Jon and I have begun to run.

I’ve never been into running, whenever I went for a run I’d come home and feel so tired that I wouldn’t want to go again! I think that made me not enjoy it - pushing myself too hard and feeling defeated. I think the last time I went out for a run was 2 years ago. Then, last week Jon and I were talking about fitness and how we want to get fitter but we don’t have enough money to go to a leisure centre blah blah. We enjoy hill walking but that’s more of a weekend thing.

We talked about running and looked at the Couch to 5k plan that we’d heard good things about before but never properly looked into it. The 9-week plan slowly eases you into running, where you begin by mixing running and walking together and slowly build up to running a 5k. And then we decided to do it. 2 days later I bought some budget running shoes and the next day we went for our first run.

Begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then alternate 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking, for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 1 Run 1:

When / Where / Weather: Sunday / Holyrood Park / rain

Comments: Actually ran week 2 run 1. I accidentally put the wrong podcast on my iPod.. oops. But got through it and felt good afterwards, without feeling like my body was melting :) My left heel rubbed a bit in my new shoes, think it’s just from wearing them in though. We are both looking forward to our next run!

p.s. the next 2 days both of our legs ached haha we need to keep it up.

Week 1 Run 2:

Comments: Back on to Week 1 as I’ve sorted my iPod out now! The weather was really bad, strong winds and snow made this feel like such a workout. My hands were numb and it felt like I was running backwards when the wind was against me as I was running up a slight incline. Apparently there was a weather warning, but it made it a challenge and I’m glad I did it! After coming home and having a warm shower it was worth it :)

Week 1 Run 3:

When / Where / Weather: Thursday / Union Canal / sunshine

Comments: Yay the sun came out, although it’s still cold around 1°C it felt so much warmer. We tried a different route closer to our flat, it was more sheltered and we both really enjoyed it. Also saw signs that spring is almost here - can’t wait for it to get warmer. I felt this run was a lot easier than the last 2, that’s probably mainly due to the weather but hopefully I am getting fitter too! Both excited to start week 2 over the weekend!

Do you run? Have you ever tried the C25K plan or similar? 

S. xo

//I use the nike+ app on my phone to track each run, and listen to the free NHS C25K podcasts on my iPod//