I concluded last year’s ‘True cost of running’ post by stating that although I hoped that 2025 was going to be a less expensive year than 2024 and that I’d love to ‘run for free in 2025, I accepted that it was inevitable that I’d end up spending a fair amount on the sport that gives me a lot of pleasure. I decided that I wasn’t going to feel guilty for making what I describe as essential running-related purchases, for example, new trainers and osteopathy appointments, however, if I wanted to make any non-essential purchases, I would have to raise money by selling stuff on eBay and Facebook first. Effectively, I wanted my running hobby to fund itself. I’d love to say that this happened, but thanks to changes to the eBay selling process and a negative experience with a scammer, my last online sale was back in February.

[Photo: Rob Andrews]

I once again found going through my running expenditure spreadsheet – yes, I’m still a statistics geek – rather uncomfortable. Yet another much-needed wake-up call and reality check. I realised that by adding another three pairs of running shorts and 14 pairs of running socks, I’d failed to achieve my aim of ‘running for free in 2025 in style. I also discovered that thanks to ending the year with a rather expensive Garmin-related purchase, I’d managed to spend more this year than I’d anticipated.

So, now it’s clear I predictably failed to stay away from the temptations of Sweaty Betty et al., let’s have a look at what I purchased throughout the year. I’ve also included what I spent in each category last year.

Running clothes and trainers

• Versus Elite socks x 3 pairs (Vinted) – £13.59
• adidas sports bra – £16.99
• parkrun milestone V100 t-shirt – £20.00
• Sweaty Betty 6″ Power shorts (Vinted) – £29.85
• Rockay Women’s Xplore gilet – £29.99
• Sweaty Betty 9″ Power shorts – £30.00
• Twisted Running Cargo running shorts – £33.50
• Versus running socks x 11 pairs – £49.50
• Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 running shoes – £67.99
• Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 running shoes – £69.99

TOTAL: £361.40 (£582.17 last year)

Running accessories

• Lululemon headband (Vinted) – £9.39
• Inov8 Race Elite Peak 2 running cap – £9.99
• adidas Running X 4d Heat.rdy Cap £17.50
• adidas Running Aeroready Four-panel Mesh Cap £19.55
• Garmin Forerunner 265S GPS watch – £299.99

TOTAL: £356.42 (£14.45 last year)

Running-related books

• Making Fitness Your Business book – £7.99
• The Lazy Runner book – £7.99

TOTAL: £15.98 (£0.00 last year)

Race entries

• 7 Pools Run race entry – £20.00
• Royal Sutton Fun Run race entry – £28.00
• Great Birmingham Run 2026 race entry – £42.00

TOTAL: £90.00 (£132.20 last year)

Virtual races

TOTAL: £0.00 (£30.40 last year)

Travel and accommodation

• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Lichfield – £5.20
• Return train ticket to Lichfield – £6.10
• Return train ticket to Lichfield – £6.10

TOTAL: £35.40 (£53.80 last year)

Running holidays

TOTAL: £0.00 (£0.00 last year)

Running club

• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC 100 Club fees – £32.40
• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC annual membership – £80.00

TOTAL: £112.40 (£111.40 last year)

Osteopathy appointments

• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £56.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £56.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £56.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £56.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £56.00

TOTAL: £280.00 (£540.00 last year)

 Miscellaneous

• Protein Rebel Power Up Sea Water Magnesium Powder – £12.00
• Fit Kit Rehydrate Electrolyte Face Moisturiser – £12.99
• Fit Kit Body Rebuild Magnesium Body Moisturiser – £13.99
• Fit Kit Body Rebuild Magnesium Body Moisturiser – £13.99
• Protein Rebel Run Easy Marine Collagen Peptides Protein – £24.00

TOTAL: £76.97 (£66.49 last year)

GRAND TOTAL: £1328.57 (£1530.91 last year)

In the past, I felt slightly embarrassed when I worked out how much I’d managed to spend on my running hobby throughout the year. This year, although I ended up spending more than I’d predicted when I started writing this blog, I didn’t feel any shame for two reasons. A large proportion of my spending was on osteopathy appointments; the treatment I received in these appointments quite literally kept me up and running. Ignoring osteopathy appointments, my other most expensive purchases were a Garmin Forerunner 265S to replace the Garmin Fenix 6 I purchased in 2021 and two pairs of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers. I once again managed to stick to my ‘rule’ of not spending more than £100 on a pair of trainers.

And what about my spending in each of the categories? After spending what felt like far too much on running clothes and trainers in both 2023 and 2024, I managed to spend less this year. While several of my purchases were made in my local TK Maxx, I purchased a pair of my favourite Sweaty Betty 9” power shorts on Vinted and a second pair direct from Sweaty Betty using my 50% off birthday discount code. Due to my metatarsal mishap in July, I’m yet to wear the Twisted Running cargo running shorts and some of the running socks I purchased in an end of line sale. Thanks to me purchasing several running caps in a failed attempt to find a running cap that is small enough for my child-sized head and a replacement Garmin, my spending in the running accessories category increased from a respectable £14.45 to £356.42. I’m hoping this Garmin will last me a good 3-4 years and that I’ll be able to recoup some of the money I spent on running caps once my house stops doing a good impression of a building site.

This year, I purchased two running-related books. I’m yet to read either book as I’ve spent most of the year reading about anything but running. I reduced the amount I spent on race entries and still managed to enter what I hope will be my target event for 2026, the Great Birmingham Run. Last year, I had the foresight to enter this year’s Run Up to Christmas virtual event. I wasn’t tempted to enter any additional virtual events, hence the zero spending in the virtual races category.

My spending in the travel and accommodation category decreased slightly from £53.80 in 2034 to £35.40 this year. As in previous years, this expenditure was unavoidable as I’m not in the habit of fare dodging and the train tickets I purchased enabled me to attend my osteopathy appointments in Sutton Coldfield and to travel to Beacon parkrun in Lichfield. I once again didn’t have any running holidays; I’m hopeful this might change next year. My running Club membership and 100 Club fees increased slightly, like last year, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to train with my Club next year. I’ve already mentioned my osteopathy appointments and as for the miscellaneous category, I’m ashamed to admit that I allowed myself to be influenced by a runner on Instagram who I suspect didn’t waste £76.97 purchasing magnesium powder, face moisturiser, body moisturiser, and protein powder.

Although circumstances at home meant that, unlike in previous years, I failed to list and to therefore sell any of my unwanted running clothes and trainers online, I’ve decided to repost some of the information I’ve shared before. If you are looking to sell your unwanted running clothes or trainers online, dedicated Facebook selling groups such as the Running Gear Buy and Sell group is a great place to start. I’m still yet to sell on Vinted, so I can’t personally recommend it as a selling platform, but I’ve seen a fair amount of positive feedback. And don’t forget about eBay.

I’m going to end this post by saying that although I hope next year will be a less expensive year and that I’d love to ‘run for free’ in 2026, I’ve once again accepted that it’s almost certain I’ll end up spending a fair amount on the sport that gives me a lot of pleasure. I’ve decided I’m not going to feel guilty for making essential running-related purchases, for example, new trainers, however, if I want to make any non-essential purchases, I’m going to have to raise money by selling stuff on eBay, Vinted and Facebook first. I’m aware that I’m repeating myself, but I can’t keep buying new running clothes when I have boxes of running clothes I’ve barely worn in storage in my loft.

Have you ever worked out how much money you spend on running in a year?  Sorry for the repeated question, but you all know that I’m nosey. I’d love to see how my spending compares to other people’s spending.

Do you set yourself a budget at the start of the year? Except for essentials, new trainers, osteopathy appointments, and travel, my budget for 2026 will be zero. If I want to treat myself to anything outside of those categories, I’ll have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running gear first.

