I haven''t posted for a little while now. The main reason for that is I haven't run (as much) due to being sick. I have managed to get at least one run in every week since my last post and usually two but this week is the first in a while I've gotten all three in one week.

The cold air is killing me as I spend more time coughing than running. One of the joys of being mildly asthmatic is when I get a cold as I did, the cough always hangs around when the rest of the old is done with

All that aside I completed week 6 session 2 today. = Eight minute jog, five minute walk, eight minute jog. This is a bg step up and the first time I have run more than 5 minutes in any one stretch throughout the program.

The next session is jog 20 minutes..... NO BREAKS

I am very nervous but very excited. This is such an amazing improvement on where I was at at the start of this program where more than 90 seconds was a stretch.

It just proves that commitment and a willingness to put in some hard work mean you can do anything you set your mind (and body) to.

Here's hoping I don't collapse in a heap from exhaustion..............

I knew from the start commiting to something new like running wouldn't be easy.

What I didn't count on was how many things seem to get in the way to give you an excuse not to meet your commitment. It is only the willpower of the individual that drives you to continue on and do what you set out to do. No one else is counting on me. This is a promise I made to myself. If I give up no one will be disappointed but me.

I am proud of myself for making it this far and for pushing through the reasons not to do it.

That said, I did miss a work out this week. Since my last post I came down with a pretty decent old head/chest cold. I couldn't breathe and any movement resulted in a pounding head or dizziness from about lunchtime Tuesday until, wel, I still feel pretty much that way. But I have imrpoved today.

Wednesday was supposed to be work out 2, week 4> I woke up at my normal time just before 6am but both nostrils were blocked, my throat felt like it was lined with sandpaper and my head was POUNDING.

I rolled back over and caught an extra half hour sleep before work.

This morning I woke again at just before 6:00, with almost all of the same symptoms as Wednesday morning. Once again I rolled back over to get more sleep. But I couldn't sleep, not continuing with the program was eating at me, so, I got up with the initial thought of at least going for a walk to keep some momentum going.

But once I got out the door, I knew within myself that I would complete as much of the workout as I could.

And I did

The session is 5min jog, 2 &1/2 minut walk, 3 minute jog, 1 & 1/2 minute walk, 5minute jog, 2 & 1/2 minute walk, 3 minute jog, 1& 1/2 minute walk. I completed all but the last 3 minute jog, of which I managed 1 minute before deciding that the urge to pass out or vomit was too much and walking the rest of the way home.

Once again I have surprised myself, and I am learning that with some dedication and a refusal to take the easy otpion and the excuses for not doing it, I CAN do whatever I set my mind to.

Onwards and upwards.

This morning was workout number 1, in week number 4.

Jog 5 minutes, walk 2 1/2, jog 3, walk 90secs and repeat.

It has rained solidly all weekend, including on & off during the  9 holes of golf I played Saturday, and at 6:00 last night when I had planned to do this mornings run. (I want my two days off to be Monday & Tuesday to allow me to be rested for my Monday night squash games).

I got up at 5:58 this morning and got dressed and ready for my run. I opened the door at 6:16 and was greeted by the thickest fog I have ever seen. I couldnt even see my mailbox (about 20m) properly. This wasn't really a problem except that it meant it was a lot darker than normal at that time and with the backlight on my watch not working I couldn't properly time my intervals.

I set off in the eery gloom and at the end of my street (after 5 minutes of walking warm up) started my first jog. I came to the track I have regularly taken down to the local oval however as it was so dark I decided to go a different route as I was worried of rolling an ankle or something similar in the dark.

The reason why I have always taken this path is that my house is located in Mount Helena, and  Mount Helena is so named for a good reason. It is full of hills. The path down to the oval is about the only route I could take over about 700 metres that won't include a serious hill. Given I am completely new to all this running I have so far avoided all hills until I am at a level of fitness that I feel warrants ahving a crack at them.

