I ran today!
First run of 2017, finally off the mark!
I have continued with all the other exercise stuff, however as often happens in winter, I stopped running for over two months in the end. A combination of being very busy, weather, and not wanting to go running in the dark. I could have found time for it if I really wanted to, I know that, however if something has to give on the exercise front, for me these days it is running that I ditch in place of a gym session!
The good thing is that because I am doing so much other exercise, when I do go running now even after a long break, it still feels ok. In fact today, it felt really good! I set off with the intention of running an out-and-back two miles around GPK, because it is quiet, has streetlights and is flat, making it a nice easy re-introduction. I also deliberately held back the pace, despite the best efforts of my legs to keep speeding up! I ran at a speed that was comfortable for my lungs so that I never felt like it was a struggle. As soon as my garmin beeped at a mile, I turned around to jog back feeling strong and fighting the urge to just keep going and make it a 5k, as I know that doing too much too soon is usually counter-productive. When I got back to the office, Pete wasn't there yet (we were car-sharing so I was waiting for him to arrive to pick me up) so I continued a little trail around the car park (up a ramp, round in circles, down a ramp, dodging colleagues on their way home, round in an even bigger circle, etc. etc!) until I finally decided enough was enough and stopped - final distance 2.67 miles.
Really pleased with that! Even happier when I looked at the pace and it was an average of 10.09 minutes per mile. Not bad at all for an easy comfortable run! In fact a year ago, that sort of pace would have been me going full pelt!
The plan now is to run once a week, slowly increasing the distance to get ready for my first 10k of the year, which will be the same as last year - the Royal Berks 10k in May. I'd also like to find a few more races to enter over the summer to keep the momentum up.
Anyone reading this racing 5k or 10k, and want to send me some recommendations?!
Friday 27 January 2017
Wednesday 4 January 2017
2016 - A year in review
What a year 2016 was! And I don't mean that in the same way as most people I guess - I am hearing so much about how 2016 was an awful year and how everyone is glad to see the back of it.
True, politically, it has been a year of shocks, but let's not go into that. And yes, a lot of much loved celebrities have shuffled off this mortal coil (maybe on to better things, who's to say!), however when I look back on 2016, I look back on a pretty good year. There may have been celebrity deaths, but I did not attend a funeral. My Grandad is still going strong at 93, and has shaken off a lymphoma diagnosis with relative aplomb. My Dad was diagnosed with type two diabetes, and rather than start taking more pills, chose a complete change in diet which has not only led to him losing around 2 stone in weight, but also reversing the diagnosis completely (I'm very proud of you Dad, in case you are reading this!). I gained a beautiful new niece in Evie, and a new sister-in-law in Sally, and my brother got to marry the woman of his dreams. My brother also ran his first marathon at VMLM, and raised a load of money for the NSPCC in the process (very proud of you too Greg, if you're reading!) Pete and I had some awesome holidays, with Vietnam being a highlight, however Brecon and Cornwall also served us very well!
For me personally, the year didn't get off to a great start. I was taking anxiety medication as a result of work-related stress, which had led to me actually being signed off work towards the end of 2015. I'm not a massive fan of taking tablets, but they really did help to get me through a stressful period and out the other side. However I didn't want to find myself in the situation where whenever things got tough, I ended up on medication. I needed to find some other way of coping.
