Week 6 Free Run

A nice short one this.
As i'm going away for a weeks break to Spain i decided it wasnt worth starting a new weeks regime so went for another unscheduled 2 mile attempt.
The evenings are getting dark extremely early now (and a little colder) so i actually started the run in total darkness. Seeing as i run around an airfield thats a bit of a problem as there are no lights along the roadway. Looks like time to invest in a reflective jacket and small torch!
The one benefit with the dark is i cannot see my watch until i finish so i'm relying totally on my body to regulate my speed.
The usual 5 min warmup and away we go. As i've run this course quote often i know roughly where the marks for 1/2 and 1 mile are and they both seemed to pass reasonably quickly. My breathing felt good, and legs still strong. By 1 3/4 miles i was on a straight road back to the car and decided to inject a little more pace into the last stretch. The last 1/4 felt really good and i ended the 2 miles feeling remarkably well. My recovery times are definately improving as well.
I'm just wondering what a weeks holiday with increased alcohol and food consumption will mean when i start again.

Week 6 Free Run

Due to a hectic work schedule and other commitments its 6 days since I last ran. In that time I've also had a couple of off days with my diet (I forgot how good Galaxy milk chocolate was) so wasn't looking forward to it.
If I stuck to my schedule I would be starting week 7 by now, but with a weeks holiday due in a few days I decided to drop in another attempt at the 2 mile mark I just missed last time.
Work as usual was busy and I didn't have the time to keep properly hydrated and it had been several hours since I ate by the time I planned to start running. Things were far from perfect.
I remembered to park the car an extra couple of hundred meters further away as an incentive to complete the run.
It was just starting to get dark and the wind was getting up as I covered the 5 minute warmup walk. To try and accurately gauge the distance I took along a small GPS unit, this one wouldn't lie about how far I made it!
I decided on my usual tactic of breaking down the run into small chunks, using visible landmarks like houses and bridges as targets. Each one came and went and as before tried not to look at my watch (or the GPS) but just to continue to see how far I got.
The last few hundred meters seemed a real slog as I could see my waiting car and was extremely glad when I eventually made it. Despite feeling pretty knackered I'm pleased to say again i had no real aches or pains.
Oh, and the important bit, the distance. GPS said 1.99 miles in 21.50, that's 20 meters short of 2 miles so I think its fair to take that as completed.

Week 6 Sessions 2 & 3

I was still deliberating over the best course of action as i hadnt completed the scheduled 20 mins/2 miles on my previous outings. Therefore i paid a visit to a local specialist running shop for some advice.
I showed them my workout regime and invited comments. Both people in the shop suggested i stick with 15 minute jogs for a week before moving on as its usual not to increase distance or time by more than 10% in any one session. Going from 8mins to 12 then 16 seems to have overstepped that little rule somewhat.
Armed with my new advice i just aimed for the 15mins time and quite simply didnt feel any particular pressure. Again the run felt good and this time had no real aches or pains throughout.
I was actaully surprised to complete 1.5 miles in the time. Thats roughly a 10 min mile, much better than i've been doing of late.
The second session 2 days later had a similar feel to it with the start of the run nice and easy. I again intended just to do the 15 min session, but felt so good decided just to continue to see how far i could go. The 5 min warmup walk shortens my route by about 0.2 miles, and this was the only part i didnt run! That made 1.75 miles in 18 minutes, (still around a 10.00 mile) and i'm sure if my car was that extra .25 away i would have made it.
Based on the last 2 runs i'm now going to go back to the planned sessions. Time to park the car that little bit further away i think! The last bit of good news was i hit the 224lb (16 Stone)milestone this morning. Thats 28lbs lost in just under 8 weeks.
Tandem skydive here i come!!!

Week 6 Session 1

Its been a bit difficult deciding what's best to do next? Follow the session regime although I never completed the last run or re-do the same week again.
Decided on a compromise and have another go at the 2 miles/20 mins and make a decision after that. Starting from my usual spot ( and taking advice from a running friend) I just did a few stretches rather than the 5 min warmup walk. (I'm willing to try anything once) To shake things up a bit I planned to run a straight mile then turn around and come back the opposite way therefore guaranteeing 2 miles if I made it.
I was lucky with the weather, no wind and not to warm so things were a bit more in my favour.
My pace as always was slow but the first 3/4 mile felt pretty good. Got to the mile at about 11.30 and turned back. More or less straight away my right calf muscle started to tightened up considerably and it made running extremely uncomfortable. Continued anyway and got to 16.20 before I had to walk and stretch it out a bit. (I must admit to being fairly knackered as well) After a couple of minutes I felt happy enough to start jogging again and basically ran the rest of the way to the 2 miles finishing in 23.20.
Looking back, in 2 sessions I've doubled the amount of time I have run which I'm extremely happy about, but I've decided to repeat last weeks sessions this week to hopefully hit the 20 mins/2 miles before I move on.

Week 5 Session 3

This is one i had definately not been looking forward to. The longest i had run previously had been one off miles when i first started jogging, now with the structured regime i am following it was only 8 minutes. Todays session called for 20 min's or 2 miles with no walking!
To make matters worse it has been 5 days since my last run and i have just returned from a 3 day golf (63 holes) and drinking weekend with friends (completed with curry and 4 hrs sleep on both nights) Definately not the best way to train.
Turning up at my usual parking spot i found a group of caravans grouped up and decided to park further up the road thereby reducing my run by about 1/4 mile.
Starting slowly as usual, everything seemed to ache and i doubted i would even make the 8 min mark. Instead i got my head down and decided to set some goals to reach. First was a roundabout, then a white fronted house. Next was the railway bridge, i passed them all by.
The last stretch is a about 1/2 mile dead straight along side the airport. By this time i was starting to hurt but pushed on anyway. Basically, i made it back to my car, just!
I had actually run for 13 mins without stopping, 5 mins greater than my longest previous stint. Distance was just over 1 1/2 miles. Missed the target distance and the time, but still went longer than anything previously.
All things considered things went pretty well.