I set off along the main road towards the oval and hit my first hill. It wasn't an overly big hill and I hit the top feeling pretty ok. The problem was this week is a big step up in the length of each interval up to 5 minutes and by the 4 minute mark my legs were screaming at me, and I was cursing that damned hill.

Nonetheless I completed my 5 minute period ok and by the end of it (and the 2 & 1/2 minute break that came after the jog) I had hit the oval. My timings were all working out well with each interval conveniently coming at or near a street light (which was one unexpected benefit of taking the hill route) so I could see my watch, and now that I was on the oval it had brightened up enough for me to see my watch again.

My first step onto the oval to begin my 3 minute jog sounded the warning I should of taken. SQUELCH!!!

A combination of raining all weekend and the local footy players tearing the oval up with their studded boots meant the one lap I completed was harder work than the hill, wading through the bog, not to mention the fact that my shoes were thoroughly soaked by the end of 1 lap.

As I jogged out of the bog I had to make a decision, which way do I go now to continue my run. I decided to head homewards but take a roundabout way which from memeory only involved a gentlel up hill and then a short but steep downhill.

I was partly right. There was a short but steep down hill, but it is funny how deceiving things are from your car. This road I remembered as a gentle uphill was still quite a solid hill and it dragged on and on. After 4 & 1/2 minutes of my second 5 minute jog I hit the end of the uphill but my legs were spent. I started my 2 & 1/2 minute walk, 30 seconds early from the start of the steep downhill. It just didn't make sense to jog downhill that tired, I was likely to slip and hurt myself. Still it was disapointing not to complete the session I set out to do.

The rest of the run went along as normal and I was definitely a very tired runningman after this session. 2 more to go this week and then it's into week 5, the first week where each day has a different program, fininshing with a 20 minute jog in session 3. I am VERY nervous about that.

It is so far from where I started and hard to contmeplate that I would be capable of such a feat.

Thats it for now...... I have resting to do

This morning I completed session number 5 after missing only one running day with my injury. I wasn't sure how I would go but the result was a good as I had hoped for. I could feel the injury but due to the fact there was no sprinting involved I was able to make it through no worries and even pulled up pretty well.

onwards and upwards

I just need to make up that session over the weekend

I missed my first workout.......

This Monday night after my first workout of week two I played squash as I do every monday night.. This Monday night however, I injured my right calf muscle (or rather reinjured it, from playing squash 5 weeks earlier)

I thouhgt it was recovered enough to cope with squash, but I was wrong. I pushed off with my right foot to chase down a drop shot from my opponenet and felt a wierd pop in the lower part of my calf. It didn't really hurt, unless I tried to put any weight on it at which point it turned to jelly and hurt like buggery!

I played out the match (the injury happened at 6 - 4 in the 5th and deciding game) and my opponent finished me off quicly

When I got home I put the icepack on my leg and did everything I could for the injury. I was most disappointed about the fact my running program would be upset..

Today is Thursday, I missed Wednesday's run, however it is not feeling as bad as I feared it might and I am hopeful of completing Friday's (tomorrow) session and resuming onwards and upwards from here,. Even if I cannot complete tomorrows workout I will be getting up and going for a walk in it's place to keep the momentum up that I had built through the first week. I definitely do not want to end up back at square one.

Off to bed now, hopefully a little more recovery for my leg before tomorrows test. If all goes well I will make up Wednesday's workout over the weekend and be right up to date to start week 3 on Monday morning. But I won't be playing squash next week.

fingers crossed

I succesfully completed week 1 of my 9 week program this morning.

YAY

Despite incredible fog that meant I could not see from the goal posts to the 50m arc on the local footy oval, and my watch deciding to die and tell me it was ten minutes past midnight, I managed to complete another workout

I think I surprised my wife and myself by seeing out the week. I am looking forward to the 2 day break over the weekend as my calf muscle needs a break and a previous issue involving sore heel is returning in my right foot.

I think this has to do with running around at a weight over 110kg. My poor feet aren't meant to be taking that sort of a load.

