StewieG

So I havent posted recently. This is due to I gave up. I decided that running was never meant for me.

However I realised I had got to the point that I was running for Strava. I was running for other people. I was exhausting myself just to prove myself to people I dony even know. I felt I had something to prove as I am not as capable as I used to be.

However after taking some time to re-evaluate. I have decided its okay if i dont want to run. Its okay if i want to run twice in a day. More importantly its okay if I dont achieve my targets. I was beating myself up over something that wasnt that important.

I now run because i enjoy it. Thats it. No more targets. No more pushing myself beyond my capabilities.

However on a lighter note I check my Vo2 max and was pleasently suprised! Not bad for someone with end stage renal failure .

So after some great advice, (thanks MedalMadUK), I am back on the running train. Not only am I running again, but my last run I really pushed myself. I only went and got my very first sub 30 5K! I have been chasing this for so long and it finally happened. I am super proud of myself. It was a hard run, I almost burnt out after the 3rd km as i was running much quicker than I usually would have. However menatally I dragged myself through the last 2 km and got that sub 30.

I am enjoying running again. I will complete this challenege. I will hit 500km for the year. Currently on 301km so I have smashed my origonal 300km target. Im so glad i upped it to 500km. This will be a challenge because of the time i took for a rest but I will complete it.

So the past few days i havent ran. This is because I had a new tattoo on my leg sleeve on tuesday. Then i had my lower 2 wisdom teeth extracred yesterday. I am going to see how i am for running on saturday and if i can put in a decent run. Even if it is at a super slow walk/run pace. My leg feels fine now and teeth are suprisingly okay, however the little rascals could be leading me into a false sense of security. I dont want to aggravate the wounds by running. Was given sone great advice on hear and im going to listen. Also i had it under general anastetic so my eyesight is still a little blurry from that, so wouldnt risk running and teipping on something i dont see.

I know i have had a pretty crap month this montg for running. But i feel i can still hit target with a few good runs out. If i dont hit target then so be it. But im going to try. Also i will definitely be hitting my yearly target of 500km. Im currently sitting on 291km for the year. So have nearly hit my initial target. Im very glad i upped it to 500km. It will give me the push i need to run through the winter months. Altgough i love running in the cold much more than yhe warm!

Also hit a new 5K PB on Strava so that was nice!

So this month I have so far hit a new 10K PB of 1:03:33 and also got a Strava crown! So I'm really happy with how this month is going. I want break the 30 minute mark this month for my 5K PB. I'm off work Monday and so I'm going to take the dog and thrash one out, hopefully I will break that mark! If not then I will try again another day but it must be done!

The progress I have made since starting running is phenomenal. I have persuaded the wife to start running and she has now started the C25K app I did. Looking back it's amazing. When I started I could barely run for a minute without feeling like I was going to keel over! Now I can comfortably run a 5K at a slow pace without stopping. The progression has been subtle. But I think the best thing is my mental attitude. I have learnt to mentally push myself. When I am hurting and don't want to run anymore I can mentally push through the pain and the body does respond.

This challenge has really kept me going on days when I didn't want to. Also I got my run the board medal. 🏅🏆I originally wanted to achieve this in 3 months. It took me 2 months and a few days to achieve in the end. So I exceeded my expectations. And I love it! It's huge 😆.

So at the end of June I am on 242km ran! Before I was adding Kms walked in with it. However I have convinced myself that these Kms do not count. I want to have Run the entire 500km. I am 8 Kms behind schedule. This is can cope with. This month I am setting a target for 60km ran. More than I would have in any other month. So I want to end July on around 300-310km.

I have been back out running since my race after taking a few days to recover. It's amazing how much I crave it. I find myself running more now I have bought a treadmill instead of paying for a gym membership. As I will go out to see family and then just run when I come home, where as I wouldn't bother usually. I'm looking forward to going for my next long run after work. Will have to plan it for a day when it's not busy!

I am thinking of booking another race towards the end of the year. As I really enjoyed the first one.

So today marked a milestone in my running journey. My first race. I made the mistake of assisting set up first, which gave my legs a good workout but that necessarily wasn't a good thing. I ran a chip time of 1:08:05 which isn't a PB for me but I was still really happy with this time as I wanted a time of under 1:10:00. So I achieved the result I wanted. Could have done better but that would involve me not setting up next time. I had to fight through the urge to stop running in the final 200m but I managed to cross the line whilst still running so really happy.

After my last post I gave myself a severe talking to. I don't know why I was losing motivation. Maybe the weather had a part to play, plus injury and work. I mean I can sit here all day and make excuses but really the truth of it is if I had of forced myself out I know I would of shook this slump I had fallen into.

Whilst I was in Norfolk I bought a running lead for my dog, as I had never took him with me as he is one strong spaniel! Plus I didn't have a decent lead to take him on just a retractable which I didn't see as appropriate. This morning was the day I decided to take him out with me. I walked for the first couple of minutes as I knew he would be running all over the place and I wanted to get a feel for how it would actually go with him pulling me along.

I can honestly say it was one of the best runs I have ever had. I set out to try and do 10k. I knew this was ambitious as I haven't run for a week and haven't done a 10k since around April. But as I have a race in a couple of weeks I wanted to get a feel for the time and pace I could achieve. I have set out to finish the race in 1:10:00. Today I ran with the dog and actually managed the full 10K! I also managed it in 1:05:49 which I was overjoyed with. Hit my fastest 5K and my fastest 10K ever! I can safely say I am out of this horrible lack of energy mode and looking forward to taking the dog out again with me.

I haven't been posting that many run updates as this month I have been extremely busy with work and now on holiday. However I am still running. This month I have really kicked it up a gear. I have ran as much as I could. I have loved running in Norfolk. As you just get views that you don't in my hometown. As you can see from my screenshot, I am actually nearly hitting 100km for this month!!! I have tomorrow still to add some km and that is what I'm going to do! Also put a dent in my run the board medal 😁

I'm back!

Took it easier this morning and ran at a comfortable pace, I managed to complete the run I set out to do at a reasonable pace. It seems this pace is the way forward for the time being as my ankle held up the whole way. Was a little achy when I got home but seems fine now.

This is the run I am most proud of to date, as I ran 95% of it. I only walked as I had to check on my phone that I was following the route before I got very lost. It was a run that felt good, before, during and after. I loved every second of it. Now I am back in my running shoes properly I will definately be starting the run the board challenge soon. I am going to try and smash it out in 2 months, June and July. However I realise this is a big challenge so if I take the 3 months to complete it. I don't mind.