So two runs this week. Starting to get back into the habit is hard however. I really miss the shape I was in a month ago but I will get there soon!
Did two runs this week, both of them were horrible, the first was a 4 km run at an extremely low pace, 9:15 min/km and today I did another one at 8:40 min/km but that was only a 3 km run. My body really did not want to run today so it was all in my mind really. I had set out to do 4 km today as well but my body refused to do more than 2. So we reached a kind of compromise on 3 km. Not that good really but I think it is going the right way slowly. Next week it will start feel better I’m sure.
My last logged run was september 7 and today is october 7. I set out not knowing what my condition would be like but my usual warmup walking rendered about 15 bpm higher heart beat than I remembered so that was definitely an indication that it was going to get tough.
And it did. I managed to get around 2 laps of my usual track and it took 37 minutes to complete 4 km. However even if the tempo of 9:15/km is just a sliver better than walking real fast, I actually did it. I tried to keep my pulse around 160-165, I have found it gives me the best burn workout I can get. At this heart rater I can keep going for some time without stopping and it gives me a good workout with plenty of sweat.
Today it was difficult to keep that rater even with the really slow running. On the second lap it started to creep up beyond 170 bpm and several parts of the track was done around 170-175 bpm rather than the 160-165 that was my goal.
So definitely I have lost condition. I have also gained weight these four weeks but that is about to come right off again as I start running more regularly so I am not too worried about that right now. And condition comes rather fast, especially when you start low :)
Even though my 7 km run looks distant right now I am sure that in 3-4 weeks time I might be able to repeat it if my health stays okay, that is.
Still nothing but things are getting better. Now the flu is gone and I have only the urticaria to battle. Right know I have a blood filled blister under my left foot but I hope it is gone soon.
No training this week either. Really crappy. Went to the doctors on tuesday and got cortisoned badly, that worked, kept the rash and itch in check pretty well, could get some sleep but then I went back to work on wednesday and that was a bit too soon. The cortisone treatment was for 4 days, so that made tuesday to friday special days indeed but then I was setting out the cortisone and going for the antihistamines and what happens?
By Saturday night I was covered in urticaria all over my head and face, looking like something straight out of a 1950ies creature feature movie. Not a pretty sight. And it hurt — and the itching is hard to describe. Can’t give in to it though, that just make things bleed and scar. I have had a rough night now but I have woke up feeling a little better actually. This might be because the human body produce it’s own cortisone in the morning or … perhaps I am slowly getting better.
I even played with the thought of putting a photograph of my horrible looks on my home page but then decided against it, the world might not be ready for that kind of disfigurement yet.
My better half Jeanette is having the flu and I believe that is what onset it this time for me as well. She’s feverish and coghy and tired and have all the classic symptoms. Even though I probably had a bit of that (last night my throat was a little sore) I think I got off the flu easy. Let’s hope this leads to something good, like immunization to A(H1N1) better known as the bacon plague.
My hands still hut a bit and I still don’t dare that perhaps I will now start to get better because I know when nightfall comes and cortisone in the body is switched to melatonine instead then these kinds of rashes usually gets worse. I go from cold sweats to hot spells regularly still.
And now the time has passed enough that I no longer longingly pass my sneakers in the hallway. I have forgotten the joy of running. I need to nurture the addiction once more and learn how to start slow. Not that I think I have lost everything but I believe there will be a couple of weeks of build-up before I can get back to where I was.
Not good this week either. Got hit by Urticaria, a skin rash and are now on cortisone and antihistamines to get rid of it. Cortisone doses of the level I am getting right now drives my resting pulse up quite a lot and I was told by the doctor to not make too strenous exercise during that time. The cortisone will be just a few more days but after that I will keep on the antihistamines for a while which I am ok to take and run so I will give it a go.
I miss the running, my shoes are calling to me when I pass them by on my way out through the door. Tomorrow I am missing my sixth scheduled run in a row but I am not too worried about it.
This has not been the best week for me. I have gotten som kind of infection and feel terrible so I skipped the long run on saturday. I did the two shorter runs which went well though but I will probably miss some runs next week also as I am not feeling well at all.
The first week on my new schedule went far over what I expected. It is really crazy but I have not felt so good with my running in a long time. There was no pains what so ever this week, and not really that much hardship out in the track either except that interval running which was tough but worked out really well.
