It’s been a couple of months now since I wrote an update on my Fit at 40 challenge so here’s how I’m doing, in a nutshell:

It’s tough

April included a number of events including my birthday and the Easter holidays but I was doing pretty well – my weight yo-yoed a bit but was heading down overall (I got down to 105kg/16st 8lb) and my mileage was increasing with the runs even if my pace was dropping (towards the end of April I managed my first 5 mile run and, for the first time, I was geniunely confident that I can do a 10K).  Unfortuately I lost my way a little when I ran the Harrold Pit Run – a 4.8km (3 mile) race which I ran/walked last year in just under 33 minutes (my first race) and this year I ran (not walked) it a full 5 minutes slower. I was gutted.

I was a difficult day: the race is in the afternoon and it was hot; we’d had a  a Royal Wedding street party the day before and, although I’d been careful not to eat/drink too much, I’ve since learned that drinking beer the day before a run is not a good idea; and it had been a pretty full-on week as I was attempting to redecorate my office, have a new carpet fitted, and put it all back together again in 4 days. Added to that, I was pretty emotional. It was the first time I’d run in The Prostate Cancer Charity‘s t-shirt, complete with a note on my back advertising my fundraising site and someone said “good on you” as they ran past me.  I’m pretty sure that they were referring to my cause (not the snail’s pace I was jogging at) and that got me thinking about why I was doing it – which seemed to upset me, rather than help me get going. To say I was dissappointed with the result would be an understatement – it was all I could do not to burst into tears at the finish line.

The rest of that final weekend in April was no better either – I’m not sure how, but I finished the 4-day weekend 5lbs heavier than I started it.

The good news is that I’m back on the wagon, watching what I’m eating again, and pushing to lose another half-stone or so before the BUPA London 10K at the end of the month.  In the first week of May I managed to run a 3.4 and a 5 mile loop (albeit in 12+2 run/walk intervals), so I know I can cover the distance – all that remains is to increase my pace (and hopefully cut out some of the walking). My workload has been crazy, which doesn’t help the stress levels but I’m determined to complete the course – there’s too much at stake now!

I’ll let you know how I get on with the BUPA London 10K at the end of the month!