Went for another run today, did things a bit differently today though.

What I normally do, is to do a few stretches in the house, walk to the end of the drive (about 20m), stretch my thighs and calfs again and off I go running. What I did today, was to walk to the end of my road (about 3/4 of a mile), stretch everything for about 30secs, jog for 15 mins, turn around, walk back up my road and stretch when I got in.

I think it worked pretty well! I prefer running on the road that leads off of the road I live on. It's quieter (living in the countryside with no pavements, tractors and buses are a real danger along my road), the road surface is a lot smoother with less potholes and more definate edges to it, it's also flatter so running on a camber is less of an issue.

I got 20 mins into the run and my right shin was agony, it got to the point where the muscle/tendon/ that runs down the outside/front of my leg was so tight I couldn't actually move my foot at all! I had to stop, stretch, play around with my foot/ankle/knee a little bit and try carrying on. This all made no difference as everytime I started jogging instead of walking it would be agony again.

I got rather annoyed at myself, and it's just as well I live in the middle of nowhere because I probably would have been arrested for the kind of language I was shouting at myself in a built up area!

I was walking along chuntering to myself and getting rather irate, when I started to remember how I ran when I was at school. I always had a stupidly long and goofily "bouncy" stride pattern. At the exact same time I remembered the man who sold me my running shoes and he kept on saying "lengthen your stride out".....

So I did....

....And it worked!! I started to jog really slowly, but with that long a goofy stride again and it didn't hurt one bit! It takes up a hell of a lot more energy and I'm running out of puff a hell of a lot sooner than I was yesterday, but I can work on that. I can run relatively pain free again and that's all I care about!

Off for a cycle tomorrow, nothing majorly long but it will be at a good pace, want to work my cardio and stamina as much as I can now. =D

Today I had to go for a 25 minute run. I've not done a great deal of excercise over the last week.....Okay, I've not done anything over the last week and have been eating crap again.

The run was unbelievably hard and my shins were agony again, so I've made the rather earth shattering decision not to have a rest day.

It's a big step, and one that could quite possibly leave me exhausted, but it'll force me into eating the correct foods and drinking the right amount of water daily. It'll also mean that my cardio fitness and stamina will improve rapidly (that's the plan anyway).

I used a heart rate monitor for the first time whilst running today and I was horrified by the end totals/averages. It made me realise I am a scary amount unhealthier than I originally thought.

My resting heart rate is 80bpm
My average heart rate during a 14 minute run was 165bpm
My maximum heart rate during the 14 minute run was 189bpm

I am stunned, I never imagined I was that unfit and it has scared me, a lot....I'm desperate to turn my health and fitness around and am going to give it a fair shot.

Off for a cycle tomorrow as well as doing circuits....

No rest for the wicked....

So, yesterday I went for my run. I got about 200m down the road from my house and rolled my ankle rather spectacularly in a pothole! I tried to carry on but about 5mins later I had to admit defeat. I limp-jogged home and got straight into the ice/heat rotation on my ankle and shin.

Today my ankle was a bit sore, but a lot better than last night. Got home early from work and went straight out on my 35 minute bike ride. The weather is shocking this afternoon, at one point it was raining so hard I could barely see 20m ahead of me!

I had amazing fun though, I ended up actually aiming for puddles trying to see how much of a splash I could make!

I did however find one downside to GoreTex trainers. They're fabulously great at keeping water out of shoes, but once the water is in them it's an entirely different ballgame! I had half of The Wash in them by the time I'd finished!

I even got some pictures to prove I went out and did it!

This is me looking rather soggy and tired, but pretty chuffed with myself (I don't always stick my tongue out at people taking pictures.....Okay, I do, but what the hell!)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a208/Weedy23/IMGP0569.jpg

This is the water being tipped out of one of my trainers!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a208/Weedy23/IMGP0571.jpg

Also, check out the awesome running gear! Fluro vest, bright blue top and camo shorts!! What a good look it is!

Off for a run tomorrow if my ankle will hold out, I'll write about what happens!

So....Long time no write huh?

Last weekend (23d, 24th and 25th May) I went away camping with some friends. We went out to the zoo on the Saturday and I got VERY sunburnt. The following day I had sunstroke, dehydration and the beginnings of a virus passed onto me from my parents. Regardless of feeling like I was dying, on the Sunday I did a high wire assault course in Thetford Forest (Go Ape for those of you who know it!). It was certainly a work out, doubly hard considering how ill I felt!

Needless to say, the past week I've done next to nothing as I've slowly been recovering from the mixture of a virus and sunstroke/serious dehydration. I did my circuits, but no running or cycling.

Strangely enough, I feel utter sh*t this week for having done no excercise. I almost can't wait to get back into the "gruelling" routine of working 9 hour shifts, coming home and going for a run!

So, today I'm feeling a little bit more like myself again and am determined to stick to my time schedule. I'm hitting the road again later, straight back into week 4 of the training regime.

I know it's going to be hard carrying on with the training after missing a week, but I'm determined to carry on with this and get fit!

I'll write later on today to make a record of how difficult/easy the run was! It's 25 mins at a moderate intensity, should be interesting!

Laters!!