Overall things are going well. I had a bit of a setback at the end of this “week” but I’ll tell you more about that at the end of the post. I’m starting to ponder if I really do want to go all the way to 10k, or if I’d rather start looking at improving speed and fitness and all that stuff. I know I’m not ever going to be fast but if I keep on pushing the distance, I’m not going to have a chance to focus on other things. I’m still in two minds on that front.

Week 4, Day 1

Run 8 min/walk 1 min. Repeat x 4.

Found that one really tough.

I don’t know if it was the gap between the last run, the increased distance, or the fact that I’ve been hopping on and off a chair constantly for the past couple of days, but my calves and ankles just weren’t up for the challenge today.

I did complete it, but it wasn’t great.

Week 4, Day 2

Run 8 min/walk 1 min. Repeat x 4.

Where to begin with this? I got halfway through the warm-up when my iPod crashed and refused to come back. So, I had to run without music, which was weird but also quite useful. I also had to keep an eye on the time via the Runkeeper app rather than my normal routine.

All different, and a mixed experience. I felt like it was easier to get into a rhythm without music, which was interesting, but by the third run my feet were protesting again.

When I did Couch to 5K, I was always looking at the time and counting it down and wishing the seconds away. This year, I’ve been trying to ignore the time and go via the audio cues only, which was impossible today, obviously. I was quite impressed with my self-restraint though, and I managed to only check the time occasionally, usually about 5 minutes into each run, so that I knew when to stop and start.

I’m still slow, I’m still useless, but I do think I’m making progress.

Week 4, Day 3… sort of

Run 8 min/walk 1 min. Repeat x 4.

Here is where I am an idiot, and I can see it all clearly now. After I finished the last run, I knew I was on to the last day of week four, so I just moved to the next one to see what week five held in store. You can see where this is going.

Today, I went out and it was really tough. I couldn’t find a rhythm and was pretty tired before I’d even got going. I buckled down and battled through so at least I have that smug feeling of finishing, if not breaking any world records.

It wasn’t until I got the email update from Runkeeper telling me that I had broken some personal records that I was puzzled. How had I managed to run so much further when I felt like I was going slower?

Oh…

After that final run, on Wednesday, I got a very minor leg injury that meant I had to rest for a bit. Today, I was watching the sun go down, basking in the extra hours of daylight, and I just desperately wanted to go out and run. I love that feeling. I knew I had to give it another day, but I’m really starting to feel the goodness in it that I did after a few months of running last year. I’m also glad that we’re getting more daylight now because it helps motivation. I’m still struggling to find a decent running schedule with my ever-changing life schedule but more windows for going out is much better.

Roll on week five.