Tips for getting started with running

Don't get me wrong, I still very much consider myself a 'beginner' runner. But I've gone from being unable to run for three minutes without being absolutely shattered to running about 10 miles a week in 3 months. On Monday I ran my first ever full 5k - 38.30 (Watch out Paula Radcliffe) but if you consider that 3 months ago I could not run FIVE CENTIMETRES LET ALONE FIVE KILOMETRES I think that's pretty amazing. I feel fitter now than I ever have before in my life which is why it's a bit frustrating I've not lost any weight BUT THAT'S FOR ANOTHER POST.

I tried and failed to start couch 2 5k about four times before my final successful attempt, so I thought I would list some reasons why I think this time it actually worked. Ironically I write this blog whilst I am sat in bed unable to walk due to the worst post-exercise muscle pain I've ever had in my life, BUT THAT WAS FROM A DIFFERENT TYPE OF EXERCISE so it's totally fine.

I will intersperse my valuable advice with motivational phrases from Pinterest to keep things 'visual'.

1. Get equipped with the knowledge/apps/gear.
All you need to start couch 2 5k is a pair of trainers. I refuse to believe you don't already have any but if not, head down to Sports Direct with £15 in hand. DONE.
Don't worry about wearing fancy running gear, just something that makes you feel comfortable. Leggings and a baggy t-shirt is fine. I know for some people having super-cool fitness clothes motivates them and if so THAT'S FINE, but don't fall into the trap of spending £250 in Niketown so you can just hang up your new gear in the wardrobe to stare at forlornly as you eat nachos.
Obviously before you can start couch to 5k you need to have seen the actual plan. You can find that here.
In theory this should be enough to get you out of the door, but I've tried with just the plan before and failed. On the NHS website you can also download some podcasts which will tell you when to stop/start and make it a bit easier, but the music is crap so I wouldn't recommend it.
The number one thing that has helped me finish couch to 5k this time is the fantastic Get Running app. This app lets you play your own music - Eye of the Tiger strongly recommended - and a lovely friendly sounding lady will just talk over the top to tell you when to stop or start or occasionally congratulate you on "doing great"! The way it tracks your progress along the program is motivating and visually appealing. I would urge you to shell out the very small cost as this app is responsible for changing my life.

2. Run outside. 

I know this is super personal and I read plenty of blogs with loads of amazing runners who only run on the treadmill. But I tried the couch to 5k on the treadmill, and you know what? It's annoying and boring. Changing the speed setting every minute means you can never really lose yourself in the moment, which is the joy of running. Running different places keeps it interesting and keeps you alert. I'm lucky enough to have had the opportunity to run right by London landmarks, to run within the inner depths of the Square Mile, to have run in some of London's most beautiful parks, but also to have run along by the sea of the beautiful Kent coastline. So why when you could be getting out and seeing the world are you going to the gym and staring at MTV Base?

3. Fit running around your life. Don't fit your life around running.

For the couch to 5k you should be running three times a week. At the beginning of each week stop and evaluate the plans for the oncoming week. When are you most likely to run?
I always run at least once at weekends as for me it's the best time, as someone who works full time and also has a lot of other commitments.
I never run in the early morning as I already get up at 5.45am for work as it stands (!!!).
I tried running in late evenings (8.30/9pm) but I found out that these would always be bad runs as they were too soon after my last meals.
I learnt from my mistakes and now I try to run at weekends and early evenings before dinner. Although 3 times a week is my goal, if something comes up, I'm not going to turn it down so I can go running! Running is my new lifestyle, it's not just a nine-week fad.
It doesn't matter if running couch to 5k doesn't take you exactly 9 weeks. It took me about 14 weeks all in all and I still reached my goal. Running shouldn't be something you dread or something you feel like you HAVE to do. Your run should be something you are excited about and something you feel good about once you have completed.

