New Shoes

I finally got the shoes I have been wanting:



They are Vibram Five Fingers in the 'Sprint' line, the most versatile of their shoes. These can be used for running, climbing, yoga, and water sports. They are incredibly comfortable. I can't stand toe socks, but these are fine. It feels like I am barefoot, but with traction - I kind of feel like Spiderman. I have been afraid to run outside barefoot because I don't want to step on something. Now I can wear these. I normally run barefoot on the treadmill, and I wore these last night on the treadmill for almost an hour, and they were fine! I love them.

I am kind of in an exercise slump. I don't have any energy for some reason. I think I might need some protein or something. I am trying to talk myself into going to yoga tonight, but I think a bike ride might perk me up more.

The 5K

It was a beautiful morning. I got to the park about 7:15. I signed in and got my packet (they were out of XL shirts even though I preregistered. I took it as a sign from above that I will need a Large in the near future). There was a small plastic square with a chip in it that I fastened to my shoe with twist ties. I walked around some and visited with my brother in law until I had to move to the back of the pack.

I was supposed to run 20 minutes for week 5, day 3 of couch to 5K. I only made it about 12 and a half minutes. That is still better than Thursday's 8 minutes, so I'll take it. Plus, it was outside and not on the treadmill.

The previous two times I had timed myself going 5K were 55 minutes each. At the halfway point, I was over 20 minutes. I thought it looked pretty good for me to get in under an hour. As I got closer to the finish line, I could see I was going to beat the 55 minutes, and maybe even get in under 50. I crossed the finish line at about 45:02, give or take a couple of seconds. By that point in time, the 10K runners had been passing those of us still going (they shared the last 1.7 miles with our path).

It was very cool crossing the finish line. There was a big clock with the time and lots of people cheering. I never in a million years thought I would be doing something like this.

I was nowhere near the last person to finish, but I wasn't really close to 'the pack' of runners at all. I felt fine afterward, except for a little bit of "if I had pushed a little more, I could have been under 45:00!" But now I have a goal for next time.

And I figure a first time of 45:02 is just fine for a 200+ lb. 40 year old who could barely run 60 seconds a month and a half ago! If you are thinking about trying the Couch to 5K program, just think - if I can do it, you can, too!

Hi, Everyone!

I know I have been missing for the past week and a half. Had some stress going on at work and Miss Priss has had strep throat. I hope to have a longer post today AFTER I FINISH MY FIRST 5K!!!

I am at Week 5, Day 3 of Couch to 5K. Today is the 20 minute run. I'll be doing it during the 5K. I am over halfway done with C25K!

Wish me luck!

I Did It! Neener, Neener, Neener!

Today my daughter had a 2 hour activity across the street from a park with a 1.5 mile walking trail. I did Week 2, Day 3 of Couch to 5K after not having done it for several days (I did day 2 Friday of last week, and couldn't finish running the last interval & a half). I did it no problem! I do SO MUCH BETTER outside than on the treadmill. Not only did I finish Week 2, but I walked around the track 2 more times to take up the full 2 hours.

I saw a little old lady using a metal detector under a swingset.

I think I might have been going the wrong way on the track - I was constantly meeting people going the other way. I only saw one jogger and one bicyclist going the same direction as I was. But all the mile signs were facing me, so I don't know.

I am so thankful for Podrunner Intervals. I think one of the reasons I do better outside is that I'm not watching the seconds on the treadmill and waiting for the running portion to end. When I'm outside and feel like I can't go on during the running part, I say to myself, "if I make it to that trash can and it hasn't given me the signal to switch to walking, I'll go ahead and stop." Then, when I get to the trash can, I think, "surely, it'll be over by the time I get to that light post." And it always is. I can hold out just a little longer when I can't actually count the seconds.

I am ready for Week 3!

