Week 7 Day 2

Honestly, a pretty easy day.  Other than losing feeling in my hands due to the colder temperature, not much happened on the run.  Maintained my 6mph pace without even trying.  I know I need to try to push myself to go a little faster because that pace is pretty easy, but it's what my body does when I'm not paying attention and just out there going.  Considering I couldn't have run a 10 minute mile 7 weeks ago, I'll be happy with it for a while, at least until I need to start running times for real.  I think if the weight keeps dropping off like it has been the last 3 weeks, my times will start to get faster just because I won't be hauling around as much weight.  We'll see.

Week 7 begins

Morning did not start well.  Loud baby at 2am and 5am threw my sleep cycle off.  Didn't help that I was also planning to get up 15 minutes earlier since my runs will be getting longer and longer over the next few months.  Still, I managed to stumble downstairs and get ready.  Monday weigh in was about 2.5 pounds lower than last week.  Still haven't gotten around to measuring neck, waist, etc and calculating body fat %. 

Checked the weather and the radar showed clouds all around me so I grabbed the rain jacket.  That rain jacket was ungodly hot by the end of my run and completely useless since the rain apparently went around me instead of over me.  I had it almost completely unzipped, which didn't really help with the heat and caused annoying flopping when I ran.  I thought the jacket was hurting my pace and slowing me down, but I maintained 6mph today so if it was, that's a really good thing for me.

Definitely had some mental/motivational issues during the run.  At first I thought it was because my iPod volume was too low so I couldn't hear the podcast over the traffic.  Getting the volume back up didn't help though so I think it might just be the lack of sleep and the extra heat from the jacket.  Definitely not a smooth run today.  But I muscled through it all at the pace I need for a 31 minute 5k.  Hopefully Wednesday will be better.  I'm contemplating switching out to use interval runner or my own podcast that day so I can put in more time cues.  I wanted at least a 5 minute warning at the end instead of the halfway and 1 minute.  Would be nice to run to my own music too.

Six weeks of running complete

I have completed what I consider the training portion of the Couch to 5k program.  All of the interval running days are behind me.  Now it's all about extending my total run time.  Back on Day 1, these long runs seemed impossible.  Today, they are more of a challenge to keep a fast pace than a challenge to keep moving.

My main goal today was to keep about a 9 minute pace for the first mile.  I wanted to finish it before the 10 minute mark on the podcast.  After that, my pace didn't really matter as long as I was jogging.  Ended up with a 10 minute mile pace overall.  I'm not sure if I could have continued the faster pace for the whole 25, but that's what next week is for.

I changed up my route today, sort of.  Instead of going back into my neighborhood after the first 1.2 miles, I turned around and went back to the main road again.  That was most of my second mile of running.  No memory of the time by then.  When I was back at the entrance to my subdivision, I heard the Day 1 voice for the last run so I knew I had about 6 minutes left.  This meant I needed to detour a bit because it was only about 2 minutes to my end point for the cool down.  So I made a quick left turn to add on about 4/10 of a mile and then made my way back to the end of my route.  The voice in my ears came on to tell me one minute left.  From prior runs, I knew that it was about 2 minutes from that intersection to my street so I decided to pick up the pace.  I didn't quite make it, but I was really close and really happy that I had the juice for that one minute "sprint" to finish off the day. 

Total run was about 2.6 miles with an insignificant amount of time tacked to the end.  It is amazing to me that 9 days ago I was celebrating the fact that I ran 1 mile without stopping.  I really hope I can pull off 3 miles in 27 minutes by the end of week 8.  That would put me at Army fitness test pace.

Off day exercise

Non-run days are supposed to be core/strength/cross training.  That is if my body cooperates.  It didn't this morning.  The alarm went off, and I nearly tossed it across the room.  Three or four snoozes later, I finally dragged my lazy butt out of bed.  Wish I'd just set the alarm for 30 more minutes instead of a bunch of snoozes.

Halfway through Week 6

Much easier run than Monday.  Better diet and a few new pre-run stretches seem to have helped with the pain.  My muscles were fairly loose by the end of the warm up and my shins didn't hurt when I started running, which they have been for a week or so.  Since the run was basically painless from the get go, that made the whole thing a lot better.  I spent some time thinking about my stride, but after about 2 minutes, my mind started to wander aimlessly.  Next thing I knew, the voice was telling me to walk.  Pretty much the same thing happened on the second 10 minute run.  Hopefully it will be that way on Friday when I do the 25 minute run.  It was so much easier to run when my brain was thinking about everything but running.

