February 1st - A review

I've spent today wanting to go out for a run! It's typical - and I know it's only 'cause I'm not supposed to. But I'm missing it.

What have I got out of this? Well, quite a lot, really.

Firstly, I know what causes the shin pain that I've been getting on and off for the last 10 years, and I know (a) how to sort it out and (b) that it can be sorted out. Running through injury is probably the biggest thing I've taken from this. There was a point where I seriously thought I was risking a fracture, and it was quite worrying. But I listened to my body, made some good decisions with the help of a great Sports Medicinist :-) and got through it. I've still got a few niggles and I think it's time to get it properly checked out (see if I can blag an MRI through Bupa!). I've realised that you only start looking at injuries properly if they affect you seriously. I ran with this problem on and off for a long time, but when it flared up beyond a normal occasional ache, I did the sensible thing and took time off running - a few days of rest. In this way, you never address the problem, as you let it sort itself out. Running every day forced you to look at the causes and solutions in a way I haven't done before.

Secondly - I can get out every day. The mental challenge was the main reason for doing this - I was fairly convinced that I wouldn't end up faster by the end and I was sure I wasn't going to end up being able to do long distances. But I'm already feeling a little uptight about not going out today, and I've changed my attitude to the point where running most days is a part of my life. I don't know how this will keep up, but for today it's the way I feel and that's a fantastic result - the one I hoped for.

Thirdly - 3 miles can be a long way! Yes, I can run it, but on some days it can seem really far. And very, very dull!!

Fourthly - It doesn't get significantly easier at the end of a month. It's still hard to get out, and still hard when running. But I do think I'm fitter, I do think I have a much better foundation to start tackling speed, and I think that I recover better out on the runs.

Fifthly - I've lost some weight. Not a huge amount, but I'm sure I've built some muscle up as well - I bought some new trousers today and have gone down a size! I'm set up to get to a weight I'm happy with by summer if I keep going half as well as I've done in January :-)

I'm really, really glad I did this, and I've taken so much from it mentally and physically. I can genuinely recommend it to anyone who fancies a challenge and bit of soul-searching - writing the blog is handy to crystallise thoughts at well.

I've attached a few charts to this from an excellent program called SportTracks. Click on the images to get a better view, but they should give an idea of what I've been up to.

So, for what for February? Running wise, I want to get my speed up, so I'm thinking about 5 days running a week with at least 1 interval session and 1 longer distance run (starting at 6 miles and upping to 10 or so and keeping that regular). My daughter is due in February, so it's possibly not going to go exactly to plan, but what the heck...!

I do feel the need to do something every day for the month, though, so I've decided on the 30 press ups, 30 sit ups and 10 minutes of stretching every day. It's not too much considering the impending birth, and I do have a view that flexibility is essential for speed (and also reduced by doing speed training and not stretching enough). The press-ups and sit-ups should do a little towards some core training and tone a bit so I feel even better when I've lost a bit more weight! The 30 is a minimum again - hopefully I'll be doing 50-100 per day by the end of February.

So, I don't think I'll keep writing blog posts every day in February, but I'll pop back occasionally to write some thoughts down. What started with a January challenge feels like the start of a set of challenges for 2009 - and I have to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next!