Thursday 11 January 2007

A day of redemption, 05th November, 2006

I didn't want to do anything today and I knew TheOther was going to be watching a good deal of footie - so we walked the dogs - about 2miles including a decent sized hill. Then, my lethargy had to be shaken off so I climbed onto the elliptical machine once again. It was definitely an "exercise as medicine" moment - you know it's going to help in the long run, but why is it so damn horrible!

I still haven't managed to fix the distance counter or the calories but the time ticks down as it should and more importantly, the resistance is most definitely working. A full 60min interval program ranging from 4-14 resistance (15 being the max). It's damn hard work and only slightly frustrating that I don't know how far I went. It was a ridiculously expensive buy and I'm hoping it's just a loose wire - that's what you get for ignoring it for about 3 years... punishment, from a machine!

What is it about the elliptical machine that makes we sweat like a P.I.G.? Is it being inside? Is it the resistance? Outside I do sweat but it builds up slowly and doesn't really start until about 15min. On the elliptical I'm only 5min in and I'm already dripping! Just one of those quirks I guess.

So, my mileage has really leapt this week - I imagine the elliptical machine for 60min covers a minimum of 5 miles.

My weekly total is therefore:

25.3 miles running or elliptical

3.5 miles walking

28.8 miles overall

I'm really chuffed and only hope I can keep it going. A friend (rightly or wrongly) summed up the number of runs per week as:

2 = maintenance

3 = steady slow improvement

4 = improvement at a rapid rate

We didn't question more than 4 runs a week - that would surely be madness.

With madness in mind I'm now thinking that I might like to run a half marathon (one day - in the future). It's so weird to me that it now feels possible - it was something I literally never imagined... funny how the possibilities expand as you go along.

It was that thought that made me realise one of the reasons I love running is that you can set so many goals - they can be huge or tiny. I started by wanting to run a mile... then I wanted to run a loop where I usually walked the dogs (2.4miles) and now I'm building up to 10miles... it all takes time but it feels like every day (including rest days) is another day that I'm fitter than I've ever been in my life.

No comments: