Couch To 5K- Week 5 Day 3

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I am very proud to announce that I ran for 20 minutes straight today! It wasn't very fast, and it wasn't very pretty, but I did it. I ran at the local sports complex, which has an outdoor paved 1 1/2 mile walking/running path. It was a beautiful, cool morning, and the scenery was new to me, and there were NO HILLS, and I actually liked it. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone.

I also got the Nike Plus, which fits in my new shoes. The receiver attaches to my iPod and the sensor goes in a special hole in my shoe. Then, the iPod will tell me my time and distance and pace and calories burned. I can load results onto the computer, and I've already joined a challenge with runner friends I have in other states. I am very excited! And, I am over halfway done the C25K program!

Very Funny!

http://www.half-fast.org/2007/08/9-types-of-runs.html

A friend posted this link for me after I shared with her that I was worried about my 20 minute run tomorrow. I want all runs to be perfect, and she pointed out that they rarely are. This blog is funny!

Couch To 5K- Week 5 Day 2

On Tuesday we had a lot of heavy, wet snow that continued through Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday night at 8 we lost power. It's not Thursday morning at 9am and we still don't have it back. I am going nuts. I came out to the local library to be able to post about my run, update Facebook, and check my email. I need technology! Or at least heat, running water, and lights.

Yesterday I did my first 8 minute run. The plan was:
5 minute warm up walk
8 minute run
5 minute walk
8 minute run
5 minute cool down walk

I laid around the house all day, reading and napping, because the roads were bad and I don't have my snow tires any more. That was a total energy suck; it was dark and cold and boring. Finally at 4pm I got dressed and went to the gym. I did my run on the treadmill, which is ever so boring, but I did it. I held a 12-minute mile pace until the end when I lowered it to 4.8mph on the treadmill. Still, it was my longest stretch of continual running yet, so I feel good. Tomorrow I am supposed to run 20 minutes straight. I am so scared. I know the worst that can happen is that I will have to walk, but to me that feels like failure. We'll see... I am doing this run outside, come hell or high water. The high water seems likely, considering the amount of snow that is melting today.

My new shoes felt very cushiony, and my left knee didn't hurt like it had been. However, the balls of my feet felt a little sore afterwards and my right Achilles hurt. I am chalking that up to the shoes just being new, and the fact that I was on the treadmill. I'll give them a week, and try them outdoors, then see. At least the store will take them back, no questions asked!

NEW SHOES

This was my purchase today at Fleet Feet. I really liked the staff and how they examined my foot and my gait before recommending shoes. These feel super, and they look cute too, which is always a plus. I'm excited to try them out!

On another note, I also got a sports bra. One of the several I rejected was... shall we say... not a good fit. I was terrified of it on the rack, and felt like it was choking me once I put it on. It was like a medieval corset, except without any bodice-ripping alure. I would like to SEE someone try to rip that puppy off a woman.

Thankfully, the sports bra I purchased offered support without looking like a torture device.

Couch To 5K- Week 5 Day 1

This week is scaaaary to me! Here's what I did today, the first day of Week Five of C25K:

Brisk five-minute warm up walk
Jog 5 minutes
Walk 3 minutes
Jog 5 minutes
Walk 3 minutes
Jog 5 minutes
5 minute cool down walk

Ok, no problem. I ran five minutes at a time last week. I knew I could do it. And I did do it, this morning. I felt ok. The hills still sucked, but I did them and survived and felt decent at the end.

However, every running day this week is different. On the second day I run eight minutes at a time, and on the third day I run for twenty minutes straight.

This is unfathomable to me. How will I do it? Will I throw up? Pass out? Fall over and roll down one of those godforsaken hills? Stay tuned!

Couch To 5K- Week 4 Day 3

Hills are plaguing my life. They are everywhere. I cannot escape them. Every time I drive up a hill now, I think, "Wow, this would be a bitch to run up."

