Running Feat (or Challenge OGP!!)
I dont even like running!! Can I run a 10k, when running doesnt come naturally to me ? Well the challenge is on. Read on to find out…
19th January – A Starting Point
5 times a week, I visit Lichfield Fitness Centre, and allow Luke (the personal trainer) to put me, and the rest of Boot Camp through our paces. Its tough, but its fun – the whole group are all different fitness stages, but we pull together as one in our drive and determination to succeed at Luke’s challenges, and he doesn’t go easy !! In fact I’d venture to say, that since I began Boot Camp in June last year (2013) his daily challenges have increased in intensity.
Boot Camp, is where I first heard excited chatter about the “Lichfield 10k” – PAYING to run, for FUN ???!!! I snorted, when I was asked if I fancied it. No, I laughed !! Hilarious, the thought of me? Running? To give you an insight into me – I have never run, EVER, that is until about 2 weeks ago, when I decided to jog to Boot Camp with one of the other members. But something happened – Luke overheard our discussion, and said he’d “meet us” . . . Cue random “run club” meet!! Anyway, we did it with Luke and under his guidance – this included 5 sprints up and down a very steep hill, about half way round. When we got to Boot Camp half an hour later (its a 10 / 15 minute walk from my home!!) it transpired we had actually jogged just over 5k . . . I could not quite believe what I had done.
Yesterday, I received my usual email containing the Fitness Centre’s classes and times, and Luke listed two 10k runs that were happening locally – one in March and one in September. I thought to myself – you know what, you could do this – (a) its a challenge and (b) its an achievement.
So tonight, I set about establishing my start point, and went for a run with my partner. We loaded up a running app, and set our start point, so we could log distance and time. Then we ran – my partner has been and still is quite ill, but has always been fit, even having completed the London Marathon previously, so I figured if I could keep up with her then I wasn’t doing too bad !! When we returned, thanks to the app, we were told that we had completed 2.5k in just shy of 18 minutes
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This information told me that if I were to do a 10k today, at my current pace, it would take around 72 minutes. Now I know that when I got home, I was sweating, but I wasn’t really out of breath. I was obviously not running to my true potential. So now I have set myself a challenge, from what I have here :
10k in less than 60 minutes by middle of February
10k in less than 45 minutes by middle of March (ie 15th March when the race is on!) – if I can do this, I shall consider it to be a huge achievement, if I can get below 40 minutes, then I will be blown away by myself!!
So here I have two realistic and – I am pretty confident – achievable goals. 6 months ago, I would not have even entertained doing this, or thought that it was even achievable in the 72 minutes let alone less than 45. I was smoking, I was drinking a fair amount, my diet lacked any nutrition at all, and I hadn’t done regular exercise for a fair few years. Here I am though, just over 6 months later, planning how I am going to run my FIRST 10k race, and I’m actually really excited about doing it !! From 0 to 10k in 8 weeks, non runner to runner !!
Thanks to the advice of Gilly and her help with quitting smoking and changing my diet to a healthy and nutritious one – helping me change my life around completely in short (at 46 my Doctor said I was heading for a fatal heart attack in the not too distant future if I didn’t do something) ; and to Luke my personal trainer who has done wonders with my fitness – he really is a motivational guy who knows how to get results ; I am now at a level of fitness, whereby running a 10k is no longer a joke to me, its something I want to do!! THIS is what being an Organic Guinea Pig does for you (eating, thinking, and exercising healthy). I shall be eternally grateful that I met these two wonderful people, especially Gilly – and I am also eternally grateful that she inspired me to create Organic Guinea Pig
Please keep coming back for more updates . . . .
20th January – Day 2
So after last night’s discovery of my “starting point” I thought I would go out again today and do another run, to see if I could beat it !! It was nice and bright and sunny and I think I have a bug – a running bug !!!
