Introduction:
I can’t believe it’s been nearly 2 months since getting the keys to my house. It feels like I blinked and September just disappeared! In reflection, I would say that September has been a productive month. Despite some setbacks, I feel like I achieved a lot. Let’s take a look and dive right in to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly…
The Good:
I purchased my treadmill and assembled it myself. To my amazement, it worked first time! Luckily, it was a simple assembly process. Getting it up the stairs, however, required the assistance of a good friend. It was going to cost £160 to have it professionally assembled, so avoiding that was a big win.
The second half of September saw me return to training with multiple runs and strength training sessions. I’m still getting into a routine, but being back training is definitely a step in the right direction!
My diet was on point for September, despite a lot of temptation days. I’ve also started shopping at Lidl, and having to avoid the bakery is a challenge in itself! Cooking for one had been a challenge for a while. I experimented with some recipes and started to enjoy cooking again. I put a lot of effort into trying to increase my protein intake. I’m hoping that the scale will start to reflect my efforts soon!
I finally got around to publishing the first Couch To Runner training plan. This had been in my plans since I first ran the London Marathon in 2018, but it just never materialised. I’ll be looking to create a 5k-10k training plan soon, too!
Furnishing my house is going well and it’s starting to feel more homely. I also put some time into the garden and tending to my lawn. To be honest, I wasn’t relishing this task, but I actually didn’t find it that tedious. I purchased a cheap lawnmower so had low expectations, but it did the job with no issue. A grass trimmer would have been useful though!
For other wins, I spent time journalling and sitting with my feelings. Instead of music on my dog walks, I opted for self-improvement podcasts. I also completed my Introduction to Coaching Football course through the The Football Association.
Oh, and I also bathed Lupin on my own for the first time! I’m not going to lie, this is another task I wasn’t looking forward to. I put it off a week, and debated showering him with the outside tap but it’s cold water only. He isn’t keen on going in, it’s not much fun for me either, but it went remarkably better than expected.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, I spent the first half of September unwell, which put a delay on starting my training. Mother Nature also kicked my butt at the start of September. Then to top it off, she returned with a vengeance for the end too!
I didn’t get as many training sessions in as I’d have liked,. Mainly due to illness and then also having to factor in a work trip and work around Mother Nature. Still, I tried to get Lupin out everyday. I only missed a few days when I really wasn’t up to it. In fact, I covered over 60 miles of logged walking, which was higher than I expected. We also got to explore some nice new places, so it wasn’t all bad!
Hydration was another sticking point for September. It’s something that I’ve always struggled with. I don’t seem to get the urge to drink and have to constantly remind myself. I made a conscious effort to keep a drink nearby, but then still have to remember to actually drink it! Although I was tracking it for September, I still fell short for the majority of days. As I look to increase my mileage, getting enough fluids will be even more important.
The Ugly:
Wow, I always seem to forget just how fast your fitness levels drop when you haven’t trained for a while. So yeah, September was a major kick back into reality! Running can be hard, and I get frustrated when I feel like I’m starting as a beginner again. Still, I remind myself that I’ve done it before, so I can do it again. Plus it’s nice to be able to see tangible progress. At my “prime” I was struggling to beat my 5k time of 25:58. Now the target is to try to get back under 30 minutes again.
Conclusion:
Overall, I’m happy with what I have achieved in September. It wasn’t as productive training-wise as it could have been, but that was out of my control. Despite illness, I managed to stick to eating well. There were a lot of little wins and they definitely helped to build momentum. Running 3 miles being a struggle is frustrating, but I need to use it as fuel to improve. For October, it’s about dialling in my routine and continuing to push myself.
