I have decided to start a training log as suggested in other posts. This is in no way me being arrogant, cocky or egotistical. I genuinely hope that someone is thinking about starting the c25k and will read this and be inspired.
About me:
I was generally pretty fit up to the age of 28. I used to walk to work 5 days a week which was a distance of 4.8 Km per day. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 28 and it took me the best part of a year to get back on my feet. Luckily my long term health was not affected with the exception of walking slightly off balance due to having 1 testicle
I suppose over the years with 4 kids and getting back to work I let myself go. I had put up a lot of weight but kept justifying it by thinking "I can lose that whenever I want" as well as being 6:4 and being able to carry it well.My thinking was only adding to the problem as it always seemed to be "After Christmas il start"
About 10 weeks ago I had the most vivid dream of my life. I was at my own funeral as a ghost looking at my Wife and Children crying. I was only in my early 50s and the kids were still quiet young. The next morning I woke up and completely changed my lifestyle. I changed my diet and soon after that I started the C25k.
I thought I would struggle with the diet but it was quiet easy. I eat more food now but I am eating the right foods. I eat a breakfast now which is something I have not done since I was a child. I also cut out meat and dairy. On a normal day I would drink about 3 liters of milk. I now use soya milk. I eat plenty of fish, fruit, veg, lentils etc. I find I enjoy my food a lot more and take more time in preparing it and savoring the taste.
About 2 weeks in to the new diet I started the C25k. Im delighted to say I have finished it and I am now using the 10 K app. Looking back I made some pretty stupid mistakes which could have stopped me running before I even started. Here is the list
(1)On my very 1st run I could only complete 4 of the 8 one minute runs. For the first 4 runs I ran way too fast and I could not complete run 5. I had to stop and walk home.(Luckily after reading through the forums here I realized I was running too fast and needed to slow down a lot.
(2)For some reason I was breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. This was a big mistake as it was restricting my airflow and causing me to become lightheaded.
(3)Stretching:
Although the app does not say that you should stretch I found it to be very beneficial.
(4)Getting ahead of myself:
Not too long in to the training I decided to push myself a bit too much. I had just finished all my runs and should have started my 5 minute cooldown. Instead I decided to keep running. This was around week 3/4 and it caused me to pull my left calf muscle. This stopped me running for a week. I realize now that it takes time for the body to become used to a high impact sport.
(5)Skipping weeks:
I took a massive gamble here that could have completely backfired and caused me to hate running. I am embarrassed to admit it as I feel completely stupid but I skipped 2 weeks of the c25k.
I was up to week 6 day 3, The runs were 22 minutes and I was finding them a bit easy. I decided to stop the program and just go straight for the 5k. I dont know how but I managed to run the 5k in 33 mins without getting injured. I can not stress enough how idiotic this was. Generally speaking no more than 10% of your distance should be added every week. I went ahead and added 37%. I plan to keep on running and my impatience caused me to skip 2 weeks. Next year when Im looking back I will realize even more how measly 2 weeks is in the grand scheme of things.
(6)Strava
Now this may not be the case for everyone but for me using strava was a bit foolish. When I skipped the 2 weeks I decided that it would be sensible to continue running 5k for 2 weeks and then continue on the 10k app from the correct week.
I used strava for the second week and it started turning in to a 5K fastest time contest. I was trying to compete with other people who were also beginners and beat there time. If I had taken the time to look properly I would have realized that the people I was trying to compete with were running either down a slight hill or a flat track.The route I run has a 41m elevation so they always had an advantage. I also had to stop for traffic at times whereas they did not.
Luckily this only lasted a week and I still use strava for my runs as it is a great tool to improve when used correctly. When Im running a lot longer it will be fun to go back to having competitions with people who are in the same boat as me with regards to running. But for now its all about building my stamina and distance not times.
Since starting the diet and the c25k I have lost 42lbs (19 kilos, 3 stone) I reckon this is the only reason I suffered no injuries when I skipped 2 weeks. Basically my ankles were carrying a small bag of coal less weight or 10 two liter bottles of coke less.
The Plan
The plan is pretty much a simple one. Stop being impatient use common sense and take the advice from the boardsies here.
Currently Im using the 10K app also by Zen labs. All going well I should be finished early January.
When I have completed that I will start to train for a half marathon. Im still unsure whether I should use the 13.1 app by Zenlabs or follow a plan from here. But I will look in to that a bit more when the time comes.
Hopefully if all that goes well I plan on joining the DCM 2017 Novice thread here and running the marathon in Dublin next year. I have booked a hotel for it so all going well I will be running it or volunteering. Either way I will be there.
I have to say that there have being some very inspirational stories on the forums but TheMuppets is always on my mind, That man has achieved some much is such a short space of time and still pops in to the 5k thread to help newbies out. From they way he was talking to us I taught he had just finished the 5k app. Kudos Sir