Since my run today was two 10 minute intervals, I decided that my goal was to do two sub 10 minute miles.  Based on gmap-pedometer, I managed to accomplish that goal.  Granted, I barely squeaked in under 10 for both of them, but I did it.  I wondered if I should have mapped out checkpoints for the run so I'd know if I was maintaining pace,it's probably best that I didn't.  I don't run with a watch anyway so not like I could have checked the time to see if I was maintaining the pace.  I'm not that worried about speed yet anyway, it was just a milestone for me.

Week 6 Day 1 run recap

This one will be short because all I really remember is the run was not a good one.  My first five minute run was just short of half a mile.  No idea on the other two because I have no memory of where I was in the neighborhood to put it into gmap-pedometer.  I've discovered that runkeeper is basically useless for tracking my runs and sportypal never seems to find its satellite.

My entire run my stride was short and shuffling.  Every time I told myself to fix it, I would realize I was back in the plod instead of a jog within a minute.  The only time I maintained it was when I forced myself to speed up on the second 5 minute run.  That one wasn't as bad as the others, probably because I was finally warmed up and starting to feel okay.  I did manage to push that one out for an additional minute to the end of the podcast for the 25 minute run. 

I know part of my problem was the podcast again.  When I realized that, unlike last week, the Day 3 run is longer than the other two days, I lost some focus.  Something in my head started saying 25 minutes is too long a run.  That's the main reason I pushed that last run through the pain.

The difference diet can make

I don't think I ate a single healthy meal all weekend.  My fat and sodium content was off the chart.  After 3 days of that, my morning run was miserable.  I was sluggish, stiff and tired.  It's a miracle my weigh in was still lower than last week.  Even more amazing was that I tightened my belt an extra notch without realizing it.  When I put my weight into My Fitness Pal, it said I should recalculate my calorie goal based on my new weight so even more motivation.  Of course, it also appears that my prior calorie goal was based on 1 pound a week of weight loss not 2 so the calorie number is 450 less than what I had there before.  Luckily most days I've been hitting that number anyway.

Vanquishing the monster

Today's run was 2.5 times longer than the prior longest scheduled run in the program.  People call it the 20 minute monster because it's such a huge difference.  The mental block of running for 20 minutes straight is huge.  I pushed my second 8 minute run to ten minutes on Wednesday just so the 20 wouldn't seem quite so long.

My mind and body started a revolt as I left for the warm up walk.  My right calf hurt for no reason, my left knee felt stiff, my shirt didn't feel right.  By the time I I finished the warm up, which I must have walked faster than usual, those things had stopped.  I started running and felt fine chugging along at a good clip.  Then the 5 minute interval ended and my brain said, "It's only been 5 minutes, you'll never get through this."  I responded by slowing my pace a little instead of powering through.  To me it was more about time than distance or speed today.  My brain quieted down a bit with the slower pace and I plodded on.  I somehow managed to tune out the voice announcing the end of 8 minutes, but I heard the one for the halfway point.  I wasn't quite as far along my route as I expected to be by then, but I didn't really care.

The second half of the run was completely different.  My legs didn't hurt, my back was fine, my breathing wasn't labored.  I was actually enjoying the run.  At this point, all the instructions from the podcast for the other runs seemed to energize me.  Every time there was a pace change for the others, I knew I was that much closer.  I even managed to pick up the pace a bit when it said I only had 4 minutes left.

When 20 minutes hit, I kept running.  I had two things going through my head, one was to run until the 21 minute mark and the other was to run all the way to my start point.  When 21 hit, I stopped running.  Not sure what happened, my legs just suddenly went to walk mode.  I was actually too surprised by this to feel like I'd accomplished something.  It took about 50-100 yards of walking before I got enough conscious control back to tell my legs they were running another .15-.2 miles.  Luckily they listened, though I'm pretty sure for a second their they were planning to tell me to piss off.

Total running distance today was about 2.2 miles in 22ish minutes.  I really was hoping to run at least 10 minute miles if not a little faster, but like I said, the time was more important than the speed.  That and the fact that I still was able to add time to the end of the 20 minute run.  I got to my stop point and did a little mini victory lap.  Walked home with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.  I'm pretty sure anyone looking out the window as I walked by thought I was crazy.  If they only knew.

Day to day differences

My plan for the off days was to do 30 minutes of strength exercises and stretching.  I had planned to do it all in the morning, but I decided that an extra 45 minutes of sleep sounded better so I decided I'd do it all after work.  I have noticed a significant difference in my energy level today.  On running days, I feel energized, for the most part, all day.  Today I'm yawning and a little listless.  It really is amazing the difference that the exercise can make in your day.  I'm actually looking forward to the day in the near future that I'm good to run more than 3 days a week.  Even if it's just the 1k jog to the end of the street and back.

Morning running

It finally occurred to me today why I like to run in the morning, other than it's easier than trying to motivate after a long day of work and traffic.  When I start my run, it's dark and the stars are out.  At the end of my run, the sky is lighter, the stars are gone and the first hints of sun are showing.  In my head, I'm running from one day to the next.  The sci-fi geek in me thinks of it as time travel I guess.

