Couch to 5K - and other goals

Way back in May 2007 I 'ran' (that's rather overstating the case; it took me about 39 minutes) my first 5K - the local Race for Life. 

I continued to enjoy modest runs for the next couple of years until a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis put paid to that activity. 

During this 'life list' phase I decided to have a go at Couch to 5K, and blogged here about this in March 2018. Much to my amazement, I managed it, 'graduating' in May of that year. For the next few weeks I ran for three miles two or three times a week, and achieved my first ParkRun on 2 June (at a not-very-blistering speed of 36'17" - pace 11'16" per mile). 

What happened? Well, we moved into a heatwave. I returned to walking instead of running. And got out of practice. And then we moved house - from Winterton-on-sea to Norwich - in August. 

Once we were settled in our new home, I started C25K again in November - and gave up. And February 2019 - and gave up. And October 2019 - and gave up. Although I was still walking a reasonable amount, I'd lost my impetus and the feeling of being 'a fit person'. I gained between seven and fourteen pounds (this went up and down - although I'm relieved to say that my highest weight in this period has been 11 stone 7 - well under the 13 stone 1 that was my very heaviest in 2014).

In late 2019, I started C5K yet again, and in February 2020 I 'graduated' for the second time. And on 22 February I took part in my second ParkRun.

And what happened then? Well, we all know the answer to that. A month after my ParkRun, we went into the first covid-19 lockdown. Walks continued, but not as often or as far as before; life became a struggle, motivation plummeted, fear set in, and although it would have been rational to use activity to keep my mood lighter, I just gave up. My old walking targets of 80 miles per month were seldom met (when they were, it was due to taking long hikes - between 10 and 20 miles - with my good friend James). Lockdown #2 kicked in. We moved from that into Tier 4 - which was tantamount to lockdown anyway. 

Monday 16 November. Time to start again. Food is still rather out of control ("it's nearly Christmas and we're halfway through another b****y lockdown") but I start C25K again. And somehow, I've kept going. 

Today - Sunday 3 January - I've reached the end of week 5, and have just succeeded in conquering that startling 20 minutes of non-stop running that they spring on you at the end of that week. Slow, ploddy, hard work, but done - 1.5 miles, and at a pace of just under 13 minutes per mile.

It's 2021. During this year I'm determined to 

• achieve a running/walking distance of 80 miles per month (coupled with the #walk1000miles group on Facebook)
• to graduate in early February on Couch to 5K
• to walk a marathon again
• to get my weight back down to my optimum ten-stone-seven and below (I'll be doing weights-and-measures tomorrow, but it will be around 10-12 pounds to lose)
• to rebuild this lifelist and carpe diem.

In three days' time I'll be 58 years old. I've missed my lifelist challenges, and I miss the feeling of fitness and freedom that I achieved four years ago. 

The only person that can achieve this... is me.

Walking a marathon: training for a moonlight walk

My June 2017 marathon walk (actually 28 miles, in the end) - with nine of the splendid Mother Nature's Diet group, along part of The Ridgeway - remains one of my proudest achievements. I worked for it with my friend Kim, using the Norfolk Coastal Path for training, gradually increasing distances from 11.5 miles (Winterton to Happisburgh) to 22.8 miles (Wells to Hunstanton).

One of the team on the Ridgeway walk, and on one of our coastal training walks, was my great friend James, who was also responsible for me climbing my first mountains. A casual conversation about marathon distances revealed that James had previously walked the whole of Marriott's Way - a disused railway route in Norfolk which happens to be a marathon distance - but at night, at midsummer, taking in both the sunset and the sunrise and using a head torch.

We wanted to achieve this originally around midsummer day, but the onset of the covid-19 circumstances had messed up our original plans for training. By June 2020 we had got our plans sorted, we were allowed to exercise together, and reckoned that we could fit in enough long walks to do the overnight marathon before the summer was out.

In May I started to do some long solo walks, and in June, James joined me to enjoy a long (15.5 mile) loop around Felthorpe Forest, and we felt we were on our way. Unfortunately, a back injury on my part put a halt to longer walks and I stuck to short routes for the next few weeks. By the time I was back 'in harness', in August, we were running out of summer. However, we managed two excellent long walks in August - 16+ and 18+ miles - and felt we could probably manage the marathon before James (a teacher) returned to school duties.

On 26 August we aimed to train by walking half of Marriott's Way - out and back from the Aylsham end, lunching and turning back at Whitwell, bringing us to an intended walking total that day of about 22 miles. 

In fact, it turned out to be a total of 24 miles; and while it was a fabulous day, both of us were hobbling rather by the time we finished. My foot was in some agony for several days afterwards, and by the time it had recovered sufficiently (and I'd got back off a short holiday) we'd missed our pre-term-time slot - and the nights were drawing in. 

Annoyingly, we'd walked just two miles short of the marathon distance on that last occasion! However, we know we can do it; and when the summer returns, we'll give it another go. We're determined that 2021 will see our moonlight marathon at last - watch this space!

Kayaking: broads on the Broads

I loved my kayaking experience when we were fortunate enough to holiday in Croatia in 2019. However, a fabulous July evening in Norfolk was just as enjoyable!

Kim suggested it and (mercifully) shared my vessel (I think I'd get seriously left behind if I did it alone). We went with the lovely folks of Norfolk Outdoor Adventures on Hickling Broad, who we'd highly recommend for friendly and encouraging professionalism. It was a 'sundowner' outing, and we were fortunate enough to have excellent weather.

After moving across open water and through jungle-like reed beds...

