So I went spinning. I was so nervous after everyone I spoke to said how horrific it was going to be. I shouldn't have worried, it was fine! Don't get me wrong, it was tough and my legs burned, but I didn't feel like I couldn't manage it at any point. I was quite worried about the standing up bits, but they were really good fun. I'll definitely be returning! The worst part of it all was losing £1 to the locker. Sod's law that is the only type of pound I am losing.
Following that, yesterday I went for a run around Heaton Park. It was the first run of week 4 of my 5k plan and I had aimed to do 7mins running then 2 mins walking rest, 3 times. As always, the first stint was the most difficult. The vast majority is up hill. I'd love to be able to train somewhere flat for once, but unfortunately I won't be able to do that until we move. Anyway I made it to the end of the first 7min stretch and the 2nd wasn't so bad (still uphill, but more flat/downhill parts). I then did the 3rd stretch and went off on a new path, which was really lovely. It was sunny and I could see over Manchester and Cabaret was on my mp3 player and it was just nice :) I even forgot about the fact I was running and just enjoyed the view, which is something I've been trying to do but not succeeding!
At the end of the 3rd stretch I knew I wanted to try a 4th, so I walked for just 1 minute this time then set off running again. I got a bit disorientated and thought I was at the bottom of a small hill, which in fact turned out to be a very long hill, on quite an incline, with gale force winds blowing at me! I had to have some serious mental conversations with myself during that session. The '3 weeks ago' me would've given up half way up, if not before, but my running has given me some new found mental strength to allow me to carry on with things and ignore the voices that are telling me I can't do it. When I reached the top, my heart was pounding, I could hardly breathe and my legs were doing their own thing, but I felt like Rocky!! I couldn't believe I'd done it, nor could I believe I still had another minute to run, but that was all down hill so a nice easy finish. When my watch beeped at the end of those 7 minutes I felt elated, I'd done it! I could've leaped into the air and cheered, had my legs not been replaced with jelly.
So today is a rest day, which I am very glad of as I'm feeling physically drained. I still feel like there's no way I could manage all 5k without walking, but when I think about where I was 3 weeks ago, only just managing 3 minutes at a time, I'm confident I'll get there by 14th July. If I can manage to do 2 sets of 7 minutes, the latter being mostly up hill, with only 1 minute walking break in between, then surely running for 14 minutes isn't too far away? I read a marathon report by someone who had achieved their first one and she said she was never out of breath (although everything hurt), so perhaps at some stage it will start to become easier aerobically. I certainly hope so!
P.S. I went to Sports Direct last night and bought some proper running shoes, was very exciting! Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say!
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