Wednesday 6 June 2012

A little help please

When I started my Grr Argh challenge, I made a commitment to publish a weekly blog post with an update of my progress and...that's not really happened!

My last update was on 21 May 2012 and since then, I've only run twice. Yep, you heard that right, in the last 2 and a 1/2 weeks, I've completed 2 runs so I haven't even completed week 6 yet.

I actually feel okay-ish about this. We had another period of illness here and with the baby waking more in the night, I spent a lot of my evenings in the last couple of weeks either enjoying doing nothing or reading. I also managed to lose my sports bra (and trust me when I say it is impossible to run without it).

I feel a bit guilty that I don't feel guilty about the fact I've been so slack! Maybe it's because the 2 runs that I did went well. Maybe I'm just being a bit kinder to myself. Whatever it may be, it's okay. This is my challenge and  even though it's taking slightly longer than it should do, I'm still working on it. I haven't given up.

I've been keeping a note of my run times, distance and calories burnt using the Runkeeper app and I can see I've been averaging a 14 and a 1/2 minute mile. I'm surprised and pleased by my consistency but if I don't get back on track and put a bit more effort in, I'll find by the end of the plan that I may be able to run for 30 minutes but I won't have reached the 5k in 30 minutes marker that I'm aiming for. And there's a competitive streak in me that says to feel like I've truly succeeded, I need to be able to do this.

Apart from buckling down and getting on with some good old fashioned running, is there anything else I can do to improve my speed and distance? I'd love to hear your tips as well as your stories about how you got yourself back on track after an exercise blip.

I also need to get myself a spare sports bra. I've had a quick google to get an idea of what's out there but if you've got any recommendations, I'd really appreciate them.

4 comments:

Claire said...

No recommendations or tips as I'm not knowledgable enough on those subjects but just wanted to say that it's lovely to see you being kinder to yourself :)

Wag Doll said...

You're doing great missis, you know I like to exercise and am doing a challenge type regime too, but it comes waaaay down my list of priorities, if other things need to come first then so be it.

Keep doing a run when you can, you could also work on some strength conditioning if you can't get out of the house, just doing 20 burpees in your front room while the kids are asleep will help in your fitness.

For sports bras the one I'm wearing in the tyre video is from M&S, looks trendy and really holds the puppies down, I just wear a T-shirt over it at the gym/running.
Not sure if they still stock that style cos I've had it a while, numerous washes and it's still going strong, but I'd buy from M&S again. You're doing great, it's a journey and I love reading your fitness posts :-) x

Katriina said...

You go, girl! You haven't given up and you are still calmly pursuing your goal, and that's what matters. Good for you!!

Anonymous said...

If you want to improve your speed then you need to do some fartlek training. However, personally I think you should just persevere with 30minutes continous (sp!) running and once you have got that in the bag then start working on speed and therefore distance. You are doing great.

Other things you can do to support your goal is, as Wag Doll said, do little workouts in your living room in the evenings you can't get out for a run. It all helps with your stamina. There is a a workout called the 30 day Shred which is just 20minutes and rocks (don't have to do it everyday like it suggests)

As for the sports bra, have you tried using 2 at once?

You are doing great!

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