I got out later than usual today because I've taken the week between Christmas and New Years Day off of work and decided to sleep in this morning. I started my run at about 9:30. It was a nice change from Tuesday's weather at about 44 degrees.
I set out to do another 33 minutes today. I did it, but I didn't think I was going to. I got about 3 minutes in and felt like I had already run 30 minutes. I was ready to quit and walk back to the car, but I pushed on through it. My recent running lethargy is bothering me, but I think it's due to poor eating habits over Christmas. I'm hoping to remedy that over the next couple of weeks by getting back into a normal eating routine.
I was back in my home park today. I started out with a couple of warm up laps around the parking lot before setting out on my run. I'm changing up my mileage and timing tracking by only keeping track of what I run and excluding the warm up time & mileage from my total statistics. Having done my warm up in the parking lot instead of doing it along the road through the park I started my run at a different point today. I'm not sure if that threw me off or if my body is really rebelling against my recent unhealthy diet but I was really working to just keep running by the 3 minute mark. I kept going, but the whole run felt like a struggle today.
Today's Stats: I did 2.9 miles in 33 minutes which is 11:23 per mile.
Next Up: I'm hoping to get a good run in on New Years Day. I'm due for a speed day so I'll probably cut the time down to about 20 minutes and push to see how far I can run in that 20 minutes. I ordered my Garmin Forerunner 305 watch Tuesday. I'm hoping it will come in before my first run of 2011, but it's more likely to arrive sometime next week.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Running: 12/28/10
I went to the TTU running track today while away from home for Christmas. It was 14 degrees out but I made myself get out anyway. I needed to work off all the junk I had been eating and was about to eat. It was a hard run, possibly because of the junk in which I had been indulging.
I set out to do 33 minutes and accomplished that goal. Actually, my watch said 32:35 when I stopped running, but it appeared to be running very slowly, especially at first. I think sitting out in the cold car all night effected its performance.
In the 32:35 I did 11 laps in lane 7 of the track. 4 laps in lane 1 equals a mile, so 4 laps in lane 7 equals a little more than a mile, but I'm not sure how much more. I'm just going to go with the 4 laps = a mile equation to be conservative. 11 laps would be 2.75 miles. I was really pushing to keep running by the time I started the last lap but was able to find some reserve energy and really ran the last lap pretty hard.
Today's Stats: I did 2.75 miles in 32:35 for a per mile pace of 11:51.
Next up: Another 33 minute run.
I set out to do 33 minutes and accomplished that goal. Actually, my watch said 32:35 when I stopped running, but it appeared to be running very slowly, especially at first. I think sitting out in the cold car all night effected its performance.
In the 32:35 I did 11 laps in lane 7 of the track. 4 laps in lane 1 equals a mile, so 4 laps in lane 7 equals a little more than a mile, but I'm not sure how much more. I'm just going to go with the 4 laps = a mile equation to be conservative. 11 laps would be 2.75 miles. I was really pushing to keep running by the time I started the last lap but was able to find some reserve energy and really ran the last lap pretty hard.
Today's Stats: I did 2.75 miles in 32:35 for a per mile pace of 11:51.
Next up: Another 33 minute run.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Running: 12/26/2010
I couldn't stand it anymore so I decided to run on the treadmill today. It was snowy out this morning and we decided to postpone our post-Christmas Christmas celebration by a day. I decided to do 33 minutes today and had no problem with it. I breathed pretty easily all the way through. The treadmill said I was running at about 4.6 mph and did about 2.75 miles in the 38 minutes. That's 5 minutes walking and 33 minutes running. I was a little surprised at the short distance again so I did a little experiment to test the accuracy of our treadmill. I made a mark on the base and a mark on the tread with White Out and counted the number of times it went around in a minute and then counted the number of times it went around over what it measured as a quarter of a mile. Turns out the ol' treadmill is accurate within about 3%, so over the course of 3 miles, it might be off by as much as a tenth of a mile. That's really not too bad, and not nearly as inaccurate as I thought it might be. The only other factor that might be playing into it is the weight of a person running. I did the measurements without a load, and it's possible that could change things. It did make some sense, though. I was breathing easily for most of the run and my pulse was pretty low, too. I intentionally kept the effort on the low side today to make sure I made it the full 33 minutes. The last time I ran on the treadmill, I took it way too fast and was worn out before I got halfway through my planned run. Not a bad run, though.
Today's stats: I did 2.75 miles in 38 minutes.
Next Up: Another 33 minutes, this time hopefully outside and hopefully covering a little more distance.
Today's stats: I did 2.75 miles in 38 minutes.
Next Up: Another 33 minutes, this time hopefully outside and hopefully covering a little more distance.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Running: 12/23/2010
I've been having a little off and on very minor pain in my left IT band for the last few days. I'm not sure what's causing it. I've added swimming to my routine. Also I'm running in the cold, which is said to possibly irritate the IT band. I'm stretching it well before and after and it never bothers me during a run. I really only notice it when I've been sitting for awhile.
That said, I decided to shorten today's run slightly and I'll be taking tomorrow and possibly Saturday completely off all exercise. I don't want to have to take another month off to heal.
Since I was shortening my run somewhat, I decided to pick up the tempo a bit. That may have negated any healing that I hoped to allow my IT band to do, but I couldn't just let myself take it easy. That's just not my style.
I picked a spot in my head at which I would turn around. I ran the first five minutes at a slightly faster than normal pace (165ish strides per minute) and then accelerated to significantly faster (175ish spm) than what I'm used to for the next three minutes. I dropped the pace back down to the slightly faster than normal pace for most of the remainder of the run until I topped the final hill into the parking lot where I was barely able to push up to an all out run for the last 100 yards or so.
Today's Stats: I did 2.35 miles in 26:02 for a pace of 11:04/mile. That's over 10 seconds faster per mile than my best time. I was pleased with that, and hope to start varying my runs a little bit. Rather than just training to increase distance with each run, I'm thinking I'll try to work in a shorter/faster run in each week. Hopefully that will increase my pace over the longer distances as well. If nothing else, it's a good cardio workout.
Next Up: The weather is supposed to get pretty ugly here Friday night and into Saturday. I had hoped to be able to go for a run outside on Christmas day, but if the weatherman is right, I may be in for some treadmill time, as much as I hate it.
That said, I decided to shorten today's run slightly and I'll be taking tomorrow and possibly Saturday completely off all exercise. I don't want to have to take another month off to heal.
Since I was shortening my run somewhat, I decided to pick up the tempo a bit. That may have negated any healing that I hoped to allow my IT band to do, but I couldn't just let myself take it easy. That's just not my style.
I picked a spot in my head at which I would turn around. I ran the first five minutes at a slightly faster than normal pace (165ish strides per minute) and then accelerated to significantly faster (175ish spm) than what I'm used to for the next three minutes. I dropped the pace back down to the slightly faster than normal pace for most of the remainder of the run until I topped the final hill into the parking lot where I was barely able to push up to an all out run for the last 100 yards or so.
Today's Stats: I did 2.35 miles in 26:02 for a pace of 11:04/mile. That's over 10 seconds faster per mile than my best time. I was pleased with that, and hope to start varying my runs a little bit. Rather than just training to increase distance with each run, I'm thinking I'll try to work in a shorter/faster run in each week. Hopefully that will increase my pace over the longer distances as well. If nothing else, it's a good cardio workout.
Next Up: The weather is supposed to get pretty ugly here Friday night and into Saturday. I had hoped to be able to go for a run outside on Christmas day, but if the weatherman is right, I may be in for some treadmill time, as much as I hate it.
Swimming: Zero to 1650 12/22/2010
Last night's swim was better than expected and considerably better than Monday night. I've found that just like running, part of the process of increasing stamina is learning to pace myself. I've noticed a tendency to start out at a nice easy pace and slowly swim faster and faster as I get closer to the end of the pool. Last night I concentrated on maintaining the easy pace all the way to the end of the pool. I was able to do over 75% of my swim freestyle just by making a conscious effort to maintain a slower pace.
