for the lighter mornings.

December

December was a month of highs, lows, parkruns, and a lot of annual leave. The month didn’t get off to the most positive start when train strikes meant I wasn’t able to attend the Christmas meal organised by a member of my team. I’ve no idea why but working from home while the rest the team were tucking into three course Christmas meals made me feel incredibly isolated. I finished work at 3pm and headed out for what turned out to be the longest walk I completed in December. Thanks to a complete loss of motivation, I ended up recording my lowest monthly mileage in December. I failed to get anywhere near my target of walking 100 km in December.

In December it was a case of can’t be bothered to walk, can be bothered to read books, and write blogs. I read several of the books that had been sat gathering dust since the summer, published What I spend in a week…the 2022 edition, and wrote and scheduled a couple of blog posts. I can’t wait to share my running, walking and parkrun goals for 2023 with you.

After missing the first parkrun of the month due to a severe case of couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed, the following weekend I volunteered as a barcode scanner at what turned out to be the coldest Sutton Park parkrun on record and also wrote the Run Report.

The ongoing cold weather and icy conditions meant that Sutton Park parkrun was cancelled the following weekend. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t too disappointed when I received the cancellation email on Friday evening, it meant I could have a couple more beers. I volunteered as a not very festive barcode scanner on Christmas Eve and walked and jogged my way around the Sutton Park parkrun course on Christmas Day.

I ended 2022 with an enjoyable walk around the Sutton Park parkrun course and will be back barcode scanning tomorrow morning.

And what about Christmas? I can’t really review December without talking about the Christmas period. Whereas in previous years I’d help mum decorate two Christmas trees, this year I wasn’t asked. I didn’t bother decorating my house this year as I live alone and don’t see the point. The nearest I got to Christmas decorations was my Lego Home Alone house.

Christmas Day was unusual. Once I got back from Sutton Park parkrun, I had a quick shower, got dressed, and then as I wasn’t feeling very well, headed to bed in an attempt to catch up on some much-needed sleep. I managed to shut myself off from everyone and slept through most of Christmas Day. Although both of my parents had invited me around for Christmas dinner, the truth is I didn’t feel capable of spending Christmas Day pretending to be happy, I just wanted to be on my own. I knew I didn’t want to ruin Christmas for everyone else, so I spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day on my own.

Last year, I said I hoped Christmas 2022 could resemble some sort of normality, in the end I managed to make myself feel more isolated than ever before. I hope my family can forgive me.

I always like to approach the end of each year feeling positive about the next 12 months, so I’ve set myself some running, walking, and parkrun goals for 2023. I’ve also set myself some life goals, and although I’m not planning on sharing these goals on this blog, one of my main goals is to get my foot on the bottom rung of the property ladder.

Looking back, 2022 was a difficult year for me, the final six months of the year were particularly challenging to the extent that I spent a lot of time feeling completely alone and overwhelmed. At times I didn’t think I’d make it through the next day let alone the rest of the year. Although I shared some of the not so positive moments on this blog and on social, when my life got really tough, I shut myself away and distanced myself from my friends and family. This is something I need to rectify in 2023.

There have been a few too many tears (fortunately, not in front of my line manager this year) and I’ve spent most of the final six months of the year feeling isolated from my friends and family. My knee injury made an unwelcome reappearance after I managed to run 5k at Beacon parkrun, and although it recovered quite quickly, my running mojo completely disappeared, and I stopped running. My monthly running (purple), cycling (green), and walking (red) bars illustrate how the focus of my training varied throughout 2022. I think it’s safe to say that the last couple of months of 2022 have turned out to be somewhat underwhelming.

Although my training was even more inconsistent than it was last year – I’d describe myself as consistently inconsistent – I ran when I could, only cycled once, and walked when I was unable to run. I was sensible and stopped cycling and running when I needed to.

I’m going to conclude my review of 2022 more or less the same way I concluded my 2020 and 2021 reviews. I may sound selfish, but I hope that I have a less injury-filled 2023.

What was the running highlight of 2022 for you?

What are your running and fitness goals for 2023?

So, it’s been over a year since I last attempted to complete the Couch to 5k. If you’re new to this blog, please check out my previous Couch to 5k attempts, there have been a few. I’d describe myself as a somewhat injury prone runner with fragile knees and feet. Last month, after a bit of a wait, I had the first of two face to face appointments with an NHS physio. I’m in the process of writing a separate blog post to outline what happened during these appointments and the exercise program the physio provided. A couple of weeks ago the physio gave me the green light to start running again, so here I am.

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.

I decided to 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 Couch to 5k website provided the following information about the runs 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. Each interval session started with a brisk 5 minute walk to wake me up and to get my legs moving and ended with a slightly slower 5 minute cool down selfie walk. Cross training sessions comprised of low intensity 30 minute training sessions on my exercise bike. I also spent a lot of time completing a selection of strength and conditioning exercises.

