I figured that since I'm now serious about getting in shape, it might be fun to have some Before and After pictures. Technically, I suppose I should have taken the Before picture at the start of C25k. I'm already in Week 3, and have lost nearly 10 pounds already. But close enough, right? Hopefully, I'll be able to post an "After" picture at the end of C25k and the Hundred Pushups Challenge that looks substantially different.
I now have W3D1 under my belt. Since today is a Sunday, I did this as a park run. I misjudged the time just a bit, though, and by the time I woke up and had my running gear on it was already almost fully light outside. That's a bit of a problem when you live in Florida, in late June. It was a few minutes to 7 AM, and it was already bright, hot, and humid. I think today is gearing up to be a scorcher. I enjoyed the run, nonetheless. This time through, I've been feeling it in my knees more than anywhere else. Nothing too painful, thankfully.
It's funny how time alters perception. I remember my first time through C25k - at the beginning of week three, I thought that I'd never be able to run for three whole minutes without stopping. But I also remember looking back at week three from the end of the program and thinking "ha! Three minutes? That's nothing!" Now, here I am once again, looking at that same three minute run and thinking that it is quite an imposing hurdle. But I did it today, and so I'm proud of myself. And I'm looking forward to doing it again on Day 2. More than that, though, I'm looking forward to the fact that in a few short weeks I'll be looking back at the three minute runs of week three and thinking how laughably short they are.
In other Dan Health News: Yesterday I started with the Hundred Pushups program I mentioned in my prior post. It begins with a test of the maximum number of pushups you can do, to set a baseline and determine at what level of the program you should begin. I was only able to do 7 measly pushups before collapsing. That put me in the second tier. Then, a few hours later, I started W1D1 of the program: with 60 second breaks in between each, I did: 7 pushups, 7 pushups, 5 pushups, 4 pushups, and 8 pushups. I thought I'd be feeling it in my arms or chest today, but I'm really not. It so reminded me of that classic pushups scene from the beginning of "Stripes," with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis:
I bet you can't do five pushups.
Five pushups?
I got $10 says I can do five pushups.
Okay, let's go. Five good ones. Come on.
- Not Marine pushups.
- No, simple pushups.
I've never heard bones creak like that.
That's none.
- I'm praying.
- You ought to.
Let's go. There's a time limit here.
He's almost set. He's eyeing that rug.
And that's one. All right. He's off. He's moving now.
That's two. Not that good though.
That's three.
I think you're ready for the Special Olympics.
That's three.
- That's four.
- Four.
I was testing you.
And here goes five. Will he do it?
Congratulations. You just doubled your money.
I gotta get in shape. I gotta dry out, or I'll be dead before I'm 40. The Army's my only chance.
Another week down! Not much to comment on for this run. I woke. I ran. I blogged. It was good.
I originally planned to run W2D2 yesterday, rather than today. Like the two previous times I've done C25k, I am sticking to an every-other-day schedule rather than a 3-times-a-week schedule. That way, if there is ever a scheduled day in any given week I can't run, I am still technically on-schedule. It's kind of like having one free pass each week. Yesterday, I had to use that free pass: doing laundry until 1:00 AM the night before meant I was just too tired to get out of bed at 4:45 to start getting ready for the run. I got up, shut off the clock, and went back to bed until 6:30 AM. Today, Wednesday, I got back on track and did W2D2. The run was fine. A few barking dogs took interest in me, but thankfully all were leashed or fenced. Otherwise, the roads were pretty unpopulated.
Last time through C25k, I tried but didn't really succeed at adding a strength-training routine to my running schedule. I think part of the problem was that C25k provides a great graduated structure, but I didn't really have anything similar to follow for an upper-body workout. I've now found what I think will be perfect: http://hundredpushups.com - I'm excited to start with it tomorrow.
Today was my first weekend run. I rolled out of bed at about 6:45 AM (I got to sleep in!) and was on the road by 7. It was already fully light, but not yet too hot. Perfect running weather. I sprayed myself down with bugspray (we've had a lot of rain lately) and headed off to the park. This was my first run through the park in about a year. It's funny how it has changed during the course of a year in minor but noticeable ways: the palm trees are a bit bigger and more covered with spanish moss and kudzu, there's a bit more graffiti, and there are a few places where tree roots have begun to buckle the running path, pushing it up from underneath. I wonder what it will look like in a few more years if it is let go? I guess the park and I share a bit in common: we're both a little more overgrown, and we both a few new wrinkles, but we're still holding it together for the most part.