4. Learn from your mistakes.

You will have bad runs and things will go wrong and some you won't be able to complete. This is life. Each time it happens you have to think carefully about why today you have chest pain or why today you might be too exhausted to try and avoid it happening again.

• How long ago did you last eat? What have you eaten today? 
• How long has it been since your last run? 
• What have you been doing today that is different from a typical day?
• Etc.

5. Don't make running about losing weight. Make it about you.

I have many more things to say about the fact that my fitness has dramatically improved recently to the point where I can run for 40 minutes without stopping and yet I have not lost any weight, but I will muse on that another day. However, running should not be about losing weight. Maybe when I started it was, but over time I have come to love running for what it is.
Running is a zero-cost way of getting properly fit. Maybe in the future (or the winter!) I will change my mind, but at the moment I can't see the need to ever waste money on a gym membership again.
When running you can lose yourself and find it all at the same time. It's the perfect time to think and be alone. Do you crave rest and solitud
e? Start running.
Most importantly, I have proved to myself that if I tried hard enough I really could do anything. This applies to fitness but also to everything in my life. I feel like completing couch to 5k has granted me an epiphany on my approach to the world which maybe every early twentysomething could do with. If you try hard enough and stay the course you really can complete the goals which only a few short months ago seemed totally impossible.
My race is in 4 weeks. Originally I said I had no goal but my new goal is sub-35. I have a long way to get to before then, but fingers crossed!

What I have learnt from my horrific run

So on Saturday I had a whole day to myself. This almost NEVER happens so I thought I'd use it really productively by going for a run somewhere EXCITING. I picked Hampstead Heath.

I have never had a bad run until this run. However, this run was bloody horrific. I will show you the list of everything I learnt from it.

• Don't ever go somewhere for a run that you have to undergo a horrendously complex Overground journey to get to. Not only by the time you get there are are you already "If I had done this near home I'd have been back on the sofa by now", you also have the HORRIFIC journey back afterwards.
• Do not go out for a run with an empty stomach particularly if you have said horrendous Overground journey before you can even start exercising.
• Do not go out for a run without a bottle of water if you are going to be out of the house for about 3 hours.
• Do not go out for a run on an incredibly steep grass hill when you have only ever run before on nice city pavements and seaside promenandes.
• Do not go out for a run in the midday blazing sunshine without suncream on and without water. 
• Do not assume that you have a good enough sense of direction to be able to find your way back to your starting point when you have never actually been to that place before. You will end up lost in Highgate. 

Yes, it was absolutely horrific. After all the hills, the raging sunburn, the hunger, the thirst, the lightheadedness and the fact it was becoming rapidly clear that I WASN'T actually just by the Overground station and I MIGHT actually be lost in North London, I gave up almost without thinking about it, just stopped moving. God it was horrific. This is the first run I didn't complete and as I sadly found out when I checked my phone, I only even had 3 minutes left which I definitely could have done physically but I don't regret not finishing. The right person knows when to stop right? Right.

 I then checked my iPhone and found out that I was in HIGHGATE!!! It took me nearly an hour to find my way back, and I was already shattered. I didn't have any money on me to buy myself water or something to eat or even god forbid a taxi back to the station so I was SCREWED.  All I can say is THANK GOD that smartphones have compasses, and THANK GOD it was the middle of a summers day. If I'd have been out on a winters' evening rocking a Nokia 3410 I'd probably have been mugged and also possibly still be wandering around Hampstead unable to find my way back now. 

Oh well, I've got to pick up and try again - she says, not having been for a single run since this harrowing experience. Tonight I will definitely be getting my trainers on and heading off for a nice jog on flat land in circles around my neighbourhood though... and at least I have learnt my lessons. :(

On the bright side, I took some nice photos:

Not so pretty when you are lost in North London's largest patch of grass.