After realising that using my exercise bike was leaving me with painful knees, I left the exercise bike at the bottom of my drive, and it was rescued by someone collecting scrap metal in under an hour. I’m not currently a member of a gym and I’m a rubbish swimmer so cross training sessions will comprise of a combination of 30 minute walks and the Pilates workouts the physio provided.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

When I started sharing weekly Couch to 5k updates last year, I’d recently started a new job and was working from home. Fast forward 15 months and I’m still working from home and I’m yet to meet any of my colleagues. I enjoy my job but it’s incredibly stressful at times and I occasionally wake up feeling completely overwhelmed. The CBT sessions work organised for me last year were helpful, but I worry that some of my more negative habits have started to make an unwelcome reappearance.

Sorry for the random waffle. After spending the day catching up on some general admin, reading technical reports, and in meetings, I shut down my work laptop, powered up my personal laptop so that I could listen to some 80s music, got changed into some gym gear, and spent 45 minutes working through the exercises the NHS physio left me with last week.

Glute walks, monster walk, stretches, and squats complete, I treated myself to a takeaway from my favourite Chinese restaurant and then spent the rest of the evening watching the European Athletics Championships while listing some of my unwanted running gear on eBay. All in all a productive Monday evening. I’d already downloaded the first Couch to 5k 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 – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

I’d set my alarm for 5:00am as I wanted to complete my interval session when it was quiet. It was quite dark outside, something I hadn’t taken into consideration. I’d also forgotten that Tuesday is bin day which left me with the option of either running along the pavements and playing dodge the bins or the more knee friendly, sensible option of running along some of my favourite roads. Fortunately, it was so quiet I was able to run along some of my favourite roads, I’m sure everyone who lives along these roads had missed the sound of my heavy breathing and footsteps.

As for the interval session, I found running for 60 seconds at a time easy and reached the end of the 20 minutes feeling like I could have completed another set of 8 intervals. My right knee twinged a couple of times when I was running, I was expecting this as I’d been warned that it will never be 100% pain free. Once I’d completed my cool down walk, I captured a couple of far from flattering selfies, walked home, drank a pint of water, stretched, and then shared my thoughts on Instagram. I’d like to say that I made the most of my early start, but I headed back to bed and managed to sleep for another hour.

I started work at 8am and spent most of the day either in meetings or on the phone talking about prolonged dry weather and drought. I finished work at 4pm and spent a couple of hours listing a few more bits and pieces on eBay. Although the rest of my Tuesday evening was not quite as productive as I’d planned, sometimes it’s good to spend time doing nothing.

Wednesday – Rest

This blog is already turning into one of my essays, so I’ll fast forward to Wednesday evening. I want to start with a bit of a disclaimer as I’m aware we are experiencing a cost of living crisis and I’m aware that I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to afford to eat out once a week. I’m also aware that I should be saving rather than spending money at the moment, but I won’t be going away this year, I enjoy getting out of my house, so I’ve been treating myself to a meal out once a week. I walked the short distance to the Quill and Taper pub where I met up with a friend.

When I discovered that the pub had run out of Chicken Caesar Salad, I panicked and ended up ordering fish and chips. This was a decision I’d regret a few hours later.

The fish and chips tasted amazing but after not eating anything at lunchtime, the what I felt was rather stingy portion of chips meant I still felt quite hungry when I finished my meal. We didn’t have time for a dessert, I realised this was probably a good thing given that I’m trying to cut down the amount of chocolate I consume.

Thursday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

Without going into too much detail, my Thursday morning didn’t get off to the best of starts when I woke up at 4am with some stomach related issues. I quickly realised that running an hour later wouldn’t be sensible. I figured I could complete my interval session when I’d finished work, so I cancelled my 5am alarm and had an unexpected lie in.

Work was busy and it felt like one minute it was lunchtime, and I was dropping off some of my eBay sales at the Post Office, the next it was 4pm, and time for me to finish work. I did think about completing my interval session straight after work, but I decided to wait a few hours until it cooled down a little.

I thought about heading out to complete my interval session for far too long and didn’t leave the house until it was getting dark. It was far more humid than I was expecting at 9pm and I regretted wearing my Proviz gilet. As for the actual interval session, I once again found running for 60 seconds at a time easy and reached the end of the 20 minutes feeling like I’d not done much in the way of exercise. I must have worked reasonably hard because I was looking like a beetroot in the selfie I shared on Instagram.

Although my right knee niggled a couple of times when I was running, it otherwise behaved itself. Once I’d worked through the exercises the NHS physio gave me, I headed to bed feeling confident that if I didn’t do anything stupid at parkrun, I’d be able to complete the final interval session on Sunday.

