C25K - Week 5

I haven't updated this week and I blame it on the fact that I'm disappointed in myself.  I didn't get up and run Monday morning like I should have.  I was tired, my blister and my shins were still hurting from the walk on Saturday, and I just didn't feel like getting up.

Tuesday I did get up.  I did my Monday run and I felt great.  I completed the Week 5, Day 1 run - 3 5-minute runs.  I was proud of myself, even though it was a struggle to get through the last bit of it.

I try to do every other day during the week, so I should have run again on Thursday.  Wednesday night, however, did not go as planned and I ended up staying up way too late so I didn't get up on Thursday.

Today though, I got up.  I didn't want to.  I even tweeted about how much I didn't want to run.  But I did it.  I freaked out when I looked at my C25K app and saw that I was supposed to run 8 minutes, walk 5, then run another 8.  How could I possibly do that when I struggled through 5 minutes of running the last time?  But you know what?  I did it and it actually seemed a little easier than the 5 minute runs.  I found myself having to really push at about the 2 minute mark and at about 4 1/2 minutes, but once I pushed through those it wasn't so bad.  I actually think I could have gone past the 8 minutes if I had wanted to.

I'm still amazed that I ran 8 minutes in a row (twice!).  A few weeks ago I really didn't think I'd ever get there, but here I am!

I haven't been updating me weight (sidebar) because I haven't really had much change there, but my body is changing.  My husband even commented that my stomach is looking smaller (unsolicited) and that made me feel really good because I had noticed that difference too.  I haven't really been watching what I eat, so that's the next step.  If I could control what I'm putting in my mouth, I think I would see a lot more difference.

Hillcrest 5K Benefit Walk

Last Saturday I completed my first 5K.  It was a walk, not run, but I still think it was beneficial in helping me realize just how far a 5K really is.  I'm still only doing a little under 2 miles on my C25K runs so I still have a ways to go.

My mom and I walked together and kept up a good pace the whole time. Unfortunately, I ended up with a blister on my toe and my shins were a bit sore afterward (I'm only used to the treadmill!). Otherwise, it went really well and now I'm even more pumped up for Race for the Cure! I think I've talked my mom into walking it, but I'm still going to attempt the run.  We're hoping to put a small team together for Race for the Cure and I can't wait!

C25K - Week 4, Days 1 & 2

So, since I posted that I was going to do one more Week 3 run on Saturday, I decided to just go ahead and jump into Week 4 instead.  I may have been a little unhappy that my kids decided to wake me up so early on Saturday morning and needed to run off some steam, maybe.

I actually did it though, shy of about one minute on the 3rd run when I thought my legs were just going to collapse underneath me.  I was pretty happy that I got that far though.  16 full minutes of running for someone who does not run is pretty impressive, even if I sliced a minute off.

This morning I forced myself out of bed for my second try and I did it.  I took a short 30 sec. break during the last 5 min run for a sip of water because my throat was way too dry (still dealing with a cold and sore throat), but I made up the 30 sec. on the end.  I'm pretty amazed that I pushed myself through even when I wanted to quit.

Every time I look ahead to the next week's workout I think there's no way I can do it, but then I move forward and I DO IT.  I am doing it, and it feels amazing.

C25K - Week 3 Continued

I haven't been updating here as often as I would like, but I also haven't been running as often as I would like.  I'm really not doing well sticking to my MWF schedule for various reasons (excuses?).  Even though this is titled Week 3 of C25K, I'm in my 5th week of actually doing it.  I'm just stretching things out a bit. 

The Week 3 runs were rough at first, but the last two that I did felt a little easier.  I even added on an extra 90 sec. run the last time.  I'm hoping to do one more Week 3 run over the weekend, then move on to Week 4 starting Monday.  I'm hoping to pick up the pace in the next few weeks and push forward a bit more, instead of stretching each week into two.

I did get slowed down a bit this week thanks to a lovely head cold my daughter passed on and some pain in my right knee.  I'm actually a little surprised that the knee pain held off for this long.  It isn't horrible yet, but I did notice it hurting more than usual so I'm trying to take it easy as much as possible.  I may need to find some strength exercises to help with my knees as they are probably my weakest point.