C25K - Week 8, Day 1

Well, I guess I kind of fell off track... I was so sore last week that I ended up taking the week off from running. Every morning I woke up and every muscle in my body hurt. My legs, my back, my arms, my neck. Ouch. That 5K must have really given me a workout!

So today, I got back out there. My muscles feel better, although they are still slightly sore. I knew I wouldn't be able to do the whole 28 minutes that Week 8 calls for, but I figured I'd do as much as I could. I ran for 11 minutes and made it 1 mile. Then I walked for 6 minutes and ran the last 11 minutes. It was tough, I could tell that I had taken a week off.

I'll try to get out there this week and next, but it's getting to be so busy with Christmas coming up and we're on vacation next week, so I'll have to really work at getting it in. Just 2 more weeks... I've gotta finish the program!

C25K - Week 7, Day 3

Another week complete of the C25K! Well, I cheated a little bit today, but I figured I deserved a break. I was supposed to run for 25 minutes today, but I only ran for 23. I was just too sore and tired to go further. I think that Turkey Trot wore me out - I think every muscle in my body hurts! I suppose some of it is from doing push ups/sit ups too yesterday. By the way, I'm up to 100 push ups and 105 sit ups, but not all in a row, I took a 45 second or so break in between sets.

I did run the first mile faster though, I think it was about 10 minutes, but then my pace went down from there. I tried to tell myself to just keep going, but somehow I just started walking anyways... It was a beautiful day out there though, sunny and 42 degrees. I figured I better get out there and enjoy it.

C25K - Week 7, Day 2 - TurkeyTrot 5K

Guess what?? I ran my first 5K race!! I'm so excited!!! At about 7pm on Wednesday, my SIL called to see if we wanted to run the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K race downtown. 10 other family members were going. She was going to register and had an hour left, so we had to decide quickly if we wanted to go.

I was thinking that we'd have to get up at 6am to go downtown with 10,000 other people and thought that sounded miserable. I didn't know if it would be cold, or if the route was hilly or what to expect. But then I thought that I had to run 25 minutes on Thursday anyways, so why not go and if I had to walk part of the way, no big deal. DH said he'd go if I wanted to, but didn't matter either way to him. What to do??

Well, in the end, we told her to sign us up and see you in the morning! At 6am, way before the sun was up, we got out of bed, and I thought, "I can't even open my eyes, how on earth am I going to be able to run??" I've usually been running in the afternoons, and am not used to getting up so early. But once we met the rest of the folks, I was awake and ready to go. There were tons of people down there and the excitement was contagious.

We got in line for the start line as they were singing the last of the Star Spangled Banner and then we were off. The first mile went quickly and seemed easy. DH decided he'd run with me, since he didn't feel like fighting his way through the crowds to get to the front. Mile 2 was along the Mississippi River and wasn't too bad either. But then the route went uphill for awhile and I started to get tired. I was determined to run the whole thing though, so I told myself to just keep running, we're 2/3 of the way done. It leveled out again, and that was much better. We were still passing people up and were running at my usual pace again.

I saw the 3 mile marker up ahead, so we picked up the pace a bit, but then remembered that it was 3.1 miles, and I wasn't done yet. Once I spied the finish line though, everyone ran faster and we did too. I ran as fast as I could that last bit and crossed the finish line with a time of 37:15!! Better than I thought, but mainly so pumped that I actually ran an entire 5K! :) What a good time!

C25K - Week 7, Day 1

Guess I'm a little late in posting this. Got sidetracked yesterday after I got back from running. I ran for 25 minutes again yesterday. I was ready to quit after about 5 minutes, but I kept going and was so tempted to just give up many times. But I kept going and had to keep telling myself that I've done it once, I can do it again.

I couldn't even blame the weather yesterday, because it was so nice and sunny. It was a little bit windy coming back, but not too bad. I didn't quite make the 2.5 miles, but I figured it took me 11 minutes to go the first mile and a bit longer the last mile. I did go a little over 2 miles, I think, but not by much.

My muscle have definitely been a lot more sore lately, especially my calves and my neck/shoulders. I've been trying to stretch more to see if that helps. I guess they're really getting a work out. Not sure if my neck/shoulders are sore from running or something else. Maybe I'm keeping them tensed up as I run??