So my first run this week was a shorter and slower run to just recover and this went well. I then did the intervals on Wednesday and that was really tough. Cardio and VO2 max training really. I put the intervals far too long to be effective, I will correct that for the next week. Instead of 10 min intervals with 2 min walks I will run 3/2 or 3/1 but based on my pulse rather than on time. I would then be able to run to 90% of maximum pulse and then walk it down to 80% or even 75% and then run it up to 90% again in intervals around the path I usually goes.
But the highlight this week was my fabulous long distance run. I set out slow, very slow, I got the advice to start ”silly slow” and then just very gradually pick up the speed after the first click or so. Which I did, I then kept the pulse around 155-160 and I really had to hold back the first couple of kilometers.
Then I entered the Zone. Seriously. The feet pounding the ground just disappeared around me and all I was aware of was my regular, but not too strained, breathing and I could go on for ever like this. Uphill was not a problem, I just increased the cadence and lowered the speed and downhill I compensated for the loss of time keeping the tempo around 8:45 per km. That’s really slow, about 25% faster than you walk at a good pace of course. But it does not matter by being able to keep this pace for a full hour and not stopping until the 7 km was up I got a really really good workout.
The best really. I feel it in my legs, my foot soles are a little hurting but not that bad. During the running however no pains at all. Nothing, just pure floating over the ground, the full moon above shining down on the forest path that I regularly work out on. Instead of the normal 2 laps I do I did 3 laps and then down to the water line.
Really great. I feel so great it’s difficult to describe it. Just… WOW!
Now that I have managed to graduate from the C25k programme it is time for phase 2. Trying to cement the distance 5 km to make it a comfortable distance and not a maximum performance. Therefore I have designed a 6 week programme of running to make the 5 km run at least once a week.
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I believe it will be great fun to keep doing this although my first day on this running schedule was not great. I had a hard time running pretty early in the workout and it was tough all the way through. Partly because I had not eaten properly today I believe and I had some wine yesterday which always makes the running more of a pain.
I have decided to have my training days mostly on monday, wednesday and saturday, it fits pretty well with my schedule. It also allows me to get two days of rest before the long run that ends every week and the next week starts with a lighter recovery run.
I am going to post a resummée every week how I am doing and if I have been running any new interesting tracks lately.
August 29:So I have graduated from the C25k programme. I am now capable of running 5 km continuously without any walking and resting. Although the pace is not great, I do it in just above 40 minutes I feel very happy about this and now the continuation is to keep doing it three times a week. Tomorrow I celebrate 5 months as a runner!
I will of curse run and alternate between shorter and faster runs and slower and longer runs. For the coming couple of months I believe that there is no reason for me to go beyond the 5 km.
After that I might keep adding to it to go for the full 10 km that I want to be able to do by next summer. I have plans on running the Midnattsloppet (the midnight run) here in Sweden by then.
Thinking back I never really thought I would be here. I still vividly remember the first time I put my trainers on and my running pants and jacket and went out to run 1 minuter, wallk 1 minute and so on for 20 minutes. It was really terrible and now a 2 km run is hardly something to think about and a 5 km run can be done although I admit that I will they feel more like routine than a maximum :)
June 30: Three months celebration today! I have now been running for three months and know I can do 4 km of jogging at a slow pace. It is wonderful considering how I felt when I started on March 30! At that time I ran 1 min walked 2 min and then did that for 20 minutes. I had problems maintaining this and by the end of the first attempt I walked 4-5 minutes after running one minute.
Now I can run for 30 minutes without stopping and generally I could likely push myself more but at a gentle pace of around 7’45″/km I get around my jogging track in the woods. The terrain is hilly and there are a lot of up and downhills. Feels good.
I cut my feet last sunday when I was at the beach swimming. Some idiot had smashed a bottle or something where I went into the water so I got several rather painful and deep cut on my left foot and one even deeper (and more painful) cut on my right foot. So today I was taking it easy.
I set out on my normal routine but decided to quit after my first lap on the 2 km track since I discovered I was not running normally, instead because of the extra pain I was not letting my feet work in the proper position so I realized I was probably doing myself damage if I’d continue that.
But I did 2 km in 16 minutes, that’s a slightly lower tempo than usual but I am happy of getting out at all tonight. I will have to see how it feels on thursday, my feet are okay now, don’t think the feet were damaged further by the running tonight but I think it was wise to get home instead of doing the second lap and downhill finale. It was more painful downhill than anything else.
June 29: No running today, my feet hurts too much from the cuts I received yesterday so I will postpone it until tomorrow and see what happens then.
