Wednesday 9 October 2013

Update: Getting my life back and my best run so far

FINALLY I have been able to reclaim my life from my MA! The final few weeks were pretty intense, as I was balancing finishing my dissertation with a job and moving flats, but I did it! Now I'm finally able to get back on track with my running and life in general.

Getting back into it: My first run along the Thames up to Putney Bridge
Firstly I've finally been able to actually eat properly: I was living off bowls of cereal and toast for about a fortnight as I never had a chance to make it to the supermarket to buy some real food. As a night shifter I've always had a bit of a problem with this but I really didn't feel like I had a moment to spare. Now the fridge and freezer are stocked up and I'm never taking real food for granted again!

My new flat also has a lovely kitchen so I'm really looking forward to actually trying out some new recipes. My old kitchen was pretty grimy and so I never really enjoyed spending time in there, but now I'm determined to expand my (admittedly pretty limited) repertoire.

I've also been able to get back on my running. My first 10k is less than a month away now and I'm definitely starting to feel a little bit scared. The most I've run so far is 7k, so I need to start getting used to upping my distance a little. I know that I can do it, but I'm just starting to get those little flutterings of panic that began to appear before the Race For Life.

I also treated myself to a few bits and pieces from Forever 21
Having said that, yesterday was probably my best run so far. I'm a very slow runner but I'm trying to work on my speed a bit and so I set out yesterday determined to run my fastest 5k yet. I've never managed it in under 35 minutes, but yesterday I got home in 33.08 minutes. It's still not fast compared to most people, but to cut nearly 2 minutes off my time felt like huge progress. Plus I am having to get used to a big hill at the end of every run which is a bit of a killer!

I'm really excited to see what sort of improvements I'll manage now that I'm getting back into a routine.

Is routine important to you? Does your running suffer when you're busy?

Harris x

4 comments:

  1. Congrats on your PB! That's a great pace...I remember when I first got under 35mins...It felt *AMAZING* & at least your celebrating with nice new threads!
    Routine is hugely important to me..I can work long hours and suffer with stress and this can make my running better (if I take out my stresses on the run) or terrible because I feel so tired and just unmotivated..But that's life..we have some week's when it's easy to fit in great workouts and other weeks when...It just ain't going to happen! :) x

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    1. Thanks Katie! Haha yep, definitely felt it was worth some new running gear!

      I definitely agree with you on stress - I'm currently in the middle of a 7 day stint at work and pretty wrung out, but managed to squeeze in a run yesterday (which as a night worker was technically my morning if you get me!) and felt tons better :)

      Sarah x

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  2. Congrats on finishing your dissertation, great stuff! Am enjoying reading about your running journey in your last few posts, mainly because it reminds me of when I started! (I think back in March and my first 10k was in May). It sounds like you are progressing well and the fact that you're managing 5k without issues now means you are in good stead with meeting you target, and you can gently increase your mileage until the week of the race! I did my 10k with a bunch of newbie-runners, and seasoned pros and some of the newbies did max 8k before the race but then on the night their adrenaline and natural "run fitness" meant they had no problems crossing the line. So I'm sure you'll do great :)

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    1. Thanks so much Lucy, you've made amazing progress since March!

      I'm at that weird stage now of both being scared and really looking forward to the 10k, but every has been so lovely and supportive :) hopefully all will go well!

      Sarah x

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