Cool runnings

Today I ran outside for the first time in months, if not years. I wasn't going to work, which is near my gym, so I decided to do my workout a bit closer to home. After tracking 3km on mapmyrun.com, I took off down the street and headed towards the canal. Luckily, the first part of my run was all downhill so I started brilliantly, thinking that this run was a breeze and maybe I would end up doing 4km instead. But by the time I got to the canal I was flagging a bit. The ground on the towpath was still icy after another snowfall several days ago, so I had to hop over the perilous bits and run on the grass where possible.

I made it to my halfway point - two locks which span across a kind of island - had a minute's rest then set off back. And then it hit me. I obviously didn't notice on the way out as it was behind me the whole time, but an icy wind was blowing right down the canal, making running very uncomfortable. I could hardly catch my breath so spent most of the way back stop-start running. But once I got back on the roads again, it wasn't too bad so I upped my game and ran further than I had planned to make up for the walking parts.

The hill up through our estate looked so daunting I didn't even attempt to run up it so I used this as my cool-down, which worked out perfectly as our street is relatively flat and I really could ease off for the final 100m. And as I was planning the route I realised that all in all it's 4km long. So when I can get to the island and back running the whole time, I will have almost reached the 5km needed to do Race For Life! I'm sure this will be easy when I up my distance over the next couple of months. And if it isn't, I'll just have to practise more often :-)

All in all, I found the run really enjoyable and kind of wish I hadn't put it off for so long. I just get a bit frustrated sometimes having to do things like run around other people and their dogs and wait to cross the road. But there will plenty of distractions at the race so it's probably a good move to get used to the feeling of running like the wind with the sun in my eyes and the stones in my shoes!

A new goal - Race For Life

After my last post I weighed myself and no, it wasn't my imagination. I hadn't lost weight and am only about 1lb lighter than when I started this whole water thing. Grrr! I am still sticking to the water, only giving in to the odd decaff coffee and a  small, weekly helping of wine. Not bad considering how much alcohol and caffeine I was drinking before. But not good enough to make much of a difference, apparently.

But this week I asked my fiance's sister if she would run in the Cancer Research UK's Race For Life with me. We've both done it in the past, but not together, and she agreed. So I have until June 27th to get my ass into good enough shape to run 5km. Which may not seem like a big run but I actually only run 2.4km on the treadmill during my usual gym workout. So here's the plan: for the rest of February I'm going to run 3km, then each month up the distance by 500m until, in June, I'll reach 5km. And I'm going to practise both outdoor and gym running to make sure I'm conditioned ready for the event!

Our Race For Life is being held on a horse racecourse so the ground should be fairly flat - no hills, yay! I don't know how I'm going to handle the jumps, though...

Halfway there... or just half-hearted?

I'm in a half-and-half situation at the moment. This week has been a great week for exercise... I've been to the gym, done a Spinning class and dragged my fiance on a 4-mile walk. So I've probably burned off at least 1,000 calories. But I just can't seem to stop giving in to temptation on the food front!

At every corner there is a cake, a glass of wine or a takeaway meal and I haven't got the willpower to say 'no!' to any of them at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly pigging out here but I'm not often hungry, either. And I don't think I'm going to lose any weight if I keep giving into temptation.

I don't know why I am less motivated on some days than others and I don't see there are any specific reasons for me overeating... I'm quite busy and happy at the moment so it's not a depression thing. Maybe it's the time of the month. I am due to weigh in today so I will soon see if this is all in my mind or if those snacks have actually stopped me from losing or, even worse, made me gain weight.

Has anyone got any good tips to avoid giving in to high-calorie treats? Cos if you have, I'd like to here them! And if anyone knows where I can buy some bottled willpower, let me know...