I ran the same circuit – 2 laps around “the block” so to speak. Each lap is 2.5km, so therefore in order to do 10km I need to complete 4 laps. Its flat on the whole, but there are a couple of up hill sections.
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Here are my results for today (on the right) – 5km in 32 minutes !!! I am so pleased and proud of myself, from staunch non runner who complained every time Luke made him run, to motivated runner, hungry to complete his first race !! These results show that my sub 60 minute 10km run by mid Feb is not the pipe dream it seemed – these figures would give me 10km in 64 minutes, smashing last night’s 72 minute time . . . I shall do my first 4 lap circuit on 17th February, and hopefully it will be in less than 60 minutes.
Once I was home, I stretched (you always have to stretch after exercise to stop your muscles from shortening) and my breathing etc recovered well. I was suffering on the last half km a little tightening in my calf, but everything else was just fine !! Who would’ve thought it ? Me running !! LOL !! Just shows anyone can do it if we put our minds to it !!
I think that I did so well, because on the second lap, I got into the running more, and into the zone (ie focussed on what I was doing). Still pleased, but I know that super fit Luke can do a 32 minute 10km, thats twice as fast as me, although he is half my age (there has to be some kind of scientific equation there !!) , but its a target to bear in mind, if I keep going like this !!
Run 3 – 22nd January
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Another 5k run today – I’ve been and got myself some decent running shoes, and it was like running on airy springs, so comfortable, and no tightening in the calves, which I’m pleased with.
My time didn’t improve, but my mental approach has I think, and I know I can do this – as for the 45 minute target, I have been told by those who have done a 10k run before, that I am being a little ambitious, and after hearing their times, I had to kind of think to myself “Maybe I have been”, BUT it shall remain as my target and my goal – the average seems to be around 53-58 minutes for a good time, so if I can beat that then I will be happy. Sub 45 minutes though would be a cherry on top.
//runkeeper.com/" target="_blank">Runkeeper to be a great app, easy to use and handy to have – helps keep me motivated during the run, listening for my average time to go down at the 5 minute interval announcement 🙂 I would highly recommend it. Shoes and running jacket are Karrimor RUN Brand – I did not pay THOSE prices, I went to Sports Direct where you get a genuine 80% discount on the silly prices 😛 (Shoes were £25 and jacket was a gift but cost £30)
I’ve also planned that I shall continue the rest of January, running 5km circuits and then up it to 7.5km for the 2 weeks prior to my first attempt at a 10k – target time is BELOW 60 minutes !! Wish me luck
23rd January – The Experiment
No official training run today, but I did do a little Organic Guinea Pig experiment. This morning I had a WAKE UP shot of ginger, chili and lime, and BOY did it wake me up !! At lunch time I decided to have a cone of chips from a chip shop. I devoured them with ease, and my taste buds loved that long lost taste of salt & vinegar !!
For the last 20 days, I have put nothing but good nutritious food in my body – hence I wanted to find out if my body would relish the treat or not. It wasn’t long – about 5 minutes after I had finished eating, that my body said “ENOUGH ALREADY” and wanted to expel the food. I had to rush to the nearest supermarket to use the toilet. For the rest of the afternoon I felt sluggish and tired.
On returning home I decided to run to boot camp at Lichfield Fitness Centre, then do boot camp followed by a run home. Boot camp is 1.5km – by the time I arrived – in 8.5 mins I was sweating and out of breath – the run was hard. In boot camp my performance was seriously under par. The run home felt better but was hard.
If you consistently load you body with nutritious food, it will eventually (in my case after 20 days) get to the point that it REJECTS bad food, almost like it learns what is good for it . . . . A good experiment to do, worthwhile, and proves beyond doubt that low Human Interaction food (ie non processed) is best !!