Week 5 Day 2

I was dreading today just a little bit.  Mainly because of the podcast and the fact that it announces for all three days in one podcast.  I discovered that it wasn't that big a deal though.  It really did seem like more of a way to mark my time in relation to Monday's run than something that made me think "Oh God I still have 3 minutes to go" like I thought it would. 

I timed the warm up just right so that I was at the end of my street when I started to jog.  I made my way past my normal turn into the other subdivision entrance and toward the main road.  It was pitch black.  I almost turned around to go back to my normal route because I was actually worried that some idiot would turn in too fast and hit me.  My clothing this morning probably wasn't as reflective as it could be.  There was an idiot turning, but I was out of his way in time.  I continued jogging up the street to the the next main road.  I got to the intersection and was surprised that I had to turn around to keep running.  I half assumed that my first 8 would end about that point.  Jogged back toward home wondering if I was running too fast and if that was going to kill me for the second 8.  Was relieved to hear the announcement to walk more for that reason than any need to walk.

The downhill walk was nice.  Helped me keep my brisk walk pace up so I managed to get all the way back to my subdivision just in time to start running my second 8.  I was back on the old familiar ground so I was pretty sure of exactly where I'd be at the end of 8 minutes.  I chugged up the first street and back then up the second.  Right about the time I was expecting to hear the voice tell me to walk, it wasn't.  It was telling the Day 3 people they could stop.  So I decided to push a little since I knew I only had 1 minute to go.  I heard the blessed voice telling me to stop, but I didn't.  I was going to keep running until I got back to the start point of my run.  I knew it was about 2 minutes from the prior weeks of running and that the mental boost I'd get from knowing I'd run a total of 18 minutes would make the 20 on Friday less daunting.  And I felt really good when I finished it, like I could have kept going.  I didn't realize until I got home that in addition to it being a 10 minute run, it was also about 1.1 miles.  I haven't run a continuous mile since 1992.  I'm not counting elliptical machines because that's not the same. 

Also today as I was putting on my clothes, I realized my pants fit differently.  Felt easier to get them to button.  I went and checked the mirror, and they were not as tight as they used to be.  The white from the inside of the pockets wasn't visible like it used to be.  Just a little more motivation to help me through the program.

Week 5 Day 1

This is the week everything goes wonky.  Instead of the same program every day, I've got 3 different runs.  I did briefly contemplate skipping the Day 1 program and doing Day 2 twice, but my common sense won out.  I've been doing so well following the program that it seems like a bad idea to start thinking I know better. 

I spent the first 5 minute run trying to focus on my breathing and stride.  I often feel like I shuffle when I jog instead of longer strides.  I've been trying to make myself plant, roll my foot, and push off with my ankle instead of simply lifting my foot.  To me, that seems like it would be more efficient and easier.  I know I probably over-exaggerated the motion, but I think that's better for the long term goal of training my body to run that way.  I want to get someone to "examine" my stride, but the only places I know that do that are shoe stores, and I'd feel bad going in with no intent to buy new shoes. 

Second 5 minute I added the dreaded hill.  It's a short but ungodly steep incline that I usually use as my turn around point for that leg of my run.  Today I went right up it.  Noticed I was basically running on my toes to do it.  Felt like I was parallel to the incline too.  But I got up it and still managed to get through the rest of the 5 without dying.

Last 5 minutes was pretty easy.  Prior weeks, the last run has been painful but not today.  That made me feel pretty good about my decision to stick to the program instead of pushing to Day 2.  I added in my extra runs as well, which is less than half a mile, but it's as much for me knowing I can finish the scheduled runs and still do more than anything else.

Plotted out a couple of routes for my Day 2 and Day 3 runs so I'm not just going in circles in my subdivision.  One is just shy of 2 miles and the other is .25 miles over.  If I can finish the Day 3 route in 20 minutes, I'll be incredibly happy, and completely amazed.

The curse of the scale

Had to move the scale to the basement.  I weighed myself 4 times since I bought it to watch it go down just based on time of day etc.  This morning it was because I sinned last night by eating a very large steak.  I rationalized by saying I'm taking multiple readings over time in order to get an average, but that's stupid. 

I was very quickly reminded of my ex-wife who used to weigh first thing in the morning, before and after each meal, before and after going to the bathroom, and right before bed.  She would then do some bizarre mathematical formulas to subtract for clothes, boob weight, hair weight, anything else she could subtract.

So with the scale in the basement I can return to my focus on the exercise and not on the number I'm trying to achieve, which is actually not as low as I thought so that's a bonus.

