5x50 - A Week In

Seven days of 5x50 over and it's going well. I've walked, run, cycled and cross trained all week and I can feel the impact it is having on my body. My calves were a bit tight running this morning, low down where the Achilles joins the muscle. And during the last couple of days I've had little niggles and twinges in my lower legs, but nothing that last more than a few moments, and nothing around the sites of my recent injuries. It looks like Michaela's strengthening exercises have done their job. I shall keep doing them, and some heel drops on the stairs to work on my Achilleses.


This week has involved the occasional inconvenience, like getting up at 0545 to get my 5k in on Wednesday before a long day at work, but the commitment makes it feel doable and acceptable. It gives me permission amongst other people too - at home and at work. The fact that I need to get out for 40 minutes or whatever to get my 5k done is accepted, and early morning runs that may have been ridiculed or raised an eyebrow are given an air of normality, or inevitability. All that brings a freedom to do what I want to do.

It struck me that a side-commitment that comes with the package is the 30+ minutes a day spent outdoors. I like that; it's the place I like to be. The extra time outside has been lovely, which I suppose is partly because the weather has been good. But I can see me setting out for a morning run and feeling the rain on my face and the wind whipping round my legs and still smiling. "I'm doing my 5k. Wind and rain are just partners this morning, like sun and blue sky was yesterday." (Sounds Murikamish, maybe the book I am reading is rubbing off on me!)

The fact that the last two 5x50 days will be on the OMM gives the whole thing a perfect symmetry. It will cover my entire post injury training for the OMM, giving me an extra burst, and extra push that I would have never had, runs and rides that I would never have done without the community and encouragement and support of 5000 others, including the half dozen that I know and who are watching my progress, running and cycling with me, come rain and shine, for 50 days.