I’ve reviewed the previous 12 months in far, far too much detail here and I’ve drawn a line under last year. It’s time for me to look ahead to the next 12 months and set myself some running goals, some walking goals, and some parkrun goals. Last year, knee, calf, and foot niggles, and a couple of impossible-to-predict health issues meant I failed to achieve several of the goals I shared in this post this time last year.

As in previous years, I spent a fair amount of time debating making these goals public. I’m all too aware my goals have been getting rather predictable. I’m also aware that my knees are still not completely fixed. I’m aware I’m repeating what I said last year, but the reality is that without surgery, I’ll always have issues with my knees. I hope that by sharing my goals, I make myself more accountable. The last few years, sharing my goals has helped me to start the year feeling both motivated and positive, so I decided to publish this post.

1. Listen to my niggles – I’m repeating myself, but I consider myself a slightly fragile, injury-prone runner. Some runners rarely pick up injuries, other runners seem to spend the majority of the time either injured or recovering from an injury. I’d definitely describe myself as the latter type of runner. Over the last few years it has felt like I’ve been trapped in a cycle of run – get injured – sulk – rest – injury rehab – recover from injury – get excited to be back up and running – run too much – ignore strength and conditioning – repeat.

I’m aware I’m a much better person when I have running in my life. I’m also aware running helps me to keep my anxiety under control. I don’t want to spend most of the year feeling miserable because I’m unable to run, so I’m going to continue to closely monitor any niggles that make an unwelcome appearance. I’m also going to continue to invest in something that made a positive difference to my running last year, regular Osteopathy treatments.

2. Invest in regular Osteopathy treatments – After waking up barely able to walk due to an incredibly painful right knee, I spent a couple of hours feeling sorry for myself – there were some tears – and then decided it was time for me to do something about my knees. I did some research and booked an Osteopathy appointment at Ebrook Osteopathy and Sports Clinic in the centre of Sutton Coldfield. Since my first appointment in April, I’ve enjoyed(?) massages, shockwave therapy, and dry needling.

I’ve been able to train more consistently, I just wish that I’d invested in myself a little sooner. Although I’ve not had an Osteopathy treatment since the end of October, I’m planning on investing in monthly treatments this year.

3. Dedicate time to strength and conditioning – This goal has featured in previous years, but I’m still not great at completing the strength and conditioning exercises I have been provided with during my Osteopathy treatments.

I’m very much an all-or-nothing type of person, this needs to change as consistency will be the key to success. I really am my own worst enemy when it comes to regularly completing my strength and conditioning exercises. It’s almost like I’m trying to sabotage myself.

4. Train sensibly and consistently – Another repeat goal, but I’m still not great at training what I’d describe as sensibly and consistently. I’m getting much better, but I still have room to improve. I’ve said it before, but I’m usually so happy to be back up and running, that I’ll obsessively complete every running session whichever training programme I’m following suggests, I won’t give myself a week off from running when needed, and almost inevitably end up injuring myself.

5. Complete a 5k to 10k training programme – I started following the NHS version of the Couch to 5k last January and following a few breaks of various lengths from training due to injuries and illnesses, by the end of last year I’d reached Week 6 of the plan. Although I failed to complete the Couch to 5k, I was able to run 5k without stopping at both Beacon parkrun and Tamworth Castle Grounds parkrun. Weather permitting, my aim for the start of the year is to complete the Couch to 5k and then a 5k to 10k training programme.

6. Run a minimum of 25 miles a month – This is obviously very much an injury-permitting, knee-behaving itself kind of goal, but I want to run a minimum of 25 miles a month this year. I’m not worried about my pace, I’m not worried about having to take numerous walking breaks, and ‘Jeffing’ may well be the way forward. I just want to be able to jog or run three times a week.

7. Walk a minimum of 75 miles a month – Last year, I aimed to walk a minimum of 75 miles each month. Last year, except for a few notable exceptions, I failed to walk 75 miles each month. While my Saturday morning walks across Sutton Park continued to be the most amazing way to start the weekend, I still rarely left the house during the week, and both my mental health and walking mileage suffered.

8. Explore more local parkruns – This is a repeat goal from the last five years. To date, I’ve still only completed seven parkruns, Aston Hall, Beacon, Didcot, Kingsbury Water Park, Sutton Park, Tamworth Castle Grounds, and Walsall Arboretum. This year, I’m aiming as a minimum to visit the following local parkruns, Perry Hall, Edgbaston Reservoir, Cannon Hill, Sandwell Valley, Babbs Mill, and Wolverhampton.

I’m yet to invest in a car and doubt I’ll be in a position to afford a car this year, so unless I manage to grab a lift with other parkrunners, I’ll be limited to exploring local parkruns that are easy to access using public transport. I’ve worked out that several local parkruns are in theory easily accessible by public transport, it’s just unfortunate that the trains and buses continue to be somewhat unreliable. I recently discovered and joined the parkrun tourism without a car! group on Facebook and I’m planning on making use of the huge amount of expertise within the group.

9. Complete more parkrun challenges – This is yet another repeat goal, but much as I love parkrun, I didn’t take a lot of notice of the various parkrun challenges until a few years ago. While I’d heard of the parkrun alphabet challenge and have met a lot of parkrun tourists at Sutton Park parkrun, I had no idea there were so many parkrun challenges. I still like to check my progress in completing the various challenges using the Running Challenge extension on a fairly regular basis.

Last year, I achieved my Bronze parkrun Obsessive badge, and I also added the Post-event Close Down volunteer badge to my profile. This year, I’d love to visit the home of parkrun and to complete the Bushy Pilgrimage challenge. I’d also love to make some progress on the Name Badge challenge (1/12 letters completed) and to get closer to completing the Stopwatch Bingo challenge (55/60 times completed). Most importantly, I want to continue to have fun at parkrun.

10. Be a less antisocial runner – If I discount parkrun, I still complete most of my training sessions on my own. I also live alone, work from home what feels like 99.9 per cent of the time, and don’t have many friends. I do feel lonely a lot of the time and regularly find myself wishing that I had more interaction with people. I’ve also reached the stage where I miss training with other people. I re-joined my local running club three years ago, and if I manage to get to the stage I can run 10k, my goal is to take part in some training sessions with the Club.

11. Complete 5 races – Like last year, this is very much an injury-permitting, knee-behaving goal, but my goal is to complete at least five races this year. Last year, I powerwalked my way around a couple of local events, and I enjoyed being surrounded by other runners and walkers. This year, I’d love to be able to add to my running medal collection.

12. Don’t buy any unessential running gear – And finally, the goal I know from previous experience I’ll find the most challenging. I set myself a similar goal in 2021, 2022, 2023, and last year and failed miserably. This year, if I want to make any what I’d describe as unessential running-related purchases, I’ll have to raise money to fund these purchases by selling some of my unwanted running gear. I want my running habit to fund itself. I’m not ashamed to admit that if I’m offered any trainers or running gear to review or offered free entry into a local race, I’m not going to say no. I’m also going to be entering every competition I see on social media.

Have you set yourself any running, walking, or parkrun goals for the year ahead? If you have, good luck! If you’ve shared your goals in a blog post, please let me know so that I can go and have a nose.

Have you entered any target races? Please don’t laugh, but I keep having dreams I’m running the New York Marathon.

Do you think I’ll be able to avoid buying any unessential running gear in 2025? If the last few years are anything to go by, I’m going to find this particular goal the most challenging.

I concluded last year’s ‘True cost of running’ post by stating that 2024 was going to be a less expensive year than 2023. I said I’d love to ‘run for free in 2024’ and that my budget for the year was £0 with no exceptions. If I wanted to make any running-related purchases, I would have to raise money by selling my unwanted running clothes online. I wanted my running hobby to fund itself and if I found myself starting to experience race #FOMO I’d head to a local parkrun.

[Photo: Rob Andrews]

I once again found going through my running expenditure spreadsheet – yes, I’m still a statistics geek – slightly uncomfortable. A much-needed wake-up call and reality check. I realised that by buying four pairs of running shorts and five sports bras, I’d failed to achieve my aim of ‘running for free in 2024’ in style. I also discovered that thanks to the introduction of regular osteopathy appointments, I’d managed to spend more in 2024 than I thought.