Luckily for me, Pete had signed us both up to a new David Lloyd gym that opened in Newbury in December 2015. We went a couple of times in December and I found that I quite enjoyed it - especially after I was introduced to Racket Ball, which is like squash but with a bouncier ball. It was nice to go there with Pete and have a little go on a bike or cross trainer, and a little hit about on the squash courts. I remembered how much fun exercise can be, and how it is great at taking your mind off things. In January we both went for a review with the fitness instructors there, and both ended up signing up for personal training, starting in February. I had also started running again. Short little runs with a colleague around Green Park, with the aim of running the Royal Berkshire 10k in May, and hoping to better my time from the previous year. That combined with the gym sessions with Pete was really helping me to feel better. Then Pete had to go away for work, and I hit a crossroads - I didn't have someone to go to the gym with for a couple of weeks, personal training hadn't started yet and I didn't want to lose my motivation and stop going. So I signed up to a couple of gym classes. This is a new thing for me, as besides Pilates I have never done proper gym classes before, so to say I was nervous about it was an understatement! I thought people would look at me and judge me, because I wouldn't know what I was doing, and they would all be fitter than me etc. etc. I couldn't have been more wrong, and I wish I had known sooner what an uplifting experience it can be to go to gym classes. It isn't an understatement to say that starting those classes has completely changed me! It took a little while to find the right classes for me (the first class I tried was a 30 minute Grit Cardio class, and even now I haven't braved going back to one of those as I honestly thought I was going to pass out and be sick, possibly even die!!), however once I found the right balance and got into a routine, there was no stopping me! I started with two Body Balance classes a week, along with a Body Attack class early on Saturday mornings. Then the personal training started too, and I was also still doing Pilates at a different studio, and regularly running. So I went from being someone who had said to Pete it wasn't worth getting a gym membership and not to sign me up, to someone who was exercising most days of the week! I was also able to stop the medication (all medication, as I had been on blood pressure medication too) as I no longer needed it.
I cannot emphasise enough what an impact it can have on your life to find some form of exercise that you enjoy. And whatever you choose, don't always do it alone. I have been regularly running for years now, however most of the time on my own as I prefer to run alone. But what I learned from the gym classes is that any form of exercise is more fun when you combine it with a bit of socialising and interacting with other people! The Attack class I do on a Saturday morning is one of my favourite parts of the week (it must be for me to get up earlier than I do for work to go to it!!) as it tends to be the same people attending, and we all get there a little early and have a bit of a catch-up before the class starts. Since I have been going to the gym so regularly, it is very rare for me to turn up to a class or PT session and not bump into someone I know and have a little chat. I have built up to doing seven classes each week (2xBalance classes, 3xPump, Attack and Spin) alongside PT and a little bit of running. I sometimes drop one of the Pump sessions or Spin if I am in need of a break but that is the general routine. I seem to have done my usual winter trick of dropping the running, having not been for a few weeks now, however I will start up again now everything is getting back to normal after the holidays!
Speaking of running (which I guess I should really, as that is what this blog was originally about!!) 2016 was probably the best running year I have had. Obviously running London was an amazing experience, but this year has been different. I have been much more consistent with my training, and I have enjoyed it a whole lot more. I have kept the distance down to a maximum of 10k so as not to put pressure on myself. I entered the Royal Berkshire 10k, with the sole aim of beating my time from the previous year (which was 1hr 15 minutes, some way off my 10k PB of 1:04:26 set back in 2008), however on race day I managed to not only beat the previous years time but also to set a new PB of 1:01:58! I was in shock at the time! All of the other exercise I was doing was having an effect on my running speed, so I decided to set myself a couple of targets for the year. I wanted to run a 5k in under 30 minutes and a 10k in under an hour. I continued with the training and entered quite a few races - 11 in total in 2016 - seven 10k and four 5k, which is the most races I have completed in a year. I bettered my 10k PB twice, once on a tough course in Yateley, and then again in my final 10k of the year where I managed a time of 1:01:01. Not quite under the hour but getting close! My 5k PB had been set back in 2007 at 33:52. I know I was probably faster than that in the interim years, but I hadn't entered any 5k races as I went for increasing distances instead. I smashed that time in my first 5k of the year with a time of 30:57, and then in my final 5k of the year at Greenham Common I managed a time of 29:26 and achieved my target! I also started a new little tradition of going running whilst on holiday, including managing to run twice in Vietnam and once in Thailand, around a park in Bangkok.
