The weekend had started so well. On Saturday morning rather than enjoy the luxury of a lie-in, I joined my local ParkRun even and completed my first ever 5k. I'll freely admit it was a struggle at times, and on several occasions I had to slow to walking pace to get some air back into my pathetic lungs, but in a time of 30:06 I completed the course. Here is my result on the world wide web for everybody to see
Now, several things annoyed me about the run. Firstly, the fact I had to keep taking breathers highlighted that my overall fitness level is not great. I knew this already but it was flagged up to me in a big way, and has cast some doubts on my ability to run a 10k in late September. Lots more training to be done between now and then I think. Trying to maintain a steady pace without an LED panel telling me how fast I am running proved difficult and I think the next time I do the run I'll have to be wary about not running too fast, and if that means pootling along rather than using up energy to overtake other runners then so be it. Finishing directly behind two 14 year olds was a bit of a kick in the teeth, while the time when it came through was a touch irritating, given that had I shifted myself around the circuit in 7 seconds less I'd have broken 30 minutes.
Still, it was a first effort and once I get to know the course a little better and become more practiced at running outdoors I can see my time improving. I've noticed further up the leaderboard is a former colleague of mine who consistently finishes around the 27 minute mark. Maybe next time I'll look out for her and follow her around the route.
So, once the run was over, a bit of a free for all took place over the rest of the weekend. Bacon butties, birthday cake, Pimms, BBQ, afternoon cider, it all added up to a weekend of gluttony. More than ever I've come to appreciate the value of sticking to a regular once a week weigh-in, because at varying points in a 48 hour period I saw a 9lb differential on the scales. What will count is what I see in my bathroom tomorrow morning, and thankfully I've had a couple of days to work off the excess with the usual lunchtime treadmill action. Monday's effort was a bit of a struggle but today went much better.
With the birthday out of the way, I can concentrate on my weightloss goals as well as upping my fitness. Since mid-May I've come quite a long way, losing the best part of a stone and going from utter novice on a treadmill to running a 5k. Things are definitely moving in the right direction, and a colleague remarked at me earlier today that I had lost weight. Always nice when other people notice a difference.
The weigh-in comes tomorrow and I'll accept whatever the outcome is. Last Friday morning I was looking good for another loss, but then the weekend happened. I've lots to be positive about rather than dwell on a temporary predictable blip. All being well I'll be doing the 5k again on Saturday and my aim will be improvement on my previous time.
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