So, now it’s clear I once again failed to stay away from the temptations of Sweaty Betty et al., let’s have a look at what I purchased this year. I’ve also included what I spent in each category last year.

Running clothes and trainers

• RBX sports t-shirt – £5.40
• Famme long sleeve top – £10.00
• Hilly Active ankle running socks – £11.20
• Under Armour sports bra – £12.99
• Ivy Park x adidas shorts – £14.99
• Marimekko x adidas shorts – £14.99
• adidas sports bra – £14.99
• adidas sports bra – £14.99
• RU2C short sleeve t-shirt – £15.73
• Sweaty Betty sports bra – £16.99
• Sweaty Betty sports bra – £16.99
• parkrun milestone 100 Volunteer t-shirt – £19.00
• parkrun milestone 100 t-shirt – £20.00
• Run BHX t-shirt – £28.00
• Rockay windbreaker jacket – £29.99
• Sweaty Betty Power shorts – £30.00
• adidas women’s full length tights – £31.48
• Rockay Xplore gilet – £39.99
• Sweaty Betty Power shorts – £45.00
• Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers – £49.99
• Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers – £64.48
• Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers – £74.98

TOTAL: £582.17 (£851.62 last year)

Running accessories

• Mountain Warehouse Performance cap – £14.45

TOTAL: £14.45 (£120.57 last year)

Running related books

TOTAL: £0.00 (£107.09 last year)

[Photo: Rob Andrews]

Race entries

• Round the Park Gates Run – £.700
• Birmingham Running Festival 5k – £15.20
• Wheaton Aston 10k – £22.15
• Shenstone Fun Run – £29.00
• Birmingham Running Festival 10k – £29.40
• Royal Sutton Fun Run – £29.45

TOTAL: £132.20 (£71.76 last year)

Virtual races

• Run Up to Christmas virtual run – £14.45
• Miles for Mind May – £15.95

TOTAL: £30.40 (£0.00 last year)

Travel and accommodation

• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Sutton Coldfield – £3.60
• Return train ticket to Shenstone – £3.70
• Return train ticket to Aston – £4.60
• Return train ticket to Lichfield – £4.80
• Return train ticket to Lichfield – £4.80
• Return train ticket to Tamworth – £7.10

TOTAL: £53.80 (£0.00 last year)

Running holidays

TOTAL: £0.00 (£0.00 last year)

Running club

• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC 100 Club fees – £32.40
• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC annual membership – £79.00

TOTAL: £111.40 (£108.40 last year)

Osteopathy appointments

• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• Returning patient osteopathy appointment – £52.00
• New patient osteopathy appointment – £72.00

TOTAL: £540.00 (£0.00 last year)

Miscellaneous

• 2025 parkrun calendar – £11.99
• Puresport CBD muscle and joint freeze roll on – £26.50
• Puresport CBD muscle and joint balm – £28.00

TOTAL: £66.49 (£44.99 last year)

GRAND TOTAL: £1530.91 (£1304.43 last year)

In previous years, I felt embarrassed when I worked out how much I’d managed to spend throughout the year. This year, although I ended up spending more than I did last year, I didn’t feel any shame for two reasons. Approximately a third of my spending was in a new category – osteopathy appointments – and by finally investing in myself, I was able to start running consistently again. Ignoring osteopathy appointments, my other most expensive purchases were three pairs of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers and running gear I’ve worn a lot. Unlike in 2023, I managed to stick to my ‘rule’ of not spending more than £100 on a pair of trainers.

And what about my spending in each of the categories? After spending far too much on running clothes and trainers last year, I managed to spend less this year. While most of my purchases were made in my local TK Maxx, I did invest in a couple of pairs of my favourite 9” power shorts from Sweaty Betty as I felt the quality and generous discount codes justified the extra cost. Like last year, except for a couple of sports bras and the parkrun milestone t-shirt I purchased for a friend, I’ve worn everything I purchased. Last year, I spent what I described as a ridiculous amount on running accessories, this year I only purchased a running cap which I ended up selling on eBay as it was too large for my child-sized head.

This year, I didn’t purchase any what I’d describe as running-related books, I’ve no idea why I stopped reading about other people running. I spent almost double the amount I spent in 2023 on race entries, and I have no regrets as I enjoyed every minute of the races I completed. Last year, I can’t remember exactly why, but I didn’t enter any virtual races. This year, I entered two virtual races, and both gave me an incentive to leave the house and to train consistently.  I’ve taken advantage of a discount code and have entered next year’s Run Up to Christmas virtual event.

My spending in the travel and accommodation category increased from zero in 2023 to £53.80 this year. This expenditure was unavoidable as I’m not in the habit of fare dodging and the train tickets I purchased enabled me to complete some long overdue parkrun tourism and to attend my osteopathy appointments in Sutton Coldfield. I once again didn’t have any running holidays, I’m hopeful this might change in 2025. My running Club membership and 100 Club fees increased slightly and I’m hopeful I’ll be able to train with my Club next year. I’ve already talked about my osteopathy appointments and as for the miscellaneous category, the parkrun 2025 calendar will be used to plan my 50 parkruns in 2025 challenge and the Puresport CBD muscle and joint freeze roll-on and joint balm were both a complete waste of money.

Although I spent more than I’d planned to at the start of the year, I managed to sell some of my unwanted running trainers and books on eBay and Facebook. I’ve worked out that I made approximately £370 by selling three pairs of trainers that didn’t suit my running style and a lot of running-related books. While this clearly isn’t £370 worth of profit, I figured having a good declutter of my unwanted trainers and books made more sense than hanging onto everything ‘just in case’.

I’ve decided to repost some of the information I’ve included in previous ‘True cost of running’ posts. If you are looking to sell your unwanted running clothes or trainers online, dedicated Facebook selling groups such as the Running Gear Buy and Sell group is a great place to start. I’m still yet to sell on Vinted, Depop etc, so I can’t personally recommend them, but I’ve seen lots of positive feedback. And now that it’s free for private sellers to sell on there, don’t forget about eBay.

I’m going to end this post by saying that although I hope 2025 will be a less expensive year and that I’d love to ‘run for free’ in 2025, I’ve accepted that it’s inevitable I’ll end up spending a fair amount on the sport that gives me a lot of pleasure. I’ve decided I’m not going to feel guilty for making essential running-related purchases for example new trainers and osteopathy appointments, however, if I want to make any non-essential purchases, I’m going to have to raise money by selling stuff on eBay and Facebook first. I can’t keep buying new running clothes when I have piles of running clothes I’ve barely worn in storage in my loft.

Have you ever worked out how much money you spend on running in a year?  Sorry for the repeat question, but you all know that I’m nosey. I’d love to see how my spending compares to other people’s spending.

Do you set yourself a budget at the start of the year? With the exception of essentials; new trainers, osteopathy appointments, and travel, my budget for 2025 will be zero. If I want to treat myself to anything outside of those categories, I’ll have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running gear first.

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?

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 2 of the Couch to 5k training plan.

My Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday morning interval sessions started with a fast 5-minute warm-up walk and concluded with a slightly slower 5-minute cool-down walk. I supplemented the three interval sessions with cross-training sessions and a couple of rest days.

As I want to give myself the best chance of successfully completing the Couch to 5k, I dedicated time each day to stretching and to strength and conditioning. I’m aware I’m repeating what I said last week, but I’d love 2024 to be the year I complete the Couch to 5k and get back into running consistently. An injury-prone runner can always dream.