I'm not sure when I'm going to get back to the pool. It's closed for a three day weekend starting tomorrow (Christmas Eve). We'll be spending some time with family over the following week.
I'm thinking I'll continue the current routine for two or three more swims. I want to be able to do the whole 700 yard workout freestyle before moving on.
I'm not sure when I'm going to get back to the pool. It's closed for a three day weekend starting tomorrow (Christmas Eve). We'll be spending some time with family over the following week.
I'm thinking I'll continue the current routine for two or three more swims. I want to be able to do the whole 700 yard workout freestyle before moving on.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 9, Day 3
I graduated today. There was no cap and gown, no Pomp and Circumstance, no streamers or confetti or wild all night parties. It was just me, the ducks and herons, the squirrels, what was probably a skunk (smelled but not seen) and the rain. Yes, it rained on my final day of the C25K program. I don't recall having run in the rain previously. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, I sort of enjoyed it. If it had been much colder out, it may have gotten uncomfortable. Thankfully, it was just a light rain and I didn't end up soaked. My socks stayed dry, so no soggy squishy feeling with each step.
I've learned that I love the feeling I have right after a run. It's like I can taste the oxygen in the air and my head is completely clear. I'm looking forward to increasing my distance and hopefully my speed.
Other than the rain, there was nothing remarkable about today's run. I started running, I got tired, I pushed myself to keep going anyway, everything felt just right for a few minutes, I realized I was close to the 30 minute mark so I ran faster, then I was done. I didn't have to run around the parking lot as much today. Just a small circle at the end to run out the last few seconds was all I needed. I tried to maintain the same pace as Sunday but was obviously a little slower. I'm to the point where I need a good fitness watch to monitor at least my pace and distance. Estimating based on strides per minute is okay but I want to know exactly how fast and how far I'm running. That may have to be an after Christmas gift to myself.
Today's stats: 2.85 miles in 34 minutes. That's a pace of 11:56/mile.
Next Up: I'm going to continue to add time at the rate of 10% per week. So, my next three runs will be 33 minutes each. The following week will be 36 and the following week will be 40. I may stop at 40 and start working more on speed at that point. I'm still searching for a 5K around the first of the year. There are several in the area in January and February, but I haven't picked one yet.
I've learned that I love the feeling I have right after a run. It's like I can taste the oxygen in the air and my head is completely clear. I'm looking forward to increasing my distance and hopefully my speed.
Other than the rain, there was nothing remarkable about today's run. I started running, I got tired, I pushed myself to keep going anyway, everything felt just right for a few minutes, I realized I was close to the 30 minute mark so I ran faster, then I was done. I didn't have to run around the parking lot as much today. Just a small circle at the end to run out the last few seconds was all I needed. I tried to maintain the same pace as Sunday but was obviously a little slower. I'm to the point where I need a good fitness watch to monitor at least my pace and distance. Estimating based on strides per minute is okay but I want to know exactly how fast and how far I'm running. That may have to be an after Christmas gift to myself.
Today's stats: 2.85 miles in 34 minutes. That's a pace of 11:56/mile.
Next Up: I'm going to continue to add time at the rate of 10% per week. So, my next three runs will be 33 minutes each. The following week will be 36 and the following week will be 40. I may stop at 40 and start working more on speed at that point. I'm still searching for a 5K around the first of the year. There are several in the area in January and February, but I haven't picked one yet.
Swimming: Zero to 1650 12/20/2010
DecI got back to the pool last night. I have to say that swimming in a bubble covered pool is quite dull. My only company was the small group of older ladies doing their water aerobics workout. While I'm proud of them for doing something good for their bodies, they didn't add much to my 700 yard swim.
I almost feel like I'm not pushing myself hard enough in the pool, but the last time I pushed myself as hard as I felt like I should I ended up light headed and nauseous. For now I'm just going to concentrate on swimming 700 yards until I can do it without feeling utterly exhausted afterwards. Then I'll work on adding distance.
Last night's swim was the first in over a week, so I really didn't expect much. I alternated freestyle with backstroke. In running terms, freestyle is the run portion and backstroke is the walk portion. I'm splitting them about half and half right now, with complete stops to catch my breath in between sets. I'll be pretty excited when I can do 100 yards freestyle. Hopefully that's not too far off.
I almost feel like I'm not pushing myself hard enough in the pool, but the last time I pushed myself as hard as I felt like I should I ended up light headed and nauseous. For now I'm just going to concentrate on swimming 700 yards until I can do it without feeling utterly exhausted afterwards. Then I'll work on adding distance.
Last night's swim was the first in over a week, so I really didn't expect much. I alternated freestyle with backstroke. In running terms, freestyle is the run portion and backstroke is the walk portion. I'm splitting them about half and half right now, with complete stops to catch my breath in between sets. I'll be pretty excited when I can do 100 yards freestyle. Hopefully that's not too far off.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 9, Day 2
I did week 9, day 2 Sunday morning. I went out with the hope of picking up the pace a bit over what I did Friday. I'm still monitoring my pace by counting strides. I tried to stay at or around 160-165 strides per minute. Friday I ran closer to 150 per minute. I was able to maintain the 160ish pace for the whole run, but didn't have much left to push out a faster pace for the final couple of minutes. That's okay, I now know my max pace and where to work up from.
Sunday morning was a good morning for a run. The weather was almost perfect. It was just a tad too breezy from time to time, but not to the point that I couldn't run. I started out at the usual place and took a 4 minute warm up walk. I've decreased the walk to 4 minutes because I'm running out of room to run, and I seem to be just as ready to run at 4 minutes as I was at 5. The first 10-15 minutes of the run can be quite tedious and sometimes discouraging. I don't know why, but those first minutes always seem the hardest. There's a nice window somewhere between 10 minutes and 25 minutes where everything feels just right and I feel like I could run forever. The I hit another tough patch for about the last 5 minutes. It's been awhile since I felt like I'm really struggling just to put one foot in front of the other like I did on occasion in those first few weeks though.
I successfully picked up the pace today. I got to the parking lot and still had two minutes left so I turned right into the parking lot ran to the end and then back to the road. There was still about a minute left, so I went back and did half the parking lot again before finishing up at exactly 34 minutes.
Today's Stats: I estimated my additional parking lot mileage to be around .15 so I'm estimating I ran a total of 2.95 miles in 34 minutes for a per mile pace of 11:32.
Up Next: The last day. That's right, I plan to run week 9, day 3 on tomorrow morning. I'm also trying to find a 5K to do soon. I didn't get to the pool at all last week, but I'm planning to go this evening.
Sunday morning was a good morning for a run. The weather was almost perfect. It was just a tad too breezy from time to time, but not to the point that I couldn't run. I started out at the usual place and took a 4 minute warm up walk. I've decreased the walk to 4 minutes because I'm running out of room to run, and I seem to be just as ready to run at 4 minutes as I was at 5. The first 10-15 minutes of the run can be quite tedious and sometimes discouraging. I don't know why, but those first minutes always seem the hardest. There's a nice window somewhere between 10 minutes and 25 minutes where everything feels just right and I feel like I could run forever. The I hit another tough patch for about the last 5 minutes. It's been awhile since I felt like I'm really struggling just to put one foot in front of the other like I did on occasion in those first few weeks though.
I successfully picked up the pace today. I got to the parking lot and still had two minutes left so I turned right into the parking lot ran to the end and then back to the road. There was still about a minute left, so I went back and did half the parking lot again before finishing up at exactly 34 minutes.
Today's Stats: I estimated my additional parking lot mileage to be around .15 so I'm estimating I ran a total of 2.95 miles in 34 minutes for a per mile pace of 11:32.
Up Next: The last day. That's right, I plan to run week 9, day 3 on tomorrow morning. I'm also trying to find a 5K to do soon. I didn't get to the pool at all last week, but I'm planning to go this evening.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 9, Day 1
I've made it to week 9. I've been at this since July, and thought I would be through the program by the middle of September. Instead, here I am, almost 6 months later, finally ready to finish up. I struggled through some unexpected injuries and setbacks and found that I'm not 18 anymore. Even so, I healed, and pushed through, and I'm a healthier person because of it.