C25K - Week 6, Day 3

Whoohoo!!! I ran for 25 minutes today, without stopping! And I kept up a pretty steady pace and even ran faster the last minute or so! The weather was cooperating a little better today, not so much wind to run against.

I'm just thinking that 6 weeks ago, I could barely run for 60 seconds straight. It doesn't seem like that long ago - it's pretty amazing how quickly you can improve if you just keep working at it. It definitely helps to be following a plan, so someone else is telling you what to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even attempted to run as much as I have been.

I went a little bit over 2 miles, but probably not the 2 1/4 miles that the plan says. 6 weeks down, only 3 more to go!

C25K - Week 6, Day 2

Okay, today was the first time that I wasn’t able to do what the plan calls for. ☹ But, I’m blaming it on the wind and am still impressed with myself that I tried. It was only a bit above 20 degrees with a strong, cold wind. I bundled up and headed out walking. All was fine, until I turned the corner, heading in the direction that I run, which also happened to be straight against this nasty wind. I just about got blown over!

I pulled up my hood and covered up any spots where the wind was getting in, just my eyes were peeking out, and kept going. I was thinking though, that there’s no way I’m going to be able to run 10 minutes against this, I should just turn around and try tomorrow. But then I thought, I’ll just try it. I’ll run as far as I can and then coming back will be easier.

I was supposed to run 10, walk 3, and run 10. I ran for 6.5 minutes (and that was harder than ever), walked for 3.5, turned around and ran for 9.5 minutes. I just couldn’t go that last 30 seconds. I think I was pretty worn out from fighting the wind! But I’ll cross week 6, day 2 off and try for 25 minutes on Saturday! Let’s hope the weather cooperates!

C25K - Week 6, Day 1

Started Week 6 today! I ran for 18 minutes total (5 min run, 3 min walk, 8 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run), and went 2 miles in 24 minutes. The plan says you should be going 2 ¼ miles, so I guess I’m just a bit short of that.

It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t too bad. The problem is always the wind. I was running against the cold wind on the way back, so my pace was slower. It was about 32 degrees, kinda chilly. The last couple of times I’ve been wearing a face mask that works pretty good. It keeps my face and nose warm and it’s easy to breath through. It works great when I’m going against the wind. My lower right calf hasn’t been hurting anymore when I run, so that’s good, but I have noticed that my leg muscles have been sore since the 20 minute run.

C25K - Week 5, Day 3

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!! I ran for the full 20 minutes!! The first 10, I was running against the wind, so I ran really, really slowly, but I didn't stop running! On the way back, I actually ran faster, and it didn't seem as hard, I suppose because the wind was behind me. And I was tired, but not exhausted by the end, so I picked up the pace a bit more for the last minute or so.

I really didn't think I would make it, and I'm so impressed with myself that I did! Now I can totally imagine running a 5K in the near future. I'll probably wait until Spring though. Distance wise, I only went less than 3 km or 1.8 miles, but I'm not worried about that yet. Just focusing on time right now and I'll work on getting faster later. But, I just have to repeat it, because I can't believe it - I ran for 20 minutes straight!!!!

C25K - Week 5, Day 2

I ran for 8 minutes straight! Today called for 2 intervals of running for 8 minutes, with a 5 minute walk in between. The last 8 minutes was tough, but I made it! Not sure how in the world I’m going to be able to run for 20 minutes with no breaks on Saturday. I have to keep thinking that it’s just 4 more minutes than what I ran today and try not to think that I don’t get any walking breaks. I think I have to find some other blogs to read of people that were able to do it.

I’m halfway through the program. I’m impressed I got this far. In some ways, it seems like it’ll be easier after the 20 minute run. If I can run for that long, what’s another 10 minutes after that? I guess I better not get too confident, because I’m sure I’ll find out that it’s still plenty hard.