Friday – Rest

I think that other than the fact it was Friday, Friday had a couple of highlights; selling some more of my unwanted running gear on eBay and treating myself to a second pair of power 6” cycling shorts for half price in the Sweaty Betty Insiders sale. I’ve worn the pair I purchased at the start of the year a lot and have found them incredibly comfortable, so I was more than happy to spend £30 on a second pair.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

Last year when I was following the Couch to 5k, parkrun was still suspended due to the Covid pandemic. Sutton Park parkrun restarted about a month after I’d accepted that my knee injury was severe enough to prevent me from running. Thanks to parkrun I’ve been able to feel like part of the local running community when I’ve been unable to run myself. My Saturday mornings now start with a 6:30am 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’ve said it a million times, but I do love the Sutton Park parkrun family and appreciate being able to forget about the real world for a couple of hours on a Saturday.

I’ll stop waffling as this weekly update is getting ridiculously long. The rest of Saturday saw me watch Tottenham beat Wolves, spend a couple of hours trying to make my house look slightly more presentable, spend some time weeding the front garden, spend some time preparing eBay listings, attempt a couple of the Pilates workouts the physio provided and finally, some somewhat overdue what I’ve described in the past as adulting tasks. Not the most thrilling Saturday but a productive start to the weekend.

Sunday – 20 mins intervals (run 60 secs/walk 90 secs x 8)

I woke just before my alarm so that shortly after 6am I was completing my 5 minute warm-up walk. I’d love to say that I found the final interval session of the week enjoyable but thanks to my own stupidity it wasn’t. Although my knees felt reasonably happy during the 20 minutes, my stomach was anything but happy. Without going into too many details, I was so excited to run in the daylight, I’d stupidly left my house without going to the toilet. I won’t make the same mistake again.

I regretted my poor decision making throughout the interval session and have no idea how I completed the final couple of run intervals without having an unfortunate mishap. The five minute cool-down walk was not a lot of fun and it felt like I was waddling rather than walking.

So, that’s the first week of the Couch to 5k successfully completed, just another 8 weeks to go. The rest of my Sunday was so mundane that I won’t bore you with the details.

Week two of the Couch to 5k training plan looks reasonably straightforward, after finding running for a minute quite easy, I’m confident I’ll be able to run for 90 seconds at a time. I just need to remember to be sensible and to run at a pace that I can maintain.

Training totals

• Interval runs: 3 (out of 3)
• Time: 1 hr 0 mins
• Distance: 4.86 miles

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 4/10
• Left knee: 2/10
• Left foot: 2/10

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

Have you managed to watch any of the European Athletics Championships? If you have, what have been your highlights? I loved watching Keely Hodgkinson win the first of what I hope will be numerous gold medals.

I’d like to start by saying good morning, afternoon, evening etc to whoever takes the time to read my latest selection of rants and raves. I can’t believe this is my 50^th rants and raves post. I hope that you are all keeping well and that you are looking forward to the weekend.

As always, I’ve waffled on far too much, so here is my latest selection of rants and raves. I apologise in advance for the repeat rants and raves; history really does seem to repeat itself. I hope that you enjoy this small insight into what’s been happening in my life recently.

Rave: parkrun

Apparently, I officially became a member of the 25 Club yesterday. My next target is to become a member of the 50 Club. However, much as I love all of the parkrun challenges and I can’t wait to finally earn the right to wear my red 50 Club t-shirt, it’s my what I’ve previously referred to as parkrun family that make parkrun so special.

I can’t run around my local parkrun at the moment; even walking down the small downhill section towards the finish hurts my knees. I might never get the opportunity to beat my parkrun PB and it’s looking increasingly unlikely I’ll ever get the sub-25 minute parkrun time I always wanted. That’s fine, as I’ve realised that volunteering at parkrun is just as much fun (I tell a lie, it’s more fun) as running.

Rant: Both of my knees

Apologies for the repeat rant, it feels like all of my recent rants and raves posts have included a knee-related rant. It’s almost become a tradition.

At the beginning of August, I restarted the Couch to 5k for what I think was the third time this year. My knees couldn’t cope with the short running intervals, so I decided to stop running before I made my knee injury worse. I haven’t attempted to run since that day and I have no idea when I’ll be able to run again.

Rave: Top 10 Running Blog

Apologies for another repeat rave, but I recently found out that this blog had been included in Vuelios Top 10 UK Running Blogs ranking for the fifth consecutive year.

I’ve been neglecting this blog so much this year I wasn’t expecting to feature in the Top 10 again so I was quite surprised to receive the email from Vuelio. I’m sure you’ll all be relieved to know that I haven’t been asked to complete what would have been a fifth Blogger Spotlight article.

I’ve got everything crossed that at some point in the future, I’ll be able to run again. As a non-runner, maintaining a running blog is quite difficult.

