The first week is nearly over!

As I sit here, beer in hand, pizza en route, awaiting the start of the X Factor?!?!?!, I am reflecting on the week gone by.

The smoking - non existent, the cravings - oh my f**king god!  Since Tuesday, I have had one major craving on Thursday which lasted at least 90 minutes and nearly had me ripping my own hair out.  Somehow, most probably through advice on a running forum, and helpful words from my wife (eg.  "Don't even think about going to that shop....." - She loves me really!), I managed to refrain from sourcing a ciggy.  The one plus side of that craving, and I see this as a major moment of my first week, is that I know I can get through the worst of the cravings.  If that's as bad as it's gonna get, then bring it on!

I am so pleased to say to my readers, my family, my friends, that I am still a non smoker, and I am doing it with your support and kind words.  Bring on week 2! 

Since Tuesday's 10k run, I've had to wait a few days to run again, so my foot could heal after realising my previous pair of running shoes were kaput to say the least.  Naturally, I had to take my limping body to town and try on various pairs of shoes to find ones that fit nice and snugly.

Now, this process of buying shoes was made considerably easier by the blister on my right foot.  Any shoes that were the slightest bit tight hurt like hell, which led me to buying the New Balance 765 wide running shoe.  They were priced at £39.99 at Sports Direct, which made me a little bit sceptical about how they would feel running.

So today, after putting it off for 3 days, I decided enough was enough and went out for a run.  Ill prepared hydration and energy wise, I thought I'd take myself out for a bit of hard interval work.  I wish I didn't!  The run itself, was not too bad, I did what I aimed for, up to a point.  My Garmin stopped working 2.65 miles into my run, so I got in a grump and walked home!!!  28 years old and still throw a tantrum like the best 3 year old tantrum thrower in England!!!

Plan was 1 mile warm up, (800m @ 07:45 - 08:00, 200m @ 10:00-10:30 recovery - x4), 1 mile cool down.

My times:

1 mile warm up - 09:16
Interval 1 (800m) - 07:49 pace
Recovery 1 (200m) - 10:08 pace
Interval 2 (800m) - 07:59 pace
Recovery 2 (200m) - 09:54 pace
Interval 3 (0.15 mile) - 08:10 pace (watch died at this point)

Then I walked home like a spoilt child.  But on the plus side, the shoes were great!  No rubbing, no blisters and no aches or pains.  A well recommended pair of running shoes for those who like a bit of cushioning!

Well on that note, tomorrow is the start of another week, and another run.

I'll face it with a smile on my face, a great fitting pair of running shoes, and a fully charged Garmin!!!

Its great to end the week saying - I am still a non smoker!