C25K - Week 5, Day 1

11/11/08 - Tuesday

Another beautiful day for a run! That is if you like freezing rain and 35 degrees! ☺ It actually wasn’t bad though, the wind was coming from the side, so I never had to run against it. I suppose this blog is kind of sounding like a weather report! Oops… Well, I guess the weather is a big part of running, at least here in this state. It varies so much from day to day, that you gotta be tough to run outside here! ;)

So, I ran 5 minutes, walked 3, ran 5, walked 3, and ran 5 again, for a total for 15 minutes of running. Wasn’t bad at all. I won’t say it was easy either, but definitely doable. I’m having a hard time believing that I’m going to be able to run for 20 minutes on Saturday, but that’s what the plan calls for. Yikes! I’ve read that others have been able to do it, even though they thought they couldn’t, so I’m going to plan on going for it. I’ll be so amazed if I can actually do it. I’m kind of looking forward to Saturday, just to see if I can… Who would have thought that I would ever be looking forward to running??? Not me, that’s for sure!

Push ups and sit ups for Week 3, Day 2

I did a total of 55 push ups and 63 sit ups on Wednesday, with breaks in between sets. It’s getting harder, but I am still doing more than the minimum for the last set of the plan. It says to do at least 12, but I did 17 push ups, and 25 sit ups.

C25K - Week 4, Day 3

4 weeks down, 5 more to go! Got out there and ran today, even though I was tempted to skip it. I really didn't want to skip, but it was just so cold out there today, it sounded miserable! It's only about 32 degrees and there's a nasty cold wind. Snow has been coming down yesterday and today, but hasn't stuck to the ground at all. Anyways, DH got me going and we ran together.

The first half was against the wind, so it was really hard, but then when we turned around it was much better. It actually felt nice out with the wind to our backs. So, I'm glad I went, I really don't want to quit this program! Can't be letting the weather stop me. I suppose there's always the gym, but it just seems like more hassle to drive there and back.

By the way, I haven't forgotten about the push ups and sit ups. I've been doing them, just didn't think it was necessary to blog every time about it. I did a total of 32 push ups last time and 39 sit ups. Otherwise, there's nothing to really report about.

C25K - Week 4, Day 2

Wahoo! I did it again! Ran another 16 minutes total today, in 3 and 5-minute intervals, the same as last time. My right calf was sore again the last 5 minutes. Maybe I need to get some new shoes.

It was a little tougher today, but I didn’t give in even though I wanted to. Maybe it was the weather, because it was not very nice out. It was cold, about 45 degrees, and cloudy, windy, and drizzly. No sun to be seen today! It still felt good to get out there though, get some fresh air and exercise. Can’t be skipping just because the weather isn’t perfect!

C25K - Week 4, Day 1

I can’t believe it! I didn’t think I’d be able to do this week’s intervals. The plan jumps from running a total of 9 minutes up to a total of 16 minutes. First it says to run 3 minutes, then walk 1.5 minutes, and then run for 5 minutes! I didn’t think I could do it, but I did!! After that, you walk for 2.5 minutes and then run 3, walk 1.5, and run another 5 minutes. I was able to run the whole 16 minutes!!!

Surprisingly, it wasn’t too hard either. I thought I’d be dying, but I was actually able to pick up the pace the last 20-30 seconds of running. I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but it seemed easier than the first week of running… After I was done with the first 5, I felt like I could do anything! I was tired, but I was so excited that I was able to run for 5 minutes straight! What a good feeling to accomplish something I never thought I could do. ☺

My right calf was sore walking back, but it went away after I stretched. Just a side note, I haven’t been sore hardly at all after running, so that’s been nice. I also went a bit farther today than I have before, so at least I know that I run faster than I walk! It was a bit cloudy out today, but it was 70 degrees! What on earth is going on?? It’s November in MN and it feels like summer out there! I love it! ☺

C25K - Week 3, Day 3

I completed another week! And I'm still liking it and motivated to keep going! Today was much better than last time, didn't get the stomach pain, and I still had plenty of energy to walk at a quicker pace on the way back. Usually I'm exhausted and walk really slowly.

