Couch to 5k: Week 5, Day 2

Week 5, Day 2 - today was great! I can't believe that I'm now at the point where I'm doing 8 minute runs. Just a month ago, I was pushing it for each 60 second interval. I'm feeling good, and my weight is lower than it has been in years. I'm also excited that today begins the Route 66 roadtrip, and a good number of people have signed up for it!

In other news: I ordered John "The Penguin" Bingham's inspirational book on running, "The Courage to Start" - used from Amazon.com. It was listed as being in good condition, with just a few markings in it. I paid 71 cents. When it arrived yesterday, the only markings I see are on the inside cover, where it has been autographed by John Bingham himself - pretty cool!

The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
• Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)

I concluded by walking another 5 minutes, and then doing a 5 minute cooldown walk.

On the Blocks

Today is a resting day, and amazingly enough (considering W5D1) I feel great! Very little soreness, if any, yesterday. And none today! I wonder if this can be attributed to my longer-than-normal cooldown walk (10 minutes instead of 5), or if my body is just finally adjusting to a running routine. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run, especially because it marks the start of my virtual journey down Route 66.

Couch to 5k: Week 5, Day 1

Week 5, Day 1. My weight held steady at 184.6, which is good considering I ate not so healthily and was expecting to see it on the scale. Today's workout was a mixed bag: it started out humid, and ended with a light drizzle (which felt nice). Somewhere after the second five minute run, I accidentally rewound the workout. Rather than trying to find my place again, I just paced myself against the Nike+ time for the final five minutes, and the last brisk walk and cooldown. I also went much farther than I intended, because I failed to turn around at the half-way point. So, in addition to being my hardest workout to date, it also was my longest. It also marked the first time I got to use the Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp - I love it: what a difference!

The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I followed this with about a 10 minute cooldown walk, in the misting rain.

Roadtrip!

I have created a "Cool Running League" on RoadTripLog.com - we will be leaving Chicago on January 5, and following Route 66 all the way to Santa Monica, CA. At the rate of 3 miles a day, it is going to take about 2 years. So far, one other person has joined, but hopefully we'll have a whole crew together by the time we set out on Friday.

From the site:

"The Roadtrip web-site offers groups the opportunity to form an on-line league where participants can track their daily running/walking/biking mileage in a virtual way along various journeys. Each runner logs his/her miles on the site and can then view the progress of other runners in their league as everyone works their way to the finish. Roadtrip’s mission is to help people begin or continue their exercise program in a motivational way."

I've created a League, and set the course for I-66 (Chicago to Santa Monica). If anyone is interested, why not join up? We "leave" on January 5. Here's the invitation info:

-------
Welcome,
You've been invited to join a Roadtrip League. Roadtrip provides groups an opportunity to form an on-line league that tracks their daily walking/running miles and applies those miles to various city-to-city journeys.

The Course: U.S. Route 66 - Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA
The Distance: 2,381 Miles
Start Date: 01/05/2007

You can accept this invitation from Daniel Terner by completing the individual application (include the League ID: 1480) in order to receive your log-on ID. Begin tracking your mileage on the Roadtrip web site 01/05/2007.

http://www.roadtriplog.com/cgi/rtdbnewindiv.cgi?leagueid=1480

Couch to 5k: Week 4, Day 3

Couch-to-5K Week 4, Day 3, and feeling great. Last night was New Year's. I ate more, and more unhealthily, than normal. Still, my weight was down when I checked it after my run this morning. This was the last of the Week 4 runs. I'm apprehensive about beginning Week 5, but I can do it! I just wish that I could find a better surface to run on - the concrete sidewalks have been killing my knees.

The W4D3 C25K workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I concluded with a 90 second Walk, and then a 5 minute cooldown.

Couch to 5k: Week 4, Day 2

Week 4, Day 2: This one seemed a bit harder than Day 1, actually, but not by much. It also was a weekend run, so I was able to do the Park route, which I prefer.

My running pace seems to be getting faster each time, but that's probably because the workouts are involving less walking and more running, not because I'm going any faster. Anyhow, I'm not trying to set a speed record.

The W4D2 C25K workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I concluded with a 90 second Walk, and then a 5 minute cooldown.

Couch to 5k: Week 4, Day 1

Week 4, Day 1: I was apprehensive, but I did it, and it was great! It's amazing to think that I had difficulty doing the 60 second runs in the beginning, and now this workout had me doing two 3-minute runs and two 5-minute runs. Go me! Also, I dropped another half a pound since the last time I weighed.






The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Followed by a 5 minute cooldown walk.

Day of Rest

Today is a rest day. My left knee is aching a little bit, but not too bad. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run, but a little apprehensive as I'll be entering week 4 of c25k. I'm now thoroughly confused about when/whether to stretch.

Gosh - what a dismal step total this turned out to be for the day - I know it was supposed to be a rest day, but even so, I left work with only about 2,700 steps. 4,000 is the average for a sedentary office drone.

Couch to 5k: Week 3, Day 3

Week 3, Day 3. Today it was drizzling outside when I started, but the rain had passed by the time I was done. Week 3 was a challenge for me; I'm looking forward to (but scared of) what Week 4 will bring. I'm now down to 185.9 pounds - the lowest I've been.

The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Followed by a 5 minute cooldown walk.

Couch to 5k: Week 3, Day 2

Week 3, Day 2: I'm back on track. I was worried about my shin, but I did a LOT of stretching this morning, and it seemed to help. That's what I'll just have to do from now on. It will mean waking up about an extra half-hour earlier than I have been, but if it prevents shin splints it will be worth it.

The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Concluding with a 5 minute cooldown walk

Recouperating

My will is still strong, but my body is weak: today was supposed to be Week 3, Day 2, and I was really looking forward to it. However, after Week 3 Day 1 my left shin was starting to feel very tender, and I'm worried about shin splints. It still hurt even after my rest day, so although today was supposed to be an "on" day, I took an extra day of rest. I'm going to work out tomorrow again, and hopefully the extra rest will have helped. I don't want to go on the injured list, and I know that running on concrete is not ideal.

Couch to 5k: Week 3, Day 1

Today is Week 3, Day 1. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do the three minute runs, but I did! This workout seemed shorter than all the others so far.



The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Ending with a 5 minute cooldown walk.

Couch to 5k: Week 2, Day 3

Week 2, Day 3! Back home again for this one.

The Workout: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cooldown walk.

Today I used the Nike+ shoes and transmitter. Resistance is futile - I have been assimilated.

Couch to 5k: Week 2, Day 2

Today began with a workout on the boat - week 2 day 2 of c25k. I really walked more than today's graph shows - much of the time between noon and 4 I was wearing a bathing suit and didn't have my sportbrain on.

The Workout: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cooldown walk.

Couch to 5k: Week 2, Day 1

Week 2, Day 1! Today I did a full circuit through the park and out to Pinehurst, then back home in one big loop. It's only 8 AM and I already have 6,500 steps, and today promises to bring a lot more since it is our embarkation day for our cruise. Also, I'm down 2 pounds from the last time I weighed. I'm still eating healthy, with no snacking except for a bag of popcorn about twice a week.
The Workout: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cooldown walk.