January Challenge Update

Finally, I am able to post something other than my photo challenge. (However, that is coming along nicely, even if I do say so myself!)  This probably will be a long-ish post, so get your coffee and belt up. 🙂

At the beginning of January I set myself a new target for running. Last month I only just made my 75km target so I wanted to push myself this month and see if I could beat it. I decided to set an accumulative total of 80km.  It’s obviously only 5km more than last month so pretty achievable.

Here is my total as of the 20th January (Sunday just passed).  Are you Ready?

3…
2…
1…

83.37km

I MADE IT! (and have 6-7 potential running days left!)

Since Sunday, I haven’t had a run.  I decided yesterday to give my body a rest because I smashed another PB (Which I haven’t had a chance to tell you guys but I will now so keep reading) and tonight I have decided to go to boxing instead because my body is starting to not pull up as sore the day after, therefore I’ll take 2 classes this week. 🙂

So on to the PB’s I’ve smashed in the past 3 weeks. 🙂 After just making it to 75km last month, I really wanted to put in a big effort this month and see how far I could push my body without hurting myself.

PB. 1

As you all know, I have a few tracks outside that cover 5.2km, 5.6km and 6.0km.  I’d much rather run outside than run inside on my treadie but as the wind gods decided to cook up a storm, it was decided that I would run inside on the first sunday of the month. I was home alone and cranked up the music on my treadie (It has this super cool port for your ipod!) and ran happily at 10km/h.  I wanted to make it past all my outside tracks because treadie running is easy and there are no hills to make you work harder! 5.2km, check. 5.6km, check. 6km, check.  36 minutes had past and I decided that 1 more kilometre was achievable and I would make a new PB! It was only going to take me another 6 minutes so I counted those down until I had no more seconds to count.  42 minutes came and went quickly… 42 minutes isn’t a round ’5′ minute interval so I decided to keep powering on until 45 minutes.  I hit 45 minutes and I’d covered 7.5km. I had another thought, 7.5km isn’t a round number, hit 8km. PUSH! I hit 8km at 48 minutes and my brain went into overdrive.  “Just a little bit longer, I promise, you can make it to 50 minutes” 50 minutes completed and I just HAD to make ten more minutes, one minute for every kilometre I had covered. I did count the turn of the minute out loud. 60 minutes and 10km covered. TEN KILOMETRES!  I got out my canon and took a few snaps so one day I could look back and say I had achieved 10km.  Much further than I EVER Imagined.

BUT WAIT, IT GETS BETTER…

PB. 2

This isn’t as far as my 10km BUT it is a PB for running outside! The Wednesday following my 10km run, I decided to have a crack at combining my outside runs together.  There is a brief description in Day Nine of my photo challenge but I will just give you a run down.  I started my run on the 5.2km/5.6km track and got to about 4km when I could feel the work in my legs but I wanted to see how far I could make it outside; in the wind and slanted ground.  Instead of turning left to track back home, I turned right towards the other side of my small town, which is part of my 6km track. It’s pretty simple really, my brain works only one way when I run.  If I am going to run an extra “X”km out of my way in one direction, I better be ready (mentally and physically) to run back and cover not only that distance, but whatever I have remaining in my normal run.  Let me go on record and say, IT WASN’T EASY. My legs hurt and I was trying to compete with gail force (maybe not that strong, but I was tired!) winds blowing in my face.  I made it to my bus shelter checkpoint and it was down hill (environmentally, not physically) from there.  If I was going to cover this, I was going to run whatever I run in my 6 km run, which includes a side street. 500m long and up hill. 500 metres doesn’t sound long at all but after covering 6km (with parts of it running up decent hills) you can feel the sting in your legs and the loss of breath in your lungs.  I HAD to do it.  It was down hill on the way back. Decision made and 1 extra km covered. Back on the main road, I hit the bridge coming into town which meant I only had 2k to go.  I had previously tracked the distance in my car so I knew where each 500m check point was.  One check point at a time.  I wasn’t sure on the exact distance of the run because the total track covered was a combined effort of the 5.6km and 6km meaning some parts where the same.  I tracked the distance once I got home on a website called Daft Logic.  It uses Google Maps images and adds in markers so you can measure distance.  Total distance: 9km. Hills, wind and exhaustion couldn’t stop me.

PB. 3

Sunday again and another PB.  What is it about Sunday’s and running?  I have worked and been on my feet all day so you’d think I’d want nothing to do with running. WRONG! I got home from work and totally felt like beating not only my PB for running outside but my 10km PB as well.  Here goes nothing I said to myself.  I started by running my 6km track because I didn’t fancy running up hill at the end of what was going to be a pretty decent effort.  5.8km in and I was passing my street and I thought, just see how far you can get.  Don’t worry about timing, just run. I pushed on. I was determined to make it to 10km.  I reverted back to my original check points to keep me going.    Next pole. Next crossing. Next sign.  I got to the intersection where I decide on whether I am going to run 5.2km or 5.6km.  Small improvements I thought and decided on the 5.2km route.  I powered on and made it home.  I had covered a total distance of 11km.  Fist pumps did happen.

Surely it couldn’t get any better. Could it? 😉

Before I tell you about this achievement, I would just like to say I never ever in my life thought I’d even be posting about running 10km, let alone what I’m about to tell you. (Suspense building…. haha) I am pretty proud of myself and I don’t want to sound cocky but this is a massive achievement for me.  If someone had told me when I was laying in a hospital bed with a torn ligament, that in 2 years I’d be pounding the pavement covering in excess of 10km, I would have laughed in their face.  It is amazing what you can do when you really do put your mind to a goal and push your body to it’s limits.

PB. 4

This is my current PB.  It has surpassed all the above and may sit unbroken for a few days, weeks, months, years; I’m not sure.  Another Sunday and another run!  It was about 7.30pm and I had only just got home from taking snaps for Day Twenty photo challenge. It was slightly windy but nothing too(ooo) bad.  I set off not having a goal.  For the first time in ages, I didn’t think about how much pavement I wanted to put behind me, I just went.  The first beat through my headphones was “Eye of the Tiger”.  The day couldn’t be more perfect.   The only thoughts through my brain were “You can go just a little bit further.”  There isn’t much more I can tell you because I didn’t count check points and I didn’t process the distance in my head.  The only things I can tell you are that my legs were so heavy and tired when I got home (which meant I had to have beaten something) and the distance I calculated on Daft Logic after I got home.

*DRUM ROLL*

15km.

Fifteen kilometres. I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I almost couldn’t speak. NEVER EVER did I expect to be able to run almost half a marathon.

Let me say that again! 15 KILOMETRES!

There are not a lot of words in the English language that could describe the feeling I have in my heart for that achievement, although one comes close. PROUD.

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So the real reason for this post was to discuss my January Challenge progress.  Well as you can see from all the above, I have already beaten it.  I beat it with 10 days to go.  However, I am going to slightly amend it and see if I can push my body that little bit further.  I have set an amended target of 100km. Yes, ladies and gents, ONE HUNDRED KILOMETRES.  It’s 20 more kilometres and I have 6 (maybe 7) running days left for the month.  It is very, very achievable considering I am now covering 10+ kilometres in one session.

Watch this space and this blog.  I will give you an update at the end of the month. I’d say, wish me luck but I think I’ll be ok. 😉

C. x