DH came with me again, fun to have someone along to make the time go faster. I also bought a new timer today. Just picked up a cheap kitchen timer from Target. It works great and was a lot cheaper than an iPod! I just set the timer for 3 minutes (or however long) and run until it beeps, and then reset it for the next interval. Don't need to pay attention to the clock so much. Plus I like to hear what's going on around me, the traffic, birds, people, etc, and not sure I would like to have headphones in. Guess I haven't tried it yet, maybe it's easier to keep going when you have music to listen to?

But it was a beautiful day again today! Great day to get out for a run! (I like being able to say that I went for a 'run' instead of a walk...) :) Can't beat this awesome fall weather! :)

Push ups – Week 1, Day 3

I did 27 push ups today! Plan calls for 5 sets of 4, 5, 4, 4, and at least 5, but I did 10. Easy enough.

Then I decided I might as well be doing sit ups at the same time. Can't hurt to strengthen the abs too! Well, I can't do the full sit ups, but I'll do crunches for the first round and then maybe try to do the full sit ups later. So I started with the same sets as the push ups challenge, for Week 1, Day 3, so I'm on the same schedule. I was able to do 20 crunches for the last set, for a total of 37 crunches.

C25K - Week 3, Day 2

10/30/08 Thursday

Well, I made it, but barely. I was able to run the full amount of time, although I really wanted to quit early the last 3 minutes of running. My legs hurt (thighs) and it was hard to breath. It was windy, so the way back was harder running against the wind. Plus I had mowed the lawn yesterday, so that’s about 60 minutes of walking fairly quickly behind the mower. Maybe my legs weren’t able to rest enough.

I thought I was good to go after I was done running, but as I was walking back, I started feeling terrible. Usually, that’s the best part – I’m done running and can just enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and being outside. Today was an unusually warm day for the end of October – it was close to 70! I was thrilled to be running in just a tank top! I should have put shorts on, but didn’t realize that it was that warm, so I wore my long pants. It was a lovely day to be outside!

But anyways, the side of my abdomen started hurting really bad and I just wanted to curl up on the side of the road, but managed to make it home. Usually I stretch on the front steps when I get back, but I couldn’t today. I just went in and kicked my shoes off and collapsed on the bed. It hurt so much! I'm not exactly sure what was going on, but I was curled up in pain for about 5 or 10 minutes and then it calmed down to a tolerable ache, and so went the second day of week 3.

Push ups – Week 1, Day 2

I did 22 push ups today! The plan calls for 5 sets again: 3, 4, 2, 3 and then at least 4, I did 10. It says to rest for 90 seconds in between, but again, that’s too long, so I just rested however long I felt I had to, but did rest the full 90 seconds before the last set. It was still easy enough, but I noticed after last time that my arms and chest were sore from push ups, so it’s working anyways!

C25K - Week 3, Day 1

Wowza! I ran for 3 minutes straight today! The plan for this week is to run for 1 ½ minutes, walk for 1 ½ minutes, run for 3 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, and repeat. So it’s a total of 9 minutes of running. The first 3 minutes went by quickly, I was thinking later that maybe I only ran for 2 minutes, but in the end, I think it was 3. It’s hard to keep track with a watch that’s not digital, because you have to remember how many times the second hand has gone around. I for sure did the whole 3 minutes the second time though. It seemed long, but it’s weird, it didn’t seem to be harder than running 1 ½ minutes, just the same level of difficulty stretched out longer, if that makes any sense…

I’ve been walking to the end of our road, about 5 minutes, and then I start the intervals of running and walking. There is a nice paved trail that is 2 miles long across from our road. When I am halfway through the intervals (about 10 minutes), I turn around and come back to the start of the trail, and then walk the rest of the way home, another 5 minutes or so. That’s why I think that I did run the whole 3 minutes the first time, because I turned around halfway through as usual, and made it almost back to the beginning by the time I was done with the intervals.

It’s easy to see if my distance increases or not by going the same route. Today was a little shorter than the last couple weeks, but this week there is only 18 minutes of intervals, while there was 20 minutes the first 2 weeks.

It was chilly out there today. I needed my hat and gloves the whole time. It was nice and sunny though, and not windy. Can’t complain about the crisp fall air! Feels great to get out there and enjoy it! It helps to always try to think about how I feel when I’m done, and not while I’m out there running.

Push ups!

