My dog simply doesn’t get interval training…
If you read my last blog post then you will know that I have been talked into giving up alcohol for lent along with a friend of mine (by that I mean she is giving up booze too, I’m not giving up on her!) While I’m not religious I am very competitive so the challenge appealed to me.
I decided that since as I was going to do this I might as well make the most of it and try and improve my general fitness at the same time.
My firsts challenge is my running. I have been running on and off now for about 2 years and can manage a reasonable 30 minutes, which is all my attention span will cope with before I get bored of it. I will be honest, I don’t particular enjoy running. I only started because I had to have an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction done after a skiing accident and was told to by my physio. But I do feel better when I go out run so I go though phases of enthusiasm where a run for few weeks then might not run for a month or so. This is obviously no good for making any real improvement to my running so I have decided to knuckle down.
First thing was to get some new trainers. My old one were ok and in good condition but they just weren’t right for me. So I went to a shop recommended to me by a runner friend to have my gait analysed, custom insoles made and trainers fitted. He had done this several times over the last few years and reckoned it had made a huge difference to his running so off we went.
What he hadn’t told me was that they would have me on and off a treadmill for the next one and half hours (I had gone totally inappropriately dressed) and that they would have me running harder and longer than I do in a normal run. I was knackerd by the end of it but can honestly say that I have come out of there with the most comfortable trainers that I have ever owned and they are a joy to run in. The told me stuff about my running style which made perfect sense and in practice has made a real difference to my running. So despite being beasted on the treadmill, having my sock choice criticised and having to try on more pairs of shoes than I think I have ever done (which for an avid shoe shopper like me is a lot) it was totally worth it and I can highly recommend it. Just make sure you wear a sports bra and something cool and comfortable, unlike me!
After a bit of research I decide to go back to basics and downloaded the Get Running app which is a 5k 9 week program. It starts on very basic shot interval training (1 minute running then 1.5 minutes walking repeated 8 times with a 5 minute warm up and cool down) then gradually builds up over the 9 week program to you running constantly, at a good speed, for 30 minutes.
As I run a bit anyway the first week has been a breeze, except for the dog. When I run, particularly if its at night and dark, I take my dog with me. He is a relatively good running companion, excusing his tendency to want to have a poo half way round, spooking at loud noises and running across me tripping me up (I have friends with human running partners they tell me are far worse!) He also looks rock hard (even though he not) so I know I’m very unlikely to be hassled by anyone, unless they have a death wish, so I feel nice and safe.
The problem is that he simply doesn’t get interval training. Once we are running he wants to keep running and then by the time I have convinced him we are going to walk its time to run again and he happy walking… this is not leading to harmonious running relations between the two of us. On Tuesday night I got laughed at by a group of youths whilst dragging the dog through the town centre crying ’run damn you, we are on the last run and its only 60 seconds’ (I seem to forget I have headphones in and my voice is louder than I think it is.)
As a consequence on Thursday night I decided to go it solo and it was a far more relaxes experience (although I didn’t get the upper body workout that I got on Tuesday from alternating being dragged or dragging a 40kg dog around for aprox 3 miles.) So sadly, for the time being at least, this is the end of the road of Freddie and I’s running partnership. He now sees me putting on my running gear and waits by the door only to be sent back to his basket, bad times in Freddie’s world…
Week one completed… Yay!