I'm proud of myself. Not in a conceited, I'm all that way, but in the sense that I know that I've done something that I wasn't sure I would be able to do. I ran 30 minutes this morning. No, make that 30 minutes and 52 seconds. I only ran 2.8 miles in that time, but I ran a full 30 minutes. Okay, it was more of a jog than a run, but when I first started the couch to 5K program, 5 minutes of slow jogging seemed like a pretty lofty goal.
Today's run ran the gamut of almost everything I've experienced over the last 6 months. I was tired after 3 minutes and started to question whether I would make it 5, much less 30. Then everything started to click, and I felt pretty good for a good portion of the run. I felt a few twinges in my IT band here and there, most likely due to the cold, but that went away. My quads started to tire a little over halfway through. I found myself passing the time by planning out my day in my head and before I knew it, I was passing the big smiley face painted on the road that signaled I only had about 6 minutes left to go. I knew I had at least 6 more minutes left, so I picked up the pace slightly until I hit the big(ish) hill at the end. I ran up the hill at a pretty hard pace and then sprinted across the parking lot to the edge of the pavement.
I have two more days to go before I "graduate". I'm not sure what I'll do after that. I know I want to continue to increase my distance, but not significantly. I also want to work on running faster, but I want to make sure I can consistently run 35-40 minutes before I really start trying to increase my pace by much. For now, I'll just take it one run at a time. I'll try to increase distance by about 10% per week until I reach what I feel is a good plateau, and go from there.
Today's Stats: I ran my normal 2.8 miles in 34:52 for a pace of 12:27/mile. I seem to have slowed some recently. I know I made a conscious effort to slow down today so I could make the full 30 minutes. Maybe I'll take it just a little faster next time just to see if I can do it. I'd like to be keep my pace better than 12. I've done 2.8 in as little as 31:31. What that tells me is if I speed up, I'm going to have to increase my distance a bit. That should be no problem.
Next Up: Week 9, Day 2. I'll try to increase my speed and my mileage. This will probably have to wait until Monday, as I have a pretty busy weekend planned.
I'm proud of myself. Not in a conceited, I'm all that way, but in the sense that I know that I've done something that I wasn't sure I would be able to do. I ran 30 minutes this morning. No, make that 30 minutes and 52 seconds. I only ran 2.8 miles in that time, but I ran a full 30 minutes. Okay, it was more of a jog than a run, but when I first started the couch to 5K program, 5 minutes of slow jogging seemed like a pretty lofty goal.
Today's run ran the gamut of almost everything I've experienced over the last 6 months. I was tired after 3 minutes and started to question whether I would make it 5, much less 30. Then everything started to click, and I felt pretty good for a good portion of the run. I felt a few twinges in my IT band here and there, most likely due to the cold, but that went away. My quads started to tire a little over halfway through. I found myself passing the time by planning out my day in my head and before I knew it, I was passing the big smiley face painted on the road that signaled I only had about 6 minutes left to go. I knew I had at least 6 more minutes left, so I picked up the pace slightly until I hit the big(ish) hill at the end. I ran up the hill at a pretty hard pace and then sprinted across the parking lot to the edge of the pavement.
I have two more days to go before I "graduate". I'm not sure what I'll do after that. I know I want to continue to increase my distance, but not significantly. I also want to work on running faster, but I want to make sure I can consistently run 35-40 minutes before I really start trying to increase my pace by much. For now, I'll just take it one run at a time. I'll try to increase distance by about 10% per week until I reach what I feel is a good plateau, and go from there.
Today's Stats: I ran my normal 2.8 miles in 34:52 for a pace of 12:27/mile. I seem to have slowed some recently. I know I made a conscious effort to slow down today so I could make the full 30 minutes. Maybe I'll take it just a little faster next time just to see if I can do it. I'd like to be keep my pace better than 12. I've done 2.8 in as little as 31:31. What that tells me is if I speed up, I'm going to have to increase my distance a bit. That should be no problem.
Next Up: Week 9, Day 2. I'll try to increase my speed and my mileage. This will probably have to wait until Monday, as I have a pretty busy weekend planned.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Couch to 5k: Week 8, Day 3.2
I've been stuck on week 8 for longer than I had hoped to be. Today was my 5th day of week 8. The good news is, I think I've conquered it. My plan is to start week 9 on Thursday.
I brought the run inside today onto the treadmill in the fitness center at work. It was boring but I did it. The one thing I like about the treadmill is the ease of pace management. I was able to find my pace and stick with it throughout the run and then incrementally increase the speed over the last 5 minutes. 28 minutes is still not an easy run, and I'm not sure it ever will be, but I know I can do it if I manage my pace correctly.
Today's Stats: I covered what the treadmill said was 2.8 miles in 34:45 for a pace of 12:25/mile.
Next Up: Tomorrow afternoon I hope to get back to the pool for another 700 yard workout. Thursday brings up C25K Week 9, Day 1 which only adds two minutes to the run for a total of 30 minutes. I know I could have done another two minutes this morning, so if I can keep my speed in check 30 minutes shouldn't be a problem.
I brought the run inside today onto the treadmill in the fitness center at work. It was boring but I did it. The one thing I like about the treadmill is the ease of pace management. I was able to find my pace and stick with it throughout the run and then incrementally increase the speed over the last 5 minutes. 28 minutes is still not an easy run, and I'm not sure it ever will be, but I know I can do it if I manage my pace correctly.
Today's Stats: I covered what the treadmill said was 2.8 miles in 34:45 for a pace of 12:25/mile.
Next Up: Tomorrow afternoon I hope to get back to the pool for another 700 yard workout. Thursday brings up C25K Week 9, Day 1 which only adds two minutes to the run for a total of 30 minutes. I know I could have done another two minutes this morning, so if I can keep my speed in check 30 minutes shouldn't be a problem.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Couch to 5k: Week 8 Day 3
I ran inside on the treadmill today, with music. I'd never run with music before and I would venture to say that I'll probably not do it again. I felt the need to say in step with the beat and it messed with my pace. I started out way too fast and wasn't able to make it the full 28 minutes. On top of that, It's around 70 degrees in our house, and that's too hot for me. Overall, not a good run, but I ran.
Today's stats: the treadmill said 2.4 miles in 33 minutes. I'm not sure how accurate the odometer is, but I'll go ahead and count it as 2.4 miles. Not a good pace, but it is what it is.
Next Up: I plan to get repeat Week 8 day 3. Possibly on the treadmill at work. It's just too nasty out right now to go to the park.
Today's stats: the treadmill said 2.4 miles in 33 minutes. I'm not sure how accurate the odometer is, but I'll go ahead and count it as 2.4 miles. Not a good pace, but it is what it is.
Next Up: I plan to get repeat Week 8 day 3. Possibly on the treadmill at work. It's just too nasty out right now to go to the park.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Swimming: Zero to 1650 Day Two
I made it to the pool again this morning. Swimming is a serious workout.
The routine for this week is:
1. Swim 100 yards 4 times, resting for 12 breaths (HA!) between sets of 100.
2. Swim 50 yards 4 times, resting for 8 breaths between sets of 50.
3. Swim 25 yards 4 times, resting for 4 breaths between sets of 25.
12 breaths to rest between sets of 100 yards is simply not enough for me. I need closer to 30 to feel even remotely ready to swim again. The pool is 25 yards and I can do two full lengths nonstop freestyle but I start to get out of breath and a little panicky about halfway through the second length. When I start to feel that way, I concentrate on pushing hard to the end of the pool and then switch to a backstroke for the remainder of the set.
I'm looking ahead at the plan for next week and I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep doing week one for at least another week. I didn't feel any stronger today than I did Wednesday evening and I would really like to be able to swim at least 100 yards freestyle without having to rest before moving on.
I've found that if I concentrate on a nice relaxed pace and not gasping for air when I turn my head to breathe, I feel much better in the water.
I'm hoping to run tomorrow. The weather looks like it could be pretty nasty. I'm hoping I can motivate myself to run on the treadmill if it's too bad to get outside and run.
