Introduction:

This update is a little later than planned, but my foot is now pretty much recovered, which means that I have been able to get out running. Well, the first few outings were probably just as much walking, but hey ho! I knew that I’d have to start back out using some form of intervals (Jeffing) as I wanted to ease back into training. My last run was actually at the end of November 2023, and even that was only 2.5 miles. I was a bit apprehensive as not only was my foot still on my mind, but we were getting to see the sun! Not having to contend with rain was nice, but the temperature was far from ideal for my running plans.  

First Run:

Starting out on my first run had me feeling a little anxious, but apparently still too optimistic as my first run section was just over 4 minutes, with a 1-minute walk, then a 3-minute run. I walked for just under 30 seconds to see how I felt, and it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to follow up with the long intervals. My foot wasn’t feeling 100% and I was a bit disheartened.

To try and improve my morale, I decided to shorten my intervals and run for 1 minute and walk for 1 minute. The goal had been to try and get out for at least 30 minutes, and with the walk back home for a cool down, I managed just over 36 minutes. To be honest, I probably started out a bit too excitedly and ran a bit fast and for too long as there hadn’t really been any structured intervals in mind. 

Intervals:

6 days later and I headed back out. This time I went out with a more structured plan of jeffing with intervals of 1 minute running and 30 seconds walking. I managed 18 repeats and was quietly happy with that.  

4 days later, I ran the same interval durations but did 20 repeats. 

I wanted to start building up my running distance, so 3 days later I changed the intervals to 1.5 minutes running and 45 seconds walking. To keep the session around 35 minutes long, I completed 14 repeats and a walking cool down.  

Run number 5 took place 4 days later and I again increased the running duration. This time I ran 2-minute intervals with 1 minute walking. It was a shorter session as I only did 10 repeats.  

2 days later was another shorter session but with 14 repeats. I ran 1.5-minute intervals, but with 30 second recovery walks.  

My next run was the longest run up to this point. I kept the 14 repeats, but this time ran 2-minute intervals with 45 second recovery walks.  

Consistency:

By this point, I was getting used to running every other day. My foot wasn’t really bothering me anymore, although I could feel a bit of weakness in my right ankle as I’d been keeping my weight off it for weeks. I ran 10 intervals, with 3 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking. Despite the heat, I felt quite good completing this run. I was starting to feel some progress.  

For my next run, I decided to up the ante a little. I was running 5-minute intervals with 2-minute recovery walks. This did prove a challenge in the heat, but I got through and completed 5 repeats. 

With some newfound confidence I headed out 3 days later and set out for 3 repeats of running 7 minutes and walking 3 minutes. Despite having to contend with some traffic and jogging a little on my walking recovery parts, I made it! 

I wanted to focus on running longer intervals, but also try and reduce the recovery period. To try and achieve this I ran 8-minute intervals with 2-minute recovery walks. I wasn’t sure how I’d fair, however the weather was a little cooler, so I was optimistic. I managed 4 repeats and ended the run feeling quite strong. 

The next run was a challenge! Not only was I contending with the sun again, but it was also going to be my first attempt at running a double-digit number non-stop. I ran 3 repeats of 10 minutes running and 3 minutes recovery walk. I felt tired by the end, but it felt great to have worked up to 10 minutes of non-stop running, and to be able to repeat it for a total of 30 minutes was giving me motivation.  

My 13th run turned out to be my unlucky number; not because I didn’t have a good run, but because it has been my last run since May 27th as I ended up with Covid. Still, the run itself went well. Again, battling the heat, but winning as I ran 15 minutes non-stop, a 3-minute recovery walk, and then another 15-minute running interval. My activity looks a bit out as I ended up adding a large walk to the end of it as I met up with Em and Fin and walked home with them.  

Conclusion:

I think the biggest challenge that I had during this time was resetting my mind. I wanted to go out faster than I was capable of and run for longer intervals because I used to be able to do that. The hard part was admitting that I was starting over from scratch (and battling the heat!).

I really had to swallow some pride and just slow it down. I’m so used to aiming for a specific race pace or checking my watch, that it was hard to adjust to not paying attention to those things. Instead, I just had to focus on moving forward until my watch vibrated to tell me it was an interval change. I used to try to avoid putting my recovery walk home on the end of my workout as it affected my overall workout pace, but this time I included it to try and help my mentality to shift.  

I’m hoping to get out running again soon as I’m now mostly recovered, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to jump straight back into 15-minute intervals!