Rant: Huel

I’ve no idea what on earth possessed me to buy a 1.53 kg bag of Black Edition Salted Caramel Huel and a 1.53kg bag of Black Edition Strawberries and Cream Huel. Although the time on my email confirmation makes me think I’d consumed a few too many BrewDogs, I don’t usually make such random drunken purchases.

[Source]

The Salted Caramel tastes what I can only describe as ‘chemically’ and nothing like Salted Caramel. The Strawberries and Cream tastes slightly less artificial but isn’t amazing. As for the texture, I made the mistake of following the instructions on Huel’s website and mixed the Huel and cold water by hand. Using my Nutribullet seems to be the best way forward.

Rave: London Marathon

After weighing up the pros and cons of attempting to walk 26.2 miles twice in eight days, I decided to DNS the virtual London Marathon. This meant that I was able to watch the elite races and saw Charlotte Purdue put her Tokyo omission behind her.

Once I’d seen Charlotte cross the finish line, I switched to the BBC red button and spent a couple of hours watching the live coverage of the finish line. The medical staff were amazing, and I enjoyed looking out for members of my running club and runners wearing unusual fancy dress outfits.

Rant: Trolls on social media

I love social media, but I haven’t appreciated some of the snarky comments I’ve been on the receiving end of recently. Yes, I know I’ve put on a lot of weight this year. Yes, I know that I’m a rubbish runner and that I always get injured. Yes, I know I wasn’t at the front of the queue when good looks were handed out. And don’t get me started on Tattle Life, it’s about time it was shut down.

And that’s my final rant, so in a slight change from what I usually do, I’ve decided to end this rants and raves post with a selection of random rants. Apologies if some of these sound like unsubtle hints about what I’d like for Christmas!

Rave: Commonwealth Games tickets

I recently discovered that I’d been successful in the ticket ballot and that I’d been allocated tickets for the women’s and the men’s individual triathlon events in Sutton Park. I can’t wait and hope that the weather is kind to the triathletes (and to the spectators!).

I’m still waiting to hear back about my Commonwealth Games volunteer application. I know quite a few people who have already had interviews, so I have a feeling my application wasn’t successful.

 Rave: Bird and Blend Tea Advent Calendar

I have to say a huge thank-you to Maria for introducing me to Bird and Blend Tea. I have always been a bit of a tea addict, so I’m enjoying working my way through all of the different flavour teas Bird and Blend Tea sell.

When I received an email last month with the subject ‘Tea Advent Calendars now live!’ it didn’t take me very long to treat myself to one. Seeing something is ‘Limited Edition’ makes me dust off my credit card.

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The Tea Advent Calendar was delivered a couple of weeks later. I’ve been good and haven’t looked at the contents. I don’t want to wish the year away as I have loads of Christmas presents to buy, but I’m looking forward to December 1st.

Rave: Fairfax and Favor The Charlotte Gilet

I love Fairfax and Favor and I think its fair to say that if I wasn’t currently in what I call ‘saving mode’, I’d treat myself to a pair of Regina tall boots. I’ve been eyeing up and admiring this navy blue gilet since last year.

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I keep telling myself that spending such a lot of money on a gilet would be ridiculous. I know from past experience that I’d feel guilty if I bought myself something this expensive. I just have to hope that I either win the Lottery or that Father Christmas reads this blog and is feeling generous this year.

Rave: Underdog Studio Birmingham Underground Style Map

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to trains. I’d love to work for Network Rail as a signaller. Anyway, when Geoff was alive, he’d send me a message before he travelled home to check the trains from Waterloo to Honiton were running. I’d also find out and let him know which platform his train was scheduled to depart from.

After over 18 months of working from home, I’m almost missing my commute to work. I say almost as I don’t miss the regular delays and cancellations and having to stand for 30 minutes while keeping a close eye on my work bag.

I’ve no idea where I first spotted this Birmingham Underground Style map, but I think it’s great.

 [Source]

It’s just a shame that the map is slightly what I’d describe as inaccurate and doesn’t actually include my local station.

 Rave: ELEMIS No. 25 Beauty Advent Calendar

I want to apologise for what I’m aware is a repeat rave. Last year, when I discovered M&S weren’t producing a beauty advent calendar, I spent a fair amount of time researching alternatives. After the price of some beauty advent calendars completely blew my mind, I ended up buying mum a beauty advent calendar from ELEMIS.

On Christmas Day, once mum had stopped complaining I’d spent far too much money, she opened the ELEMIS beauty advent calendar and seemed to appreciate the contents.

Fast forward a year and I’ve just purchased this year’s ELEMIS beauty advent calendar.

[Source]

It was expensive but I figured I only have one mum. I also got some money back by using TopCashBack and the calendar came with loads of freebies which I’ve kept, sorry mum! Writing this has reminded me that I didn’t end up using last year’s freebies. Over the last 12 months I’ve tried and tested a few skincare products and I’ve reached the conclusion that ALDI’s Lacura range is perfect for my sensitive skin.