I even dreamed about hills last night. In my dream, I was at the Disney Half and after Mile 10 there was a pit stop with four tunnels/slides; they were named after obscure famous people. I had to choose one to slide down before I could continue with the race. I was really annoyed about that BS, but I chose the "Farrah Fawcet" slide. As I came out of the slide, I saw that I was at the bottom of a huuuuuge hill. It went almost straight up, and climbed for 1/4 mile. The race volunteer standing there said, "Once you get up this, you're almost to the finish!" At this point I woke up gasping for air.

I finished Week Four today. It felt slightly better than Thursday and I went very slightly faster, so we'll consider that a success. The morning was not too warm and the sunshine was gorgeous, so I definitely enjoyed myself as much as was possible. The flora and fauna were enjoyable too.

Speaking of fauna, as I ran today I wondered what the fastest land animals are. The fastest is the cheetah, as everyone knows. Then it's the pronghorn antelope. Do you know what creature is third? THE WILDEBEEST! They can crank along at 50mph despite weighing over 475lbs. This gives me hope.

Couch To 5K- Week 4 Day 2

In one of the running books I've been pawing through, I read that out of every 6 runs 1 is great, 1 is good, 3 are average, and 1 is terrible. Today was terrible. I don't know why. I ran outside on a slightly easier course than Monday's, and the weather was decent. I was just exhausted. My legs felt heavy and I felt wiped during it. I recovered quickly afterwards, but it was just awful.

On a slightly better note, my knees, feet, hip, and back all felt good during and after today's run. That was nice. I'm thinking that I'll go to Fleet Feet over vacation and get fitted for shoes, but it was a relief that the body parts that have been aching weren't today.

I have discovered that about 10-15 minutes after a run, I get very cold! I sweat very hard on the run, then cool down, come inside, get a drink, stretch, then usually sit down. I get very chilly after that, even if the room is warm. I'm not sure what's up with that. Must Google and see if this is a common thing. Usually after exercise I stay overheated for awhile.

Tomorrow at 2:45pm my April break from teaching starts, so I hope to be well-rested and running with more energy soon!

Visualization

I've heard that "real" athletes visualize the outcomes they want. Through mentally rehearsing the results they desire, the desired result is more likely to happen. So for example, Kobe "sees" the foul shot going in, then he actually swishes it.

I am very, very bad at picturing things in my mind's eye. I am not visually intelligent. So, I have searched the web for some images that might inspire me as I train slowly over the next 8 1/2 months for the Disney Half. This one was very cool. Slightly intimidating (Look at all those people! Wow, it's really early in the morning!) but very cool.

Couch To 5K- Week 4 Day 1

It was the day of the Boston Marathon today. I ran a new 2.2 mile course for my C25K workout today, and I found my own Heartbreak Hill. During the last minute of my last 5 minute run I ran up a steep hill. I was really sucking wind, moving slowly, and my arms/hands got all tingly. Still no barfing though!

To add insult to injury, the dirt road I was running on had just been resurfaced. There were tons of loose rocks and lots of dirt. Parts of it felt like I was running on a beach. Suckity.

I realized that speeding up from a walk to a run is by far harder than sustaining a run, at least for me. I got in the zone running today, even though I extended my longest run time by two minutes. Besides that terrible hill at the end, I felt solid. The program for this week is:

Brisk five-minute warm up walk
Jog 3 minutes
Walk 90 seconds
Jog 5 minutes
Walk 2.5 minutes
Jog 3 minutes
Walk 90 seconds
Jog 5 minutes
Five-minute cool down walk

Nature's gift to me on this run? The smell of dead skunk cooking in the sun. Yummy.

I feel like I am whining a lot on this blog, and I don' t mean to. I am doing this by choice, and I am enjoying it over all. It is just still really, really difficult for me. I want to chronicle how I feel and how running goes, and I hope that's what I'm doing.

Some Motivational Running Quotes

I imagine that I will need these when I start running for more than 3 minutes at a time. I like them all for different reasons, and they will probably all appeal to me at different times. I am hoping that at the end of 13.1 miles, I'll have something wise to myself.