24th & 25th January
Safe to say as I sit here in the car as we drive back to OGP HQ (I’m not driving) and I’m typing this, I feel tired, I’m low on energy….I’ve got that Sunday afternoon feeling. I’ve not felt this way since about October, I’m always full of energy and bounce. I still have my 10k training to do before I can relax 😉
Putting bad food in your body consistently, will make you low on energy, because of this the effort to do anything does not come easily. You will feel tired and low mentally and emotionally all of the time. By consistently putting positive nutrition in your body and living in a positive environment, your body will get to a point where it recognises good food and situations and automatically issues a positive reaction, anything to the contrary will become alien to it….your healthy lifestyle has then become sustainable.
I did all of this in a controlled way – I knew the effect of what I was doing to my body – it was all through choice, and it was a very interesting experiment.
I am back to my healthy lifestyle tomorrow. Good food, good choices, juices, healthy cooking etc
Off for that run now, let’s see how it goes…
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The Run (Run 4) : I eventually got out for my run at around 6.30pm. Due to all of my excess over the weekend, I really did just want to slob out on the sofa!! The processed food I had consumed over the weekend especially today had left me feeling lack lustre and really quite miserable. So I really had to push myself to go – I was therefore expecting my time for 5km to reflect my poor feelings and lack of energy, so I was thinking it would be around 34-35 minutes. The actual result however, left me feeling upbeat, motivated and confident for the rest of my training. Despite my weekend blowout, my time was a minute faster than ever before at 31 minutes the time for my first lap (2.5km) was actually almost 3 minutes faster than ever before at just under 14 minutes
From this, I guess another conclusion should be drawn !! The odd blowout will ultimately not affect your overall physical health as long as the rest of the time you are eating a healthy diet as well as surrounding yourself with positive environmental factors (less stress, fresh air, proper drinks etc). Do it every weekend, however, and it WILL have a detrimental effect on your physical health and well being – it will also effect your mental health (in terms of self esteem, guilt etc) and ultimately your happiness. So as with most things – in moderation, but not all of the time!! Looking forward to getting back to healthy nutrition and to SMASHING this 5k time tomorrow !!
26th January – Training Run 5
Well today marks the anniversary of my first week running!! I cant believe its been just a week – 5 runs – time flies, it feels like I’ve been doing this my whole life. It also means that this time in 7 weeks I will have run my first 10km race – The Fradley 10k !
) Days on set can be anywhere from a couple of hours to 14 hours, so I went with worst case scenario!!
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Mrs OGP had prepared my juices last night, so that I could continue my healthy eating – she had also prepared me that Natural Juice Junkie “Twisted Firestarter” shot (chili, lime and ginger) for my first drink of the day!! This ensured that I was awake and focused on my journey – imagine if you will a triple strength coffee shot – BOOM 😉 I then had my green juice at about 7am whilst waiting for costume. We were called onto begin filming at around 7.15am – still darkish – and the set was an old prison block – no heating, no toilets that worked and the windows were stuck open . . . it was freezing – 12 hours of this, I thought, EEK. However, the cold did not affect me as it would have in the past, so I was pleasantly surprised. I was also pleasantly surprised, when my role was changed from prisoner to prison officer, and went from a walk past, to a featured role, with lines and ad lib dialogue with the principal actor and main character. Those who follow the show will know who I mean !! The best surprise of all though, was that “wrap” (home time) was called at 1.30pm – AWESOME
So I drove home, drinking my second juice and enjoying it immensely, as it was an orange one – my favourite colour !! As I drove home I planned my afternoon. I got home, walked Beanz, my border collie dog – Beanz does most of the work, I just follow him around throwing his ball so that he gets plenty of exercise !! Boy can that dog run – wonder what his 5k time would be? Maybe he can join me as a training partner 😉 After that, I did some admin work – lots of enquiries for my other business Critterish Allsorts and thought to myself, I’m never going to fit a run in, but I did.