If you made it to the end of this latest selection of rants and raves, thank-you. I’m not sure I would have made it to the end. As always, I feel much better for having a good old rant. And finally, I hope that my rants were reasonable and that I haven’t somehow inadvertently offended anyone.

Have you ever tried Huel? If you have, what did you think of it? Have you found any alternatives to Huel?

Have you made a start on your Christmas shopping? I’m sure my family think I’ve been slightly too keen this year, but I don’t want to leave everything to the last minute.

Here are the links to my reviews of 2016, 2017 and 2018. You may detect a bit of a recurring theme.

January

I started the year living and working in Wallingford. After being woken up at 04:00 a few too many times, I escaped from what had turned into the shared house from hell and moved in with a triathlete called Helen.

For once, I also started the year feeling positive and shared my running goals and entered some target races. I shared a running and money-saving idea on twitter and for a couple of hours, my notifications went crazy.

I’m going to stick £1 in a sealed pot every time I run. Perhaps £5 for a race. It will be interesting to see how much money I end up with at the end of 2019. Do people think this is a good or bad idea? @UKRunChat

— Emma Neachell (@thephdrunner) January 1, 2019

After a much-needed break from following structured training plans, my London Landmarks Half Marathon training started and I decided to produce weekly updates.

The first week got off to a positive start, thanks to picking up some sort of office lurgy, the following three weeks of training were a bit hit and miss and I missed most of my training runs. At least I was niggle free heading into February.

February

February was a good month, my London Landmarks Half Marathon training continued and I completed the vast majority of my training runs. I spent an uncomfortable couple of hours working out how much I spent on running in 2018 and shared what I’d spent in what was my most popular blog posts ever; The True Cost of Running.

At the end of February, I headed down to London to attend the unveiling of the official portrait that had been commissioned to commemorate my PhD supervisor Geoff Petts. With a month to go until the half marathon, I didn’t feel ready and felt totally underprepared.

March

March was a month of highs and lows. I completed my first long run but a knee niggle meant that I had to cut short my second long run short. I’ll never forget the cold ‘walk of shame’ back home. With two weeks to go until the London Landmarks Half Marathon, I managed to pick up yet another office bug. Even drinking champagne at a conference I attended at Oxford University was difficult.

I didn’t recover in time and had to DNS the race. Not ideal, but at least I didn’t make my knee injury more serious by attempting to run a half marathon.

April

I decided to give my right knee time to recover so I hid my trainers and focused my attention on enjoying working and living in Wallingford. I wrote and shared a Day in my Life post and was amazed when I was contacted by Blogosphere who wanted to feature the post in their magazine.

By the end of the month, I started to feel like an ex-runner and my running mojo had disappeared. Not even watching the London Marathon made me want to put my trainers on, slightly worrying. Needless to say, I didn’t enter the ballot.

May

At the start of May, I reached the grand old age of 40. I decided to work on my birthday and my Wallingford colleagues really looked after me. Looking back, I have no idea how I survived May, I definitely made the most of my final few weeks in Wallingford!

Most evenings I ended up in my favourite pub – The Old Post Office – I dread to think how many calories and units of alcohol I consumed throughout the month. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised when I had a much-needed reality check during a routine pill check-up.

Although, with the exception of a two-mile run with my landlady Helen, I didn’t run at all in May, the month wasn’t a complete write-off as my obsession with parkrun volunteering started.

June

June was a mixed month. I said ‘goodbye’ to my colleagues and life in Wallingford and moved back home to Four Oaks. I started a new more challenging job and struggled to adjust to spending three hours a day commuting to my new office. I took part in Juneathon and spent some time looking back on the first few months of the year. I tried out some more parkrun volunteering roles and discovered I prefer volunteering to running.

After discovering I was unsuccessful in the ballot for the 2020 London Landmarks Half Marathon I entered the Vitality Big Half and booked accommodation. I don’t think I shared this at the time, but in June I also decided it was time to try new things and to make the most of my weekends. At the end of June, I found myself heading to Lichfield to take part in a Hidden Heights tour around Lichfield Cathedral.

July

I started the month by sharing a (lack of) progress report on my running goals and after receiving some really useful feedback, concluded that I needed to completely reassess my goals. I still need to do this! I decided to be brave and had a go at timekeeping at Sutton Park parkrun.

I’ve no idea why I found the idea of timekeeping so scary; it’s now one of my favourite volunteering roles.

I completed a couple of enjoyable runs with Ellen in Sutton Park and recorded my slowest time ever for the 10k distance at the Shenstone Fun Run at least the post-run cakes were tasty. I wrote and shared an updated Day in my Life post and was on the receiving end of some blatant blog plagiarism. I also made my first (and last) appearance at a beginner’s Pilates for Runners running club.

