This is fine

Just went out and did it. No drama. 

the only new and exciting thing was that I tied my hair back in bunches. Not trying to be cute, but I think they suit me better. And I am all about looking my best while wheezing and being red-faced in public.

I listened to a Radio One mix at the beginning but apart from 'Paradise City' I wasn't feeling it so I listened to 'Cautionary Tales' from Radio Four about Ponzi and pyramid schemes. Am I dull?

5.66km (found a new route which adds a little bit on and doesn't have hills) (yay)

7 min per km

quite happy with all that.

I did walk a few steps because my knee was a bit hurty and needed a quick reset but I generally didn't feel out of breath enough to want to stop. This is despite having a bottle of wine yesterday... But I think the 350 calories I've burned this morning might counteract the 3 cookies I had yesterday. And the toastie. And everything else. Not that I'm a bit obsessed with my weight (I've lost 0.2 pounds since September but that was after a rise of 0.2 since August. Not that I'm weighing myself every day and recording it...) Every fraction of a pound seems significant despite having lost 14 over the last few months. Now that I'm used to feeling lighter, the achievement doesn't feel so immense.

Rambling now - this is about running: I did a run and I feel good about it. 

Up on the Downs

Now I have a car again (well, it's not quite mine, but I have custody of it until next June) I drove into work to do a 1/2 shift, leaving me plenty of time to scoot up to the Downs and go for a run. It feels good being back up there: flat, not too much traffic, scenic - what's not to like? I did feel tired which I hope was due to the lack of food (nothing since supper yesterday) rather than being dismally unfit.

I was happy enough - but the whole unfit thing is annoying. I know it doesn't just happen while sitting on the sofa, that it requires effort, but I'm still taking it personally and would rather not have to work at it. But there I am - pushing 60 (9 weeks to go) and I'm running. A bit.

5.44 km (it's quite flat so I go further...) 

6m 42s per km (again - it is quite flat!)

Well done me. 

Well, that went better...

It was a lovely morning - crisp, high pressure - and I'd promised I'd go running. No pressure.

And it was fine. Just the usual stuff of aching legs, a tiny niggle in my right calf (didn't amount to anything, yay) and the knowledge that I'm getting older and this will never get easier.  (Is that true though? I mean, if I train more it will get easier - or at least not harder. And psychologically now I've had a good run I feel more likely to go again soon... So, I take it back) (But not the bit about getting older)

My Sweaty Betty (bum-sculpting and expensive, but I got them off Ebay so not so pricey) leggings have gone a bit loose. I'm putting it down to the elastic perishing as they're quite old - but the other reason is I've lost enough weight to make a difference. A stone. From just over 9 to just over 8 stone. I know it's on my scales, first thing in the morning etc etc, but the objective fact is I've lost a stone and it feels great. I will never have what could be subjectively judged to have a good figure - but I am happier with the way I look now than I have been for a long time. 

And that makes me happy.

As I hurtle towards my 60th birthday I will take the time to appreciate my good fortune in life and make sure I don't fritter it away by putting the weight back on and spending even longer on the sofa watching Suits... 

Today's run

4.94 km (so annoyed I didn't make it to 5km...)

7m 01s per km (not unhappy with that)

Mistake

Well - there is no joy in running with a hangover. I had hoped I could run it off, but there was no way that was going to happen. I had to walk several times and I felt awful.

Lesson learned.

4.80 km

7m 29 per km

Summer running...

No. of runs since seeing a badger: 1 

It was a glorious morning - the first balloons in ages drifted over the garden and I had my kit out ready to jog off into the sun.

Nice.

Apart from the effort and the general pain and out of breathness. But hey ho.

5.02 km

6m 54s per km

I'm definitely getting better and losing 11 lbs has helped enormously - a few more to go and perhaps I will up my pace and distance even more. It doesn't really matter though - getting out there and doing it is what counts. 

I had a pizza with extra chorizo and a whole bar of chocolate last night with the thought that I'd run it off this morning - but I am very well aware of that fallacy. The rule of thumb is that a mile of running burns off 100 calories - I must have had 1500 minimum and didn't run 15 miles. But I feel good this morning, so well done me. 

Badgers

For some reason my last post didn't include the episode with the badger. I was 1/2 way around the Tesco's path when I saw an RSPCA officer. Someone had called them to see a badger. I've never seen a badger before - this one was sadly in the throes of dying, it was fitting and looked very wrong. 

That's badger #1. Today's badger was dead on the pavement outside 133 Bishop Road. At first I thought it was a cat warming its tummy in the sun, but no, it was stone cold dead, on its back, attracting the attention of schoolchildren. I've reported it to the council who have promised it'll be cleared within 2 days. So.

Anyway, I have lost another few pounds, about 11 in total - well done me - and I think it's made running a little bit easier. Not much - I haven't exactly been pounding the pavements so there is little to compare it with, but I didn't stop to walk so I'm pleased about that. 

3.63km

7m 11 sec per km

Short because I didn't want to overdo it (lol) and I stopped for the badger.

So that's all good. 

Imperative

Long time no run. It was time to get back out there and see how I get on. No pressure. And I've been on holiday for 10 days so there was no running and no holding back on the food and wine. 

When does the feeling of 'I need to go for a run' kick in? There are people who go for a quick run whenever they can fit one in, who feel wrong if they don't run, who run to help them relax. Who are these people?

I run because exercise is essential to healthy living, it's free, you can take it with you. 

It's also awful: the pain, the inclement weather, the expense of decent kit (that last one is more of an option...) 

Weight loss - now there is something I'm getting good at. So far, the 5:2 diet has lost me about 1/2 a stone with about 5 lbs still to go. It's not that easy being hungry all the time during the fasting days but there is always the knowledge that the next day you can have what you want (within reason). The difficulty is always in keeping it off - but if I stick with the regime, I can cut back on the fasting days and it will be fine, right? That will be the test.

So I'm on a fasting day today which means I had enough to eat yesterday and so have a little bit more energy for a run than I did last time: shall we see how I did?

4.27km

7m 19s per km

Pretty poor in truth - but I'm ok with that.