So how did it go ??? After the long day I’ve had with the early start, I did not expect much, so my next pleasant surprise was that I SMASHED my previous best time and ran the 5k in 27 minutes and 41 seconds – translated to 10k it would be around 56 minutes – so sub 60 minutes. My goal for this week now is to maintain and consolidate that time, before I move to 7.5k runs on 2nd February !!! Stay posted on my progress – who knows the time may improve, but if it remains constant at under 30 minutes, then I will be a happy boy, and despit the early start and assumed tiredness, I am still wide awake !!
OK – I’m off to boot camp now at Lichfield Fitness Centre.
27th January – Run 6
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Meet Beanz – Beanz is a sheep dog, a border collie, a runner, a rounder upper. I asked yesterday what time he might get, so I thought today that I would kill two birds with one stone, and decided to put him through his paces . . . .I must be baaaaaaa-rmy (sheep dog – d’you see what I did there ??)
) He is a superstar, although not so much so today.
The time was pretty pleasing, even though it was slower than yesterdays. Why was it pleasing if it was slower ? I hear you ask. Well, let me explain . . . .
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I had Beanz attached to a belt and on my right side so that he was away from the road and could run free, and it also meant that I could run properly, using my arms. As I’ve already said, Beanz can RUN !! He was enjoying it, but he wanted faster !! Beanz is also (as previously mentioned) a dog, a boy dog, and what do boy dogs do every 5 minutes when on a walk ? They stop for a sniff and a pee !! I’d forgotten about that, but you can rest assured Beanz hadn’t……after the first few jolts backward, I began to watch for his body language and give a little tug on his lead to distract his attention, and being a clever dog he got the message that today was not a day for stopping to pee on a walk. So he got into the running – he was running ahead of me and his lead was stretched tight tugging my belt. About 2 thirds of the way around the first lap (2.5k) I started to feel a twinge in the back of my right ankle and calf, almost like cramp, but I soldiered through – as Luke always tells us “no pain no gain” & “dig in and work through it”, so I did. My time was good for the first lap – around 13 minutes – so I was heading for a little faster than yesterday. As I began the second lap though, the pain started to get worse.
( yep, first time in 6 runs that I have had to stop – nothing to do with catching my breath or recovering though, but because my calf seemed to try and seize up. So I stopped and stretched it up against a wall, and then had to walk for what seemed like forever (in reality just a minute or two) before I felt comfortable to continue jogging – well I still had to get home. So we jogged, a little more slowly this time though. I got to wondering how come this had happened, when it had been ok previously. Realisation hit me, that the strain of Beanz leading me from my right hip had some how translated to my right leg and foot working to compensate for this and hold him back. So I gathered the lead around my hand and kept him by my side that way, and my leg and ankle were much better for the rest of the run, as I was not making that constant adjustment or having the extra pressure from being dragged along by Beanz. Had I not stopped for that couple of minutes I could have easily been in the mid 27 minutes for my 5k!! This is why it was a pleasing time, because even though I stopped for a bit and pretty much limped home, I still did it in under 30 minutes 🙂
In answer to my question – Beanz’ time would be a lot lot faster than mine – I can imagine his 5k time being sub 20 minutes, as for him being a good training partner . . . . good for him and I did like the fact that in trying to keep up with him I ran quicker, but in terms of my leg pain, I’ll leave Beanz at home in future and train on my own or with my lady love !!
No training tomorrow, as I am going to spend the day with my lady at Centre Parcs. She is there on holiday with friends. I say no training but we will be swimming and walking, so at least there will be some moderate exercise and swimming is great all over body training.
29th January – No Run
Just a quick post today. I went to Centre Parcs yesterday for the day and we had the most amazing and relaxing afternoon in the spa followed by a good long swim before dinner ~ if you haven’t been and get the chance to go then it is well worth it! Prices are cheaper in the week and out of school holidays, although I would have said that the local authorities will have a field day given the amount of young school age children around!!