Running goals etc

It's been a few days since my last blog and I'm still obsessed with running and it still comprises about 85% of what I talk about. I've spent almost the entire weekend shoving Map My Run in my parents' face; "LOOK HOW FAR I WENT MUM!!! Could you even WALK that far?" (She could, she's in good shape, but I'm smug). To my sister: "I know you're REVISING for A-LEVELS but, SERIOUSLY, I just ran FOUR POINT SIX KILOMETRES?!" Etc, etc.

I am now beginning to get this image of myself in my head as someone that could happily knock out an ultramarathon next weekend if need be, which isn't very good for my mental health as every time I am out running again I am like...."Oh. 25 minutes. Definitely enough. How depressing". But, anyway.

My addiction to running is mainly borne from my addiction to
A) Statistics
B) Pride
C) Vanity
D) Smugness
E) The 'MapMyRun' iPhone app
F) My excellent Fitness playlist
G) Breaking records
H) My lifelong Type A personality

rather than any particular enjoyment of running itself, much as I don't hate it. This means we must continue to move swiftly onwards so I don't get bored, and I have set a few GOALS for myself.

1. By the end of June I must finish couch to 5k. Assuming I am not in some accident I should manage to achieve this pretty easily as I am only 8 runs away from this elusive target.
2. On the 21st July I am running the Race for Life. No, seriously! This will, of course, be my first ever race. I'm hoping to raise a few quid for charity in the meantime as well. I don't have any time target as it's my first race ever and I don't want to put myself under unnecessary pressure - I also might be running it with other people who have both more and less experience than me so it's probably not going to be a true reflection of the time I am capable of (making excuses already?). But I want to run it all and not stop to walk even once - that's the goal. This is already booked and signed up for so BETTER ACTUALLY BOTHER TO COMPLETE couch to 5k LOL.
3. In the meantime  as soon as I have graduated couch to 5k I am jumping straight on to Bridge to 10k. 
4. .....With the idea of running a 10k in the autumn. I know, that's crazy. But why not? I want to get my 5k race over and done with first before I book anything especially because I'd have to make sure I had room in my hectic diary (it's so difficult being me). But you know, loads of people run 5ks. Not so many people run 10ks. It's an achievement, yes?

When I first wrote about my public transport fantasies of marathons on this blog, it was obviously a fantasy, but a fantasy in the same way as when I was 9 I used to daydream about being picked to play Hermione in the Harry Potter films, but then in the end I didn't even bother to audition. That kind of fantasy.

I wouldn't yet say a marathon is my 'goal' like running the Race for Life is my concrete 'goal'. But the marathon is beginning to become a bit more of a 'dream' than a 'fantasy' (I am making literally no sense). I honestly am beginning to think that if I tried hard enough I could actually do it. Just IMAGINE the blog post I would write. You would all love it. 

My couch to 5K experience

I started the 'Couch to 5K' program on the 1st April and recently completed Week 6. Those with good time management skills may realise this doesn't quite add up but I've had two separate weeks off: one when I had a cold (an extremely debilitating condition for me as a top-skilled moaner), and one when I went on holiday for four days and came straight back into a super hectic week at work. Other than that, I've kept going. I haven't repeated any runs and after each time off have jumped straight into the next round.

I remember at the end of 2012 I said on this blog that I was proud of myself as I could just about run for 8 minutes without stopping. I'd done this on the treadmill, earlier that year, the grand total of twice ever (on two separate occasions). This had literally been the longest I had ever run without stopping in my entire life. I'd spent the latter half of these runs gasping for air, literally POURING with sweat (I am grim) and come off the treadmill feeling dizzy and faint. This was also at probably the highest point of fitness in my life until recently (I was going to the gym three times a week or thereabouts.)

Two days ago I ran for 25 minutes without stopping. It wasn't hard. I could have done more. I wasn't even sweating that much. I was breathing normally. This might sound (literally) unbelievable, and to me it is (figuratively) unbelievable, but I will tell you my little story.


