PMA all the way!

This morning I managed another PB for running a mile.  That in itself is quite an achievement for me, but how I did it is also an important milestone.  Now I realise i'm going to sound like a motivational speaker from a 1980's business conference when I say this but it really is all about the positive mental attitude!  Yesterday I read an article about the power of positive thinking on running performance and this morning was a perfect day to try it out.  

http://m.runnersworld.com/sports-psychology/train-your-brain-to-run-your-best?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-MindBody-_-TrainYourBrain

When I woke up this morning to  another grey, wet day with a raging headache, the last thing I wanted to do was to get out the door and run.  Why do beds get so much warmer and cosier in that moment after the alarm goes off??  So I got up, got ready and told myself I would just run one mile this morning.  One little mile, that's all, but faster than i've ever run it before! 

I went out into the damp, miserable May morning and started a slightly longer warm up walk, just to make sure I was ready and when I started my run I decided to concentrate, not on the rain or the grey skies or the fact that my head was still pounding, but making my strides a little longer and focused on my breathing. I cleared my head of any negative thoughts and told myself 'you can do this!'. This helped me settle into a nice rhythm where I felt calm and in control of my running. 

I consciously didn't take any notice of what time I was running so that I would concentrate on doing my best and when I looked down at my watch when the mile 'beep' went off I was shocked to see 9:32!  My previous best was 10:15 and that was only a week and a half ago that I actually ran my first mile without stopping! 

I gently jogged all the way home, looking like a strawberry jelly in my bright pink mac and face to match but did I care?? Not in the slightest, was too busy smiling :) 

Standard.

Back to the short runs this morning. suffering with a bit of calf strain at the moment so I remembered to include a warm up walk and a cool down walk at the end (with plenty of stretching when I got home) but still got the running miles in!

Aiming for a minimum of 2 miles running every morning now with the long runs at the weekend, going to try for 4 miles of long run at the weekend but we'll have to see how restrained I can be on Saturday night!!

                                  
                               Got to be a first time for everything :)

Week Six!

Five weeks done! How easy was that?? Not easy at all, but i'm still at it and am still improving!

Yesterday was supposed to be my 5k day but I ate a whole load of rubbish on Saturday, woke up with my insides churning on Sunday morning so didn't go out.  This then sent me into a rage like the incredible hulk over the slightest thing.  Yes, I am turning into an angry person if I don't get my exercise. This is something new to me.  In the past, I would have felt angry at the thought of training but now the whole thing has flipped and that little outburst was a reminder that I can't just slip in and out of my old habits without consequences.

That was yesterday.  Today is another day and i'm feeling rather chuffed with myself! I shaved another 1 min 45 secs off my 5k time, despite not having a clear route in my mind when I set out and forgetting to take a drink with me. Doh!  This resulted in a lot of dehydrated meandering around town, but hey, I survived, and the thought of getting back home for a drink probably made me run faster!

Have been doing a lot more serious research into my training over the past week and am going to incorporate a good 5 minute cool down walk at the end of my run rather than it finishing when I arrive home.  Just had a good stretching session too as I've also recently discovered exactly how important this is to help prevent injury. 

Time for some Monday Motivation......

Warning! Excited dog alert!

I love dogs, I really do, but have only just discovered what a menace they can be to runners. The other week I had the dog poop (more of an owner issue) to dodge, but today I had the dogs themselves.  I was running along in the park, aiming for a new PB for running a mile when from behind some trees ran two little beasties (a Cocker Spaniel and a Scottie - lethal combination!) who thought they would come and say hello.  The next I know they are both running around my feet and I ended up with my legs tied up in a mass of fur and leads!  I said hello to them and gave them both a little pat on the head and got them de-tangled then carried on but that little encounter cost me a whole 25 seconds!! 

Another milestone, well, two more milestones!

It's only 6am but today has, so far, been a good day.  Got up for my normal run, managed to find a nice pace quite quickly so I decided to see how far I could go without feeling overwhelmed to walk.  Soon enough I made it to the end of the first mile, 12 seconds slower than Monday's mile but still feeling good, so I decided to keep going for another half mile, was still feeling fine by the end of that so decided to go for 2 miles and I made it, even though the last half mile was up hill!  I was so happy I strode purposefully home and even managed a little sprint up the hill to my front door :)

The one thing that has surprised me most about this week is how much fitter I am after only 4 weeks of training. Took my resting pulse rate last night while lounging on the sofa and it was only 62 - don't think it's ever been anywhere near that for a long time. My poor heart has been used to galloping along between 80-90 bpm for the past 15 years!  

If anyone reading this is thinking about starting running then I urge you to stop thinking about it and just go for it.  Feeling fit is, probably, the best feeling in the world :)

Another revelation!

Today was a day off from running so I hit the gym instead.  I haven't been to the gym much lately but was pleasantly surprised at how much more I could do compared to the last time I went, which was only 5 days ago!  

I did 30 minutes on the cross trainer and 30 minutes on the bike but found myself reaching for the resistance button on both machines to turn it up!  This was something that I have never even considered before...always been the 'do as little as you can get away with' type but now I'm finding that I am actively seeking out challenges rather than wasting energy trying to escape them, and it feels good.

I can now understand those insane people who get pleasure from exercise as I am proud to say i''m now one of them :)

Week Five.

Overcome by the shock of entering week five and that i'm still getting up stupid early for a run, I managed to run a whole mile, no slowing down for a 'breather' in 10 min 15 sec!! For someone who usually averages around 11.5 - 12 min miles, that was a significant breakthrough!  

So if anyone saw a weeble running through the rec this morning grinning like an idiot and punching the air then that was most likely me!

I didn't do much more than the mile though and slowly trotted the rest of the way home after remembering how I overdid it last weekend by subjecting my jelly legs to just over 5 miles in 24 hrs but doing some cross training in the gym tomorrow then back running again on Thursday morning.  Probably should have a had a rest day today as I have a tendency to forget that I am only a beginner and need to focus on not pushing too hard and getting an early injury!

As it's Monday, here's some weekly inspiration.....