Monday – 30 mins cross training

After three weeks of freedom annual leave, it was sadly a case of back to work, back to reality. Barcode scanning on New Year’s Day seven days previously was a distant memory. Once I managed to access my work laptop, I was pleasantly surprised I only had 218 emails waiting for me in my inbox and that I could delete most of them. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to get outside when it’s light, so after a reasonably productive admin-filled morning, I decided to head out for a 30-minute lunchtime walk. It was colder than I was expecting, and I hadn’t worn gloves or a bobble hat, so my walk was slightly faster than anticipated. I’m hoping fast walking counts as a form of cross-training as the excitement of returning to work left me feeling so tired, I couldn’t face a second walk after work. Following what I’d describe as a quiet but productive evening, after checking the weather forecast, I went to bed hoping I didn’t wake up to a load of snow.

Tuesday – 21 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 2 mins x 6)

I didn’t wake up to a load of snow. Phew. I think the highlight of a mundane Tuesday morning was catching up with the rest of the team during an informal team meeting. It was a beautiful day, so although I knew I’d be running later, I made sure I spent my lunch break outside rather than staring at a screen. Hill Hook Nature Reserve was so peaceful, I would have quite happily spent a couple of hours bird-watching.

Like last week, I almost fell into the trap of spending more time thinking about running than actually running. The cold weather didn’t help as I was reluctant to switch my toasty Oodie and thermal leggings, please don’t judge, for running gear. A sudden rush of motivation and guilt meant I got changed into some running gear, spent some time stretching, and massaged my calf muscles using my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun.

I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever run in such cold conditions. Although I was wearing several layers, it was so cold, that I couldn’t feel my fingers when I reached the end of my 5-minute warm-up walk.

As for the interval session, I’m blaming the cold conditions for my inability to run at a sensible pace. Having said that, nothing niggled and I found running for 90 seconds at a time easy and I reached the end of the 21 minutes feeling like I could have completed a few more running repetitions, always a good sign. I’m clearly unfit at the moment as despite the cold conditions, I ended the interval session with a face that looked like a beetroot. Once I’d completed my 5-minute cool-down walk, I made myself a cup of hot chocolate, stretched, and massaged my calf muscles again.

Wednesday – Rest

This weekly update is getting long, so as Wednesday was a much-needed rest day, I’ll only briefly mention my temperamental left foot. I mentioned previously that one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to get outside when it’s light, so following a reasonably productive morning, I headed out for a lunchtime walk. I’ve no idea what I did wrong, but 25 minutes into my walk my left foot started to twinge again, one minute it was fine, the next minute I was hobbling back home. Great. At least my knees and legs felt fine.

Thursday – 21 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 2 mins x 6)

After spending the morning staring at a computer screen, I decided to see how my still slightly intermittently niggly left foot handled a lunchtime stroll. My left foot felt absolutely fine. When I got back from my stroll, I spotted an article that mentioned potentially disruptive snow next week and decided to place an Ocado order.

Following a lot of post-work procrastination, a small early evening meal, and a nap, I got changed into some running gear, worked through my stretches, and used my massage gun to massage my legs and calf muscles. The first half of the second interval session of the week was a case of playing dodge the dog walkers. I can honestly say I’ve never seen so many people out and about at 8pm.

I ended the interval session feeling strong and perhaps most importantly completely pain-free. I completed my five-minute cool-down walk, took a couple of selfies, and then made myself a cup of hot chocolate, stretched, and massaged my calf muscles.

Apologies for not exactly flattering post-interval session selfie. My selfie skills seem to be getting worse with time. I blame the far too technical for this muppet to understand camera on my new iPhone.

Friday – Rest

As I’d already completed my hours for the week, I was able to finish work at 3pm. I completed a couple of household chores and as I’d already been for a walk at lunchtime, decided to treat myself to a nap. Nap complete, I prepared the first batch of chilli con carne and managed to stop myself from ordering a takeaway from my local Chinese restaurant. I’ve said it before, but I’ve no idea how people my age have enough energy to go out on a Friday night.

Saturday – 30 mins cross training

I should have switched off my Saturday morning ‘parkrun alarm’ as I was parkwalking and didn’t need to arrive at Boldmere Gate until 8:45am. Like last week, I left the house just after 7:30am and arrived at Boldmere Gate 50 minutes later. Sutton Park was once again looking stunning, so I thought I’d share this photo.

I parkwalked with Helene and Oli and following an enjoyable relaxed and chatty walk around the Sutton Park parkrun course, crossed the line in 450^th place in a time of 55:13.

As I think it’s fair to say I haven’t been finding walking very challenging, I think I’m going to have to either join a gym or invest in an exercise bike.

As I wasn’t feeling very energetic after only getting five hours of sleep combined with an early start, I decided to have a relaxed Saturday afternoon. I can’t remember if I shared my goal of reading 100 books in 2024, but I spent a couple of hours reading my eighth book of the year: ‘Five Days in Florence’ by Lorraine Brown. I prepared the second batch of chilli con carne and settled down to watch Gladiators. After the Challenge Anneka fiasco, I was relieved to see the producers had adopted the original theme tune and had stuck to the formula of the original series of Gladiators.

Sunday – 21 mins intervals (run 90 secs/walk 2 mins x 6)

I’m still clearly a morning runner, as the final interval session of Week 2 of the Couch to 5k was very much a case of leaving the best until last. After six days of early starts, I hadn’t set an alarm, but I was still wide awake at 7am. I got changed into some running gear and worked through my strength and conditioning exercises and stretches. I completed my 5-minute warm-up walk in what were perfect conditions for running, did some calf stretches, and then started my interval session.

As for the interval session, I was feeling so good my pacing was all over the place. Although I found myself struggling to complete the first two running repetitions, by the time I reached the end of the final uphill and therefore most challenging running repetition, I was feeling stronger than I did at the start of the session.

As not all training runs take place in scenic locations and I’m trying to share the reality of training in suburbia, I took a photo of the sunrise, completed my 5-minute cool-down walk, and headed home. The rest of my Sunday was predictably so mundane, I won’t bore you all to tears with the details.

So, that’s the second week of the Couch to 5k completed, just another seven weeks to go. As I don’t want to have to take another lengthy break from running, I hope that my temperamental knees and left foot continue to cope with the training.

The third week of the Couch to 5k looks reasonably straightforward and achievable. I feel reasonably confident I’m capable of running for three minutes at a time. I just need the snow to stay away and to remember to run at a pace I can maintain.

Training totals:

• Runs: 6 (out of 6)
• Time: 2 hrs 3 mins
• Distance: 10.54 miles

Niggleometer:

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

Did you have a good weekend?

Do you have parkwalkers at your local parkrun? 

I concluded last year’s ‘True cost of running’ post by stating that 2023 was going to be a less expensive year than 2022. I said I was determined to ‘run for free in 2023’ and that my budget for the year was £0 with no exceptions. If I wanted to make any running-related purchases, I would have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running clothes on eBay or Vinted. Effectively, I wanted my running hobby to fund itself and if I found myself starting to experience race #FOMO – spoiler, I didn’t – I would head to my local parkrun and run for nothing.

[Source]

I once again found going through my running expenditure spreadsheet – yes, I’m still a statistics geek and I still have spreadsheets for everything – an uncomfortable process. Most definitely a reality check and a much-needed wake-up call. I realised that by buying four pairs of trainers and several other far-from-essential running-related purchases, I’d failed to achieve my aim of ‘running for free in 2023’ in style. I also discovered that I’d managed to spend far more during the last 12 months than I thought I had.

So, now that it’s clear that I failed to stay away from the temptations of SportPursuit, Harrier Trail Running, and my local charity bookshop, let’s have a look at what I purchased this year. In an attempt to make myself feel less guilty, I’ve included what I spent in each category last year.

