I've spent a month running.

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Dill sweet fries #cooking this herb is known to induce relaxation and sleepiness. Given the times I've been rolling in at, I'd say it didn't work.

A post shared by Matt Tuckey (@matttuckey) on Oct 12, 2019 at 6:19am PDT

Kinda wrote this ages ago and forgot about it. Standard.

In an attempt to close in on my oldest PB, the 10-minute run, I've spent a month running a roughly 5km circuit and running at 14kph at the gym for as long as possible. It has been thoroughly agonising.

One of the reasons I haven't beaten this PB in so long is that I hate running. I hate the solitude, the exhaustiveness, the pain it causes to my knees, to my shins, and to my feet. I hate the weather that I'm exposed to. I hate the local numpties shouting shit at me as I pass them. But I still put myself through it for a month.

Typically, I forgot to record my weight at the start of the month. I was at 84.1kg some time around a month ago, according to a note I left in Omninotes. I've found that the creation date is hidden on this app, one drawback I've only just noticed. You can date-stamp it but it doesn't happen automatically. I was 83.05kg yesterday. I lost a little over a kilo. I still can't fit into my suit trousers, I'm still barrel-shaped and don't feel particularly different.

The 5km circuit I've been running took 44 mins on the first attempt. After this, my times got longer and longer, taking as long as 55 mins more recently. From my records, it looks like I've had 3 cheat meals and 1 drinking session. (I of course can't remember exactly what I've eaten and drank.) But generally, I've been eating well. It just hasn't paid off, largely because I don't enjoy running- that's why the 10-minute run is my oldest record, left unbeaten since 2013.

With regards to that, at the gym I ran on the treadmill at 14kph for as long as I could, trying to beat my time with each attempt. The first time I gassed at 2 mins 45. the latest attempt: 3 mins 45.

Much more tolerable and enjoyable are hill sprints, a quick dart up a steep road near my house. Doing this a few times felt much better, is easier on the knees and is much more effective at toning, improving cardio, and fat burning. I might mix in more of this.

I have an event this weekend for which I need a black suit. I've just bought a tuxedo with a devastating 34' waist. I was 30' my whole adult life until I went on antidepressants. What a shite state of affairs.