I was reminded that I’m the least flexible person on the planet and that I have zero core strength. Never again!

August

August wasn’t the most positive of months. I felt exhausted a lot of the time and found myself heading to bed as soon as I got home from work. I remember being bitten on the top of my leg while I was timekeeping at parkrun. I didn’t give it a second thought until I noticed a slightly worrying looking rash. I spent a bit of time researching my symptoms online and as a result of my googling; I made an appointment at my doctors.

My doctor took one look at my rash, took some blood samples and treated me for suspected Lyme Disease. Blood tests later confirmed that I had contracted Lyme Disease. I was incredibly fortunate that it was caught early and was treatable, however, thanks to the medication I was prescribed, I wasn’t able to run. I also missed an important interview. At the end of August, I had this blog completely revamped. Several months later, I’m still trying to work out how to use it.

September

I completed my course of medication and after a failed attempt at a two-mile run, decided to start following a Couch to Half Marathon training plan I found online. I found running harder than I expected to start with, but after a couple of weeks started to feel a little fitter. My mental health improved and I started to feel a lot more positive about my new job.

I had a slight parkrun volunteering fail one Saturday when everyone was locked out of the park so parkrun was cancelled. I think I was more disappointed than some of the runners as I’d been looking forward to having a go at the volunteer coordinator role. Luckily, it was a case of second time lucky the following week.

Like virtually every other runner I follow, I discovered I was unsuccessful in the Tokyo Marathon ballot. I received an email advertising early bird entries for the Richmond Half Marathon and found myself hitting the enter button. I hate it when that happens.

October

Looking back, October was definitely what I’d describe as a month of ups and downs. Yet another dose of the office lurgy meant that I unfortunately missed the majority of the fifth and sixth weeks of my Couch to Half Marathon training. After a fortnight of feeling like one of the laziest people on the planet, I felt well enough to join in with some parkrun tourism at Kingsbury Water parkrun. Later on that evening I took part in a charity quiz night and was reminded of how amazing the running community is. I was also reminded that I am rubbish at quizzes.

The final week of October was far more positive as I finally managed to get my training back on track. I volunteered as a marshal at the wettest ever Sutton Park parkrun and was a little confused when random people congratulated me on my 25^th volunteering stint. I even got a mention in that weeks event report. Slightly premature as I still had a few volunteering stints to go. And finally, I’m meant to be saving rather than spending – hard to believe I know – so I spent a couple of days debating entering the ballot for the 2020 Chicago Marathon. I reminded myself that I hadn’t had a ‘proper’ holiday since I spent a week in Tunisia in 2007 so I entered the ballot.

November

My running was going well, so when I spotted an advert for the 2020 Marathon Talk Run Camp, I decided to treat myself and booked a place on the camp. My parkrun volunteering streak came to an end as I’d entered the Birmingham MoRun which very inconsiderately clashed with parkrun. Unfortunately, work meant that I missed both the Birmingham MoRun and parkrun.

The following week, I finally became a member of the parkrun volunteer 25 club. This and finding out my blog had been nominated for 2020 Running Awards were probably the highlights of November.

My right knee injury making an unwelcome but not completely unexpected reappearance was the low point of the month. After quite a lot of sulking and some tears, I accepted that I would have to ‘DNS’ a couple more events this year. Luckily, my knee issues didn’t keep me away from parkrun and I ended November with a spot of marshalling in -1°c.

December

I started the month by sharing what has now turned into a regular Christmas Gifts for Runners post. The following week, I worked out how much I’d spent on DNSs a lot of events. My 2019 edition of The True Cost of Running instantly became one of my most viewed posts of the year. As there’s more to life than blogging, I decided to have a short break, so that I could enjoy the festive season.

My volunteering streak continued, and at the start of the month I had another go at tail walking. This time I managed to follow the right people and not some random walkers. I love this photo taken just before the now infamous ‘Hill of Doom’.

Yet another dose of the lurgy meant that I didn’t feel well enough to take part in what turned out to be a record-breaking Christmas Day parkrun at Walsall Arborertum. Luckily, I did feel well enough to demolish a huge amount of food on both Christmas and Boxing Day.

I like to approach the end of each year feeling positive, so I’ve already set myself some running and fitness goals for 2020. I’ve also set myself some quite challenging what I’d describe as ‘life’ goals. I entered a few races before my right knee decided to fall to pieces. Much as I’d love to avoid the dreaded DNS, I have a feeling I won’t be ready to run a half marathon in March.

Looking back, on both a personal level and as a runner, like the previous year, 2019 had its ups and downs. I seemed to pick up every office bug going and struggled to recover. As for contracting Lyme Disease, I feel lucky that it was diagnosed quickly and treated effectively, a lot of people aren’t as fortunate. Although my monthly mileage was a little inconsistent, I ran when I could and rested when I needed to.

