Just did it!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy with University, which is actually a great thing I guess. So much has happened since my last post. I finished the c25k programme which was amazing. I wasn't sure what I was going to do after c25k and initially thought I would do a bridge to 10k type programme but instead I have starting just using my Nike+ app to help me run further and its working.

So some big news, I have entered the Great North Run for 2012. I will be raising funds for the NSPCC, in fact I have already raised 1/3 of my total on my justgiving page. So its now real, I am now training for what I see as one of the biggest challenges of my life. I have an idea of how I am going to get to be able to run 13.1 miles by next September and have decided that I am going to run a series of organised runs between now and then to get me there. I am also going to keep going to David Fairlamb's bootcamps to improve my general fitness and keep the weight coming off.

So obviously one of my goals when I made the decision to start running was to be able to run an actual 5k and I can now cross that off my list now. Yesterday I competed in my first ever 5k fun run in Glasgow. I was confident that I could do the actual run, and even though publically I said I didn't want to think about a time to run it in I had a personal goal in mind to run it in 42 mins. I still have a long way to go weight wise and so I thought 42 mins would be ok for me.

I've got to say I was nervous before the event, and made us of the portaloo's before the run for a last minute wee. However once we got going I felt great. I made use of my iphone and my Nike+ and didn't look at how others were running, I just wanted to run my own race.

My Nike+ updated me after the first mile and I had ran it in seconds over 12 minutes. I was completely amazed at that, and so I decided that if I could do the second mile in just on 14 minutes I would bring my goal time to 40 mins to complete the 5k. I got to the second mile and my time was 24 minutes and 17 seconds, I really couldn't believe it! I felt comfortable, I felt as if I was running at a pace I could handle and so I decided at that point I wanted to aim for 37 mins to finish in!

The last mile felt brilliant, I kept going, and could see the finish line from different angles for the last kilometre. As I turned the final corner I could see my mam and my two oldest kids and it brought out a burst of speed from me, and I ran past them pumping my fist and yelling "COME ON!!!!"

As I crossed the line I stopped my Nike+ app and it read 36.37 mins. I was ecstatic, I hi-fived a bloke dressed as a teddy bear, I got given my medal and a goody bag (which had a bottle of water and an orange in it, ooooh) and made my way over to my folks. I was completely buzzing, and couldn't stop saying, "I did it in 36 minutes 37 seconds!" My mam said she couldn't believe it when I came around the corner as she hadn't been expecting me for another 5-10 minutes but that I had looked comfortable.

So I had my first run under my belt, and damn it felt good. But I am well aware that there is still a lot of running to be done before the Big One in 2012. So I have more runs entered. I am now in the Great Winter Run in Edinburgh just after New Year, the Wrap Up and Run 10k in Yorkshire in March, the Sunderland City 10k in May and the 2012 Jane Tomlinson 10k event in Leeds in July. I'm sure I will be getting more official run practice too. I want to make sure that I am completely ready before next September.

My weight loss has stabilised over the last few weeks, but I am aware of why this is, and I know what I need to do to get my weight loss going again. Therefore I am going to give myself a kick up the bum to get the pounds moving again. First up is getting back to bootcamp regularly, and I plan to be back there on Saturday. Secondly is making sure my food shopping is better organised, long days at university have meant that there have been times when I have been neglecting to make the sensible choice.

My motivation has been boosted by everyone who has supported me, and getting that first run done has definitely got my resolve back. I still want to have lost 70lbs by Christmas and it's still doable, I just need to be focused.

week 8 finished

After yesterday's run I felt great today and so decided to go out for another run today. I knew I wanted to add a wee bit more distance in my run today, just a very small amount to try and break 4k. I got 3.99k yesterday and so it was a target I set for myself.

I use Nike + on my phone to record my distance and pace on my runs as well as using the c25k app too. I have noticed at times it doesn't record the distance as accurately as I would like but it's never bothered me before. Today I felt I had ran really well. I added that little bit extra to my run and as I got home felt delighted to know I had completed Week 8 day 3.

I stopped the Nike app as I reached the front door and was really annoyed to see that my GPS signal had dropped about half a mile from home and so it had only recorded part of my run. I felt really deflated for a while. I'm in a group with some really good friends on Twitter and we have a challenge to see who runs furthest in the month. Now they are infinitely fitter than I am, and I know I will not be able to compete with them seriously. But my half a mile now doesn't count, and I felt robbed!

