Running | #20KTRAINING progress

17 March 2015

Happy St. Paddy's day readers! I thought about writing in green today, but then realized it wasn't going to be really easy on your eyes haha!

I got to celebrate the Irish people on Sunday when I had a lovely afternoon at the Cinquantenaire Park with the bf. We had an awesome bagel at the Holy Bagels stand as usual. We are bagels stalkers, just so you know that about us...

The sky was on the grey side but it was indeed very charming and it felt good being outside despite the cold: lots of green, cute babies, accents to die for and lovely music. Check my travel recap of Dublin here for a taste of the Irish!

Running

WEEK ONE


But let's get serious about my running plan. As you might already know from reading my first post on running, my first week went like that:
  • Monday - nothing
  • Tuesday - run 4,06K in 28 min
  • Thursday - run 6,22K in 39 min and yoga for runners cool down session 15 min
  • Friday - nothing 
  • Saturday - nothing
  • Sunday - nothing
The yoga for runners was a bit hard for me so I only did 15 min and then fast forwarded to the last pose which is lying flat on your back. So relaxing. 
Davina's fitness DVD's rock my world. Seriously I don't know why I'm not more obsessed with them because I really really really should do them every single week of my life. They're easy, motivating and I like that they're all 30 min long. I like to go from a DVD to another. I should definitely make a point of doing them more often. I couldn't find anything on youtube other than this yoga stretch below. If you're new to yoga, it's a nice intro and it's pretty short! 
I was really busy on the weekend eating too much, having coffees, going to my parents and to a friend's wedding meeting so I didn't do any exercise which was disappointing. 

Total = 10,28K.

Runs

WEEK TWO

  • Monday - nothing
  • Tuesday - run 3,84K in 24 min
  • Wednesday - nothing
  • Friday - nothing
  • Saturday - long walk on the beach followed by a 7,02K run on the beach in 52 min
  • Sunday - long walk on the beach
I was a bit disappointed with the 5K run because it was so hard. I really pushed myself to do those 5K. I found that I often have difficulties between the 3rd and 4th km. It's a bit weird but I really felt it on that Thursday run. At that point I was thinking I was never going to increase my mileage, I felt pretty depressed about the whole thing. 
The yoga stretch and soothe with Adrienne was awesome. It wasn't easy all the way because I'm not very flexible but I had already done all the poses when I attended some yoga classes a few years back. It makes me thing I should do the Yoga 30 days challenge but not right now as I think I already have too much on my plate. Living simply. Living simply is my motto. 
Then on Saturday, after an awesome power walk with my bestie on the beach, I ran the farthest I could at that stage of my training. I felt totally awesome afterwards even though I walked a few times on the sand in order to avoid ankle twisting and because the wind was really hurting my ears. I only had a banana in the morning so it wasn't ideal for a long and nice run. Especially because of the approx. 45 min walk beforehand!

Total= 15,89K.

Track

WEEK THREE

  • Monday - nothing
  • Tuesday - nothing
  • Wednesday - 4,36K run in 32 min with a friend
  • Thursday - nothing
  • Friday - nothing
  • Saturday - I helped friends paint their freshly bought flat. Does that count for some exercise?
  • Sunday - 7,47K run in 48 min followed by a nice stroll in the Cinquantenaire Park
This was bad. I didn't do anything other than running which isn't really good in my opinion. I should move my whole body instead of making my knees do the crappy job of supporting my weight. I loved running with my friend: we talked a lot during the workout so I felt good. We didn't run very far but I was very happy about the experience of running with my Biquet. 
On Sunday I felt a bit sad so it took me a long time before I got started. I had plans to run in a nice park but I just sticked with the university campus next to my flat. They have a running track and football field that is unavailable for people who don't have a membership but it was open that day so I got to do a lap alongside hot English rugbymen. Then I witnessed one having a pee against the fence so I left totally disgusted...

Total= 11,83K.

Overall, it's not ideal but I am happy about the progress I made on the distance. I hope to go further this week so I keep my fingers crossed I'll be motivated enough. I am reading a bit more about what to eat before and after a run and also I am thinking of taking a water bootle with me for runs longer than 5K. I don't stretch before and walk for a while before stopping altogether so I haven't experienced pains in my legs yet. I do stretch (thanks to Davina DVD's) for like 5 min after each walk so I guess that helps a bit.

If you're a runner and you have some good tips to share, I would be pleased to read them!
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