Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Fitness | Getting Back into Running with Couch to 5k

Rachel Emily Running Along the Bristol Harbourside

So a couple of months ago I had a moment of insanity and put my name into the hat ballot for the London Marathon 2019.

Now to highlight the scale of crazy that this is - I'm best known for running a bath instead of actual running. If I really push myself then I can run a mile in about 12 minutes and I practically have to lie down for a good solid hour afterwards before my legs will even thinking about moving again.

Now I used to be able to run 4-5 miles in relative comfort whenever I fancied. But realistically that was around 10 years ago and my fitness levels have plummeted lower to arctic levels.

To get to where I want to, and need to be, I'm going to use the couch to 5k app by the NHS and my nifty apple series 3 watch to do all the data logging for me.

Rachel Emily Squatting and Stretching before Running

Rachel Emily putting hair up to go running

Couch to 5k

The concept of couch to 5k is quite self-explanatory. The program takes you up off the couch to running 5k within 8-9 weeks depending on the program. I actually started this last year with the C25K app - but got really disheartened by the fact that without warning at 4 weeks it started to charge you. I should have read the reviews fully. So naturally I gave up and went back to my bubbly bath tub.

Now I'm just about to start the OneYou Couch to 5k App which I am assured is totally free and is linked to the NHS.

I'm currently at week 2 and logging all of my thoughts, experiences and runs ready for a blog post at the end of it. That being said I'm sitting here writing this and already feeling slimmer than I was 2 weeks ago and more positive so I'm hoping this is a reflection of the whole plan. I guess we just have to wait and see.

View of Apple Watch for counting steps and work outs

Apple Watch

So I finally bit the bullet and bought myself an apple watch with my birthday money, yes my birthday was in February, but I wanted to be sure that I really would get the use out of it. I have debated purchasing one since they launched but I'm just such a lover of watches that I felt like I was betraying all my other watch babies. The ones with the hands and chronographs. I've finally done it though and I'm honestly still in two minds. I kinda miss that I could disconnect with the world when I didn't have my phone with me, now my watch gives me all the notifications and kinda hampers that but I am loving counting steps, activity and it's really good for sending a sneaky text in a meeting. 

Why not just a fit bit I hear you ask? Well previously I tried fitness tracker bands but have found them either unreliable or inaccurate. Many the straps have broken and band been lost, or the battery life rapidly decreases or they only count 10 steps instead of the 22 that I'd taken. Upon checking, which I did do, the apple watch seems scarily accurate. Walk 10 steps and it logs 10 steps.

It has a work out mode for outdoor running, indoor running and dance - which with ballet is really helpful. These modes log your calorie burn, distances, elevation and average paces for runs including your route outdoors and calories burned, time and heart rates for dance with both tracking weather conditions.

Rachel Emily Doing Calf and Leg Stretches on the Bristol Harbourside

Make sure to follow me on Bloglovin'InstagramTwitterFacebook and Pinterest to stay up to date with all the latest posts and to keep track of how I'm doing on my marathon journey.

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