...we paused for a rest and a chat (and a beer!) before returning to base. 

It was an exhilarating and fabulous experience, and one I'd love to repeat.

Full album can be found on Google Photos here.

Kayaking in crystal waters

We were fortunate enough to experience a wonderful holiday in Croatia in September 2019. Our first week was spent in Dubrovnik, in an apartment about a mile outside the city centre; our second week on the tranquil island of Mljet. During the second week I was thrilled to find the opportunity for a trip to incorporate two of my "life list" ambitions: snorkelling (which I'd last tried on the Isles of Scilly in September 2016) and kayaking (much longer ago on a visit to Florida in 2002).

The fabulous Luksa lives with his wife, his little daughter and their gorgeous daft dog in a a lovely house on a lake, from which he operates his kayaking tours (ID Adventures) around the nearby lakes. How's this for a view to wake up to?

I left my non-swimming husband very happy with the dog on the waterfront, equipped with a supply of coffee and apfelstrudel, and set off on a magical morning with Luksa and another customer, Rich.

(Caveat: I was very relieved that Luksa offered to share a kayak with me; after a couple of miles it was clear they'd have been towing me back if I'd needed to, as it were, 'paddle my own canoe'!)

We first paused at a rockface where we took time to snorkel - finding sea anemones (Rich shows off his find)...

and then continued through the amazingly clear waters, taking it gently and chatting all the way, taking in the utter tranquillity of our surroundings. We then stopped at a small jetty (which Luksa had constructed to facilitate the stop for his clients), secured the kayaks, and climbed up the small hill to a seat (again a Luksa construction) to enjoy the perfect view. We sat and ate pomegranates (leaving the shells to be enjoyed by the local lizard and goat population) before scrambling back down the hill.

We stopped again for some more shallow-water snorkelling, and my little underwater camera was put to great use!

Returning to the lake by the house, Selwyn took photos as we came in...

Tired but happy, we then enjoyed a sensational smorgasbord (all provided as part of the very reasonable package).

This was a real highlight of our holiday, in an idyllic setting with a delightful man and his family, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Helicopter flight

Full album available here.

My wonderful husband knew that this was one of my 'life list' wishes, so he bought me a voucher for Christmas 2017 to experience it.

I tried to take it up in July 2018, incorporating a visit to our good friends Neville & Sarah in Oxfordshire. Unfortunately the weather on the appointed day which ghastly, with heavy rain and high winds, meaning of course the flight couldn't take place. However, a second attempt made in May 2019 was a great success.

My husband deliberately bought a voucher for one, as this isn't his thing at all! However, he did take photographs from the ground. The 'chopper' is a wonderful and exciting machine, and the views across the glorious spires of Oxford (which, we have to be honest, is more attractive from above than from ground level) were fabulous.

A very special experience!

Nuclear Rush: a muddy 10K

Full album here

This was a killer.

On a happily glorious day in May 2018, I joined four of my colleagues from Mother Nature's Diet (all considerably fitter than me) for a ten-kilometre 'muddy run'. Not only was 10k a major stretch for me (then and at any time) but the 'assault course' element pushed me further out of my comfort zone than I would have believed possible.

All clean before we started! L to R: Karl, Jane, Jason, Cassie, Kim.

We not only ran but shimmied under cargo nets (through mud), scrambled up slopes, splashed through streams, jumped off high platforms into a lake, and much more. Some hilarious, some deeply uncomfortable, some terrifying, some exhilarating. 

I found there was just one area where I was further into my comfort zone than most of my colleagues: the swimming. I'm slow but reasonably confident, having been thrown into a swimming pool when I was just months old and having no fear of water. So diving under a float to come up the other side posed no problems; it was scary coming down the 'death slide', but that came under the 'exilarating' heading; and jumping off a tower into deep water was a challenge but manageable.

I ducked out of some of the challenges - especially the later ones as I tired - but was still pretty proud to have managed quite a number of them, and - even though I was tail-end Charlie throughout, to have finished the thing at all.

Was I glad I did it? For challenge, cameraderie and personal boundary pushing - yes. Would I do it again? Probably not!! 

Running again

It's a very long time since I did any running. I got into it, in a very modest way, back in 2007/2008 (I used to blog about it here), and loved it: adrenalin rush, economy of time, great cardio - what's not to like?

What wasn't to like was injury. I had a couple of painful calf muscle episodes, but they were sorted with the help of a lovely sports masseur. However, after attempting a 10K run (rather than my usual 5K maximum) without enough training, I ended up with a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis, which started in the autumn of 2008 and continued for a full two years. Anyone who's suffered it will know why I'm terrified of its return: even a walk round the shops was painful, and simple sightseeing was agony, never mind running.

Additionally, a really serious sprain on a walk in 2013 left me with a right ankle that will probably never again be quite right - and the nerves about ever doing it again.

I went to walking, and once I'd cracked my weight problems and fitness routine in 2014/2015, this became my staple exercise. Now I achieve a regular 80 miles each month and it keeps me sane and fit.

However, in expanding my routines and aiming to build up the cardio, I have decided to try again. I probably won't ever want to go for the long-distance, high-impact stuff again. But I feel it's important to get just a bit of speed in; to be ready for my Nuclear Rush (muddy run) challenge, with my Mother Nature's Diet buddies, in May, and to be able to run comfortably between obstacles; to bring in another level.

I've just completed the first week of Couch to 5K, and so far so good. Gently does it. I should reach the 5K distance exactly in time for Nuclear Rush, and all being well I'd love to run the Wroxham 5K (last time was in August 2008... oh, my).

Watch this space.