I did plenty of swimming and saunas, but no running. Today I have done no running either because of my ankle injury….I’ve been told it’s tension in my Achilles Tendon and to rest it for a few days, my job however seems to prohibit rest, so I am trying to do things slowly and deliberately and be mindful of how much work my foot is doing. Hoping it will have improved a little tomorrow and I can do a run. Fingers crossed
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1st February – Run 7
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My first run after suffering an injury to my ankle on Tuesday, after running with my dog !! And I did pretty well. I called it a guided run, as I went with the fitness instructor and personal trainer from Lichfield Fitness Centre, straight after boot camp. I figured it was a good idea, as he would be able to give me tips and advice that would lead to my ankle being under less pressure than if I were doing it myself.
I really wasn’t in the zone for boot camp – my mind was elsewhere, and I figured I may struggle with my run. Strangely enough, however, I got straight back into my stride and found the run refreshing and revitalising. I had a little pain for about the first 800 metres, but I kept on going, as I guessed that I may run it out (loosen up the area around the injury) and in doing so be able to continue – I had already warned Luke that if it got too much I would be stopping and turning around. Anyway after 800 metres, my ankle began to get easier and easier and once I eased myself back into it, I was back in the zone and the ankle pain was simply a minor niggle that didn’t really bother me.
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3rd February – Run 8
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Anyway, as with Sunday, my ankle was a little tedious for the first few hundred yards – I had told myself that I would take it easy, and I really didn’t feel like I was pushing myself too hard. I wanted my ankle to be okay, so that I could complete the planned and desired 7.5k training run, which will help to build my endurance so that on the 17th February (thats just 2 weeks away) I can complete a 10k practice run. Once I have done that, then I will make a decision on where I go from there training wise – do I continue running 10k, or do I go back down to 5k . . . maybe I need to speak to Luke on that one.
The three laps of my 2.5k circuit went surprisingly well. Once my ankle settled into the rhythm, it was nothing more than a very painless ache. Just goes to show – in those first few hundred metres, I could have easily said to myself “Nope, the ankle hurts too much” but then it eased itself in. The body is an amazingly adaptable tool. I guess with me, its the focus, determination and the desire to really show myself I can do this after literally DECADES of telling myself I cant – I have already proved a lot to myself. As Luke will tell you though, when I am determined to do something, I get into a zone and focus and nothing gets me out of it – such as when I do a 3 minute plus plank. If you don’t have that focus and determination then it is easy to give up – perseverance helps too. One thing I did miss today was hydration – I did not take any water with me, which is a bad thing, especially when doing that sort of distance. Not to self – remember to hydrate, its as important as remembering to breathe !!
I started this journey just 15 days ago on 19th January, and it feels like I’ve been running forever – I’ve only done EIGHT runs, but it just feels so right, like now was the perfect time to start. I really do enjoy it, and boy is it great for clearing the head. What did I do today ? I did 7.7km in 42 minutes an average of 5 minutes 29 seconds per km – my fastest km was #3 in 5 minutes 16 seconds and the slowest was the last km in 5 minutes 42 seconds (still pretty good given where I started which was 7 minutes per km average!!)
Anyone can do this, if they just believe in themselves ~ Believe you are awesome, because truly YOU ARE !!!
