Polite Interruption

I interrupt this running blog with a karate post...

erm... no, not THAT kind of karate post, 

for goodness sake!

For the past few months, Lizzy has put up with me complaining that she is evil because she won't let me stop to walk and makes me run up hills. 

Today, I passed my karate grading and got my 2nd-blue belt, after working a night shift and having only a few hours sleep. 

Although I felt like going back to sleep and was sure I would never be able to summon enough energy to drive to Chichester, do a karate lesson and my grading and then drive back again, I had a voice in my head telling me to...

"Keep going because just when you think you cannot possibly carry on, you can always push yourself just a little bit more."

 So, yes I have moaned about being made to run up hills and push myself just a little bit further, but that is the mindset that is going to get me to black belt.

I am therefore taking this blog off-topic slightly, to say a massive...

...to Sempai Lizzy, who has run almost every week in the dark and cold, the rain and hail, through mud and puddles, listening to me say how much I hate running. It has made a huge difference and I do genuinely appreciate it!

Listening to 'The Lady'

Our second run of the year was so much more successful than the first. Although I complained about having to run up the hills, I had actually chosen the route to challenge us, as we usually run quite flat routes.

This is what Golf Course Road looks like on Google Images

This is what Golf Course Road feels like when we are running up it.

Despite throwing insults at each other in response to one another's motivational, encouraging comments, Lizzy and I did well.

I must admit, Lizzy and I are both a little reluctant, after finishing C25k and now being able to run 5k non-stop, to go back to interval training to start the 10k app. 'The Lady' as we call her (i.e. the voice on the app) tells us to start walking, just when we are finding our rhythm and want to carry on running.

However, after talking to other runners, I did a bit of research and it seems that interval training is the way forward both for fitness and weight loss. 

So, I guess we will have to put our frustrations aside for now and take the advice of those who know what they are talking about. Now there is a real challenge!

Whose Idea Was It Anyway?

So there I was, being all exhausted after my karate class (covered by another Sempai as mine was off doing some crazy crawling in the mud event), and I just happened to mention to the visiting Sempai that the stamina session at the end had almost killed me and that I guess I really should start running to get fit. I was not expecting the response I got...

"I'll go running with you!" She offered immediately. I think my face probably said it all... that I was not ACTUALLY intending to go running, even though I thought it was a good idea... that I'd only said it, because the last thing I expected her to respond with was an offer to join me... and that I was really really rubbish at running and she was going to regret making that offer.

Anyway, I decided that she probably didn't ACTUALLY mean it either, so nonchalantly muttered something about looking me up on Facebook and was about to walk to my car, when she replied that she doesn't do Facebook, but that she could text me if I gave her my mobile number. Uh oh!

This was starting to sound like I was going to have to go running. Real running. Outside. With another person. I was scared! 

I handed over my mobile number, thinking she would probably forget or decide against it, but when I received a text later that day asking when we were going, I realised I was not getting out of this.

At that point, I was not able to run for more than 1 minute without stopping. Quite frankly, it was embarrassing. I spent the next few days going out running with Larry, just to prepare for my run with Lizzy. By Friday, I felt much better about going running and had downloaded the C25K app to help me build up my stamina and increase the distance I could run. 

It was, of course, not as scary as I had imagined and we ran every Friday, following the C25k plan until before we knew it, we were running almost 5k (including an evil hill) without taking the walking breaks we had got used to taking.




To celebrate, in December, I ran the 5k Santa Fun Run with my brother, raising money for Naomi House and Jacksplace. It was the first time I had run a whole 5k without stopping.






I was much less proud of the excuse for a run I did with Lizzy on the last day of 2015, which served only to remind me how badly I had over-eaten and under-exercised over Christmas.







So, as we start 2016, we decided it was a good idea to start a running diary, to keep track of the distance we have run and our progress. I personally have a tough karate year ahead of me with two high grade belts to try to achieve, leaving me no choice but to get fit and lose some weight.

So, here goes...