The routine for this week is:
1. Swim 100 yards 4 times, resting for 12 breaths (HA!) between sets of 100.
2. Swim 50 yards 4 times, resting for 8 breaths between sets of 50.
3. Swim 25 yards 4 times, resting for 4 breaths between sets of 25.
12 breaths to rest between sets of 100 yards is simply not enough for me. I need closer to 30 to feel even remotely ready to swim again. The pool is 25 yards and I can do two full lengths nonstop freestyle but I start to get out of breath and a little panicky about halfway through the second length. When I start to feel that way, I concentrate on pushing hard to the end of the pool and then switch to a backstroke for the remainder of the set.
I'm looking ahead at the plan for next week and I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep doing week one for at least another week. I didn't feel any stronger today than I did Wednesday evening and I would really like to be able to swim at least 100 yards freestyle without having to rest before moving on.
I've found that if I concentrate on a nice relaxed pace and not gasping for air when I turn my head to breathe, I feel much better in the water.
I'm hoping to run tomorrow. The weather looks like it could be pretty nasty. I'm hoping I can motivate myself to run on the treadmill if it's too bad to get outside and run.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Couch to 5k: Week 8, Day 2.2
Another day of the week 8 routine of running 28 minutes. I didn't quite make it last time, so I repeated day 2. I completed the 28 minute run this morning plus 47 seconds.
It was 19 degrees this morning at the park. I never really felt uncomfortably cold. I ran in shorts, a synthetic shirt, and a fleece jacket with a hood. I kept the hood up for the first 5 minutes but had to put it down. I decided that sweat pants were too hot when I ran in them on Tuesday. I was quite comfortable today with the exception of my hands. I need some gloves or mittens to wear when I run.
I was a little concerned this morning that yesterday's swim might negatively impact this morning's run. I don't really think it made a difference. The only thing I noticed was a little tightness in my quads at first, but that worked out after a few minutes and the rest of the run felt great. I took it almost painfully slow. I kept my strides per minute down to 150 for most of the run and then decided to increase my pace for the last 5 minutes. I was still feeling strong with 4 minutes left to go, so I pushed myself to run at almost a full sprint (or what I would consider a full sprint after having already run 23 minutes). I was able to maintain the almost sprint pace all the way back to the car. I decided to run all the way to the end of my route instead of stopping at 28 minutes because I wanted to push myself just a little harder. All said, I was pleased with today's run. Oddly, it was slower than Tuesday's run. I'm pretty sure I started out too fast on Tuesday and then didn't have anything left when I got into the second half. I'm still learning to pace myself.
There is no comparison between the cardiovascular workout of swimming and that of running. I have a feeling swimming is going to improve my running significantly. I was way more out of breath last night after swimming 50 yards than I was this morning after running 2.8 miles, and I was running almost as hard as I could the last 4 minutes.
Today's Stats: 2.8 miles in 33:47 for a pace of 12:04 per mile. That pace includes my 5 minute warm up walk. A rough estimate of my running pace is 11:30 per mile.
Next Up: I'm taking tomorrow off to allow my lungs and legs to heal after three days in a row of punishment. Then I'll probably swim on Saturday and run another 28 minutes on Sunday. The forecast Sunday is for rain/snow & wind. I guess we'll see how much of a runner I really am on Sunday.
It was 19 degrees this morning at the park. I never really felt uncomfortably cold. I ran in shorts, a synthetic shirt, and a fleece jacket with a hood. I kept the hood up for the first 5 minutes but had to put it down. I decided that sweat pants were too hot when I ran in them on Tuesday. I was quite comfortable today with the exception of my hands. I need some gloves or mittens to wear when I run.
I was a little concerned this morning that yesterday's swim might negatively impact this morning's run. I don't really think it made a difference. The only thing I noticed was a little tightness in my quads at first, but that worked out after a few minutes and the rest of the run felt great. I took it almost painfully slow. I kept my strides per minute down to 150 for most of the run and then decided to increase my pace for the last 5 minutes. I was still feeling strong with 4 minutes left to go, so I pushed myself to run at almost a full sprint (or what I would consider a full sprint after having already run 23 minutes). I was able to maintain the almost sprint pace all the way back to the car. I decided to run all the way to the end of my route instead of stopping at 28 minutes because I wanted to push myself just a little harder. All said, I was pleased with today's run. Oddly, it was slower than Tuesday's run. I'm pretty sure I started out too fast on Tuesday and then didn't have anything left when I got into the second half. I'm still learning to pace myself.
There is no comparison between the cardiovascular workout of swimming and that of running. I have a feeling swimming is going to improve my running significantly. I was way more out of breath last night after swimming 50 yards than I was this morning after running 2.8 miles, and I was running almost as hard as I could the last 4 minutes.
Today's Stats: 2.8 miles in 33:47 for a pace of 12:04 per mile. That pace includes my 5 minute warm up walk. A rough estimate of my running pace is 11:30 per mile.
Next Up: I'm taking tomorrow off to allow my lungs and legs to heal after three days in a row of punishment. Then I'll probably swim on Saturday and run another 28 minutes on Sunday. The forecast Sunday is for rain/snow & wind. I guess we'll see how much of a runner I really am on Sunday.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Swimming: Zero to 1650 Day One
I got to the pool tonight after work. It kicked my butt. I've decided to follow this plan. I did the week one routine and basically followed it as written. I wasn't able to freestyle the whole thing, but I did about half. For the 4 X 100 yard segments, I was able to do 50 freestyle and then backstroked the next 50. For the 4 X 50 segments, I don't exactly remember what I did, but I'm pretty sure it came out to about half and half. The final 4 X 25 segments were all freestyle.
I got out of the pool and didn't feel so great. The pool was like a bathtub and I think I may have gotten slightly overheated. I'm feeling pretty good now (about an hour later) though.
For this, I'm not worried about speed. I just want to be able to swim a mile freestyle without stopping. Once I can do that, I'll decide if I want to worry about doing it faster.
I got out of the pool and didn't feel so great. The pool was like a bathtub and I think I may have gotten slightly overheated. I'm feeling pretty good now (about an hour later) though.
For this, I'm not worried about speed. I just want to be able to swim a mile freestyle without stopping. Once I can do that, I'll decide if I want to worry about doing it faster.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Couch to 5k: Week 8, Day 2
I didn't want to do it, but I took the advice of my beautiful wife and got my lazy tail out of bed this morning and ran. She was right, of course. I'm glad I did it. I didn't do as well as I wanted to, but I did it and I'm motivated to get out there and do it again. It's funny how easily a couple days off can lead to a week off. I can see how a week off could easily turn into never running again. I don't want to end up there, so unless I'm physically unable to run, I'm committing myself to running at least 3 times a week.
The word for today is cold. It was 22 degrees when I parked the car this morning. It really didn't feel too bad for the most part. My hands and my neck were a little cold. My neck was especially cold when I started sweating and running directly into the wind.
I was supposed to run 28 minutes this morning. It had been 6 days since I last ran and I felt it. I got 20 minutes and then had to walk. I partially blame that on the bitter wind blowing right in my face. The road through the park runs generally west-east. I always start on the west end and run east, then turn around and come back. The wind was blowing out of the west. The first half wasn't bad at all as I had the wind at my back. When I turned around, the wind was blowing right into my face and the running became significantly more difficult. I made it to my turn around in about 17 minutes, including the 5 minute warm up. When the wind started hitting me in the face, I slowed down a bit to try to compensate, but my lungs started burning and I could feel myself slowly but surely losing the battle. At the 20 minute point I had two choices. Pass out or walk and catch my breath. Passing out is not something I really wanted to learn about this morning, so I stopped to walk for a bit. I walked for 3 minutes, which was plenty of time to catch my breath and then ran all the way back to the car, which was only another 4.5 minutes.
I'm a little disappointed that I had to take a walk break this morning, but I guess I shouldn't have taken nearly a week off.
Today's Stats: I did the same 2.8 miles I've been doing and I did it in 32:33 which is a pace of 11:37 per mile.
