Up and running

Well I've finally reached the point where I can start get on with things again.

Over the last week I finally started to get back into shape again after my bout of flu - something that seemed to take an age to get back to.

My work out routine is 5 days per week, giving to rest days for recovery.

Then I alternate working out with the Kinect one day, working on leg strength exercises to try and keep my knees in good condition and the other days I do a 7km run around the countryside near where we live.

So, last week I thought that I would start gently by doing the leg exercises for a few days, to try and get my leg strength back after the previous weeks of forced inactivity.  I also thought that as the leg exercises are only 13 minutes long that they would be a good start.

Wrong! It may be short, but it's oh so intense! After the first 5 minutes I was starting to ask myself whether or not this was such a good idea :) But I managed to do it, and kept at it for a few days as I still wasn't feeling up to a run, and the snow would have made it a little too slippery still.

After three days of doing that the snow had gone and I thought it was about time for a run.  So on Tuesday I came home from work, in the rain I may add, got changed and went for a short run.  A little over 4kms for the first run seemed to be a good idea.  I normally run to my heart rate - trying to keep it around 160bpm.  That was almost impossible on Tuesday! After 500m I was ready to stop - breathing hard whilst running slow and when the wind hit I could hardly move!  After 30 minutes I got home, could hardly breath and was soaked from the rain.

But, I had done it!  Started the road to getting back to fitness!

Yesterday I decided that I would try to do 7km again, not quickly, but just to try and do it.  I woke at 6 listening to the rain drumming on the window, and thought that it was not going to be a pleasant run! But, I managed to get back to sleep for another couple of hours and by the time I woke the sunlight was streaming through the blinds in the bedroom! I got up and sat watching Outnumbered for 40 minutes to get the sleep from my system, and to get some liquid inside me, before getting changed and leaving the house.

The sun was out, it was an absolutely gorgeous morning! There were some fluffy clouds in the sky, illuminated from below by the sun (making me wish I wasn’t running, but cycling with my camera…).  But, it was cold – really, really cold – and after 500m I could not feel my hands.  However, after the first 2kms my body heat was starting to spread and I managed to get into a good rhythm.

By the time I had completed the run the sun was up and bright enough for me to wish I had bought sun glasses along with me! I got home and actually felt really good, so much so that next week I may try for two laps at the weekend.  Once I got on the sofa however I was in a terrible state!  My lungs, chest and throat reminded me that I have been ill, and that I need some more time to get better.  The time sucked – 6 minutes slower than my best, but I really didn’t care.  I was just happy that I had managed it.

A couple more runs on Monday and Thursday to come, and as long as I am felling OK at the end of them I think the 14km could be a possibility the week after.  90 minutes running does worry me, but the advantage of doing it on a Sunday morning is that if I have to give up half way around the second lap I have the time to walk home 

And…  for the first time since I was ill I got on the scales (thanks to Mrs Stace for forcing me into this to show I wasn't gaining yet more weight - I've been terrified of getting back onto them) this morning to find out that I have lost nearly a kilogram of the Christmas weight that I gained.  Back down to 73.5, hopefully now that I am running again I can get back down to at least 70 in the coming weeks now that I’m back to regular exercise.

One final thing – my email is not working at the moment.  The server, and web interface disappeared this morning (yes I am concerned!) and so I can neither send nor receive mail.  So for the second time in three weeks I have to say to those waiting for an email: Sorry!