Pre-Week 1

I'd be lying if I said I started the Couch to 5K morbidly obese with absolutely no level of fitness whatsoever just because I wanted to make this a better story. Although I've never been 'fit' I've definitely made an effort this year so far and before April on a typical week I'd do about two exercise classes plus walk a lot at weekends. However, I could not run. On my weekly kickboxing class I'd usually cry off the 7 minute run used to warm up or if I ever did do it I'd start walking after two minutes because I hated it so much. Running was not my thing and I did not enjoy. The last time I ran properly before April 2013 was around October 2012.

I tried the Couch to 5k about four times before this one and on none of these tries had I made it as far as week 2 (I think on only one of them did I even make it as far as week 1 run 3). I'll share my reasons why I think this time worked and the others didn't at some other time, but the other times had all mainly been on treadmills in various gym memberships and had been a bit boring.

Week 1
8 x 1 minute runs. In between runs, walk 1.5 minutes.
I know that for some people out there reading this that probably would be really hard, but I did find this pretty easy. As I said, I had done week 1 a few times before and knew what to expect. Towards the 7th or 8th run I was a bit tired, and each time I was definitely glad when it ended, but I could have handled this for longer.
Running was a bit boring in week 1.

Week 2
6 x 1.5 minute runs. In between runs, walk 2 minutes.
AND THE PACE STEPS UP. This was manageable but mainly as I had the two minutes to walk it off - I could never have handled only a 1.5 minute walk break at this point. Again, towards the end of the sessions I got tired and I don't think I could have pushed myself much further than what the lady in my ear was telling me to (more on the lady in my ear later).

Week 3
Run 1.5 minutes, then walk 1.5 minutes. Run 3 minutes, then walk 3 minutes.
Repeat. 
Week 3 was difficult. Running three minutes without stopping when you are used to half that is difficult. Although above I have pointed out I was physically capable of running maybe 8 minutes before starting this programme, that was literally just 8 minutes then RUNNING DONE, rather than including walks and other lengths of runs too.
I finished all of these runs shattered and a bit full of self doubt. I was still not particularly enjoying running.

Week 4
Run 3 minutes, then walk 1.5 minutes. Run 5 minutes, then walk 2.5 minutes.
Repeat.
Week 4 is a pretty big step up. I think it was the dramatically shorter recovery time rather than the longer run that cinched it, but I remember returning from the first run of this week wondering if I was ever cut out to be a proper "runner" and if my public transport London Marathon dreams were over (To be fair to week 4 I think it was my first run after suffering and recovering from a cold too).
Week 4 was also kind of when I started to enjoy running. Say back in Week 1, when I was running for one minute and then stopping for walk, I felt that everyone knew I was really unfit and was watching me. However, running for 5 minutes? I would have easily left behind all of the pedestrians that knew I only started running 5 minutes ago! I could have been running for the past 5 hours for all these new pedestrians care! The smugness began to sink in.

Week 5
Run 1: 3 x running 5 minutes. Between runs, walk 3 minutes.
Pretty similar to Week 4. I could handle it.
Run 2: 2 x running 8 minutes. Between runs, walk 5 minutes.
And with this run I'd equalled my previous personal best, and not only that, but done it twice. Also, this time I did not feel on the verge of death, but actually felt pretty good and revitalised. I must say that when running 8 minutes before, both times I genuinely had felt as though I might faint (I am pretty prone to fainting so know all the signs). However, this time I felt tired obviously, but I felt alive and OK. Maybe I could keep going, I think to myself. Then I finish the run and the next scheduled run comes up on my app and.....
Run 3: 1 x running 20 minutes.
So I see the above run length on my app screen.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHH
20 MINUTES??!
WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, PAULA RADCLIFFE?!?
I even did a bit of googling to check it wasn't a mistake. But no, it seriously wasn't a mistake. This was actually a thing.
So I decided to go for it. And..... I did it.
I cannot even describe the total elation I felt when I completed a 20 minute run without stopping. It was to the extent I thought that I might burst into tears. It took serious restraint to stop myself punching the air like I'd just won a gold medal.
It was after completing this run I knew I'd be able to finish the couch to 5k if I wanted to.
It was after completing this run that I knew that if I tried hard enough, I could really do anything (except possibly pass my driving test).
It was after completing this run that I knew that I was not a weak person and I did not have to make excuses for myself anymore.
It was after completing this run that for the first time in my whole life I felt truly, fully proud of myself. I mean, I went to school, I got a degree, I got good results for it all. But without sounding like a dick, I always deep down KNEW I'd get at least semi-good results for these things as I was committed and it played to my strength. But my whole life I've been crap at sports, been derided by PE teachers, been bullied by sporty 12 year olds, my physical unfitness has been a point of humour amongst friends and relatives. No one I knew in real life really believed I could be a runner, and I had never until that point truly believed I could be a runner, but look. I'd just DONE IT.