End of week 4

Shorter run than the rest of week 4 today.  Had places to be today.  Still did 2.75 miles in 35 minutes.  The shortened route had a few additional inclines than the normal route.  Just shy of 5 mph.  Not that big a deal when I consider that I'm only running 16 of 35 - 40 minutes of the week 4 runs.  Next week will tell me a little more about my actual run times.  I kind of hope that those 8 minute runs on day 2 are closer to a mile than 2/3.  Definitely want the 20 minute run to be at least 2 miles. 

Finally bought a scale today.  Last time I weighed myself was Easter.  My weight is down 10 lbs since then.  Not sure what the differences are between the scales.  No idea if my weight went up after Easter, though I assume it probably did with my poor eating habits during BAR prep and the end of school.  All those late night meals.  It might be as much as 15 pounds of weight loss since the beginning of August.

Mid week update

Much easier than last week since I dropped the off day bike riding in favor of some basic strength training and core exercises.  Hopefully those will also make the running easier as the distances get longer.

The best thing about this week so far is my total distance with warm up and cool down is 5K.  Even though I'm still running less than half of my total work out, this feels like a huge accomplishment.  When I started this a month ago, walking 3 miles would have killed me.  Shoot, walking the 1K to the end of the street and back was bad enough.  I'm estimating that I run about 2 of the 3 miles at this point.  Can't be sure since Runkeeper doesn't seem to work properly.

Another discovery was that my breathing gets completely back to normal during the cool downs.  I was worried that I'd still be huffing and puffing with cool downs that are only half of my run times.  I haven't tried monitoring my heart rate and recovery yet since my experience with heart rate monitors is that they don't work.  I suppose I could check my pulse during the cool down, but I don't have a watch with me when I run.

End of 3 start of 4

Week 3 ended with a whimper.  Everything hurt and I never really felt like I hit a rhythm with the run.  Didn't help I was running 2.5 hours later than usual so the sun was out and blinding me.  I think the problem was that me alternate day exercise is too similar to my running day exercise.  I thought the difference in motion between cycling and running would be enough to make the muscles work differently.  Apparently I was wrong.  I've decided my off days will be more about some simple strength and core training instead of more cardio.  At most, I'll walk 10 minutes before I do sets of push ups, sit ups and light weights.

Week 4 day 1 was a whole different story.  After 3 days off to rest and recuperate, all the minor aches were gone.  Hit that first 3 minute run with a vengeance.  The 5 minute run felt great, almost effortless really.  Second 3 minute run was almost as good.  Last 5 minutes not so much.  I think the fact that Week 4 has almost twice the running of week 3 has something to do with that.  I added an extra run on my walk home anyway, mainly to remind my body just who is in charge.  Of course, now my upper back hurts so that may not have been the smartest thing I've ever done...

Injury report

Somehow I managed to hurt my back riding the trainer today.  I assume I was hunched over strange or stretched weird.  At least I assume it was trainer related, though I don't remember it hurting until I was almost to work.  Hopefully, it won't interfere with W3D3 tomorrow.

Exercise addiction

People keep telling me, and have for years, that when you exercise regularly, you get addicted to the feeling and keep exercising because of it.  I have never personally experienced this addiction.  Honestly, I get more pleasure from a pack of cigarettes, a 6 pack of beer, or a bowl of ice cream than I ever remember getting from exercise.  Exercise has always felt more like work than anything else.  I enjoy riding my bike, but obviously not enough to actually go out and do it since it was collecting dust until I started riding the trainer.  I enjoyed my Monday morning run, but not the same run today. 

I have to force myself to go out and do it every time.  For example, this morning I thought I'd hit a second snooze and gotten back in bed.  Turns out it was the first and I would have been fine, but for a minute, I was just thinking there'd be no harm in pushing it off a day, ignoring the fact that the long weekend is going to screw up my run schedule enough and there's no way I'm going jogging in the mountains.  Same thing happened last year when I was trying to do 10k steps.  One cold morning, one extra snooze, one day of not feeling like it and it was all over.  I'm pretty sure the only saving grace I'll have is the fact that C25K is a lot more structured than doing it on my own.  Also, my long term military goal should help some.

Mid week post

Yesterday's ride on the trainer was completely uneventful.  There's a shocker.  Granted just spinning for 30 minutes is an accomplishment, but it's also ungodly dull.  I'm going to have to start bringing my bike to work and riding nearby in the evening just so I can actually get some real miles on it before the time changes and it's too dark at night.

Today was Week 3 Day 2 and it was not nearly as impressive as Monday.  Granted the run was the same distance and, I assume, speed, but it didn't feel as good.  Had some shin pain, some knee pain, and some back pain again by the end.  I pushed the beginning of the second 3 minutes just to force my body to do it when it started to rebel against me.  I thought that might actually make me feel a little better, but it didn't.  At least I got through it instead of bailing on the last run.