The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."
-Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner

"Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right."
-Henry Ford

"No one ever drowned in sweat."
-Author Unknown

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.
It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle
when the sun comes up you'd better be running."

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
- Confucius

"I have met my hero, and [s]he is me."
- George Sheehan

Couch To 5K- Week 3 Day 3

I am now 1/3 of the way through the C25K program. Today's run was done at the gym because the weather is disgusting. Even with the treadmill at a bit of an incline, running inside is sooooo much easier than running outside. I felt good at the end, instead of like I was going to hurl. That has to be a sign I wasn't working hard enough.

Couch To 5K- Week 3 Day 2

Do you know what can distract a person from the pain in his or her knees while running? THE INABILITY TO BREATHE! At the beginning of my workouts I am thinking how hard it is to gear up my body from the walk to the run, and how my knees ache each time my feet hit the ground. By the end of my workout I have totally forgotten that my knees ever hurt. I am sucking wind and attempting to keep myself from falling over unconscious in a ditch.

Day 2 of Week 3 down. Me? Not down. But only barely.

Couch To 5K- Week 3 Day 1

I am always so scared at the start of a new week. I worry that this is the week I won't be able to do the running.

For Week 3 of Couch To 5K, you do the five minute warm-up walk, then jog for 90 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, jog for 3 minutes, walks for 3 minutes, and repeat. Then, of course, is the blessed cool-down.

Now, mathematically I realize that this is still 9 minutes totally of running, just like last week was. However, this was DOUBLE the amount of time of straight running. And boy, did it feel like it.

I have this suspicion that my couch may be a lot squishier than other people's, because getting from mine to the 5K length is difficult. I look forward to running, then I hate it while I'm doing it, then afterwards I feel proud. So really, I'm happy on the couch but not on the 5K. Maybe there should be a program that teaches runners how to be couch potatoes. We could call it "5K to Couch". It works them down from being active to being sedentary.

Robert Ullrey faked me out today too, which didn't make things any easier. During the last 3 minute run on the podcast, the music went down and his voice came on. "Wow!" I thought. "I must've finished!" I thought. "I'm Superwoman!" I thought. Nope. What Mr. Ullrey wanted to tell me was that I only had a minute left and that I could do it. What a tease! How discouraging! I literally yelled out on the road, "Kiss my ass Robert Ullrey!" An SUV was driving by with the windows down, but trust me, that was the least of my worries.

Oh well. I. DID. IT.

Homer and Emily Simpson

This is how I'm afraid I look as I go running. When a car goes by, at least I try to suck it in.

Couch To 5K- Week 2 Day 3

This was my last day of Week 2. I feel accomplished. I also feel very nauseated.

I had a lot of factors working against me for todays run. In no particular order, they were:
1. eating pizza and cake last night for my husband's birthday
2. running early, after only eating tea and applesauce
3. running outside in colder temperatures than I have (40*F-ish)
4. running outside period, which I haven't done in a week
5. running with hills

So, in Week 2 I run for 90 seconds and walk for 2 minutes. I do this six times. Today, when I got to my third run I was on a hill. At then end of those 90 seconds my legs felt like lead. During my walking time after that run, I thought I was going to yak. Thankfully, I did not.

Then in my sixth and final run I was on a hill as well. I was moving sloooooowly. I mean, there was a robin in the ditch along the road, and it was running, and it was beating me. At the end of that 90 seconds I could hardly breathe, and I was feeling gaggy. I was breathing too hard to breathe through my nose (which I have heard helps nausea), so I just shut my eyes as I walked to cool down and hoped for the best. And I didn't hurl.

On top of the bad-feeling run and the nausea, my asthma acted up. It is only aggravated by cold weather, but I guess the strong wind and the cold air this morning were enough to flare it. So I've been coughing since I finished the run about an hour ago.

I am really hoping for better things on Monday when I start Week 3. This is the worst-feeling experience I've had yet. As I trudged up the hill to my house, I though "Six minutes of running makes me pukey? What will three hours of running do?" I hope Disney has Mickey-themed barf buckets strategically placed along the route.