Fingers crossed I have a healthier and less injury-filled 2020!

What was the running highlight of 2019 for you? I had two; not giving up and throwing away my trainers and discovering my love of volunteering at parkrun.

What are your running and fitness goals for 2020? I’m determined to complete the Chicago Marathon.

Although I swear it was summer five minutes ago, it’s now December! Black Friday has been and gone, I’ll be attending my first Christmas meal on Thursday, and I’ve almost finished my Christmas shopping. Christmas Day is rapidly approaching.  My family have been asking me what I’d like for Christmas; apparently responding by saying “just give me money please because I’m saving” isn’t the correct answer.

As a result, I’ve decided to put together an updated Christmas gifts for runners guide. You may notice there’s a bit of a theme this year, and I don’t just mean running. ?

Once again, I’ve included photos and links to hopefully save people my family time when they are surfing the internet.

HydrateM8 water bottle After 9 incredible years, HydrateM8 has officially closed its doors.

Bespoke eatnaturally eating plan While I’ve really enjoyed attempting to follow and recreate several of the recipes on the Fitnaturally website, I know that I’d benefit from a bespoke eating plan. Although £35/week sounds a lot, I spend far more than that each week on takeaways from my favourite local Chinese restaurant.

Entry into the Vitality London 10,000 I’ve included this slightly unusual gift suggestion again because an entry into one of my favourite races would make an awesome Christmas gift. I’ll let you into a secret, most runners would love to receive a race entry as a Christmas gift.

Leadership in Running Fitness course In the New Year I’m going to book myself onto a Leadership in Running Fitness course. I just need to find one close to Birmingham that is relatively easy to get to on public transport. It will form the very first stage of operation escape from hydrology.  Although I’m an affiliated athlete, the one-day course is still expensive, so any contributions towards the cost would be awesome.

Feetures Elite Running Socks Light Cushion Quarter (Large) After years and years of trial and error, these are my favourite running socks. I would quite literally blog for a couple of pairs of these amazing socks.

Shock Absorber Ultimate Run sports bra (36C) A repeat ask, but I’m still desperately short of supportive sports bras.

Charcoal marl parkrun hoody(Large)  Most of my family and friends aren’t runners and they don’t ‘get’ parkrun. They definitely don’t understand why I enjoy spending my Saturday mornings volunteering. This hoody looks great and it would help to keep me warm while I’m volunteering in below freezing temperatures.

Sarah Marie Design Studio Kinda Wanna Run Sweatshirt (Large) Yes, I know I’m 40 and yes, I’m aware that I’m probably too old for sweatshirts with slogans. I don’t care and I love this sweatshirt.

Running Free of Injuries: From Pain to Personal Best This book has received a lot of very positive reviews and is meant to contain a lot of clear diagrams. I like diagrams so this sounds perfect for me. I mean let’s face it, I’d love to be able to run free of injuries and I’d love another PB!

The Runner’s Expert Guide to Stretching: Prevent Injury, Build Strength and Enhance Performance This book isn’t published until 23 Jan 2020 so I’ve struggled to find online reviews. I know I need to up my stretching game and I know I’ll find this book really useful. I can guarantee it won’t sit on my bookshelf gathering dust.

The Running School biomechanical running analysis I’m aware that this is another repeat ask, but after chatting to a parkrun regular who recently attended the Running School, I’ve realised that I need a detailed biomechanical running analysis. I’ve included a link to The Running School; however, loads of places seem to offer a similar running analysis.

Consultation with Cathy Speed And finally for a somewhat random (and expensive!) Christmas gift idea. Professor Cathy Speed is meant to be one of the best in the business. Let’s just say that if I was still living in London, I would have been for a consultation with Professor Speed by now.

I hope that you enjoyed reading through my latest Christmas wish list. I have a feeling that most of my gift ideas are a tad ambitious!

Have you asked for any running or fitness related gifts for Christmas this year?

My weekend highlights included finally becoming a member of the parkrun volunteer 25 club. I also managed to buy Christmas presents for some of my more hard to buy for family members.

Week 12 of my Couch to Half Marathon training plan looked like this.

Thanks to my right knee, I knew at the start of the week the reality would look completely different. After trying and failing to run on Tuesday, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about my knee, this blog and running in general. I’m aware that people don’t want to read a series of excuses for missed training runs every week. However, I do think it’s important to share the ups and downs of running so I’m going to continue with the weekly updates for now.

So, how did I find the twelfth week of my Couch to Half Marathon training? Did I use my exercise bike? Did I manage to run? Did I decide to abandon the Couch to Half Marathon training plan?