Running clothes and trainers

• New Balance sports bra – £14.99
• parkrun v100 milestone t-shirt – £18.00
• parkrun 100 milestone t-shirt (eBay) – £18.35
• Big Bobble Hat English Cross Country Association hat – £25.00
• Classic Proviz women’s running gilet – £29.95
• Sweaty Betty Power cycling shorts – £30.00
• Versus Elite socks x 5 pairs – £37.50
• Mizuno Wave Daichi 7 trainers – £39.99
• Versus socks x 7 pairs £46.29
• Rockay women’s Explore gilet – £62.98
• Sweaty Betty Accelerate running gilet – £79.00
• Mizuno Wave Inspire trainers – £80.58
• Mizuno Wave Inspire trainers – £107.99
• Mizuno Wave Inspire trainers – £121.50
• ASICS Gel Kayano 29 trainers – £139.50

TOTAL: £851.62 (£413.49 last year)

Running accessories

• Ultimate Performance hairbands – £2.99
• Silva Scout 3 headtorch – £17.48
• Harrier Trail Running Baslow waist bag – £26.35
• Harrier Trail Running Curbar race vest – £73.75

TOTAL: £120.57 (£47.15 last year)

Running related books 

• This Mum Runs (second hand) – £1.95
• Chi Running (second hand) – £1.99
• Endurance (second hand) – £2.50
• Marathon Man (second hand) – £2.50
• Once a Runner (second hand) – £2.50
• Running (second hand) – £2.50
• The Ghost Runner (second hand) – £2.50
• There is No Map in Hell (second hand) – £2.50
• Running Outside the Comfort Zone (second hand) – £2.99
• Fat Man to Green Man (second hand) – £3.01
• From Last to First (second hand) – £3.44
• 2 Miles to Happiness (second hand) – £5.99
• Once Around the Planet – £12.79
• Barefoot Britain – £14.99
• Choosing to Run – £20.99
• The Longest Race – £23.95

TOTAL: £107.09 (£22.03 last year) 

Race entries

• Royal Sutton Fun Run 2023 – £27.76
• The Big Half 2024 – £44.00

TOTAL: £71.76 (£88.95 last year) 

Virtual races

TOTAL: £0.00 (£126.10 last year)

[Photo: Nigel Gambles Photography]

Travel and accommodation

TOTAL: £0.00 (£9.00 last year)

Running holidays

TOTAL: £0.00 (£0.00 last year)

Running club

• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC 100 Club fees – £32.40
• Royal Sutton Coldfield AC annual membership – £76.00

TOTAL: £108.40 (£108.40 last year)

Miscellaneous

• Royal Sutton Fun Run photo – £5.00
• Bimble & Bolt Runner’s Advent Calendar – £39.99

TOTAL: £44.99 (£49.71 last year)

GRAND TOTAL: £1304.43 (£864.83 last year)

I once again felt slightly embarrassed when I worked out how much I’d managed to spend throughout the year. It felt like although I spent a lot, I didn’t manage to run enough to justify my spending. This year, my most expensive purchases consisted of three pairs of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 trainers and a pair of ASICS Gel Kayano 29 trainers. After almost a decade of wearing Brooks trainers, I felt it was time for a change and Mizuno Wave Inspire 19s are now my ‘go-to’ trainers. Although I broke my ‘rule’ of not spending more than £100 on a pair of trainers, I don’t have any regrets.

And what about my spending in each of the categories? After spending what felt like a lot on running clothes and trainers last year, I managed to spend even more this year. I’ve already explained why I purchased four pairs of trainers, so I won’t repeat myself. I probably didn’t need to treat myself to two different gilets and yet another pair of Sweaty Betty shorts, but I’ve worn the Rockay gilet to parkrun every weekend as it has so many pockets I’m able to carry my debit card, emergency money, house key, phone, tissues, and lip balm with me when I’m marshalling. Like last year, except for one pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 19 and the ASICS Gel Kayano 29 trainers, I’ve worn everything I purchased.

Twelve months ago I was confident I wouldn’t need to buy any running accessories in 2023. I’m still not completely sure why I bought a waist bag and race vest from the Harrier Trail Running website. I guess I’ll be well prepared should I ever get the urge to train for a half marathon or marathon. This year, I spent a lot more on what I describe as running-related books compared to a year ago. It was very much a case of can’t run, can most definitely read about other people running. I purchased the majority of books second hand and I have no regrets as I love reading and I love writing and sharing reviews of what I’ve read in my ‘Books I’ve read recently’ posts.

While I started 2023 with the aim of not entering any races, I entered and subsequently walked the Royal Sutton Fun Run with my running buddy Ellen and had the most amazing time. After failing to get a place in the 2024 London Landmarks Half Marathon I decided to enter the 2024 Big Half. I’m hoping having a target race to aim for will encourage me to train more consistently next year. Last year, I entered several virtual races as I needed an incentive to get out of the house. This year, I didn’t enter any virtual races, and I can’t say I missed not being able to share #MedalMonday posts on Instagram. My running Club membership and 100 Club fees stayed the same, and I’m hopeful I’ll be in a position to train with my running club next year. As for the miscellaneous category, the Bimble & Bolt Runner’s Advent Calendar was a Christmas present from me to me.

While I spent far more than I’d originally planned to at the beginning of the year, I once again managed to sell some of my unwanted running clothes and trainers on eBay, Facebook, and Vinted. I’ve worked out that I made approximately £550 by selling some of my unwanted, unlikely to ever fit me again running clothes and two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 22 trainers that didn’t suit my running style. While this clearly isn’t £550 worth of profit, I figured having a good declutter of some of my unwanted running clothes and trainers made more sense than hanging onto everything ‘just in case’.

I’ve decided to repost some of the information I’ve included in previous ‘True cost of running’ posts. If you are looking to sell your unwanted running clothes or trainers online, dedicated Facebook selling groups such as the Running Gear Buy and Sell group and the Run Mummy Run – Pre-Loved and Secret Sales group are great places to start. I’ve not used Depop, Vinted, etc, except to buy so I can’t personally recommend them, but I’ve seen lots of positive feedback. And don’t forget about eBay.

I’m going to end this post by saying that next year is going to be a less expensive year. I’d love to ‘run for free in 2024. If I want to make any running-related purchases, I’m going to have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running clothes. I want my running hobby to fund itself as I can’t keep buying new running clothes when I have piles of running clothes I’ve barely worn in my loft. I’ve already entered my target event for 2024 and if I find myself starting to experience race #FOMO, I’ll head to one of my local parkruns.

Have you ever worked out how much money you spend on running in a year?  Sorry for the repeat question, but you all know that I’m nosey. I’d love to see how my spending compares to other people’s spending.

Do you set yourself a budget at the start of the year? My budget for 2024 will once again be a big fat zero. If I want to treat myself to anything, I’ll have to raise money by selling some of my unwanted running gear first.

As the Couch to 5k training plan doesn’t seem to work well for me, I decided to follow the This Messy Happy Beginner to 5k training plan which is available along with other training plans here.

The This Messy Happy website provided the following information about the training sessions in Week 4:

The This Messy Happy Beginner to 5k training plan is amazing as it includes a variety of strength and conditioning sessions and rest days, something lacking in the Couch to 5k training plan. Links to videos are provided for each strength and conditioning session, and the training plan also provides a link to a ‘How to stretch after exercise’ video.

Monday – 32 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up run then 1:30 mins walk/2:30 mins run x 6 then 4 mins cool-down walk)

Following a few too many days where a later-than-ideal night and poor sleep combined with a 5am interval session left me feeling shattered midway through the following day, I decided to try a new approach. To put it simply, if I was still awake at midnight I’d switch off my 5am alarm and would complete my interval session after work. This new approach meant that the first interval session of Week Four took place shortly after I’d finished work.

I wanted a change of running scenery and to run somewhere reasonably quiet, so I walked to the Four Oaks Estate, stretched, and started my warm-up run. I’d love to stay I found my interval session easy but thanks to the humidity and my inability to run the running repetitions at a sensible pace, I found most of the 32 minutes difficult. Even walking felt like hard work and running the final run repetition up a fairly steep hill ensured that I reached the end of the interval session looking like a beetroot.