Week 6 
Run 1: Run 5 minutes than walk 3 minutes. Run 8 minutes then walk 3 minutes. Run 5 minutes.
Of course this was a piece of cake after 20 minutes.
Run 2: Run 10 minutes then walk 3 minutes. Run 10 minutes.
And this.
Run 3: Run 25 minutes.
What? 5 minutes more? Obviously. What do you even take me for? I'm a RUNNER now. Srsly.


There are 3 weeks left: 3 more 25 minute runs, 3 more 28 minute runs, 3 more 30 minute runs. I am confident I can complete the Couch to 5k; I think I could probably run 5k now if I wanted to, but I want to stick to the training program as I don't want to push myself too hard and give up, and obviously I want the app to record everything properly (lifelong stats geek).

I have so much more to say about running and how it has changed my life and the way I view myself and I am sure I will write about it in future posts. I haven't even lost significant weight since I started running because I have still eaten EVERYTHING, but you know, that's a work in progress. But it's just the success I have had, the barriers I have overcome; they have really showed me that I can do it, and if I trained hard enough there's no reason why one day I couldn't run a marathon. Maybe my public transport fantasy about winning the X Factor with a final duet performance with Lady GaGa won't come true, but my daydream about the marathon actually could come true one day. And that makes me feel dizzy with possibility about everything that one day I could achieve.

Weight loss or lack thereof

Well it's mid-May and I'm exactly the same weight as I was at Christmas.

I am inspired to write this blog as it has just occurred to me that it was at this EXACT point last year that I decided to lose weight and I actually did. I'd been umm-ing and aah-ing about the idea of weight loss for much much longer than that (as most women who are over a size 8 probably do) but it was then that I decided enough was enough.

When I first weighed myself last May before I decided to lose weight I was horrified and went at it hard.

I'd lost half a stone within the first three weeks and by July had lost a whole stone.

In about July there was a few weeks where I couldn't really be arsed properly and lots was going on. I put on HALF A STONE so towards the end of July I was half a stone lighter than what I started (are we all still following here?)

This is when I joined Weight Watchers. This went REALLY well at first and although the weight loss was slower, I lost a whole stone in between joining and going on holiday in October. So I went on holiday in October a whole stone and a half lighter than I had been when I'd first weighed myself in May last year right before the Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

However... I went on holiday, and then it was Christmas, and now it is now, and I have just not got back on track. I have been oscillating around the same 5lbs since Christmas and have weighed myself last week as being exactly the same weight as I was on my first weigh in on January 2013. Generally, I am weighing 8-10lbs more than I was in October so roughly just under a stone than The Fattest Ever.

It goes without saying that I need to sort my life and myself out. The problem is that I have all these good intentions but then something like this happens:

• I have a bad day
• A spontaneous event happens
• I go to the pub
• I am tired
• It's raining
• Etc

And I'm thrown off for a whole week! 

I've decided now that I've got to be realistic. I am never going to be a size 8 because I just love food too much. And don't give me that 'you can love food and eat clean' crap. I love chips, I love kebabs, I love greasy Chinese, I love pizza, I love burgers, I love expensive syrupy coffees, etc etc. Is this a crime? I just need to learn to CONTROL myself when I get onto these things. 

