The Running Programme Begins

If you have taken time to visit my Running page you will see that I have listed a few goals, one of which is to run 5k under 30 minutes. Well this goal is now under pursuit. This past week Cris (my trainer) put together a cardio schedule for me to work on. Hopefully, all being well I will be running 5k under 30 minutes within two months, or probably be a physical wreck trying. ;)

This involves committing to 4 days of running a week at the gym, with another one or two days doing resistance with Cris.
Yes! Finally I am getting the hang of being a fitness fanatic.
Maybe.

Today we did a Cooper's Test, which involved running and/or walking on the flat for 12 minutes. At the end of which we took a look at how far I was able to go in the time. For the record I managed 2,040m. And that, apparently, for my age group is a good result.

For those with a mathematical brain, you would have worked out that this was 5:52 per km pace. Which means if I could have kept it up for a whole 3 more kilometres I would be at my goal already.
But here's the snag...

I was knackered when I finished. I even had fleeting moments of "turn the damn speed down, I'm going to die", but as anyone with a slightly competitive bone in their body knows - there was no way I was going to let a treadmill beat me.

And just to prove how anal retentive (or is it compulsive/obsessive?) I really am, I can tell you that the last time I ran that fast was 20 September 2001. It was also the only time I have logged a sub-30 minute 5k run, and only one other time (5 April 2001) have I run a 30 minute 5k.

So you can see that this is a promising speed over 2k, but not really a great boost considering I would have flopped down onto the floor straight afterwards had I not been given the 3 minute cool-down instructions from Cris. ie I had to keep running, albeit a lot slower, and then eventually walking, and finally stopping. Sometimes I hate my trainer. ;)

And to add insult to injury, during our stretching session after this, he suggested that I consider making the ability to do the splits a goal too.
I can barely walk properly after the stretching sessions as it is!

Whatever you do, don't agree to assisted stretching with a six foot, ex-national-class decathlete! Especially when he thinks that you really should be able to touch your toes, and not with the hand on the same side of your body as your foot!!

And if you really want to know where your hamstrings connect at the top end I can show you a stretch that will leave you in no doubt, and walking like you just got off a horse.

Ah, the young and the fit ! They don't know what's coming to them in middle age.

Maybe there's something to the idea of being a couch potato after all.