Setback

I am beginning to learn my limitations. I am having trouble with Week 2 of the Couch to 5K program. Here is what I have done so far:

Wed., 2/24 – W1D1 (Week1, Day 1), did okay. Walked 4.0 Km/hr, ran 6.0 Km/hr. 2.0 Km/30 min. total.

Fri., 2/26 – W1D2, did okay. Walked 3.2 Km/hr, ran 6.2 Km/hr. 2.0 Km/30 min. total.

Sun., 2/28 – W1D3, did great. Outside, so don’t know speed, but did over 2.6 Km/30 min. total. Kept walking and did 5K total in 55 min.

Tues., 3/2 – Sick with sinus infection.

Wed., 3/3 – Went to the Dr., still sick, did W2D1 anyway, one day behind schedule. Walked 4.5 Km/hr, ran 6.5 Km/hr. Had to hold on to the front of the treadmill twice. ‘Speed walked’ the last two running intervals instead of running. Felt awful afterward. My head was full of pressure and I had a raging headache. Not sure if it was caused by the sinus infection or maybe my blood pressure was up? Will exercise raise your blood pressure? I know some of the decongestants that I am taking may raise it.

Fri., 3/5 – Got up super early so I can get back on my schedule. Still one day behind. I figure if I am supposed to have a rest day between sets and I am behind a day, I can do W2D2 early Friday morning and W2D3 late Saturday evening and be back on schedule. Started out great – walked 4.5 Km/hr, ran 6.7 Km/hr (this is actually more comfortable than the 6.5, which seems too slow. Also, the faster pace won’t allow me to ‘speed walk.’), and I made it almost all the way through. Halfway through the next-to-last running interval, I had to stop. I felt like I was going to throw up. I walked the rest of the half hour, still got 2.1 Km in. I was shaky for a little while afterward.

I don’t know if it is because I am just so out of shape, or if it is the sinus infection and medicine that is causing me the trouble. I am hoping it is the latter, but since that’s pretty much only affecting my head & sinuses, I think it may just be that I need more time. Also, I think I sped up my walking interval too fast. I’m not getting my breathing as controlled as I would like it between running sets.

I am still going to do W2D3 tomorrow (Sat.) evening. That will get me back on my schedule. It should be lovely weather outside, and I seem to do better outside than on the treadmill. If it is as easy as W1D3 then I will go on to Week 3 next week. I will probably slow my walking portion down to 4.0 Km/hr. to make sure I can catch my breath between running intervals. If I have trouble, I guess I will have to stay on Week 2 until I can do it. I will be a little disappointed, but I’ll get over it. It might actually be good for me to have a setback, because I have been afraid that I would ‘fall off the bandwagon’ but I don’t think I will.

If I am able to stay on track, there is a local 5K run that happens on my last day of the Couch to 5K program. If I don’t stay on track, there’s another race Memorial Day. That’s still over a month before my main goal of running a 5K by the end of June, so it will be okay.

What’s funny is right now, I feel great! I am excited about running outside tomorrow. I hope I am over the sinus crud so I can enjoy it.

It Took Almost an Hour, but I Did It!

I did Week 1 Day 3 of Couch to 5K today, and outside for the first time instead of on a treadmill. I think using the treadmill is causing me to go slower - I normally get 2.0 km in 1/2 hr. on the treadmill and I did over 2.6 outside in 1/2 hour. Plus some slight inclines. I kept walking after I was done, and managed to do 5k in 55 minutes. I walked around for a few more minutes to get in a full hour. I was surprised that my body could do it!

Which makes me wonder - when you enter a 5k, how long do they give you to finish? I was surprised when I realized I made it in under an hour, but disappointed when I figured out that I only went about 3.4 miles per hour on average for the whole hour.

It was so beautiful outside, and the hour went by much faster than even 1/2 hour on the treadmill seems to. I can't wait for spring so I can get out more. I said hi to several people in the neighborhood, gave one man directions, and laughed with another lady when I ran by her fence and her dogs startled me and made me squeal. I felt good. It was still hard to do, but only physically - not so much mentally.