Tag: running

Two Steps Forward, Five Steps Back

That’s how it’s felt for the past few weeks. Following the R U OK? morning walk/jog and BBQ with the Running 4 Resilience group on Friday 13 September, I walked the western circuit of Lake Burley Griffin – a distance of 15.62km in 3 hours 4 mins. This was a great endurance work out, focusing on getting time and distance, rather than speed. Unfortunately, work and health then combined to keep me sidelined for two weeks.

Work is hectic at the moment, with several people away. I’m feeling close to burn out, which I’m sure is why I feel washed out all the time and frequently succumb to infections. I have plenty of time before London, but it is frustrating.

After a break of two weeks, I returned to the gym. Some good news was that I hadn’t added any weight whilst inactive. I manage 15 minutes at 7kph then a recovery period of 5 minutes at 6kph followed by another 6 minutes at 7kph. Not much considering London is 42 km, but definitely progress.

On the Friday, I again join the Running 4 Resilience group and manage 18 minutes non-stop slow jog, covering 2.5km.

7:15 am on Sunday 6 October sees me at Rond Terrace on the Lake Burley Griffin. It’s the starting point for the Donate Life 5k Fun Run.

This will be my first ‘formal’ event since City to Surf in October 2019. The weather is blustery and cool. The start is about 8am and I start OK, but soon I notice a twinge in my left calf. I find it hard to stomach – when I ran City to Surf exactly the same thing happened, except that time it was my right calf. This meant that I had to walk up any inclines, extending finish time significantly.

Today I manage to keep jogging for nearly 15 minutes, but in the end I have to accept that I need to walk/jog the rest of the course. This decision was also influenced by my heart rate reaching nearly 170bpm.

The route includes three 1.2km loops which take in part of Floriade plus the starting and finishing sections. I’d not been to Floriade for over 12 years, so it was nice to enjoy that aspect of the morning.

In the end, I need to remember that I am still significantly overweight and that Covid has damaged my lungs. It will take time to get there, but I will. Today was about promoting the Australian Transplant Games and the need for organ donors.

On the way home I dropped by my local chemist and bought an ice pack and started the healing process.

Slow progress, but progress all the same

Saturday 14 September 2024

It’s been a few weeks since I last wrote anything. Work and university get in the way and for about 10 days I had a ‘slow burn’ RTI that whist not bad enough to keep me off work, did leave me feeling drained. Just what I needed when I was struggling to get my head around an assignment on policy development. It wasn’t helped that the policy case study was Australian superannuation!

Eventually, I did get back to the gym on Tuesday 3 September. Whilst the gym provides an opportunity to get some exercise in, plodding away on the treadmill is not very fulfilling. So, on Friday 6 September, I put my social anxiety into a locker and went to try out the Running 4 Resilience experience.

Running 4 Resilience

Running 4 Resilience is a community group that has a tagline of “A Suicide Free Canberra” and is based on the concept that exercise and connection are fundamental in helping to counter the debilitating effects of depression. Having lived with depression since my teens, exercise was usually the way that I prevented full-on decline into addiction.

Sunrise over Lake Burley Griffin 6 September 2024

As Friday is my work from home day, I don’t have to arrive at 7:15am (or earlier) to guarantee a parking spot in the cheapest all-day parking lot in Civic, so instead I was at the Arc De Resilience on Kingston Foreshore at 6:15am. There were about 100 hardy souls, ranging from runners to walkers with dogs. I walked/jogged for about 30 minutes and then had a coffee before heading home.

At the Arc De Resilience after first my walk/jog with Running 4 Resilience

After a rest day on Saturday, I walked/jogged around Lake Tuggeranong, a 6.15km circuit in just over an hour.

Mist coming off Lake Tuggeranong – 8 September 2024

Gym workouts followed on Monday and Wednesday mornings, including a 23-minute non-stop jog (at 7kph) on Monday.

Yesterday saw me back at the Arc De Resilience at 6:15am. There was an added reward in that the team from R U OK? were on hand to provide a BBQ when we finished. (Thursday 12 September 2024 was R U OK? Day.)

Canoests on Lake Burley Griffin 13 September 2024

I walk/jogged 3.5km in 30 minutes. So, although my lungs were burning and my legs felt leg lead, I have definitely made progress. I fully enjoyed my sausage sizzle and double espresso!

The R U OK? team setting up the end of event BBQ 13 September 2024