Next up: I'm going to repeat Week 8 Day 2. I want to be able to comfortable and consistently run 28 minutes before I move on to Week 9. Also, I'm hoping to have time to get to the pool tomorrow after work and start training to swim a mile.
The word for today is cold. It was 22 degrees when I parked the car this morning. It really didn't feel too bad for the most part. My hands and my neck were a little cold. My neck was especially cold when I started sweating and running directly into the wind.
I was supposed to run 28 minutes this morning. It had been 6 days since I last ran and I felt it. I got 20 minutes and then had to walk. I partially blame that on the bitter wind blowing right in my face. The road through the park runs generally west-east. I always start on the west end and run east, then turn around and come back. The wind was blowing out of the west. The first half wasn't bad at all as I had the wind at my back. When I turned around, the wind was blowing right into my face and the running became significantly more difficult. I made it to my turn around in about 17 minutes, including the 5 minute warm up. When the wind started hitting me in the face, I slowed down a bit to try to compensate, but my lungs started burning and I could feel myself slowly but surely losing the battle. At the 20 minute point I had two choices. Pass out or walk and catch my breath. Passing out is not something I really wanted to learn about this morning, so I stopped to walk for a bit. I walked for 3 minutes, which was plenty of time to catch my breath and then ran all the way back to the car, which was only another 4.5 minutes.
I'm a little disappointed that I had to take a walk break this morning, but I guess I shouldn't have taken nearly a week off.
Today's Stats: I did the same 2.8 miles I've been doing and I did it in 32:33 which is a pace of 11:37 per mile.
Next up: I'm going to repeat Week 8 Day 2. I want to be able to comfortable and consistently run 28 minutes before I move on to Week 9. Also, I'm hoping to have time to get to the pool tomorrow after work and start training to swim a mile.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Motivation
It seems like since beginning running I've gone through some motivational highs and lows. Right now I'm at a low. I just didn't have the will to get out of bed this morning to go run. The sheets were so warm and I knew it was frigid outside. I just couldn't bring myself to subject my body to that torture. On top of that I'm still tired from not sleeping Friday night due to being up all night with a sick daughter. After being up all night, I was too tired Saturday morning to make the 5K in which I had planned on running. That's two 5Ks I've missed in the last two weeks.
I'm not sure why I have this sudden lack of motivation. As far as the running is concerned things have been going great. I can now run 28 minutes, and I'm only a few days away from "graduating" the Couch to 5K program.
Maybe a few days off will be good for me. Absence, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder.
I'm not sure why I have this sudden lack of motivation. As far as the running is concerned things have been going great. I can now run 28 minutes, and I'm only a few days away from "graduating" the Couch to 5K program.
Maybe a few days off will be good for me. Absence, as they say, makes the heart grow fonder.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 8, Day 1
I've made it to week 8. I also completed another milestone this morning. I topped the 100 total mile mark since starting back in July!
Today's run was 28 minutes. It wasn't much different from 25 minutes. My problem right now is learning to pace myself so that I'm (a) not pushing myself too hard and (b) not pushing myself hard enough. This morning was a (b) morning. I wanted to make sure I made it through the 28 minutes, so I started out pretty slow. As I have no better way to measure my speed, I'm using strides per minute to try to regulate my pace. I started out at 150 and worked my way up to 156 and pretty much tried to keep it in that range for the entire run. I got close to the end and realized I felt like I could keep going for quite awhile, even after pushing pretty hard up the hill at the park entrance. On top of that, I only finished my 28 minute run a few hundred feet beyond where I finished my 25 minute run on Monday.
I need to work out a plan for the 5K on Saturday that will allow me to run the whole thing at a decent pace.
Today's stats: I ran the same 2.8 mile route today in 33:52 for a remarkably slow 12:06/mile. I could have run it faster, but I don't know my own limitations yet.
Next up: 5k on Saturday. I'm going to count it as Week 8, Day 2 but I'll likely be running longer than the alloted 28 minutes. Swimming will start next week.
Today's run was 28 minutes. It wasn't much different from 25 minutes. My problem right now is learning to pace myself so that I'm (a) not pushing myself too hard and (b) not pushing myself hard enough. This morning was a (b) morning. I wanted to make sure I made it through the 28 minutes, so I started out pretty slow. As I have no better way to measure my speed, I'm using strides per minute to try to regulate my pace. I started out at 150 and worked my way up to 156 and pretty much tried to keep it in that range for the entire run. I got close to the end and realized I felt like I could keep going for quite awhile, even after pushing pretty hard up the hill at the park entrance. On top of that, I only finished my 28 minute run a few hundred feet beyond where I finished my 25 minute run on Monday.
I need to work out a plan for the 5K on Saturday that will allow me to run the whole thing at a decent pace.
Today's stats: I ran the same 2.8 mile route today in 33:52 for a remarkably slow 12:06/mile. I could have run it faster, but I don't know my own limitations yet.
Next up: 5k on Saturday. I'm going to count it as Week 8, Day 2 but I'll likely be running longer than the alloted 28 minutes. Swimming will start next week.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 7, Day 3
I didn't so much wake up this morning as much as I rolled out of bed. I'm not sure I really slept last night, therefore there was not much waking up to do. I really wanted to use this morning's running time to get an hour of sleep but I could tell it was pointless so I got up.
I drank my juice and stretched and watched the day's weather forecast. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was warmer than I expected it to be this morning. When I arrived at the park the gate as closed and a big sign indicated that the park would be closed for December and January. I stopped and asked the park manager if it would be okay for me to continue to come in and run in the mornings. He had no problem with that.
Today's run was my first since the Wedesday before Thanksgiving. I had intended to run either Friday or Saturday but let laziness win out. Today I was slated to run a full 25 minutes just like days 1 and 2 of week 7.
On top of improving my strike from a heel strike to more of a toe/midfoot strike I've been working on my pace. It's a bit challenging with just a stop watch and my brain to keep count of steps, but I'm managing. My method is to count how many strides I take in 10 seconds and then multiply that by 6. 162 strides per minute is a good comfortable pace for me amd I was able to maintain that for most of my 25 minute run today.
I'm not ready to say running for a solid 25 minutes is easy, but it's not as hard as I imagined it would be. I'm able to keep up a decent pace for the full 25 minutes and only feel moderately fatigued by the end. If I pace myself correctly, I still have enough left to push up to a pretty hard run for the final 2 minutes. Overall I'm pleased with my progress and I'm looking forward to the challenge of adding 3 minutes for a total of 28 in week 8. Only two more weeks to go! Then what?
I think I'm going to start trying to get to the pool 3 days a week in an attempt to work my way up to being able to swim a mile.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be running in a 5K on Saturday. There's one near home and I'd like to do it since I didn't get to run in the Turkey Trot. Looks like the weather will be perfect, too. I'm looking forward to it.
Today's Stats: I did my standard 2.8 miles today in 31:31. That's just one second faster than I did the same distance ten days ago. It seems I've arrived at a pretty consistent pace. Doing my course in 31:31 put me at a pace of 11:15/mile. I will be very pleased if I can maintain that same pace during Saturday's 5K.
Next Up: Week 8, Day 1 adds 3 minutes for a total of 28 minutes. Sounds easy enough. Can I do it and maintain today's pace? I guess I'll know on Wednesday.
I drank my juice and stretched and watched the day's weather forecast. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was warmer than I expected it to be this morning. When I arrived at the park the gate as closed and a big sign indicated that the park would be closed for December and January. I stopped and asked the park manager if it would be okay for me to continue to come in and run in the mornings. He had no problem with that.
Today's run was my first since the Wedesday before Thanksgiving. I had intended to run either Friday or Saturday but let laziness win out. Today I was slated to run a full 25 minutes just like days 1 and 2 of week 7.
On top of improving my strike from a heel strike to more of a toe/midfoot strike I've been working on my pace. It's a bit challenging with just a stop watch and my brain to keep count of steps, but I'm managing. My method is to count how many strides I take in 10 seconds and then multiply that by 6. 162 strides per minute is a good comfortable pace for me amd I was able to maintain that for most of my 25 minute run today.