Given my above mentioned wight I am a little surprised at my base fitness as I found this week relatively easy, aside from the injured calf muscle and the foot problem. Aerobically I feel like I had plenty left in the tank.

Roll on week 2 - Jog 90 seconds then walk two minutes

This seems like a insignificant increase to me and I am confident of being able to complete week two without any dramas. The jump in week three however looks quite a lot more intimidating and I think I will enjoy my next week and letting the fitness build a little more before doing some longer times.

I have noticed on my last two runs, that I mostly breathe through my mouth once I am tired. Unless I concentrate (which I have been doing) on breathing in through my nose. I wonder if this is why I have never been aerobically fit or had good stamina. If I am not getting the oxygen in efficiently no wonder I get short of breath. It also may be something to do with my asthma...... I breathe in by expanding my stomach, not my chest.

Here's to another week of running and working towards my goal of being fit. Maybe this year I can complete last year's New Years Eve resolution of running the City to Surf  Fun Run. I will have to find out when that is on.

The next decision is wehter to run on a Monday or Tuesday morning, given I play squash on Monday night.

Do I run Monday morning when I am fresh but make myself tired for squash? Or do I run Tuesday morning meaning I am fresh for squash but will probably struggle to get up in the morning as I will be tired from squash?

I think the answer this week is to run Monday morning as I previously mentioned it doesn't look like a big step up in this week's program and I am pretty confident of being able to complete it with some left in the tank. Week three might be a different proposition.

I now feel like I can say that I ama runner... 1 week down and full of commitment... may it continue.

I always said I'd be one of those Dad's who can run around with their kids and be a part of the fun instead of watching from the sidleines. Recently I have come to the realisation I am not getting any fitter and my kids are getting older.

Number one son is nearly three and my level of fitness is as bad as it has ever been. I can still play chasey with the little fella and all the things he wants to do now, but I know that all too soon I will be struggling to keep up unless I do something about it.

It is time for actions, I have said I will get fit too may times before.

I started last Saturday, checking out some running websites for a beginners running guide that seemed like something I could stick with. I settled on "The Couch-to-5K-Running Plan" from www.coolrunning.com

I have printed out the training plan and made the commitment to myself.

So 6:00am Monday morning 5/5/08 I got up out of bed (a feat in itself to be up that early) and pulled on the runners to hit the road for workout #1. It was a poorly planned thing with a last minute decision, after opening the door, that a jumper was vital and taking along a bottle of water in hand that turned out to be more of a pain in the ass than anything. Finally I hit the road at 6:14am.

Week 1 plan: 5 minute warm up walk, then alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for a 20 iminute period. Repeated three times through the week.

While I acknowledge my unfit status this is probably a bit below what I could have done as a start point but in my determination to follow through with my declaration to "get fit" this time I am sticking by the program and that is that.

It was too dark at first to see my watch properly and I think I mistimed the first two repititions a little but the basic concept was followed (I counted steps instead of time until it got light enough to see). I completed the program without too many drams and made it home at 6:47am some 33 minutes after leaving having done my program and warm up and warm down walks.

A quick strecth in the living room and I was home, full of energy and awake earlier than I would normally be. This meant another bonus, I actually had time to eat breakfast. Another part of my fitness regime.

The day passed and I felt pretty good about how I have pulled up and being able to continue the program. My body stiffened up a little on the Tuesday particularly my right calf muscle that I had injured playing squash at least a month prior.

Wednesday moring rolled around and boy was it a struggle to get up. I set my alarm a little earlier and I am glad I did as I hit the snooze button and only managed to drag myself out at the same time as Monday

The run went fine and I feel like I have crossed my normal give up attitude once already and beaten it by completing training session #2.. This BLOG is as much a motivation to myself to continue as anything else. I certainly won't be asking my family or friends to read it until I am well on the way to completing the 9 week program.

I am excited by the end result of being able to jog 30 minutess constantly and confident after beating the urge to stay in bed this morning that I will continue on and complete the program.

I want this so badly for my kids, and for me. I don't  want to miss out on the fun.