The run itself was fine: Week 2 always seems easier than week 1: tacking on 30 seconds to each run isn't hardly anything, and the intervals between the runs are longer (2 minutes, as opposed to the first week's 90 seconds) and there are only 6 runs rather than the first week's 8. I am really anxious to get back to the uninterrupted runs that comprise the final weeks of the C25k routine, but I know that my body is not ready for me to jump right back to that. Slow and steady wins the race.
In order to write this post, I first had to set the WayBack Machine to Friday, June 20: Although I ran on Friday as scheduled, I didn't have the opportunity to post until Sunday morning (which is now).
W1D3 concluded well; I'd say it was the easiest of the three runs this week. Not much to report. I'm looking forward to my first weekend run, which will take me back through the park route and which will be the first run of Week 2. After this run, I weighed in at 185.7, so I'm moving in the right direction.
I now have W1D2 under my belt. I felt a little sore yesterday, which is to be expected, but it didn't prevent me from getting out there this morning. It was a perfect morning for running: low humidity and mostly clear skies. It was fully dark when I set out, and the sky was just starting to lighten when I returned home. I went out to walk the dog a half-hour later and it had started to drizzle. I looked up and saw a beautiful full-arc rainbow crossing over the route I had just run. I'll take that as a sign that I'm back on the right track.
I rolled out of bed this morning, geared up, and hit the road just as dawn was starting to break. The run felt great! I could really feel it in my calves. I'm looking forward to feeling sore tomorrow. Right now, I feel like I have a spring in my step, and I'm so glad to be back on the path to good health. It was good to hear Robert Ullrey's voice again, giving me encouragement through my headphones as I ran.
When I weighed myself after running (which was -- is -- my normal routine), my weight was 188.6. I assume that my weight last night of 194.5 was a false reading, artificially high due to it being post-dinner and taken at the end of the day. Still, seeing the drop first thing this morning was nice.
After a long hibernation, I am back and motivated to get back into shape. I'll be restarting C25k from the beginning. For all those keeping score, this will be my third time through C25k. I've graduated each of the other two times, and I intend to do the same this time around. Only this time, after I graduate I'll keep on going. And going. And going. Unlike the second time, where I completed it but didn't lose any weight, this time (like the first time) I plan on keeping to a better diet so hopefully I'll be shedding some pounds: My weight is 194.5, which is just about as heavy as I've ever been. My sportbrain needs a new battery, as does my Nike+. But I'm not going to let lack of tech keep me off the road. I figure I can pick up a new battery for the former at CVS tomorrow. Getting a replacement battery for the Nike+ is a bit more problematic as I think I may have to send the whole unit in, or something like that.
So, since graduating C25k on September 23, I've run precisely one time. What's up with that, you ask? I'm asking myself the same thing. It's mostly just a combination of unusually bad weather (we've had a spate of torrential downpours of late), my wanting to baby my left ankle until it stops tweaking, and my having a bad late-summer cold. The cold is in full bloom, but my ankle is better and the rain seems to have moved on. I expect I'll start HHST on Tuesday, three weeks later than expected.
This weekend I went to Orlando on business. My family joined me. On Friday they went to the Magic Kingdom while I attended a workshop. I joined them at the park about an hour before it closed. Before the workshop, I woke up early to run. Stacy wasn't crazy about my running in the dark in a strange area, so I agreed to just run on the hotel treadmill. I did, and it wasn't that bad. In fact, I kind of liked it. I'm still feeling it in my upper legs. Not so much in my calves, but more more in my quads than normal. It was very difficult to pace myself - I think I went farther and faster than I do when running outside. Between running in the morning and walking in the park at night, I got in about 21,000 steps: roughly double what I'd normally do on a running day. By the end of the day, my ankle was hurting a bit. Then, on Saturday, we went to Epcot. It was a great way to spend the weekend, and a nice precursor to starting HHST this Tuesday.