I'm not ready to say running for a solid 25 minutes is easy, but it's not as hard as I imagined it would be. I'm able to keep up a decent pace for the full 25 minutes and only feel moderately fatigued by the end. If I pace myself correctly, I still have enough left to push up to a pretty hard run for the final 2 minutes. Overall I'm pleased with my progress and I'm looking forward to the challenge of adding 3 minutes for a total of 28 in week 8. Only two more weeks to go! Then what?
I think I'm going to start trying to get to the pool 3 days a week in an attempt to work my way up to being able to swim a mile.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be running in a 5K on Saturday. There's one near home and I'd like to do it since I didn't get to run in the Turkey Trot. Looks like the weather will be perfect, too. I'm looking forward to it.
Today's Stats: I did my standard 2.8 miles today in 31:31. That's just one second faster than I did the same distance ten days ago. It seems I've arrived at a pretty consistent pace. Doing my course in 31:31 put me at a pace of 11:15/mile. I will be very pleased if I can maintain that same pace during Saturday's 5K.
Next Up: Week 8, Day 1 adds 3 minutes for a total of 28 minutes. Sounds easy enough. Can I do it and maintain today's pace? I guess I'll know on Wednesday.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 7, Day 2
I've cancelled my plans to run in the Turkey Trot tomorrow. Lauren is sick and we'll be staying home for Thanksgiving. Because of the change of plans, I went ahead and continued my normal C25K routine. There is a 5K near home on Dec 4 that I may run in.
Today was more of the same. I started off with my 5 minute warm up walk and ran for 25 minutes. I didn't feel terribly challenged. I worked on pacing myself based on strides per minute today. I now know that 156 is a comfortable pace that I could keep up for a long time. I ran at that pace for about 20 of the 25 minute run. For the last 5 minutes or so I picked it up to about 168 and for the last 2 minutes I tried to maintain 168 while increasing my stride length. At that pace I felt like I was pushing myself and I had to increase my breathing rate. I still didn't feel exhausted at the end of the run. I'm sure I could have done more. For now, I'm just really pleased to be able to run 25 minutes without feeling like I'm about to pass out at the end.
Today's Stats: I did my 2.8 miles in 32:30 for a pace of 11:36/mile. I'm consistently better than 12 minutes/mile. I hope to be saying I'm consistently better than 11 minutes/mile in the not too distant future.
Next up: Week 7 Day 3 is the same as days 1 and 2. I'll run 25 minutes. Next week I'll push it up to 28. I could have easily done 28 today, so I'm not troubled by the thought.
Today was more of the same. I started off with my 5 minute warm up walk and ran for 25 minutes. I didn't feel terribly challenged. I worked on pacing myself based on strides per minute today. I now know that 156 is a comfortable pace that I could keep up for a long time. I ran at that pace for about 20 of the 25 minute run. For the last 5 minutes or so I picked it up to about 168 and for the last 2 minutes I tried to maintain 168 while increasing my stride length. At that pace I felt like I was pushing myself and I had to increase my breathing rate. I still didn't feel exhausted at the end of the run. I'm sure I could have done more. For now, I'm just really pleased to be able to run 25 minutes without feeling like I'm about to pass out at the end.
Today's Stats: I did my 2.8 miles in 32:30 for a pace of 11:36/mile. I'm consistently better than 12 minutes/mile. I hope to be saying I'm consistently better than 11 minutes/mile in the not too distant future.
Next up: Week 7 Day 3 is the same as days 1 and 2. I'll run 25 minutes. Next week I'll push it up to 28. I could have easily done 28 today, so I'm not troubled by the thought.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 7, Day 1
Week 7 day 1 is set up to be identical to week 6, day 3. The weather has warmed significantly over the last week or so. It's been perfect for running, though I wouldn't mind if it were just a few degrees cooler.
My left calf muscle is still a little sore from whatever happened last Wednesday, but is fine to run on. It actually feels pretty good to stretch it out and run on it.
Today's run felt almost easy. Keyword: almost. I took it slower than I did on Saturday, somewhat intentionally. I didn't intend to go as slowly as I did, but I learned something, and that's important. I ran the first half at a pretty slow pace (pace 1) and was able to breathe pretty easily the whole way. At that pace, I'm breathing in for three steps and out for four. At the turn around point I was almost right at the halfway point according to the watch. When I turned around, I picked up the pace slightly (pace 2) but was still able to maintain the same breathing pattern for several minutes. I reached a point where I had to push it up to three steps in and three steps out. Still, a fairly relaxed pattern, but feeling a little more like I was pushing myself. At that point I increased my stride length and tried to keep up the same stride frequency to increase my speed (pace 3). I was able to maintain the same breathing pattern and probably could have for quite awhile. At the point I was expecting to be close to finished I looked at the watch and found that I still had several minutes to go. I picked up the pace a hair (pace 4) and got to the point where I was breathing at a rate of two steps in and three steps out and continued that until the time was up. What I learned is that I can gauge my exertion level by my breathing pattern. Seems like a no-brainer, but I think I can use my breathing as a way to pace myself appropriately to be able to run longer distances.
For the Turkey Trot, my plan is to start at pace one for about 5 minutes and work up to pace two through the first two miles. I'm accustomed to walking 5 minutes to warm up, and that mileage has been included in the 2.8 I've been doing. I'm hoping keeping my running at a slower pace will be the equivalent of my five minute warm up. After two miles, I hope to have enough energy left to maintain pace 2 until I can see the finish line at which point I'll pick it up to pace 4. Using this strategy, I hope to be able to run the entire race. After 25 minutes of running today, I still had plenty of energy left. I'm pretty sure I could have gone on for another 5 or maybe even 10 minutes. I'm thinking another 5 minutes would have easily put me at or above 3.1 miles.
About running: I don't necessarily like it while I'm doing it and I definitely don't like dragging my lazy rear-end out of bed at 5:45 AM. Having said that, I love the sense of accomplishment I have after a run, and knowing that I've done something I couldn't have done just 4 months ago. I like knowing that I'm doing something good for my body. Looking back to week 1 when I was running sixty seconds at a time and dreading the three minute runs of week 3 is almost funny now. I remember wondering if there was any way I would really ever be able to run 20 or 25 minutes without stopping. Well, here I am. I'm doing it and I really have no doubts about being able to run 10 minutes on top of what I'm running now. Am I ready to run a marathon? No. Do I ever want to run a marathon? Doubtful, but I am very competitive with myself. I really like pushing myself harder at whatever I do, so the day could come that I want to do that. Right now, I think the challenge of a 5K is plenty for me.
Today's Stats: I did 2.8 miles in 33:02. That's somewhat slower than Saturday at a pace of 11:48/mile and slower than I had intended. I was a little disappointed at first, but I rationalized that it was probably better to wait and push myself harder for a faster pace on Thursday.
Next up: Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K. While everyone else is watching Snoopy, Spongebob, and Kermit the Frog balloons float by on their TV screens I'll be burning off some of mom's turkey and dressing in which I'll be indulging later in the day. I'm trying not to be too goal oriented but I definitely want to beat my first 5K time of 36:22. That was my first run after taking over 3 weeks off, though I kept myself in shape on the elliptical machine and in the pool. I've run 41 miles since then and my average times are much lower than they had been so I'm hoping for a good race. One complicating factor is that they are calling for a pretty good chance of rain Thursday morning and it's going to be pretty cool. I'm trying to decide how to dress for a run in the rain.
My left calf muscle is still a little sore from whatever happened last Wednesday, but is fine to run on. It actually feels pretty good to stretch it out and run on it.