I walked to where I’d arranged to meet up with a friend, captured a photo of a small section of my favourite Four Oaks Estate running routes, and a slightly dubious selfie.

One day I’ll work out how to capture more what I’ve described in the past as more blogworthy selfies. On Monday, all I managed to capture was a slightly blurry selfie of me looking like a beetroot. At least my fragile knees coped well with the interval session.

Tuesday – Strength and Conditioning (Core)

Once work was complete, Tuesday had quite a few highlights. I walked to Boots to get some exercise and to purchase some bits and pieces for my trip to Warrington and remembered to spend some of my Advantage Points. Faith Kipyegon won her first gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in the women’s 1500m.

Although my legs were feeling a little tight, I managed to navigate my way through this strength and conditioning session without injuring myself. As I was aiming to complete my next interval session before I travelled up to Warrington, I spent 30 minutes massaging my legs with my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun.

Wednesday – 32 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up run then 1 min walk/3 mins run x 6 then 4 mins cool-down run) Rest

I had originally aimed to complete my interval session before I travelled up to Warrington, however, after waking up and discovering my calf muscles felt incredibly tight, I decided to take a rest day. I knew I’d be doing a lot of walking while I was in Warrington, and I didn’t want to turn a niggle into a more serious injury.

Following a productive but quite tiring day in the office, I checked into the Village Hotel – next time I’ll make use of the amazing fitness facilities – had a quick nap and a shower, and then met up with a couple of colleagues for an evening meal.

The company was brilliant; however, the main meal I’d ordered was unfortunately disappointing. Although I won’t name and shame the restaurant as this is meant to be a running rather than a flood blog, I won’t be returning there in a hurry.

Thursday – Rest

I made the most of the breakfast buffet, checked out, and then walked to the office ready for a day of face-to-face meetings. Spending time with some of my colleagues made me realise just how much I’ve missed working in an office with other people rather than at home on my own. I live so far from Warrington, that I don’t think travelling up to the Warrington office every day is realistic, but I think I’ll be spending more time in the Birmingham office.

Following another productive day, a few of us headed to The Waterside for a quick drink. The sun made a rare but very welcome appearance, and I felt so relaxed, that I didn’t want to have to spend two hours travelling back to Four Oaks.

I reluctantly walked back to Warrington Bank Quay station, boarded a busier-than-expected train, and woke up just over an hour later at Birmingham New Street station. By the time I got back to Four Oaks, I was feeling so hungry I decided to prioritise eating rather than exercising.

Friday – 32 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up run then 1 min walk/3 mins run x 6 then 4 mins cool-down walk) Strength and Conditioning (Yoga)

I’ll try to keep my Friday musings short as I’m still failing to get overly excited about yoga. I’m blaming my terrible coordination and poor flexibility, but I once again found myself struggling to complete what I suspect should have been a fairly simple and short yoga session. Yoga session complete, I laid out my gear in preparation for my interval session and volunteering at parkrun, ordered myself a healthy(?) takeaway from the local Chinese restaurant, and spent the evening watching more of the World Athletics Championships.

Saturday – Strength and Conditioning (Yoga) 32 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up run then 1 min walk/3 mins run x 6 then 4 mins cool-down walk)

Following on from the success of last week’s 2km run across Sutton Park, I decided to switch my Friday and Saturday training sessions around so that I could complete the final interval session of Week Four in Sutton Park. I estimated that if I started my warm-up run 500m or so before I reached the Jamboree Stone, I’d complete my cool-down walk near Banners Gate. Well, that was the theory, the reality was different.

I’ve no idea if my running pace is a lot faster than the pace my Garmin thinks it should be, but I reached Banners Gate in the middle of my penultimate running repetition. This meant I had to ignore the parkrun Run Director – sorry Rob – as I was worried if I stopped running for a second, I wouldn’t be able to get going again. I ended up having to retrace my steps which was a little embarrassing but at least I got to say hello to the friendly lady a second time. I think I’d stopped looking like a beetroot by the time parkrun started.

For the first time this month, I was able to grab a lift to the Communitea Café in Boldmere after parkrun. The two hours of laughter and discussion about holiday exploits was just what I needed. My Saturday got even better a few hours later when Wolves somehow managed to beat Everton and Faith Kipyegon won her second gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.

Sunday – 4 mins warm-up walk then 3km run then 4 mins cool-down walk

I’m not sure what went wrong, but I somehow managed to ‘diddle’ myself out of a minute of my warm-up walk. By the time I’d noticed what I’d done, rather than attempting to faff around with my Garmin at 5am on a Sunday morning, I decided to carry on with my 3km run.

I’d love to say that after four weeks of training, I found the 3km easy. I didn’t. My legs felt tired after the interval session and parkrun walk I’d completed the previous day, and I struggled to run at a sensible and realistic pace. It’s a good job I managed to avoid any significant hills during the final 1km of my run. I ended my cool-down walk, captured the early morning gloom, and walked home.

My legs were still feeling a little tight, so I worked through my stretching routine and used my massage gun. I then headed back to bed for what was meant to be a couple of hours. At 8am I was woken from what felt like a deep sleep by a WhatsApp alert. This was a good thing as I’d been invited invited myself to participate in a recce of the proposed new route for Sutton Park parkrun.

I like to think my legs appreciated the bonus Sunday morning walks, but after negotiating what felt like a lot of hills in Sutton Park, I’m not so sure. The proposed new route looks great and after five years I’m looking forward to marshalling in some new locations.

I don’t think I’ll be volunteering to marshal by the slightly spooky-looking tree in the middle photo and what I had assumed was an old lamppost in the third photo is apparently a Victorian Stink (or Stench) Pipe. An hour after leaving Sutton Park I mysteriously found myself back in the Giggling Squid in Mere Green.

The food tasted amazing but next time I’m treating my friend to lunch I’ll book us a table somewhere different as it’s time for a change. I’ve just realised how long this weekly update is, so I’ll leave my Sunday update here.

So, that’s the fourth week of the Beginner to 5k training plan more or less successfully completed, just a couple more weeks of training to go.

Week Five of the Beginner to 5k training plan looks quite challenging. I guess it is the penultimate week of the training plan. If I don’t manage to pace the running repetitions of my interval sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and my continuous run on Saturday sensibly, I have a feeling I’ll be back repeating the week. As I’m writing this weekly update I can’t think of any reasons I’ll need to rearrange my training sessions.

Training totals

• Interval runs: 8 (out of 10)
• Time: 4 hrs 32 mins
• Distance: 22.05 miles

Distance based training runs

• 1km: 06 mins 08 secs
• 2km: 12 mins 16 secs
• 3km: 18 mins 56 secs
• 4km: TBC Week 5
• 5km: TBC Week 6 (hopefully!)

Niggleometer

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

Did you have a good Bank Holiday weekend? I hope that the Bank Holiday weekend weather was better wherever you were than it was in Four Oaks.

Do you think the average pace on Garmins is accurate? I have a strong suspicion my Garmin is lying to me.

As the Couch to 5k training plan doesn’t seem to work well for me, I decided to follow the This Messy Happy Beginner to 5k training plan which is available along with other training plans here.

The This Messy Happy website provided the following information about the training sessions in Week 3:

The Beginner to 5k training plan is amazing as it includes a variety of strength and conditioning sessions and rest days, something lacking in the Couch to 5k training plan. Links to videos are provided for each strength and conditioning session, and the training plan also provides a link to a ‘How to stretch after exercise’ video.

Monday – Strength and Conditioning (Strength)

I don’t think the miserable weather and the fact I was feeling unwell helped, but I’m slightly ashamed to admit this but I spent most of Monday feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t have any meetings, so I ended up spending eight hours sitting at my desk in my office at home not speaking to anyone feeling incredibly fed up and isolated. I made the mistake of checking out social media and was left with the impression everyone was on holiday somewhere exotic. Meh!

At least the weather here was forecast by the Met Office to improve.

