C25k: Week 4, Day 3

C25k W4D3 - snails and spiders and sprinkers, oh my! I took quite a dousing at the tail end of my run this morning. I guess my timing was off and the sprinklers came on just as I approached them. I don't mind getting wet (it's kind of nice, at the end of the run), but the sprinklers around here use lake water, which smells very sulfurous. I love the smell of sulfur in the morning. (Not really - if I wanted that, I would just stay in bed with my 14 year old gassy dog). All quibbles aside, the run went very well. On to Week 5!

Last night I finished up Week 2 of the pushup challenge. I have to take another endurance test to find out at what level I should be doing Week 3. Even the lowest level looks pretty darn intimidating...

In other news: this morning I weighed in at 179.9! I was shocked, considering what I've eaten in the last few days. Let's see: There was home-made pound cake made for me by a client. There was "Lobster Monster" sushi from Lemongrass, our favorite local restaurant. There was a big bowl of ice cream. There was brisket. I was really anticipating a weight-gain, so I'm very pleasantly surprised that I dropped .3 pounds and broke into the 170's. I should eat poorly more often! (Wait - you mean that's not how it's supposed to work?)

C25k: Week 4, Day 2

I'm four weeks into C25k now, and this was my first spider run this go-round. It must be that time of year again. I must have run through spider-webs every 100 yards or so, the whole run. I was constantly picking threads off of my arms and head. Apart from that, the run went well. When I came back home, I weighed myself and I am almost back in the 170's again! (180.2 was the official number for today, so hopefully on Thursday when I next weigh I will achieve that milestone).

No Rest for the Weary

Today was to be a running day, but I had a rough night and getting up at 5:00 AM to run would have meant just a few hours of sleep. So I'm using my built in "use it if you need it" extra day of rest today. I did do W2D2 of my pushup challenge last night, though.

C25k: Week 4, Day 1

My run this morning was great! Not only was it a weekend run, which means I was able to go through the park in daylight, but it was also the start of Week 4, Day 1. This is one of my favorite weeks of all of C25k, because Ullrey's podcast for this week includes the song "Operator." It's the only music selection of his that wound up making its way into regular rotation on my ipod. Something about that song just gets me going. Week 4 also contains the first 5 minute run. Running for five minutes straight is, in my mind, something that separates runners from non-runners. I think that just about anyone, at practically any fitness level, can run for a minute or two or three. They may end the run wheezing and out of breath, but it can be done by the untrained. On the other hand, I think that to be able to run at a sustained pace for five minutes straight takes some degree of training. Since I was able to run for five minutes straight, twice, to me that means that I'm getting back into shape again. My weight-loss pace has slowed, and, I'm not seeing any muscle gain yet from the pushups, but running for five minutes feels like a real solid benchmark I can wrap my arms around nonetheless.

C25k: Week 3, Day 3

So this is how W3 ends, not with a bang but a whimper. My W3D3 run this morning was pleasant and uneventful. There were a few unpleasant crunching sounds under foot at various points, which doubtlessly means that the snails must have been out in force, but it was too dark to see them. Yesterday, I finally remembered to change out the battery on my arm-band, so this morning it was glowing cheerily once again. It's this cool thin armband that looks reflective-yellow when unlit and that glows like a bright orange glowstick when powered up.

The best thing about being done with Week 3 of C25k is I don't have to run to that annoying "My love is your love, and your love is mine" techno song Robert Ullrey chose to play during most of Week 3. Ugh. I can hear it echoing in my head, even now. (You know, I think I might have said something very similar in my blog entry for the end of week 3, the second time I did C25k. At least I'm consistent).

Last night I finished up week 1 of the Pushup Challenge. On the one hand, I'm skeptical that doing pushups for just a few minutes, three times a week, is going to have any visual impact on my physique. On the other hand, at the beginning of the week I struggled to do 7 pushups in a row and by the end of the week I was able to do 13, only struggling on the last 3. I guess that means I must be getting better, stronger, faster - right?

C25k: Week 3, Day 2

Today was W3D2 of C25k and, as my 8 year old daughter would now say, "all is well." (She's started wearing a digital wristwatch. Every few minutes, she announces the time to anyone nearby. After hearing her do it for an hour or so, it started getting a little old. So I decided to have some fun with it: I've told her that whenever she feels compelled to announce the time, she needs to also say "...and all is well." I don't know that anyone besides me thinks it is funny, but I get a kick out of having my own personal town crier).

The only thing really unusual about this run was that it seemed shorter. Not in terms of time, though - I just didn't go as far. Maybe I was taking shorter strides, or moving more slowly? It didn't feel like it, though. I started at 5:30 and was done by just after 6 AM.

I also did Day 2 of the pushup challenge last night. It was a total of about 35 or so push-ups, separated into intervals with 90 second rests throughout. I was feeling a bit sore from the first day's round of push-ups, especially in my upper pecs (whatever those may be called - the area right below the clavicle?) My arms weren't hurting nearly as much. I guess my arms are stronger than my chest, currently, and so my chest has more catching up to do?

In terms of weight, I'm still trending downward at a rate of about 1.7 pounds a week, which is pretty much right on target. I dropped .7 pounds since the last time I weighed (on Sunday), which means I am now down to 182.2.

I'm thinking about starting to do crunches, but I'd like to find something equivalent to C25k or the Hundred Pushup Challenge. Anyone know of anything similar, for crunches or situps?