Just as an after thought – this was the status I used on Facebook to share this blog post, and thought it may ring true with a few people. Its a brief history of my story and how I became Organic Guinea Pig :
” 15 days ago, I began training for my first 10k race in Fradley. When I began I averaged 7 minutes per km – today I averaged 5 minutes 29 seconds. 15 months ago, I would have laughed at the idea of running a 10k . . . I had suffered 2 heart attacks, continued to suffer my symptoms of Parkinsons, smoked moderately (15-20 a day), ate a bad diet, drank too much coffee, drank too much wine. I worked out at home for 20 minutes 2 or 3 times a week, but wasn’t particularly fit. . . that was the old me. In June 2014 I decided to change my lifestyle, after the doctor told me I was on the verge of a fatal heart attack – I am now healthier, happier and fitter than I have EVER been in my (nearly) 47 years on this planet, I have seriously never felt so good, and it is all thanks to the inspiration of Gilly and her radical food ideas, and my lady love who helped me understand what Gilly had been teaching me, so that I could see clearly and then helped me to maintain it for the last 5 months. With OGP Lifestyle Meetings, and with my book, we are hoping to pass on to you what we have learned collectively, so that you too can change you lifestyle and become healthier, fitter and happier – the way to a better you. ”
We want to help people to make the transformation that I have made to my health, and to experience the journey to health and happiness that I have experienced – not alone though, but supported every step of the way. I have been through it, and therefore am able to help others through it too, not just in terms of health but also in terms of loss and personal attrition – I have lost friends, lovers, a family (wife and kids), been on the brink of suicide a few times, but I have always bounced back to be a better me. I want others to be able to do the same, and if I can help just one person, save just one life through lifestyle change and mind change, then my time on this planet will have been worth while. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch – even if you do not decide to purchase our services, we are still here to talk and advise, because we care enough to want everyone to get our message and apply it to their own situations.
5th February ~ Run 9
With the end of today’s run, I have just realised, that I have run a total of 47.5km – I’m pretty pleased with that statistic !!
Yesterday was an exercise free day – I had planned to run to Lichfield Fitness Centre, complete boot camp and spin and then run home. However a phone call from the 5 News team at 11.30am changed the whole day for me !! My other business Critterish Allsorts, is known around the world as a pioneering business in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy, and I was asked to go and be their expert for a segment at the end of the show about a poorly young girl who had been healed by the relationship with her horse. (just in case you think its a windup, here is the segment from the 5 News YouTube channel)
So I jumped on a train and headed down to London (right by The Tower of London). A car waiting at the train station whisked me to the studio, where we were treated like celebs. I did my bit, took some photos and headed on back to Lichfield, returning home at about 10pm – it was a pretty full on, but immensely exciting day.
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So I took my run this evening, doing the usual (now) 7.5km. My time was a little slower than normal, on account of doing lap 1 (the first 2.5k) with my partner – she is not very well (something we are attempting to fix the OGP way as modern medicine has no solution to it), and in the late recovery stages from pretty drastic major surgery – a constant inspiration to me given her condition and an amazing woman. She still insists on training for the 10k with me and is indeed entered into it. Today, she did her first 5k in 35 minutes which is an awesome feat, all things considered. I ran the first 2.5k with her, and then she insisted that I continue on ahead. Hence my first lap was slower.
) Anyway here are my times :
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6th-8th February – Run 10
Wow – a bit of catching up to do. What with the fallout from my 5 News appearance (who would have thought that a 3 minute piece of exposure could create such a wonderful storm of interest in what you do for a living), and the fact that I am trying to write a book that gives you the OGP system in a step by step guide to becoming happier, healthier and fitter, I have had trouble keeping up with myself !!!
Well on the 6th (Friday) I did my usual evening “boxing circuits” bootcamp. Luke now has a tractor tire for us to tumble over and over, in order for us to work our legs!! I ran there and ran back – its a total of around 3km, which I ran in around 16 minutes. This would give me 10k in around 50 minutes. It doesn’t work like this I know, as you speed up towards the end and slow down towards the middle, but it is a great way to set myself targets.
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Again I have included my split times – my first lap (2.5k) was a training lap with my partner and therefore a little slower. I still managed to catch up a little on the next 5k to do a reasonable time of a little under 45 minutes for 7.5km. It got me a better average per km time than my last training run, but a longer overall time – puzzling, but stats are stats. Had I done all kms at the pace of my last 5k, then I would have managed somewhere around the 42 minute mark. So thats promising, with a few more runs, for a sub 55 minute 10k on 17th February when I do my first 10k training run !!