Today's run felt almost easy. Keyword: almost. I took it slower than I did on Saturday, somewhat intentionally. I didn't intend to go as slowly as I did, but I learned something, and that's important. I ran the first half at a pretty slow pace (pace 1) and was able to breathe pretty easily the whole way. At that pace, I'm breathing in for three steps and out for four. At the turn around point I was almost right at the halfway point according to the watch. When I turned around, I picked up the pace slightly (pace 2) but was still able to maintain the same breathing pattern for several minutes. I reached a point where I had to push it up to three steps in and three steps out. Still, a fairly relaxed pattern, but feeling a little more like I was pushing myself. At that point I increased my stride length and tried to keep up the same stride frequency to increase my speed (pace 3). I was able to maintain the same breathing pattern and probably could have for quite awhile. At the point I was expecting to be close to finished I looked at the watch and found that I still had several minutes to go. I picked up the pace a hair (pace 4) and got to the point where I was breathing at a rate of two steps in and three steps out and continued that until the time was up. What I learned is that I can gauge my exertion level by my breathing pattern. Seems like a no-brainer, but I think I can use my breathing as a way to pace myself appropriately to be able to run longer distances.
For the Turkey Trot, my plan is to start at pace one for about 5 minutes and work up to pace two through the first two miles. I'm accustomed to walking 5 minutes to warm up, and that mileage has been included in the 2.8 I've been doing. I'm hoping keeping my running at a slower pace will be the equivalent of my five minute warm up. After two miles, I hope to have enough energy left to maintain pace 2 until I can see the finish line at which point I'll pick it up to pace 4. Using this strategy, I hope to be able to run the entire race. After 25 minutes of running today, I still had plenty of energy left. I'm pretty sure I could have gone on for another 5 or maybe even 10 minutes. I'm thinking another 5 minutes would have easily put me at or above 3.1 miles.
About running: I don't necessarily like it while I'm doing it and I definitely don't like dragging my lazy rear-end out of bed at 5:45 AM. Having said that, I love the sense of accomplishment I have after a run, and knowing that I've done something I couldn't have done just 4 months ago. I like knowing that I'm doing something good for my body. Looking back to week 1 when I was running sixty seconds at a time and dreading the three minute runs of week 3 is almost funny now. I remember wondering if there was any way I would really ever be able to run 20 or 25 minutes without stopping. Well, here I am. I'm doing it and I really have no doubts about being able to run 10 minutes on top of what I'm running now. Am I ready to run a marathon? No. Do I ever want to run a marathon? Doubtful, but I am very competitive with myself. I really like pushing myself harder at whatever I do, so the day could come that I want to do that. Right now, I think the challenge of a 5K is plenty for me.
Today's Stats: I did 2.8 miles in 33:02. That's somewhat slower than Saturday at a pace of 11:48/mile and slower than I had intended. I was a little disappointed at first, but I rationalized that it was probably better to wait and push myself harder for a faster pace on Thursday.
Next up: Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K. While everyone else is watching Snoopy, Spongebob, and Kermit the Frog balloons float by on their TV screens I'll be burning off some of mom's turkey and dressing in which I'll be indulging later in the day. I'm trying not to be too goal oriented but I definitely want to beat my first 5K time of 36:22. That was my first run after taking over 3 weeks off, though I kept myself in shape on the elliptical machine and in the pool. I've run 41 miles since then and my average times are much lower than they had been so I'm hoping for a good race. One complicating factor is that they are calling for a pretty good chance of rain Thursday morning and it's going to be pretty cool. I'm trying to decide how to dress for a run in the rain.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 6 Day 3 take 2
My second attempt at week 6 day 3 turned out much better than my first attempt. All signs of knee pain and IT band pain are gone. My calf is still a little sore from Wednesday's run but it didn't get any worse during today's run, so I'm chalking it up to residual muscle soreness.
Starting out I wasn't sure I'd make it 10 minutes, much less 25. I had trouble regulating my breathing and I just felt tired. Things never came together the way I had hoped they would, but my breathing eventually evened out and I just ran. I made it to my turn around point well before the halfway point according to my watch. I was simultaneously pleased and bummed. I knew that I'd have to run past the point where I'm normally stopping and was already feeling like I'd like to just walk for awhile. I motivated myself to keep running and just lost myself in random thought until there were about 4 minutes left. I'm pretty sure I got progressively slower until the last couple of minutes when I made a conscious effort to pick up the pace ever so slightly. I was glad when the watch showed 25 minutes because I was at the base of a fairly steep hill that I really didn't want to have to run up. I ran longer and farther than ever before this morning, and I'm glad I got out and did it.
Today's stats:
I did 2.8 miles in 31:32 for a pace of 11:16/mile! I'm pretty pleased with that. If I can manage that pace on Thursday I'll finish in somewhere around 35 minutes. I would be happy with that time.
Next up: Week 7 Day 1. Week 7 is uncharted territory for me, but the whole week is 25 minute runs, which I know I can do because I did it today. I'm hoping to do day 1 Monday morning and then take Tuesday and Wednesday off before the 5K on Thursday.
Starting out I wasn't sure I'd make it 10 minutes, much less 25. I had trouble regulating my breathing and I just felt tired. Things never came together the way I had hoped they would, but my breathing eventually evened out and I just ran. I made it to my turn around point well before the halfway point according to my watch. I was simultaneously pleased and bummed. I knew that I'd have to run past the point where I'm normally stopping and was already feeling like I'd like to just walk for awhile. I motivated myself to keep running and just lost myself in random thought until there were about 4 minutes left. I'm pretty sure I got progressively slower until the last couple of minutes when I made a conscious effort to pick up the pace ever so slightly. I was glad when the watch showed 25 minutes because I was at the base of a fairly steep hill that I really didn't want to have to run up. I ran longer and farther than ever before this morning, and I'm glad I got out and did it.
Today's stats:
I did 2.8 miles in 31:32 for a pace of 11:16/mile! I'm pretty pleased with that. If I can manage that pace on Thursday I'll finish in somewhere around 35 minutes. I would be happy with that time.
Next up: Week 7 Day 1. Week 7 is uncharted territory for me, but the whole week is 25 minute runs, which I know I can do because I did it today. I'm hoping to do day 1 Monday morning and then take Tuesday and Wednesday off before the 5K on Thursday.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Leg Update
My left calf is feeling much better today. I spent some time massaging the muscle yesterday and last night and used a heating pad before bed. I don't think this is an injury that is going to require any significant down time. I think it was more like a cramp than a strain or a pull. I can walk without a limp today. I still have some soreness but I'm about 73.2% better than I was yesterday. I'm planning to take tomorrow off and if I'm pain free would like to run on Saturday and then again on Monday then take two days off before the Turket Trot.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Week 6, Day 2 take 2
Looking down at the stats for today before reading this you'd think I had a great run today. All in all, it wasn't too bad other than the pain in my left calf. I don't know what the problem is, but it started hurting about 3 or 4 minutes into my run. I stopped once to try to stretch it out to no avail. It feels like a cramp but I only feel it when I put weight on the muscle. There was never a moment when I was fine and then I was in pain, it just kind of built up. From some reading, I'm guessing I have a strained muscle. I'm limping pretty significantly as it hurts to walk. If I keep my knee bent, walk on my heel, and don't flex my foot when I walk, I'm fine.
I ran well this morning, doing the run generally as written with the exception of stopping once to try to stretch and then I walked for about 30 seconds once when I was supposed to be running just to see if the pain subsided. It was no better when I walked, so I just decided to run it out.
It was cold enough this morning that I put on a long sleeve shirt for the first time. I found it was too hot and took it off a little over halfway through.
I'm concerned about my calf and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to run again this week. I might just take it easy until Thanksgiving Day and hope for the best in the 5K.
Todays stats: I ran the same route as Monday, 2.8 miles in 32:35. That's a pace of 11:38/mile which is officially my fastest time ever.
Next up: Who knows? I hope I can get at least one more run in before the Turkey Trot but if I'm not totally certain I can do it without pain I'm just going to wait until the 5K.
I ran well this morning, doing the run generally as written with the exception of stopping once to try to stretch and then I walked for about 30 seconds once when I was supposed to be running just to see if the pain subsided. It was no better when I walked, so I just decided to run it out.
It was cold enough this morning that I put on a long sleeve shirt for the first time. I found it was too hot and took it off a little over halfway through.
I'm concerned about my calf and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to run again this week. I might just take it easy until Thanksgiving Day and hope for the best in the 5K.
Todays stats: I ran the same route as Monday, 2.8 miles in 32:35. That's a pace of 11:38/mile which is officially my fastest time ever.
