On track after the second week of training

Short post this week. way too much excellent sport on the telly, making it so hard to get off the couch!

The Hopman cup, the Tour down under, the one day cricket matches England v Australia, congrats to Watson for making 161 not out on Sunday, what a brilliant match. And now the Australia open has started, really going to have to work hard to pull myself off the couch this week and get my three run/walks in...

Okay, so how did I go this week?

Pretty well all things considering. I had set myself three training runs, the same three training runs as last week except this week the aim was to run the whole way without stopping or walking and I am happy to say that is exactly that I did.

Tuesday saw me run for a full 20mins non stop, to the advanced runner or even someone moderately fit this would be very easy to do, however for someone like myself who has been doing absolutely nothing over the last 12 months, this was the toughest session so far.

Thursdays run mimicked the mid week run of the week before, lasted for 30mins and I made it through without walking or stopping. Getting stronger each run and my endurance is slowly building.

I rested for Friday and Saturday and went for a 40min run on Sunday morning at around 8am. The days have heated up in Canberra after a good period of cooler wetter conditions and it was important to get out early to complete the run before the day warmed up to its expected 31 degrees Celsius.

I completed the 40min without walking or stopping which is a pretty big achievement as two weeks ago I could not run 20mins without having to stop and walk for at least half of the time.

There were also a lot of other people out and about on the Sunday, walking, running, mountain biking around Mt Ainslie which is always encouraging and inspiring at the same time as you know you are not out there doing this all by yourself and that other people are out there enjoying their Sunday morning in the beautiful country Australia has to offer.

So, two weeks down, 24 weeks to go. 6 training runs set and completed. The next two weeks see the runs increase in time but not intensity. Remember it is madness to try and increase the intensity and the duration of the run at the same time and the training here increases the time or distance in the first week and the intensity in the second week.

This week includes three runs:
30min walk/run
40min walk/run
50min walk/run

As I have complete a 30min and 40min run last week I should be able to complete the 30min and 40min walk/run by just running. However the walk is there as an option and allows for a full recovery while maintaining the level of endurance already achieved over the previous two weeks. So if I feel like walking parts of the run I will if I feel confident and strong enough I will run the full time set for the day.

The 50min walk/run will more then likely be just that a 50min run with about a third to a half of the time spent walking. The following week will be the test as the times remain the same but the goal changes to completing each run as a run without walking or stopping.

Other notes: my new running shoes fit perfectly, I am loving the outdoors, I am spending less time on the couch, I have stuck with my no alcohol and no caffeine regiment,and this week I am cutting back on the extra calories...that means fruit for desert and limited amounts of ice cream, a home made protein shake for breakfast (no cereal or toast) and smaller more frequent meals to increase metabolism and reduce my stomach size...wow did I just write that? I must be tired.

Okay the goal this week is to cut down on some calories, lets not go overboard, and to complete the three training runs without injury.

Cheer me on or share your goals, post a comment below.

On track for week three, Gold Coast Marathon one step closer!

Simon.