Sunday (8th Feb), I did an early bootcamp – it was tough, just over an hour. It was also held outdoors on a cold and frosty field. There was a lot of cardiovascular work involved, plenty of running especially using resistance equipment – namely bands and parachutes !! Needless to say I did not want to do it at the start, but came out of it feeling alive and accomplished. I decided afterwards, to spend the day with my lady, wherein we took the dog for a nice long walk in the fresh air and sunshine, and then spent the afternoon doing his and hers tasks – me continuing the OGP book, and her planning her yoga lesson, which she will be giving at Lichfield Fitness Centre on 10th Feb
On Monday, I have a presentation to give to a psychology class in a high school in Virginia USA in the evening and and OGP Lifestyle meeting at lunch time. I am therefore not sure if I will have time for a run, but I will definitely try to fit one in at some point, as I will not be able to make boot camp. On Tuesday, although I have to attend a Speed Awareness Course (oopsie), I plan on having a run whilst my lady teaches her yoga class.
9th February – Run 11 – Another Record Smashed
I managed to fit in a run, late in the afternoon, I didn’t think I was going to make it, but I did. Spent the morning sorting animals, and then it was off to Lichfield Fitness Centre, to hold an OGP Lifestyle meeting – we are holding them in the daytime too now, to allow parents (especially single parents) to attend without the worry of having to find child care. That went well, and then it was back home to take Beanz for a walk. Once he was walked I had 16 snakes to feed and a few emails to answer, and then it was time – I had about 90 minutes until I went live via Google Hangouts to a classroom, in a high school in Virginia, USA to talk to a psychology class of seniors about animal assisted therapy (my area of my expertise).
So off I went. Todays run was a pure training run for me, as my partner was testing out her plan for a Yoga Class tomorrow. So I set out as I meant t0 go on – at a fast paced. My initial kilometer, came in at 4 minutes and 52 seconds – this was a little too quick a pace, and as I got into a rhythm, I noticed my average time came down. When my RunKeeper app announced the 10 minute split, I noticed my average time was down to 5 minutes and 15 seconds (ish), but then I obviously found my rhythm. Pretty much every km after that was around the 5 minute 20 second time, so I did 7.5k, in less than 40 minutes, smashing my previous record by 3 minutes!!! If I can maintain this pace for 10k, then I will be looking at around 53 minutes for 10k.
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Time will tell and I will do my first 10k test run on 17th February – I have been told though that when you are in the moment of the actual race, your speed increases as you are more motivated by the atmosphere etc. I guess we will find that out on 15th March.
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10th February – Run 12 – No Record Smashed !
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(a) I maintained the same average time per km (within a few seconds) all of them being 5 minutes 30 seconds or below – if I can maintain that kind of average in my 10k, then I will hit 55 minutes
(b) And my last half a km was almost a minute faster than any of my others – I seriously put some effort in to finish my run !!
Anyway, my average per km over the 7.5k yesterday were about 10 seconds a km faster, which left me 36 seconds slower over the overall distance today, compared to yesterday. Not brilliant, and I’m disappointed (about 36 seconds ? Really ?? I guess I must have started thinking like an athlete !! LOL) Just as a pointer – I am not competitive at all, or at least not against other people, but I see myself as my BIGGEST COMPETITOR, and so I strive to be better at everything today than I was yesterday !!
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12th February – Run 13
Well I did a run today, and the time was pretty much exactly what I did yesterday. The were however some issues, as RunKeeper had a BLIP . . . .With RunKeeper you get a “call out” every 5 minutes. A nice lady tells you how long you have been running for, and then how far you have run and your average per km. Well at 5 minutes, I got the call out, but my average pace per km was 10 minutes something. I thought “WHA……????!!!!!!”
P I kept on running as she talked, and once the phone was down, I realised that I had missed my 10 minute call out. Ans so I waited for my 15 minute, and I waited . . . and waited .. . . and waited, but it never came. RunKeeper was now giving me the silent treatment.