10/27/08 Monday

I started another challenge today! It’s called the One Hundred Push Ups Challenge. I’m going to do this on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the days that I’m not doing the Couch to 5K challenge. I tried to do regular push ups, but I’m not even able to do one (how pathetic is that??), so I’m going to do this challenge by doing the push ups on my knees, girly push ups… ☺ When I get to the one hundred push ups mark (should be in 6 weeks!), then maybe I’ll start over by doing them the real way.

So, today I started at level 1 and did 5 reps: first 2 push ups, then 3, then 2, then 2 more, and then for the last set, you’re supposed to do as many as you can, so I did 8. You can rest for 60 seconds in between. It seemed really long to rest for 60 seconds, so I didn’t always rest that long. It wasn’t really hard to do these, but I’ll just follow the program and see how it goes. So far, it seems like it’ll be an easy challenge, but we’ll see how I feel about that when I’m supposed to be doing 40-50 push ups in a row! That sounds like a lot!

Week 2, Day 3

Yay! I finished Week 2 today! Seemed to still be hard, but it was a beautiful, sunny day today, so that helps. It was a little windy again out there, but I’m not sure how much harder that makes it. It was the same amount of running as the other 2 days this week.

Week 2, Day 2

Made it out for a run this afternoon. Same deal as Tuesday with 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. I'm always definitely ready to start walking again after 90 seconds of running, but am able to run all the intervals. I remembered to stretch beforehand. It was just a little chilly, but the sun was shining, so I can't complain. Wore a hat for the first half, and gloves the whole time. It's great to get out and enjoy the weather!

Week 2, Day 1

Woohoo!! I can run 90 seconds at a time! I just got back from completing Day 1 of the second week. This week's plan is to run for 90 seconds and walk for 2 minutes - a total of 6 times in 20 minutes. That equals 9 whole minutes of running! It was around 50 degrees today when I went after the sun had already set. I was pretty chilly when I was walking, but warmed up as I ran.

It really didn't seem to be any harder than last week, so I'm game to keep running! I feel great when I'm done, so it's worth the pain while I run. My legs have been able to handle the running just fine - they have been just a tiny bit sore, but I've been remembering to stretch good after. I seem to always forget to stretch before - I guess I'm just so excited to get out there and run! :) It's a bit harder on my lungs though, I don't think I'm able to keep up a conversation when I run, because I'm breathing too hard. I am able to recover during the walking periods though, just in time to start running again.

Week 1 is Done!!

DH came with me today for Day 3 - He was the timekeeper. It was nice to be able to just run and not have to watch the clock. Seemed to be just as hard as the other 2 days, but today was really windy. It's another beautiful sunny day, feels great to be out there exercising!

Went about the same distance, same amount of running as the other 2 days.

Week 1, Day 2!

Day 2 is done! :) It felt about the same as Day 1, just as hard, but I did it again! I feel great when I'm done - glad that I did another hard workout. It also feels good to get out in the fresh, cool, fall air and sunshine! It's been around 55 degrees this week, I think summer is over...

I've been timing the intervals with just my regular watch - would be nice to have an iPod or something like that, so I wouldn't have to pay so much attention to the watch. I went about the same distance as last time, same eight 60 second intervals of running with 90 seconds of walking in between.

Week 1, Day 1

I DID IT!!!!! I started the Couch to 5K program today! I never thought I’d be able to run the full amount, but I did! And I lived to tell about it!! It was tough, and I probably ran pretty slowly, but I ran all 8 intervals of 60 seconds each with 90 seconds of walking in between. I went a total distance of 3.65 km.

I read about this program on www.coolrunning.com and decided that I wanted to try it out – not because I want to be a regular runner, but because I figured a person should be in shape enough to be able to run for more than 60 seconds at a time. That’s all I was able to do last week! In 9 weeks, I will (hopefully) be running for 30 minutes straight! I know, I don’t believe it either, but I’m hoping I can prove to myself that I can!

So, I’m starting this blog, just as a way to keep track of my progress. Feel free to join me! Or let me know how your C25K training went if you’ve already done that. Or just leave me some comments/encouragement/tips/whatever!