Monday – Rest

I didn’t have a CBT appointment so I headed into the office as I didn’t have a reason to work from home. I spent the morning preparing a presentation and the afternoon struggling to use my computer thanks to an unexpected migraine. At one stage, I completely lost the ability to type. I knew what I was trying to type but just couldn’t seem to spell. Quite scary and hopefully a one-off as I don’t want a repeat of what happened a couple of years ago. I had originally planned to work until late but decided to head home a little earlier as I wasn’t feeling very well. Judging by how busy the trains were, quite a lot of people had opted for a short Monday.

When I got home, I headed straight to bed in an attempt to ‘sleep off’ my headache. I woke a couple of hours later feeling slightly more human. I think it’s safe to say I regretted offering to prepare this Italian oven baked penne for my friend.

Tuesday – Rest

A failed interval session – even walking was painful – and a meeting in Birmingham meant that I was able to treat myself to a lie-in. The meeting was what I’d describe as quite lively which was good and my presentation seemed to go reasonably well, I just need to remember to slow down. As the meeting finished a little early, a few of us decided to check out the Custard Factory. What can I say? I’m clearly not ‘hipster’ enough to understand some of the arts and crafts that were on display.

Judging by the photos I took of the German Market in Birmingham I’m also not very good at taking photos. In the New Year I’m going to have to miss parkrun and book myself onto one of these photo walks. I’ve heard they are really good.

Wednesday – 30 mins cross training

As I’d been issued with a ‘tomorrow will be the final time we attempt to deliver your parcel’ card, and I didn’t fancy a trip to the parcel depot in Burton, I decided to work from home. My day started off well when I managed to spend 30 minutes peddling away but going nowhere on my exercise bike. I’d love to say that I had an incredibly productive day and got loads done but I didn’t. I spent far too long trying and failing to respond to some technical hydrology queries people had sent me. My inability to help my colleagues left me feeling pretty useless, and I wished I was back in my old team in my old office doing a job I enjoyed. I’m going to have to make some changes in the New Year.

I shut down my work laptop and spent a couple of minutes reflecting on the day and feeling sorry for myself. I couldn’t waste much time self-pitying as I’d arranged to meet parkrun Rob as we’d both booked places on a CPR training course in the centre of Sutton.

The CPR Counts Basic Life Support training course was enjoyable and informative. The tutor running the course definitely got the mix of fun and facts spot on, and I found the refresher really useful. While I obviously hope that no one ever keels over at parkrun, I’m reasonably confident I’d know what to do.

Thursday – Rest

Did it ever get light on Thursday? I’m sure it was foggy all day. I managed to have a reasonably productive day in the office and actually left work feeling like I’d helped a few people. However, one thing did bug me; the inability of people to say ‘thank-you’. Perhaps I’m expecting too much, but I know I was taught to thank people.

Friday – Rest

I took one look at the state of the local train service and decided to work from home. This turned out to be a bad decision as I spent the day feeling incredibly isolated and quite gloomy. The day did have some positives; I managed to track down and order a couple of slightly unusual presents for dad. I know he’ll love them. I also managed to work through my knee strengthening exercises pain free for the first time. These small improvements make me feel happy, they also give me hope I’ll be back running sooner rather than later. While most of the world spent Friday night out and about, I spent mine at home catching up on The Apprentice. I have no shame.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

I think the highlight of my Saturday was finally becoming a member of the parkrun volunteer 25 club. Given that I registered on the parkrun site way back in 2009/10, it took me longer than most people. I’m not going to stop volunteering as I enjoy it too much, but I may actually attempt to take part in Sutton Park parkrun once my knee settles down. I somehow managed to avoid the official photographers but Lowri captured my slightly more photogenic side.

The rest of my Saturday was quite relaxed. I spent a couple of hours playing an unsuccessful game called hunt the address book. I also completely forgot to write the parkrun run report. Once I reached the stage I needed to get out of the house for a while, I popped into TK Maxx in Sutton Coldfield. I left with some stocking fillers for my nephew and nieces and some running shorts which set me back 50p. My slight obsession with buying running clothes doesn’t seem to be dying down. I *may* have stopped off at my local pub for a quick pint on the way home.

Sunday – Rest

I’m acutely aware that this blog is turning into an essay so I’ll keep my update of Sunday short. My day featured some decorating, some housework, more Christmas present shopping, some blog related admin and some tears. I think I sometimes forget how much my mental health is influenced by my ability to run; when I can’t run, I definitely feel less positive as a person.

I’ve decided to take a break from the Couch to Half Marathon training. I haven’t been able to follow the training plan for a few weeks, and think the most sensible option will be for me to give myself a break from structured training. I need running to be fun again, at the moment it feels  like a chore. Thanks to everyone who has followed my training, I hope I’ll back up and running again sooner rather than later.

Training totals

• Runs: 15
• Time: 9 hrs 36 mins
• Distance: 49.54 miles

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 5/10
• Left knee: 5/10
• Right foot: 3/10