So here comes my new set of goals. This is to achieve from exactly one month today, 16th June.

• Complete the couch to bloody 5k (the bane of my life at the moment is trying to nag myself to do this)
• Lose 5lb 

And that will be enough. Let's get on it.

Crawling back and couch to 5k

Well everyone I'm very sorry because it is pretty official that I am the worst blogger ever.

I am sorry to wheel out the world's most pathetic cliché but... I have been really busy. I have been working a lot and had a lot going on personally. Nothing dramatic or serious, but I just haven't had much free time. When I have had free time I've spent it hooked up on a drip to all the period dramas on Netflix.

Weight loss has kind of taken a back seat. I haven't gained any significant weight but I haven't lost anything significant either. Since Christmas I have been losing and gaining the same 4 pounds consistently.

I think I need a shake up in my routine and am considering taking an absence of leave from Weight Watchers and trying to do it 'on my own' for a bit. I've explained before that a few times I've lost weight through calorie counting. Although over a long period of time this doesn't work and destroys your soul, it is quite a good way to lose weight quickly - as you can eat whatever you want as long as you don't eat too much, and it incentivises you to exercise. I'm not sure though. I'll think about it.

However, I am quitting any kind of diet for the next week as I am on holiday from work and have lots of things going on and just can't be bothered to care at the moment. Monday 15th I am back on it hard, but now I am just going to take it easy for a bit.

I might as well end with some good news: I promised the blog at the beginning of the year I would start couch to 5k in April, and true to my word on the 1st April my running playlist was completed and off I went! I've completed all 3 week 1 runs and one of the week 2 runs now. According to my fancy iPhone app I should be able to run 5k by the end of May at this rate. Whether this will be the case is yet to be seen (I simply cannot imagine myself EVER being able to do that, let alone in UNDER TWO MONTHS TIME) but I am pretty determined to keep going at the moment.

I am still daydreaming on the tube a lot about one day doing the London Marathon. I am debating whether to sign up for 2014. On one hand, this is ridiculous and terrifying as at the moment I am finding 'Running 90 seconds, walking two minutes' a gruelling regime. On the other hand, how am I ever going to achieve any of my goals without crazy impulse decisions like signing up to do a major athletic event when I am the most unfit person ever? Who knows. The main thing that makes me want to do the London Marathon is that I know that literally no one who knows me thinks that I would ever be capable of doing it. And I just can't help keep fantasising about the photograph of me and my medal that will be full page in the Metro.

Oh well, maybe 2015 will be better? Who knows. Any advice would be great. I will try to post again soon, I have loads of recipe photos lined up so I will try to write them all up!

Monday roundup #2

So this week I put on 0.3lb. Eeek. Could have been so much worse though - that's barely anything and I went, as usual, wayy off track. On Saturday my sister and I went for a proper slap up meal at Wetherspoons - gourmet burger, chips AND onion rings - and on Sunday I had The Greatest Roast on Earth cooked by my boyfriend's lovely mum. It was a proper dodgy weekend and I didn't track any of it, oops. Still though, it was a completely dry week which I think helps.

The other day I read a great post about staying motivated and it has inspired me. Today is the 4th March and I have decided that every day until the 4th April I will track everything I eat - even if it ends up going over my points. This gives me a realistic target and hopefully I can stay on track.

I think I was probably saved from a bigger gain last week because of a few punishing workout sessions so again trying to hit the exercise hard this week. As I type this I am aching like hell from a class earlier on so I am glad it appears to be making some kind of difference.

This week is a bit of an odd one - it's massively deviating from my routine because of one thing or another (you know how nothing ever happens to you and then everything happens all in one week?) but I am feeling determined to stick to weight loss anyway-  however it's going to involve a lot of guesstimation at times where I can't plan my food. Oh well, onwards and downwards!

Picture Credit: Pinterest