C25k Week 6 Day 2

Progress. Real Progress. Despite tiring near the end of the run, this was one of the best yet. I actually think this eclipsed that 20 minute run in terms of how I felt afterwards.

This run represents the last that contains intervals in the C25k Program. From here on in, it's straight running that starts with my next run of 25 solid minutes. The day two run was 20 minutes running with a 3 minute walking period in between then.

Really, I've got so many positives in regards to this run it's unbelievable.

1. Pace - In the past week or so, I've aimed for 6:40/km in the running phases and 10:30/km in the walking phases. In earlier run's I've sometimes run too fast and then needed to walk incredibly slow to recover. I've found the walking intervals to be more telling in this aspect because when you've run too fast, you just cannot do a "brisk" walk. My stats reveal running intervals of 6:34 and 6:30 and a walking interval of just 9:33!

2. Attitude - I used the warmup to reinforce myself. I told myself that 10 minute blocks of time are childsplay to me now. To remember how far I have come, no longer struggling to complete 60 seconds of running. After the first 10 minutes, I did not want to slow for the interval and near the end of the three minutes I was anxious to get running again - so much so that I actually took of about 10 seconds early. Having run the route a couple of times, I knew the ups and downs of the routes and knew where to slow and speed up.

3. Heart Rate - After my first 10 minute run, I was expecting to get my HR down to mid 140s during the recovery walk. To my astonishment, it dropped all the way to 135. I think this is more a sign of my fitness than anything else. I peaked at the end of my run at 176 and so I knew I had more in the tank (previous peaks have been 184). For such a long period of running, I am very pleased with my Avg HR of 161.

4. Other bits and bobs - My weight is at the lowest point since starting. I've lost 16lbs in 3 months. More importantly, my Fat % has dropped to the lowest since I have started and it represents a 5% loss overall which is tremendously good to see. Lastly, our cat which had mysteriously disappeared for 24 hours returned as I was weighing myself last thing at night!

I'm not naive enough to expect days like this even half the time, but they are bloody good when they come along. In fact, tonight is takeaway night so I guess that fat % may well creep up a bit!

My Stats:

3.37 km @6:49/km

My Vitals:

163.8lbs, Body Fat 20.5, BMI: 23.5