After a changeable start to the week, it's turning drier and warmer through the next few days as high pressure builds pic.twitter.com/2oshzOTSKp

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 14, 2023

After the recent far-from-ideal weather, I think we would all appreciate some sunshine.

I closed down my work laptop and switched on my laptop so that I could complete the first strength and conditioning session of the week. I got changed into some gym gear and as I still wasn’t feeling very well decided to repeat this single leg workout from Week 1 of the training plan. Like last time I ended up making the most of the alternative exercise options when they were available.

Once I reached the end of the strength and conditioning session, I grabbed the Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun I’m currently reviewing and spent some time massaging my legs. As a Wolves supporter, I should have watched my team take on Manchester United, but the match didn’t start until 8:00pm and I wanted to go to bed at a sensible time in preparation for my 5:00am alarm.

Tuesday – 32 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up walk then 2 mins walk/2 mins run x 6 then 4 mins cool-down walk)

I’m not sure what’s going on, but I woke well before my 5:00am alarm. I can’t even blame what happened during the Wolves match as I was asleep when Wolves should have been awarded a penalty.

As I estimated I’d cover anything up to 3 miles during my interval session, I decided to head towards Mere Green. It was cool and still, perfect conditions for this unfit runner. During the start of my warm-up walk, I somehow made enough noise to cause a dog to start barking. I could still hear it barking five minutes later. I didn’t feel as guilty as I probably should have done as I was certain it was the same dog that barks pretty much continuously when I’m working from home.

Something amazing happened during my first run repetition, I spotted a runner I hadn’t seen since I last attempted the Couch to 5k. I actually ended up running past three other runners, clearly, Clarence Road early on a Tuesday morning is the place to be. The only downside to the interval session was the idiot that drove past me at such a ridiculous speed, I suspect the car had been stolen.

As I approached Mere Green I spotted a temporary traffic light in the distance. I saw the light was on green as I approached it, so I carried on running.

I reached the end of the final run repetition feeling tired but relieved I’d completed another relatively niggle-free interval session. My pacing had once again been consistently inconsistent and also too ambitious for my current fitness levels. I spent my walk home thinking about my pacing issues, trying and failing to capture a selfie and a photo of the stunning sunrise.

I’ve decided to include this epic fail of a sunrise photo just to remind me of my Tuesday morning interval session. I’ve just noticed how long this weekly update and I’m sure people don’t want to read about my far-from-thrilling work meetings, so I’ll leave my Tuesday update here.

Wednesday – Strength and Conditioning (Yoga)

I’ll keep this short as I’m still failing to get excited about yoga. Some people seem to make yoga look effortless; I found Wednesdays slightly later than originally planned yoga session quite challenging. I’m aware that I’m repeating what I said last week, but I’ll persevere as I can see how yoga will benefit my running. Yoga session complete, I laid out my running gear and after spending some time working on my CIWEM Chartership application, made sure I headed to bed at a sensible time. I wanted to complete my interval session early in the morning and after spending the day feeling shattered, I wasn’t confident I’d feel like running first thing in the morning.

Thursday – 32 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up walk then 1:30 mins walk/2:30 mins run x 6 then 4 mins cool-down walk) Rest

I was feeling so tired when my alarm woke me at 5:00am, I decided getting a couple more hours of sleep would be the most sensible option. I figured I could complete my interval session later in the day. After spending the day feeling peaky, I decided attempting to run probably wasn’t a good idea and taking an extra rest day would be the most sensible option.

Friday – Rest

The improved weather didn’t last long, and Storm Betty woke me early on Friday morning. The weather was so miserable, I decided to follow the Beginner to 5k training plan and ensured I had a very restful day. Friday was so mundane, and this weekly update post is already far too lengthy, so I’ll stop waffling.

Saturday – 4 mins warm-up walk then 2km run then 4 mins cool-down walk

I was barcode scanning at parkrun, so I decided to incorporate my 2km run into my four and a bit mile route across Sutton Park. I estimated I needed to start running when I reached the Jamboree Stone, so following a lengthy warm-up walk that included some photography at Little Bracebridge Pool I started to run.

I’d be lying if I said my pacing was consistent and sensible. I’d be lying if I said the 2km run felt easy and I enjoyed every minute of the run. The 2km run felt difficult and I didn’t enjoy the final five minutes of the run. I reached the end of the 2km with tired legs, there’s no way I could have carried on running if I’d needed to.

Following the completion of my cool-down walk, I walked to Banners Gate, collected my parkrun vest and a finish token bag, and then sat down in an attempt to cool down. I usually have something to drink when I’ve completed a run, this wasn’t an option as I’d not brought a drink with me. By the time parkrun started, I’d stopped looking like a beetroot and I’d just about recovered from my run.

After setting a barcode scanning personal best I walked back through Sutton Park. An hour and what would turn out to be a persistent headache later I was at home having a much-needed drink of water. Following what felt like a reasonably productive start to the weekend, the remainder of my Saturday wasn’t what I’d describe as blogworthy although I remembered to watch the evening session of the World Athletics Championships.

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such unbelievable drama in the home straight of a women’s 10,000m. Only to be followed a few minutes later by even more drama in the mixed 4 x 400m relay.

Sunday – Strength and Conditioning (Yoga)

When I first looked at the third week of the Beginner to 5k training plan, I questioned the need for two yoga sessions in a week. I stopped questioning the training plan when I stepped out of bed and discovered DOMS had made an unwelcome return. The DOMS I was experiencing confirmed my suspicions; I’d overdone it yesterday and my legs were letting me know.

I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t expecting the second yoga session of the week to be a 20-minute long ‘Yoga for Your Back’ workout. After I’d navigated the yoga session, I spent some time stretching and gave my legs a massage with my Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun while watching the World Athletics Championships.

For a whole host of reasons I won’t go into here, the remainder of my Sunday was unfortunately what I’d describe as a bit of a write-off. I occasionally have days where I feel like I’m completely lacking in motivation, sadly, following a reasonably productive Saturday, yesterday was one of those days.

So, that’s the third week of the Beginner to 5k training plan more or less successfully completed, at least I managed to run 2km without feeling the need to take a sneaky walking break. Three weeks completed just three more weeks to go.

Week four of the Beginner to 5k training plan looks quite tricky. The warm-up walks have been replaced with warm-up runs, I’ll definitely continue to start each interval session with a warm-up walk. I’ll be spending Wednesday and Thursday in Warrington, so unless I manage to get up super early on Wednesday morning, I’ll have to rearrange a couple of my training sessions.

Training totals

• Interval runs: 6 (out of 7)
• Time: 3 hrs 28 mins
• Distance: 16.41 miles

Distance based training runs

• 1 km: 06 mins 08 secs
• 2 km: 12 mins 16 secs
• 3 km: TBC Week 4
• 4 km: TBC Week 5
• 5 km: TBC Week 6 (hopefully!)

Niggleometer

• Right knee: 4/10
• Left knee: 3/10
• Left foot: 2/10

I’m aware I’ve asked this a million times before, but do you have any tips for running at a sensible pace? I’m still finding running at what I’d describe as a sensible pace I can maintain difficult. Any hints and tips would be gratefully received.

Have you entered the ballot for the Tokyo Marathon? Tokyo has been on my places to visit bucket list for as long as I can remember, so I almost entered the ballot. Luckily I saw sense and reminded myself that I can’t even run 5km at the moment.

As the Couch to 5k training plan doesn’t seem to work well for me, I decided to follow the This Messy Happy Beginner to 5k training plan which is available along with other training plans here.

The This Messy Happy website provided the following information about the training sessions in Week 2:

The This Messy Happy Beginner to 5k training plan is awesome as it includes a variety of strength and conditioning sessions and rest days, something lacking in the Couch to 5k training plan. Links to easy to follow videos are provided for each strength and conditioning session, and the training plan also provides a link to a ‘How to stretch after exercise’ YouTube video.