I'm going to sign off with a few stats for you, but before I go I just wanted to say this - if anyone who is reading this is thinking about trying a new form of exercise, or trying to get the motivation to start back at something, or even starting exercising full stop, just get out there and do it! Give it a try, what's the worst that could happen? You don't like it? Fine, try something else. You'll know when you've found the right thing for you, and hopefully when you do it will have the same effect on you as this year has had on me. Yes, I lost weight (which also meant I got to do a lot of clothes shopping!!) but more importantly I have gained so much. I am more confident, healthier, stronger and fitter than I have ever been before. I am also so much happier. And I wish that for all of my friends and family for 2017 and beyond.
Total Number of Runs - 54
Total Distance Run - 173.92 miles
Total Time Spent Running - 30:56:46
Total Races - 11
Total PT Sessions - 40
Total Gym Sessions - 196
Total Exercise Sessions Combined - 294
Total Time Spent Exercising - 238:57:13
Total Weight Loss - 6.7kg
Starting weight of 65.6kg (10st 4lbs), Current weight of 58.9kg (9st 2lbs)
True, politically, it has been a year of shocks, but let's not go into that. And yes, a lot of much loved celebrities have shuffled off this mortal coil (maybe on to better things, who's to say!), however when I look back on 2016, I look back on a pretty good year. There may have been celebrity deaths, but I did not attend a funeral. My Grandad is still going strong at 93, and has shaken off a lymphoma diagnosis with relative aplomb. My Dad was diagnosed with type two diabetes, and rather than start taking more pills, chose a complete change in diet which has not only led to him losing around 2 stone in weight, but also reversing the diagnosis completely (I'm very proud of you Dad, in case you are reading this!). I gained a beautiful new niece in Evie, and a new sister-in-law in Sally, and my brother got to marry the woman of his dreams. My brother also ran his first marathon at VMLM, and raised a load of money for the NSPCC in the process (very proud of you too Greg, if you're reading!) Pete and I had some awesome holidays, with Vietnam being a highlight, however Brecon and Cornwall also served us very well!
For me personally, the year didn't get off to a great start. I was taking anxiety medication as a result of work-related stress, which had led to me actually being signed off work towards the end of 2015. I'm not a massive fan of taking tablets, but they really did help to get me through a stressful period and out the other side. However I didn't want to find myself in the situation where whenever things got tough, I ended up on medication. I needed to find some other way of coping.
Luckily for me, Pete had signed us both up to a new David Lloyd gym that opened in Newbury in December 2015. We went a couple of times in December and I found that I quite enjoyed it - especially after I was introduced to Racket Ball, which is like squash but with a bouncier ball. It was nice to go there with Pete and have a little go on a bike or cross trainer, and a little hit about on the squash courts. I remembered how much fun exercise can be, and how it is great at taking your mind off things. In January we both went for a review with the fitness instructors there, and both ended up signing up for personal training, starting in February. I had also started running again. Short little runs with a colleague around Green Park, with the aim of running the Royal Berkshire 10k in May, and hoping to better my time from the previous year. That combined with the gym sessions with Pete was really helping me to feel better. Then Pete had to go away for work, and I hit a crossroads - I didn't have someone to go to the gym with for a couple of weeks, personal training hadn't started yet and I didn't want to lose my motivation and stop going. So I signed up to a couple of gym classes. This is a new thing for me, as besides Pilates I have never done proper gym classes before, so to say I was nervous about it was an understatement! I thought people would look at me and judge me, because I wouldn't know what I was doing, and they would all be fitter than me etc. etc. I couldn't have been more wrong, and I wish I had known sooner what an uplifting experience it can be to go to gym classes. It isn't an understatement to say that starting those classes has completely changed me! It took a little while to find the right classes for me (the first class I tried was a 30 minute Grit Cardio class, and even now I haven't braved going back to one of those as I honestly thought I was going to pass out and be sick, possibly even die!!), however once I found the right balance and got into a routine, there was no stopping me! I started with two Body Balance classes a week, along with a Body Attack class early on Saturday mornings. Then the personal training started too, and I was also still doing Pilates at a different studio, and regularly running. So I went from being someone who had said to Pete it wasn't worth getting a gym membership and not to sign me up, to someone who was exercising most days of the week! I was also able to stop the medication (all medication, as I had been on blood pressure medication too) as I no longer needed it.
