5K Roadblock

Last Sunday we finally conquered the 5km roadblock.

Normally we run around 4.7km on our regular run from home but it's so hilly that we have to slow to a walk on at least two of the hills. I have named the three big hills 'K2, Everest and the Mattahorn'. We have managed to scale K2 all the way but we are still struggling with the other two and so haven't managed a 5km run without slowing down yet.

But after the walk around Croydon athletics track for Relay for Life we decided to try running around the track to see if we could improve our running form.

And we did.

Athletic tracks are 400m around the inside lane, and according to various info on the net, the lanes are approximately 8m longer for each subsequent lane. So we calculated we would need to run 12 laps non-stop to conquer the mystical 5km roadblock.

So we went with the frame of mind to pace ourselves and simply get to the end of 5km without stopping. Around lap 8 I got the mother of all stitches but I pushed on, despite the severe head wind around the south side of the track, and at lap 10 suddenly got a second wind that enabled me to struggle in to the end and over the line with barely enough energy to really call it running. But I did it. Whether you would call it jogging or running doesn't matter. I didn't slow to a walk and although my red face factor broke all records I ran my first ever 5km.

Stats: heart rate = 177av, 186max, 32mins, 5km. Red face factor = 11.

Lead Legs

Tonight I did it tough. My legs felt like lead even though I had done a stretching and strengthening session two nights ago for the first time in a couple of months. Maybe that was why though - my legs still had some muscle soreness. It was a case tonight of putting one foot in front of the other and getting into a rhythm, and not looking to the top of the next hill. I kept my eyes down and I was able to get to the top by simply not knowing how much further rather than any real mental fortitude tonight. It was also cold like it hasn't been in weeks and I had to put on a sleeveless hoodie stockpiled with tissues because I just knew the cold would make my nose run.

That's the thing - okay, one of the things - I'm finding about running... every little thing affects my rhythm. I need to blow my nose, I get an itch, I get another itch, I scratch, I blow my nose, I adjust my heart rate monitor band, I get another itch. I'm out of rhythm every 30 seconds or so which has an impact, especially for a duck-footed, lead-legged runner like me.

I've also discovered that smells cause my nose to run more. I thought now that winter is over that the smoke smells from open fireplaces would cease, and although they've diminished, some people are still lighting up their fires. I know it's cosy, especially out here in the hills... but don't they know it's bad for the environment. And bad for me as I puff along gasping in lungfuls of cold smoky, smelly air. But now that it's officially Spring I've also got to contend with the smells of wattle, and jasmine, and clover grass (I really don't know what it is but it's a smell I've disliked since childhood and have always blamed meadow clover). And then my nose runs more from hayfever. Oh the joys of outdoor sporting pursuits.

When I'm not running the flower smells are wonderful. But I wish I could switch them off on those nights that I am pounding the pavement and gasping for breath.

Stats tonight: heart rate - 167av, 187max, 328kcal, 29min. Red face factor: 9/10.