Week 3 - Happy to have got this far

Sunday 23 April 2017 and now into my third week on "My Long Run Back to Fitness". However, today would be a rest day.

Monday 24 April 2017 was a good day. A hot shower followed by some stretching. A brisk walk of 0.4 miles, then a jog of 135 steps down into the glen. Across the footbridge over the river and then up to the highest point of the path. Four laps of 0.6 miles of brisk walking which included 4 x 265 steps downhill jogging, swift walks over a second footbridge, uphill to a small reservoir around it and then along a flat path. Each lap also included a 100 step jog. Then, to finish off, I walked uphill out of the glen and swiftly back the 0.4 miles along the road.

Tuesday 25 April 2017 was very similar with four laps which included jogging intervals of 4 x 265 steps downhill, plus 4 x 120 steps. As an extra I also jogged 80 steps to a small waterfall, stretched a bit, then 80 back. To finish off, I walked uphill out of the glen and swiftly back the 0.4 miles along the road. Once again the overall time was about 45 minutes.

Evening walk through The Glen

Up to now I had been lucky with the weather. Most of my exercise had taken place during the late afternoons or early evenings. The nights were starting to get longer and more people were out walking their dogs. I was wary of dogs by now as some of them seemed to not be that well trained, with the odd one barking or snarling their teeth at me when I passed. More aware owners would hold their dog by the collar until I was a good distance clear, for this I was always grateful.

Wednesday 26 April 2017. Come the evening, I set off again, walking along the pavement. The weather again was fine, the wind was on my back and it felt neither warm nor cold. It's as I walk that I start to think about how I feel and what I intend to do on the day. Always, in the back of my mind is roughly the same routine. However, I allow for change, depending on how I feel. It's only after completing a lap, do I then decide to do another. This is my completely new approach to getting fit. In the past I have always had a well laid out plan, which I tried to stick to as rigidly to as I could. Now I have decided to let my body make up the plan as I go along. The only rule I do give myself, is not to do too much too soon. By the end of exercise I had done 4 laps again. This time with 4 x 265 plus 4 x 125 included. There were the 80 steps jog to the waterfall and 100 on the way back. Then the walk out of the glen and back along the pavement.

The waterfall at the end of the glen.

Maybe, because I am slightly fitter, I seem to be increasing my distance gradually but still taking 45 minutes to complete my workout. I estimate the total distance now to be just over 3.5 miles, an increase of 0.3 miles since I first started the 45 minute thing.

One thing I did feel by the end of Wednesday's workout was I was very tired and my legs did seem to be stiffer than usual. I did stretch a little extra afterwards and later I walked a half mile to and back from the local shop. I felt pleased with myself as I had done three good sessions in three days. However, this would come back and bite me.

On getting up on Thursday 27 April 2017 the back of my legs felt very stiff. I knew there was no way I was going to do my usual routine today. Instead I went for a 2 mile walk in the afternoon, but even this was painful.

The following two days my legs still didn't feel great. Friday and Saturday turned out to be a complete break from exercise, apart from my daily trip to the local shop. Well I suppose, at the end of the day, I did have a good week with some great workouts. So hopefully by Sunday my legs would be back to normal and I could get on with my "Long Run Back to Fitness". What the hell, I've done better than I have for years and it's not bad for a guy who is carrying much more weight than they should be.