Monday – 28 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up walk then 2:30 mins walk/1:30 mins run x 5 then 4 mins cool-down walk)

The second week of Beginner to 5k training didn’t get off to the most positive of starts when following a terrible night’s sleep I managed to sleep through my 5am alarm and didn’t wake until 7am. This left me with two options; complete my interval session during my lunch break or after work. Unfortunately work was far too busy for me to squeeze in a lunchtime interval session.

After some serious procrastinating, I headed out on my warm-up walk just before 9pm. It was darker than I was expecting, not helped by the fact the streetlights didn’t come on until it was dark. The combination of the lack of light and uneven pavements did have one unexpected positive, I completed my interval session at a sensible pace. Although the interval session itself felt okay, both of my calf muscles felt incredibly tight, and my trainers felt like they’d lost all their cushioning.

While I was doing my best to not make any eye contact with some of the slightly ‘interesting’ characters I encountered during my cool down walk – happily by this point the streetlights were working – I decided it was time for me to relegate the Mizuno Wave Inspire trainers I’d bought in February to walking trainers. I hoped that wearing a new pair of trainers would alleviate any issues with my calf muscles. I got back home, spent some time stretching and gave my calf muscles a massage with the Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun I’m reviewing. My right knee felt slightly niggly, definitely something for me to keep an eye on.

Tuesday – Strength and Conditioning (Strength)

After a day that seemed to contain so many meetings it didn’t feel like I got much work done, I closed down my work laptop and powered up my personal laptop so that I could complete my strength and conditioning session. I got changed into some gym gear and spent an enjoyable(?) but what turned out to be incredibly sweaty 18 minutes doing my best to follow this  3 x 6 workout. I’m clearly not very fit at the moment as I struggled to make it to the end of the workout.

Once I’d made it to the end of the strength and conditioning workout, I lay on my exercise mat wondering how and why I’d allowed myself to get so embarrassingly unfit. I’d found the 3 x 6 workout so physically demanding, I had some doubts as to whether I’d be able to walk the following morning.

Wednesday – 28 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up walk then 2 mins walk/2 mins run x 5 then 4 mins cool-down walk)

I’ve no idea what happened, but I woke well before my 5:00am alarm. I thought about going back to sleep and completing my training session either during my lunchbreak or after work, then I reminded myself I didn’t enjoy running in the evening on Monday and I needed to go to the Post Office at lunchtime. By this point I was wideawake, so I dragged myself out of bed, got changed into some running gear and spent some time trying to wake myself up.

As my brain didn’t seem capable of making any sort of decisions, I completed my interval session on the same route I’d used on Monday. It was cool and still, perfect conditions for running and the entire session felt far more enjoyable and a lot easier. I wore my new trainers which seemed to make a huge difference as I didn’t have any issues with my knees of calf muscles which surprised a little me after my struggles with the 3 x 6 strength workout I’d completed the previous afternoon. It’s just unfortunate I’m still not very good at taking ‘action’ photos.

Seriously, how do people take such good action photos? How do people take such amazing selfies? Do you have any hints and tips? I’m not sure if the dark conditions mean that I’m destined to end up with rubbish blurry photos. I’m also paranoid I’m so busy trying to take a photo of myself I’ll end up tripping over something I’ve failed to notice. There’s also the danger of being spotted by an early morning dog walker. If that happened, I’d probably have to relocate.

Thursday – Rest

Thursday was a slightly surreal day as looking back, I don’t think I spoke to anyone all day. I didn’t have any meetings, so I was able to spend time working on my CIWEM Chartership application. I made the most of the reappearance of summer and did a lot of washing. My washing machine had a busier day than I did as I made sure I followed the training plan and did very little. I made sure I headed to bed at a sensible time because I wanted to complete my interval session early in the morning rather than after work.

Friday – 30 mins intervals (4 mins warm-up walk then 2 mins walk/2 mins run x 3, 2 mins walk/3 mins run x 2 then 4 mins cool-down walk)

I’m not sure what’s going on, but I once again woke well before my 5am alarm, so I figured I may as well get my training session done earlier than originally planned. I wanted a change of running (and walking) scenery, so I decided to head towards Mere Green. I regretted my decision when it became clear I was running into what felt like an incredibly effective wind tunnel. Please could someone explain how I ended up constantly battling with the wind, even when my route changed direction, it felt like I was running into the wind. At least the rain stayed away.

It was also humid which meant that although I found the interval session quite easy, possibly helped by the fact I managed to avoid having to run up any hills, after 30 minutes I was doing a very good impression of a beetroot.

Fortunately for me, by the time I started work I’d stopped looking red. Following a reasonably productive Friday, I was able to finish work at 3pm. Rather than sitting down doing nothing, I managed to mow the back lawn and tackle my mountain of ironing. Hopefully both of these chores count as forms of cross training. The remainder of my Friday was so mundane I won’t bore you with the details. Not for the first time I was left wondering how I used to have the energy to go out after work on a Friday.

Saturday – Strength and Conditioning (Yoga)

I was rudely woken at 6:15am by my ‘parkrun alarm’ as I was volunteering at Sutton Park parkrun. I enjoyed my four and a bit mile walk to Banners Gate as Sutton Park was so peaceful. I even remembered to take a photo of one of my favourite areas of Sutton Park, Little Bracebridge Pool.

I arrived at Banners Gate, had a quick chat with Phil who was Run Director, helped Rob collect the parkrun bikes from storage, found out where I was marshalling, collected my parkrun vest and lanyard, and waited for Ellen to arrive. I added a few more miles to my August mileage target by walking (and talking!) to my marshalling location with Ellen where we hopefully provided support and encouragement to all the parkrunners. It felt great to be back at Sutton Park parkrun after a week break.

I’m not sure walking what turned out to be over eight miles was sensible, but my knees only twinged a couple of times. I got home and was reminded that yoga isn’t one of my strengths, however, I’ll persevere because I can see the benefits of yoga. The rest of the day was relatively quiet and unfortunately didn’t feature lunch at the Giggling Squid in Mere Green, so I’ll stop talking about Saturday.

Sunday – 4 mins warm-up walk then 1km run then 4 mins cool-down walk

I was woken just before my 5:00am alarm by my stomach making it clear it wasn’t happy. Something I’d eaten had clearly disagreed with my temperamental stomach. I don’t want to go into too many details, but it took a few trips to the toilet before I felt confident to leave the house.

I’ve no idea why, but throughout my warm-up walk I was seriously doubting my ability to run 1km without stopping. My negative mindset wasn’t helped by the weather, it was humid, gloomy, and quite windy, most definitely not my favourite running conditions.

As I reached the end of the warm-up I gave myself a bit of a talking to and started to run at what felt like a sensible pace. The slow pace I set out at didn’t last long, and I found myself increasing my pace throughout the 1km run. I reached the end of the 1km run with tired legs but also feeling like I could have carried on running if I’d needed to. All things considered a positive end to the week.

I walked home, had a drink, stretched, and then headed back to bed for a couple of hours. The rest of my Sunday was productive but incredibly mundane, so I won’t bore people to tears with the details.

So, that’s the second week of the Beginner to 5k training plan successfully completed, just another four weeks to go.

Week three of the Beginner to 5k training plan looks reasonably straightforward. After finding running 1 km without stopping relatively easy, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to run 2 km without stopping on Saturday. My plan is to incorporate this training run into my walk across Sutton Park before I volunteer at parkrun on Saturday morning. Hopefully I’ll be able to find myself a nice flat route or will at least be able to avoid the more challenging Sutton Park hills. I can’t wait to get started on Week three.

Training totals

• Interval runs: 5 (out of 5)
• Time: 2 hrs 56 mins
• Distance: 13.76 miles

Distance based training runs

• 1 km: 06:08
• 2 km: TBC
• 3 km: TBC
• 4 km: TBC
• 5 km: TBC

Niggleometer

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

Did you have a good weekend?

Do you have any hints and tips for taking good ‘action’ selfies?