Thursday, September 26, 2013

Couch to 10k: Week 11, session 2

54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Today's run was amazing.  It felt really really good and I could feel that I was going much faster than usual.  I did 4.14 miles in 43 minutes - that's with 40 minutes of running and 4 minutes of walking. That's a speed of 5.78 miles per hour.  That's nearly 6 miles per hour which is what I'm aiming for.

On the first round of running I found that I'd reached 11 minutes without noticing it so I had my 1 minute walking, then ran for 9 minutes the next time.  On the final round I went up a very steep hill and walked the final few metres, then started running again, so added another 20 seconds onto the 10 minutes of required running.

I feel really, really pleased with myself.  For this week's final round I have two choices of when to do it - I have a gym induction tomorrow morning so could try to do the final session then, or I could go after work on Friday.  I think I'll end up doing a bit of running on the gym's treadmill, then moving to other equipment, then doing my final running session outside on Friday after work.

My legs feel OK now - they feel tired, but clean and springy.  I am intrigued as to how they will feel tomorrow morning.

I'm back to enjoying running.  The feeling of actually stretching out and taking long strides at a fast pace did wonders for me.  I didn't even have to consciously try to extend myself, I just did it.   I knew I had upped my pace for two reasons - 1) I felt differently while running, 2) I found myself going through my route much faster than I usually do.  Honestly, I whipped round!  I feel really, really happy. :)

It's struck me that I am nearing the end of the training programme and it is now concentrating on maintaining stamina and fitness.  Session 3 of this week is the same as last week's session 3.  Session 1 of week 12 is a 50 minute run, then sessions 2 and 3 copy this week's sessions (sort of).  Week 13 is gearing you up for the full 10k run, which should comprise session 3.  However I will have an extra week between week 13 and my actual race, so I think I will make Week 13's session 1 a 10k route and try to do it all in one go.  Then I can do session 2 and 3 as for week 11 and 12, and do week 13 the week of my actual race.  Does that make sense?

A reminder that the running programme I am using can be found here.

A reminder that I am using this training as an opportunity to raise money for the Abortion Support Network who provide funds to Irish women so they can travel to England and access safe, legal abortions.  You can sponsor me here.

Funds raised to date:
£37 from me - I'm donating £1 for every training session I complete.
£153 from kind, wonderful, lovely, generous sponsors.
Total: £190, towards a target of £200.

Gift aid: £38.25
Total including gift aid: £228.25

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