Is it really that time already! Time for another blog the weeks go by so quickly! I can’t believe January is nearly over which means I have been working out for a total of 4 weeks!! I can’t say I’m really noticing a difference in my body shape which is disappointing, and although my main goal isn’t too predominantly lose weight rather than to tone up what I already have I haven’t seen any evidence of that either. I can however now run for a total of 8 minutes non stop, which may not seem like much of a big achievement but when I think back to when I started this couch to 5k app I could barely run for a minute so that in it’s self is an achievement, just wish I could see results in other areas.

So week 4 blog!….. well I started this week feeling completely and utterly demotivated! I didn’t even want to go to my class on Monday! And I love my classes! I think the weather is playing a big factor, it’s so cold here at the moment that once I’m home in the warm the thought of stepping outside in -1/-3 conditions are so off-putting! I just want to hibernate!!

Yep, it’s pretty cold here in Essex!!

So how come when you’re trying to be like really really good with your eating there’s always so much temptation? And you know I get tempted….. especially by candied nuts of all things! It’s like I get home from work and there they were sitting on the kitchen side (calling my name) the bag was open and I found my hand going in the bag and coming out with…. well a handful, and they were good, although after I was feeling so guilty (desperate face?)…. I wonder if that’s why I’m not seeing results in certain areas!…. could be!. Anyway, after the whole eating a handful of nuts saga I’m pleased to say I did make it to class on Monday! and I was very glad I went that’s not to say I felt motivated but I did work hard and didn’t do too bad on the calories either (I admit I have done better but I was happy with 302 cal burn, although that’s probably only the equivalent of 4 nuts ).

Tuesday sadly I didn’t feel any more motivated than I did the day before (which is a shame as I was really hoping I’d find my motivation in time for my first run of the week!) but to be honest all that day I was trying to think up every conceivable excuse not go out for a run that evening! And I don’t even know why I was trying to think of an excuse because it’s only myself I’m letting down! Okay well, thankfully I managed to pull myself together on Tuesday evening and get my butt into gear and head out for a run! As usual, I did a quick check of my couch to 5k app to see what the deal was for the session….well if I had no motivation before I certainly didn’t after seeing this!!!

I can’t do this!!..

This app’s having a laugh if you ask me! 2×3 minute runs and 2x 5 minute runs…. this isn’t going to go well!! When I got to the Playing field (my running place) I remembered that one of my friends had given me a little tip to run to music instead of just going at it, well I wish I’d remembered this before I got to the field but never mind I just put it on shuffle and hoped for the best! Now if you truly know me you will know that I love music, all kinds of music from different era’s so my music on my phone is really varied, also the fact I didn’t do a run playlist meant that I could be running from anything to guns n’ roses to clean bandit and anything in between! Hoping for the best I put it in shuffle and off I went, it started off good I was more focused than I thought I’d be, and doing a good power walk for my 5 minutes warm-up the first song on was Stevie wonders part-time lover, good beat it was doable, when it comes to the first 3-minute run I had cheerleader by OMI…. okay this wasn’t great it is a little slower than I would’ve liked but it did take my mind off of running so I can’t really complain, the real problem happened as I was launching into my first 5 minutes run just as guns and roses don’t cry started playing! Now great tune but you seriously cannot run to that!! The thing is once I’m in the running zone I haven’t got time to mess around with skipping tunes plus if I expose my iPhone to the cold elements it has an epic breakdown and shuts down! Hence why I keep it covered and am not able to get to the shuffle button! (Despair!!!) Okay so running to don’t cry by guns n’roses was a hard slog, but I did it with no stopping! The rest of the run was okay I did better than I thought but I did find it tough, a few more songs that come on while I was mid training was rather be (clean bandit) your love (the outfield) salute (little mix) and you don’t know love (Olly Murs), by the time I was nearing my last run (a full 3 minute run) I was so close to giving up my legs just didn’t want to move anymore! It was such an effort! I was just hoping the next song on my iPhone was something inspiring!! PLEASE let it be something motivating…… and then I heard the first few lines and my heart……sank ……I’m only one call away (Charlie Puth) I love that song but how am I meant to be motivated by that!!!! I found the energy from somewhere anyway and I managed it and felt good about my self when it was all over!! plus I earnt my 1/2 way badge!!! See even my app thinks I’m awesome!!! I am awesome!!

Thanks, couch to 5k app…. I am awesome!

By the time it got to Wednesday I was a little more motivated and had more of the I can attitude! So I was pretty raring to go Wednesday night and I had thought ahead and made a running playlist (I’m such a pro!!!) 

So now I am totally in the zone! Not going to lie (as I am very honest in my blogs) I wasn’t overly impressed by this

Really!…. I struggled with 5 minutes why are we upping it so soon!!……. I would like to mention that on Wednesday it was really foggy …. really really foggy (took a pic to prove how foggy it was) I am so dedicated though!…. must say it was a bit eerie….. but I survived it!!!!! I am after all a future tough mudder, and it is after all only fog.