Then I stopped and made myself think. Here I am today, completing what was a 4k run, whatever Nike+ says or not. I did it without stopping. I did it! I have completed 8 weeks of the c25k programme. That is one hell of an achievement! And I stopped being cross about not having the half mile recorded and focused on what I had actually done.

I'm now on the final week of the c25k programme. It was such a daunting prospect when I started. But here I am, 4 weeks until my first 5k fun run and right on track to be able to complete it.

When I was away in Florida I did gain some weight. Not a huge amount, and certainly not what I would have gained had I not made the changes in my life that I have. I was more relaxed about my eating while away, but I did make sensible choices a lot of the times too. When I weighed myself when I got home I certainly wasn't devastated.

I weighed myself again today and found I have lost 7lbs since I got back. I am really delighted at that. It feels like I am back on track. I have a busy week this week at University and my mam, who is a great support to me, is away on her holidays to Tenerife, and so I need to be organised, both for me and my girls. So I am going to sit tonight and plan the meals for this week so that I am can keep things together when my time is more limited.

I have found that mentality is a massive part of successful life changes. If you are mentally right to make changes in your life it makes the actually physical processes so much easier. I've also found that by breaking goals into smaller more manageable pieces makes them far easier to hit. This is probably the best advice I could give anyone. Take any huge challenge and break it into smaller chunks. If you can achieve the smaller goals then you will naturally achieve the more massive one.

Hope you all have a great week. Keep on keeping on.

What a feeling!

Usually on a Saturday morning I go to David Fairlamb's beach bootcamp. I absolutely love it, and if anyone who lives in the North Tyneside/South East Northumberland area is looking for a fun, challenging but supportive workout, which is based on individual goals whether you are someone who is trying to get fit or an established fitness fan then I couldn't recommend this more highly.

This morning, though, I woke up feeling awful. I am definitely developing a cold. So I made the decision to miss bootcamp but I was definitely going for a run today.

When I started running I was so unsure that I could do it that I googled running and found Couch to 5k. This programme takes people like me who cannot run a bath and gets them (if they put the effort in) to be able to run 5k, or for 30 minutes at a time. I had a look around and chose the Felt Tip app for my phone to help me learn how to run.

To explain the couch to 5k (or c25k) programme, it basically starts someone with no running experience and works them up using interval training. When they say start running they mean that you start with 60 seconds of jogging and then 90 seconds of walking repeated over a 20 minute period in week 1. Your week is basically 3 periods (days) of exercise. From that first week they increase the running and decrease the walking in each week until you get to week 9 and you should be able to run a full 30 minutes without stopping. All this on your mp3 player or smart phone!

So I am now at week 8. When I say I am at week 8 it has actually taken me longer than 8 weeks to get to week 8 as I've been on holiday and my running went a bit astray in Florida, the programme allows you to repeat sessions or put it on hold while life gets in a way for a while, but anyway, I'm now at Week 8 day 2.

I've gone from week 1 day 1 where I huffed and puffed my way, feeling like I was struggling to run for 60 seconds without stopping to now on Week 8 day 2 being able to run for 28 minutes without stopping, needing a paramedic or hooking myself up to oxygen half way round.

Now I'm not saying it's a piece of cake, as I'm sure Dave Fairlamb wouldn't want me to be indulging in cake, while I'm trying to lose weight, but I am amazed that I have gone from really finding running to be a terrifying prospect to being able to actually enjoy going for a run.

Today's run was fantastic. Despite it being the warmest October day on record I felt really good as I ran. My legs had felt sluggish on my last run, but today felt loads better. I actually ran further than I had before, and also ran my fastest mile. I use the Nike + app in conjunction with the felt tip app to record my runs, and as I'm the type of person who loves charts, tables and data I can compare my runs, pace, routes etc.

I have worked out a nice little route around where I live which I can extend when I need to increase the time I'm running each week. At the end of each run there is a set of steps up to the road which I make a point of running up, it's like my bonus challenge each run.

I returned home today after my run with sweat completely dripping off me. I felt happily knackered and when I checked my stats on my phone I was delighted to see that I had run further and faster than I had previously.

I have my first proper 5k run in October booked in. I'm doing the Big Fun Run in Glasgow at the end of the month, and I believe that I will do it! With family up there it gives me an excuse to go and visit them, but it feels quite surreal that I have actually entered a 5k run and that I feel that I can complete it.

I really have to recommend you finding a C25K app to help you into running if you want to try and take it up. If you really try and put the commitment into training the C25k will help you to get to a position where you can run 5k.