I cannot emphasise enough what an impact it can have on your life to find some form of exercise that you enjoy. And whatever you choose, don't always do it alone. I have been regularly running for years now, however most of the time on my own as I prefer to run alone. But what I learned from the gym classes is that any form of exercise is more fun when you combine it with a bit of socialising and interacting with other people! The Attack class I do on a Saturday morning is one of my favourite parts of the week (it must be for me to get up earlier than I do for work to go to it!!) as it tends to be the same people attending, and we all get there a little early and have a bit of a catch-up before the class starts. Since I have been going to the gym so regularly, it is very rare for me to turn up to a class or PT session and not bump into someone I know and have a little chat. I have built up to doing seven classes each week (2xBalance classes, 3xPump, Attack and Spin) alongside PT and a little bit of running. I sometimes drop one of the Pump sessions or Spin if I am in need of a break but that is the general routine. I seem to have done my usual winter trick of dropping the running, having not been for a few weeks now, however I will start up again now everything is getting back to normal after the holidays!
Speaking of running (which I guess I should really, as that is what this blog was originally about!!) 2016 was probably the best running year I have had. Obviously running London was an amazing experience, but this year has been different. I have been much more consistent with my training, and I have enjoyed it a whole lot more. I have kept the distance down to a maximum of 10k so as not to put pressure on myself. I entered the Royal Berkshire 10k, with the sole aim of beating my time from the previous year (which was 1hr 15 minutes, some way off my 10k PB of 1:04:26 set back in 2008), however on race day I managed to not only beat the previous years time but also to set a new PB of 1:01:58! I was in shock at the time! All of the other exercise I was doing was having an effect on my running speed, so I decided to set myself a couple of targets for the year. I wanted to run a 5k in under 30 minutes and a 10k in under an hour. I continued with the training and entered quite a few races - 11 in total in 2016 - seven 10k and four 5k, which is the most races I have completed in a year. I bettered my 10k PB twice, once on a tough course in Yateley, and then again in my final 10k of the year where I managed a time of 1:01:01. Not quite under the hour but getting close! My 5k PB had been set back in 2007 at 33:52. I know I was probably faster than that in the interim years, but I hadn't entered any 5k races as I went for increasing distances instead. I smashed that time in my first 5k of the year with a time of 30:57, and then in my final 5k of the year at Greenham Common I managed a time of 29:26 and achieved my target! I also started a new little tradition of going running whilst on holiday, including managing to run twice in Vietnam and once in Thailand, around a park in Bangkok.
I'm going to sign off with a few stats for you, but before I go I just wanted to say this - if anyone who is reading this is thinking about trying a new form of exercise, or trying to get the motivation to start back at something, or even starting exercising full stop, just get out there and do it! Give it a try, what's the worst that could happen? You don't like it? Fine, try something else. You'll know when you've found the right thing for you, and hopefully when you do it will have the same effect on you as this year has had on me. Yes, I lost weight (which also meant I got to do a lot of clothes shopping!!) but more importantly I have gained so much. I am more confident, healthier, stronger and fitter than I have ever been before. I am also so much happier. And I wish that for all of my friends and family for 2017 and beyond.
Total Number of Runs - 54
Total Distance Run - 173.92 miles
Total Time Spent Running - 30:56:46
Total Races - 11
Total PT Sessions - 40
Total Gym Sessions - 196
Total Exercise Sessions Combined - 294
Total Time Spent Exercising - 238:57:13
Total Weight Loss - 6.7kg
Starting weight of 65.6kg (10st 4lbs), Current weight of 58.9kg (9st 2lbs)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)