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13th, 14th & 15th February – Run 14
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14th February, was Valentines Day, and so we had the day off. We had juice on the morning, before we went out (pictured left) – it contained pomegranate juice amongst other things, which is great for the blood, the heart and circulation. We had a great day in Stratford Upon Avon, where we did a lot of walking – around 5-6miles – and didn’t really stop moving. We did have some fudge between us, and the obvious Valentines treats of chocolates and an M&S Valentines Meal for 2 !! But that was yesterday. . . .
Today (15th) I had to do a birthday experience with my animals and Critterish Allsorts, so first things first – animals cleaned, fed and exercised. Then I had a little job to do on my car, which was done quite quickly, and then off to the birthday. Once that was done, I had to pick my partner up from her friends, and then come home and make sure the animals were happily back in their enclosures. THEN it was time to run !!
Today, I decided, it was time for a little variation. So I changed my route. The new route involved just “one lap” rather than 3, and ended up being 7.8km. I didn’t measure it out before hand, I just ran the route and figured if it wasn’t at least 7.5km I would run the extra afterwards, therefore I was quite pleased to arrive home at the end of the lap having done nearly 8km. This new route, is not as flat as the usual 3 lap route, in fact it has some quite serious hills in it, as well as a very long (2km) final straight !! I also have a new app that measures my heart rate, whenever I place my finger tip on my camera lens. When I was at rest it was 53bpm, when I had just stopped running it was up at 142bpm!!
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17th February – Run 15 – Better Than Anticipated
So today was the day . . . the day I had put in my diary as my first attempt at a 10k run. How did I do ?
So up until now, the blog had been leading to this point in time – training commenced with a 2.5k run to see where I was, and this then increased to a 5k run, which I maintained for 2 weeks. I then upped the distance to 7.5k for a further 2 weeks, and then today increased it to the full 10k distance. I have been running pretty much every other day since my first run in order to get myself and my body ready for the Fradley 10k Run on March 1 5th (which is now less than 4 weeks away). Bear in mind that I have NEVER done any running in my entire life and I am 47 in a few weeks – exercise, yes, running, no – even avoiding the treadmills at the gym, preferring instead to use bikes, steppers and rowing machines to get my cardio vascular system working.
OK, so today I did my first 10k EVER. How was it ? Well with my ankle being the way it is since I ran with Beanz attached to me (bad bad idea) – and yes its still pains me – I was a little apprehensive. I set off on my new route (which is nearly 8km) and in addition was then going to do a lap of my old 2.5k route to finish off the 10k. My ankle was a little painful to start, although Luke has shown me an Achilles stretch which is helping to ease it somewhat (I use it before I run), but then as I got into the rhythm it eased to a dull ache, coming back a little more painful as I started on my final 2k.
My first 5 minute call outs from RunKeeper, put my average per km at around 5 minutes 5 seconds per km, which I was absolutely chuffed with. Then as I went on and settled in, that came down to 5 minutes 15 seconds, until eventually for the last 10-15 minutes I was running a 5 minutes 30 seconds per km. It seems I really started to slow after 6k – this is where I come on to a long flat straight that I am not keen on. 5.5 minutes per km = 10k in 55 minutes, and THAT is what I did – 10km in 55 minutes and 4 seconds!!
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I was aiming to get somewhere between 55 and 60 minutes for my first attempt, and said I would be really pleased with 55 minutes !! So I’m chuffed, I really am, considering 4 weeks ago that I had NEVER put foot to tarmac in an attempt to run – whether training for something or for exercise or health benefits. A time of 55 minutes, I am told by seasoned 10k runners, is a really good time for an amateur – I have got to this stage in just 4 weeks !! My newfound lifestyle (thanks to the OGP system) has helped prepare my body so that it was capable of this and then my mind and attitude have driven me to keep on going and achieve what I have done today . . . its pretty awesome what your body and mind are capable of, when you gain back control of your life. I feel incredible !!!
) I will be starting a new blog detailing my progress over the next 4 weeks and the race !!
