Galvin's Chance tower race training: day one
Look what fear's done to my body
In preperation for my run today, I ate a bowl of muesli for breakfast then a banana at 10.00am and drank a glass of water at 11.00am to ensure I was properly fed and hydrated. I'm still waiting for my new shorts to arrive from Natterjack so I headed out with my long baggy summer shorts rolled up over my knees. Nice.
I took Lulu, my GSP (German Shorthaired Pointer) around her usual walking route in Patcham which I calculated to be approximately 3.5km using the Good Run Guide. Its the perfect distance, but until I started running today, I hadn't noticed quite how hilly the route is. That meant I only managed to run one minute before having to walk for five in order to get over an incline. I did however stick to the one minute run , two minute walk for the remaining 24 minutes.
I was surprised at how much hard work it seemed. The minute runs seemed to last forever while the 2 minute walking rests went by all too quickly. Following advice from Runners World, I didn't do any stretching before the run which turned out to be a terrible idea. My calf muscles (yes, I still have some after all these years) began to tighten up almost instantly and I had to stop to lean against a tree and loosen them up.
I really felt the excess weight as I ran and hate to imagine what I looked like - a fat bloke out for his first jog for a decade probably.
Towards the end however, I was running more freely and remembered for a fleeting moment how good it feels to be fit. Tomorrow is just a 30 minute gentle walk, which is handy as I'm out at the Eagle pub for a Brighton Journalists social night. I know from past training experience that I'll feel any alcohol consumption in my legs, which will tire more quickly.
My next run is Friday when I plan to stick to running around the local recreation ground which is much flatter than the circular walking route. Less interesting, but I think it will improve my chances of completing the full 10 minutes of running which is the important thing.
In preperation for my run today, I ate a bowl of muesli for breakfast then a banana at 10.00am and drank a glass of water at 11.00am to ensure I was properly fed and hydrated. I'm still waiting for my new shorts to arrive from Natterjack so I headed out with my long baggy summer shorts rolled up over my knees. Nice.
I took Lulu, my GSP (German Shorthaired Pointer) around her usual walking route in Patcham which I calculated to be approximately 3.5km using the Good Run Guide. Its the perfect distance, but until I started running today, I hadn't noticed quite how hilly the route is. That meant I only managed to run one minute before having to walk for five in order to get over an incline. I did however stick to the one minute run , two minute walk for the remaining 24 minutes.
I was surprised at how much hard work it seemed. The minute runs seemed to last forever while the 2 minute walking rests went by all too quickly. Following advice from Runners World, I didn't do any stretching before the run which turned out to be a terrible idea. My calf muscles (yes, I still have some after all these years) began to tighten up almost instantly and I had to stop to lean against a tree and loosen them up.
I really felt the excess weight as I ran and hate to imagine what I looked like - a fat bloke out for his first jog for a decade probably.
Towards the end however, I was running more freely and remembered for a fleeting moment how good it feels to be fit. Tomorrow is just a 30 minute gentle walk, which is handy as I'm out at the Eagle pub for a Brighton Journalists social night. I know from past training experience that I'll feel any alcohol consumption in my legs, which will tire more quickly.
My next run is Friday when I plan to stick to running around the local recreation ground which is much flatter than the circular walking route. Less interesting, but I think it will improve my chances of completing the full 10 minutes of running which is the important thing.
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