Foggy in Essex!!!

To add to my misery the ground was soggy and mushy (cue the bad mood) fog, mushy ground, cold, and a nice 6-minute run! thanks for that app!. The tunes most definitely helped (glad I did the playlist) and I actually found the whole thing slightly easier knowing I only had to run 3 times, plus I was so hungry and I knew dinner was waiting when I got back home!…… what good motivation…..FOOD! The rest of the run honestly was the best I have ever done and I went home feeling really good.

Thursday we (my sister and I) had to, unfortunately, cancel our places on clubbercise, and because I didn’t get back until later that evening that also meant no run! I did, however, chill out with my lovely mum who served up some of her delicious homemade vegetable soup (it’s so good)

Delicious, thanks mum

It was nice to spend the rest of my Thursday chilling out, and getting an early night.

Friday already!! the week has flown by! And the weekend is nearly here!!! Well, Friday night would mark my last run of the week (yes!) and tonight Luke would join me once he got home from work. He ended getting in around half 7 so once he was ready we headed off to my running place. It actually wasn’t as cold Friday as it has been which was a welcomed change, and I wasn’t feeling too bad after the success of Wednesday’s run, I had checked the app earlier in the day which meant I knew tonight would be the biggest challenge to date….. a whole 8-minute run!….

I knew this was going to be tough, but there was just no question of me not doing it.

If I can just set the scene about the area I run around, it’s obviously a big playing field in the small village where I live so late at night unless something is going on in the village hall next to the field, the place is pretty much deserted, towards the back of the playing field there is farmland and beyond that a road. There are no lights up there, so it is dark when I run and I don’t have any means of light, Luke has a head torch (because he is sensible) but I have nothing (cue the violin’s ?). Luke and I don’t run at the same pace or together so I am pretty much on my own….. okay now I’ve set the scene I can continue.

So obviously the 5 minutes warm-up is standard, then I do the first 5-minute run, straight off I’m struggling I got a stitch pretty much straight away, and it was getting worse as the minutes went on, I believe (or I have heard) stitches are caused when you don’t breath correctly, I could be wrong about that, but I thought it was to do with my breathing, so as I was running I tried to regulate it more and steady my breathing, to be fair it did ease up during my walk and was gone (thank god) by the time my 8-minute run was about to start.

I went into the 8 minutes run a lot slower than I had intended because I knew it was the longest I had ever done I wanted to try and pace myself more (well that and the fact that I seem to run at a jogging pace) Luke when he passes me always asks if I’m on my walk or if I’m running, and always looks a little surprised when I tell him I’m mid-run! Anyways about 2 minutes into the 8-minute run I could feel something flicking at the back of my leg, now first off I thought a branch had attached itself to me (remember I can’t see what it is as it’s too dark) not wanting to break my cycle I try to bend down and brush my leg as I’m running. I can’t feel anything when I do a sweep so carry on, then I feel it again, there is most definitely something flicking my leg! As I’m going along in the dark I have a thought, what if there was a snake in the grass and it’s attached itself to my leg (bearing in mind I live in Essex in the United Kingdom, so chances of that are unbelievably slim) but by now my mind is playing tricks on me and has gone into overdrive. I am now convinced I have a snake on my leg…I have no choice but to whip out my phone and investigate! Obviously, I feel a little stupid sharing this part of my story with you but it’s very true this did happen I genuinely thought there was a snake on me, so I stopped to investigate only to see that my lace had come undone and was flicking up at me as I was moving (what an idiot) that did mean that I, unfortunately, had to stop albeit for a couple of seconds but I couldn’t run with an undone lace. After that little fiasco I found the rest of the session pretty tough I had lost my train of thought and just wanted to get it over with and get back home (massive thumbs down for me ??)

So it’s Saturday at last! I love Saturdays and having a sneaky lay in, and I had grape jelly on toast for breakfast winner!!! I discovered my love of grape jelly on one of my trips to Florida and now I have to have it stocked in the fridge. So after a relatively relaxing day, I am at the boyfriend’s finishing my blog off while he is playing destiny on the Xbox. We have just finished up the gym where we spent around 40 minutes, I am really trying to work on my strength so while I’m up there I do only weight-based training, tonight was bicep curls, lateral pull-downs, chest press and ended the session with sit-ups (hopefully I will not feel like I have broken a rib tomorrow morning!) We are having tuna wraps tonight with a side salad and are going totally old School by watching the first Alien movie! I’ve never seen any of them but it is a classic and I’m keen to watch one. I am looking forward to a nice chilled out night and no workout tomorrow!

I would just like to say a quick but big thanks to everyone who has taken time out to read my blog and follow my journey, and also if you follow my Disney blogs then once again thank you and I hope you are finding them informative.

Have a weekend everyone ? littlemisskeepingitreal ?