Couch To 5K- Week 2 Day 2

Well, I did my workout today at the gym again. It was ok- that same damned pain on the top of my foot/ankle, and this time it was both feet. UGH! I noticed that trying to run from heel to toe made it worse, so when I did a more "normal" stride, it was somewhat better. I am for sure running outside Saturday, so if it doesn't hurt then, I will assume it is a treadmill. If it still hurts, maybe new shoes. Blah.

The actual running felt good! I wasn't totally wiped at the end, and I thought it went by pretty quickly. I do find the treadmill boring, though, especially since the gym keeps the TVs on ESPN, which I despise.

I did my new weight routine after running today. Just one rep of everything, because I'm weak and I suck, but I still felt proud. There was one tiiiiiiny issue, though. I got on a machine, set the pin to 65lbs, and then almost died doing my 15 reps. I thought I had somehow atrophied since Monday when the trainer helped me set my program.

Only later in the circuit did I realize that I was looking at the wrong weight setting for that machine. I had it set 15lbs heavier than it should have been. Yeah, THAT makes a difference.

I am going to try to cross-train tomorrow. I have been eating really well, but overall the scale hasn't been moving and that pissing me off. I don't know whether I need to eat more or less, or workout more or less. I would love it if the winning combination is working out less and eating more, LOL!

Couch To 5K- Week 2 Day 1

Well, I started Week 2 today. Week 2 is deceiving. You think, hey awesome, I get to walk for two minutes at a time this week. Wahoo! Then you realize that you now have to jog for 90 seconds at a time. That is half again as much as you did last week. Then you think, shit.

Week 2 involves a brisk five-minute warm up walk. Then you alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Then you take a five-minute cool down walk.

I did it. I did it at the gym. On a treadmill. After walking 10 minutes previously to warm up for strength training. Which I did for 20 minutes.

PHEW is the word I'm looking for right now. Normally I wouldn't lump all this working out together, but I defend my thesis on Wednesday so I doubt I'll be working out that day. I may have the same feeling of nausea as I did today, but it won't be from cardio exertion.

I had that weird pain on the top of my foot again, in that tendon I'd use to point my toe. This happened last week on the treadmill as well, but it didn't happen running outside. If it keeps happening even after my muscles adjust, I'll talk to the shoe people or Nate-the-Trainer or a surgeon who specializes in amputations.

Couch To 5K- Week 1 Day 3

I woke up before 6:30am, and it was forecast to be an unseasonably warm day- 80*F or more! I figured I didn't want to run in that, so I hit the road at about 7:15am. I did my last day of Week 1, and I had it finished before 8am. Cool beans!

I felt decent and I felt accomplished. I went to the gym later in the day to hit the stationary bike for half an hour, because I know I will need the extra calorie burn to make up for the food I am going to pack away on Easter tomorrow.

On a semi-related note, I looked at my odometer as I was running errands today and thought "Oh My God! 13.1 miles is really far!" No shit, Sherlock.

Couch To 5K- Week 1 Day 2

It was gorgeous in NW Vermont yesterday- the sun was shining and it was 65 degrees. I was held up at school in a terrible union meeting, and I cried all the way home. I had packed a bag and meant to go to the gym, but I knew it would be very busy, and I just didn't have the heart to drive there and back and fight a lot of people for the treadmill.

So, I pulled up the C25K podcast on my iPod, laced up my shoes, and ran outdoors. I think it was waaaaay less boring that at the gym, but also more challenging. There is no way to avoid hills when running outdoors on the back roads in Vermont.

Still, I survived, and felt really great afterwards. It relieved my stress, and I felt accomplished- though incredibly sweaty. I totally get why the Disney marathon starts at 5:50am (besides the fact that Disney wants it to finish before the parks open); we need to run it before the heat of the day! I was 4:30pm and about 63* when I ran yesterday, so I cannot imagine doing 13.1 miles in the Florida heat at noontime!

I had a little left knee pain running yesterday, and this morning it feels a little tight/odd behind my right knee, but neither is really bothering me. Tomorrow is my last day of Week 1.