Rain, rest, and reluctance. I haven't yet started my post-C25k adventures. Tuesday was to have been my first day of HHST, but I had to be in court in Ft. Lauderdale early in the morning so that precluded my early morning run. Since the Hal Higdon Spring Training program is a more structured program than C25k, with the long run always falling on a weekend, I didn't want to offset the days and instead decided to just put everything off for a week and use Tuesday as an extra day of rest and maybe do some light maintenance runs this week. This decision was reinforced by the fact that my left ankle and shin have been bothering me again (just a bit - don't worry, mom!), and I definitely don't want to overdo it this time 'round. Fortunately, it has rained each morning so far this week, so I feel like I have an extra excuse for not being out there running. If the weather improves, I may do some light running tomorrow, go for a walk on Saturday, and do 3 miles on Sunday, and then I'll be in good shape to begin HHST next week.
Today, with a run through the park, I wrapped up this go-round of C25k. Go me! It sounds funny to say it, but graduating from C25k is just as meaningful, to me, as graduating from high school, or college, or law school. I'm really pleased with the goal I set for myself, and with the fact that I was able to achieve it. Now, the trick is going to be continuing on and not hurting myself this time.
I figure I should take this opportunity to reflect on how this time through the program was different than my first time. For one thing, I didn't lose any weight this time through. Then again, I'm only 6 pounds above my goal weight. When I started the first time, I had 30 pounds to lose. So, on the whole, I'm pretty content on that front. As I continue running and my distance increases, I'm sure I'll shed those last few pounds.
Another difference has to be soreness. This time, there really wasn't any. I didn't ice after runs, because I didn't feel the need to. The day following a run, I felt fine. I suspect this is a sign that I could add another day to my running schedule. In fact, I think I am going to do just that: I'm still vacillating between doing the "One Hour Runner" versus Hal Higdon's "Spring Training for Novice Runners," but I think I'm leaning toward the latter. It includes runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, a Saturday walk, and a Sunday long run. I really like the fact that it uses both Saturday and Sunday, since I much prefer to exercise in daylight. The thing I don't quite understand, yet, is what to do if I miss a day. Do I just skip it? Or do I shift everything over by a day?
Yesterday was my penultimate C25k run. My office was closed, so I didn't have to do it as an early-morning run, but I woke up early nonetheless so I could go see my daughters perform in their school's "Peace Day" celebration. Lila sang a song ("One Small Voice") with her class, and Zoe read a poem about peace - each in front of 600+ other students. It was an awesome start to the day. I'm registered as a school volunteer, so I was able to sit in on Zoe's morning class and I participated in her class routine, which included morning exercises. Lots of jumping jacks and moves that looked suspiciously like they originated from the Electric Slide. It was a good warmup.
After the Peace Day festivities and some errand running, I finally got around to running at about 3 PM, making this the first time I've ever done an afternoon run. Normally I steer clear of those, because of the heat. Determined, I went out nevertheless. I'm glad I did: it was a good run. The most notable part definitely was running down 10th Avenue North, which I've taken to calling "creepycrawly alley" in my mind since that's where I always run into the spider webs, and see the snails, during my early morning runs. In the late afternoon, there were no such creepy crawlies to be found. There were, however, literally hundreds of little lizards. Little lizards are a common part of South Florida fauna, and normally I don't give them a second thought. This run, though, I couldn't help but notice them: they were everywhere! The sound of my running must have disturbed them, because as I progressed down the sidewalk they would run from the swale, across the width of the sidewalk just inches in front of me, until they reached the other side where they would jump into the bushes. It was truly an amazing sight. I amused myself by pretending I was a T-Rex, my arms loose at my sides in standard jogging form like little T-Rex arms, and that the lizards were tiny velociraptors running in fear from me. It made for a really fun run.
Today has only just begun, but it already is replete with milestones. Today's Week 9, Day 1 run pushed me over the 100-mile mark for miles run thus far this year (for my runs tracked on Running Ahead - my total mileage is more like 144 miles, if I count all runs starting from W1D1 of my first time through C25k). It also means that I have now entered a new city on my virtual Route 66 road trip. Funk's Grove, Illinois, look out! Daniel Terner is in town, tearing up the pavement!
Another milestone today: my weight jumped up 3 pounds since the last time I checked, putting me pretty much right back where I was when I started this go-round of C25k. But we won't talk about that one, will we?
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