Director’s Fitness Diary

Having signed up for the team challenge 5k in aid of Our Read I've been extending my usual 15 minute dog walks (it's not just my laziness/busyness : he's old) with the aid of an app called Couch to 5K and other fitness equipment (pictured).

I'm planning to walk the 5k but throwing in hopeless, small, breathless intermittent bouts of running. Years of utterly committed youthful smoking (Samson Rollies - yurgh. If only I'd been so devoted to other things - tennis, swimming!) mean I have no lung capacity. And besides that I am three stone overweight. So I'm not willing or able to go flat out.

But I did my first full 5 k on Monday in about 59 mins (it's approx because I forget to check the time before I set off).

You can see my full route here (it's actually 6k, as I thought that would make it seem easier on the day. Is that bad psychology? It's how I trained for my finals, PhD and giving birth, the only other strenuous things I've ever done).

I'm going to post my training times here  for all to see in order to shame myself into keeping going.

Would you encourage me by sponsoring Our Read 5k here, and by sending me ideas for great training tunes for my iPod? And something to read when I wake up at 4.30 am feeling I want to run now.

Jane’s training playlist:

Setting off:
The Wailers - Stir It Up
Patti Smith – Redondo
Pretenders – Brass in Pocket

Speeding up:
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
David Lindley - Mercury Blues

Breaking a sweat:
Chuck Berry - Johhny B Goode,
Bruce with Born To Run

Keeping going:
Vince Clarke Club Mix - Issues

Cooling down:
Mavis Staples – Turn Me Round
The Wailers - No Woman No Cry

But I need more things good to keep going with please - answers, tips, and recommended reading for people in training to the blog please.

Keep me going!