Next up: Who knows? I hope I can get at least one more run in before the Turkey Trot but if I'm not totally certain I can do it without pain I'm just going to wait until the 5K.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 6 Day 1 Take 2
I had another good run this morning. It was hard to get out of bed after a weekend away from home. On top of that it was cloudy and threatening rain outside which always makes it easier to just stay in bed. I'm pretty motivated lately, though, so I dragged myself out of bed, into my running clothes, and out the door. It was in the lower 40s this morning, but the cold doesn't seem to be bothering me as much as I thought it would. I'm a little cold at first during my warm up walk, but once I start running, I don't think it would bother me if it were 20 degrees. The cold air feels good.
Today's run consisted of a five minute warm up, a five minute run, a three minute walk, an eight minute run, a three minute walk, and one last five minute run. Things are started to click again. I haven't really felt good running since way back in August before I had to take some time off. It started off hard, but I just kept on putting one foot in front of the other. When I got about midway through the eight minute run everything seemed to just come together. I found a comfortable stride, my breathing evened out to an easy pace, and I just ran without thinking about it. I was running at a faster pace than all of last week. I thought about holding myself back but decided to see if I could handle it. I was thankful for the three minute walk break, because I felt I had pushed myself, but I'm certain I could have kept going. The last five minutes flew by and I wasn't really ready to stop, when the alloted time was up, but I did. I've pushed myself too hard before, and I don't want to end up having to take another month off.
Today's stats:
I did 2.8 miles in 32:50 for a pace of 11:44/mile which matches my 5K time from a few weeks ago and is 45 seconds per mile better than my first try at Week 6 Day 1. After a slow start, it was a good morning at the park. I went farther than I had been because the timing has changed. I made it all the way to the end of the road in the park before turning around. I was pleased with my increased speed and how things are starting to come together. Hopefully I will continue to feel that way over the next few weeks.
Next Up:
Week 6 Day 2 consists of two ten minute runs separated by a three minute walk.
Today's run consisted of a five minute warm up, a five minute run, a three minute walk, an eight minute run, a three minute walk, and one last five minute run. Things are started to click again. I haven't really felt good running since way back in August before I had to take some time off. It started off hard, but I just kept on putting one foot in front of the other. When I got about midway through the eight minute run everything seemed to just come together. I found a comfortable stride, my breathing evened out to an easy pace, and I just ran without thinking about it. I was running at a faster pace than all of last week. I thought about holding myself back but decided to see if I could handle it. I was thankful for the three minute walk break, because I felt I had pushed myself, but I'm certain I could have kept going. The last five minutes flew by and I wasn't really ready to stop, when the alloted time was up, but I did. I've pushed myself too hard before, and I don't want to end up having to take another month off.
Today's stats:
I did 2.8 miles in 32:50 for a pace of 11:44/mile which matches my 5K time from a few weeks ago and is 45 seconds per mile better than my first try at Week 6 Day 1. After a slow start, it was a good morning at the park. I went farther than I had been because the timing has changed. I made it all the way to the end of the road in the park before turning around. I was pleased with my increased speed and how things are starting to come together. Hopefully I will continue to feel that way over the next few weeks.
Next Up:
Week 6 Day 2 consists of two ten minute runs separated by a three minute walk.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 5, Day 3 take 2
Today I was slated to run 20 minutes with no walking breaks. Even though I had already done it back in August, I was a little intimidated as I started my 5 minute warm up walk. I felt like I pushed my limits a bit on Wednesday and that was just two 8 minute runs. How in the world did I expect to go 20 minutes without stopping.
As I started to run, it just didn't feel right. I wasn't feeling it this morning. It was hard to get out of bed, stretching was more of a chore than usual, and putting one foot in front of the other at anything more than a lazy walk was more than I wanted to do. I forced myself into a jog and concentrated on just moving forward, making progress towards the goal. I worked to maintain a steady breathing rhythm. I mentally focused on my turn around point. As the minutes passed everything became easier. My stride became more natural feeling, my breathing fell into an easy pattern and I just let my body take over. Soon, my turn around appeared and I looked at my watch to see where I was. I had actually run somewhat more than 10 minutes when I turned around. Never one to be confident in my abilities, I was still unsure whether I would make it the full 20. I was feeling a little fatigued, but not exhausted. I tried to keep track mentally of how many minutes I thought remained and where I would be when my 20 minutes expired as I progressed towards the finish. I noted a point in my head where I would look at the watch and see how much time remained. I made it to that point and there was less than one minute left. I was far from exhausted, so I picked up the pace and lengthened my stride, not wanting to leave anything in reserve. I counted down the final 10 seconds in my head, about three steps per second at that speed. I had done it, again. As intimidated as I was, I felt pretty good having finished twenty minutes. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it might be.
Today's stats: I did my 2.48 miles in 30:51 for a pace of 12:26/mile. That's not my best pace, but it's still a full 20 seconds/mile faster than my average and 33 seconds/mile faster than the first time I did W5D3.
Next up: Week 6 Day 1 take 2. It was at this point that I had to take a month off previously to allow my left knee and IT band to heal from the punishment inflicted by the hike that shall remain unnamed. I don't think the C25K program had anything to do with it other than continuing to irritate an already irritated part of my body.
I have one more week until I venture into the uncharted territory of weeks 7-9. Week 6 day 3 says a final goodbye to walking with a 25 minute run and the runs get progressively longer after that until they reach 30 minutes each in week 9. The Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot is right in the middle of week 7. I'll probably just try to run as much of it as I can and walk the rest, hopefully saving enough energy to run across the finish. My goals are to finish, of course, and to beat my time in my last 5K.
As I started to run, it just didn't feel right. I wasn't feeling it this morning. It was hard to get out of bed, stretching was more of a chore than usual, and putting one foot in front of the other at anything more than a lazy walk was more than I wanted to do. I forced myself into a jog and concentrated on just moving forward, making progress towards the goal. I worked to maintain a steady breathing rhythm. I mentally focused on my turn around point. As the minutes passed everything became easier. My stride became more natural feeling, my breathing fell into an easy pattern and I just let my body take over. Soon, my turn around appeared and I looked at my watch to see where I was. I had actually run somewhat more than 10 minutes when I turned around. Never one to be confident in my abilities, I was still unsure whether I would make it the full 20. I was feeling a little fatigued, but not exhausted. I tried to keep track mentally of how many minutes I thought remained and where I would be when my 20 minutes expired as I progressed towards the finish. I noted a point in my head where I would look at the watch and see how much time remained. I made it to that point and there was less than one minute left. I was far from exhausted, so I picked up the pace and lengthened my stride, not wanting to leave anything in reserve. I counted down the final 10 seconds in my head, about three steps per second at that speed. I had done it, again. As intimidated as I was, I felt pretty good having finished twenty minutes. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it might be.
Today's stats: I did my 2.48 miles in 30:51 for a pace of 12:26/mile. That's not my best pace, but it's still a full 20 seconds/mile faster than my average and 33 seconds/mile faster than the first time I did W5D3.
Next up: Week 6 Day 1 take 2. It was at this point that I had to take a month off previously to allow my left knee and IT band to heal from the punishment inflicted by the hike that shall remain unnamed. I don't think the C25K program had anything to do with it other than continuing to irritate an already irritated part of my body.
I have one more week until I venture into the uncharted territory of weeks 7-9. Week 6 day 3 says a final goodbye to walking with a 25 minute run and the runs get progressively longer after that until they reach 30 minutes each in week 9. The Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot is right in the middle of week 7. I'll probably just try to run as much of it as I can and walk the rest, hopefully saving enough energy to run across the finish. My goals are to finish, of course, and to beat my time in my last 5K.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Couch to 5k: Week 5 Day 2 take 2
It was the perfect morning for a run. The car said it was 50 degrees out, but by the time I got into the shade of the trees it was several degrees cooler than that. I love running in the cool fall air. I still sweat like a, well, you know all the cliches.
Today consisted of two eight minute runs separated by a five minute walk. I continued my journey toward the proper foot strike this morning. I had a little ankle and shin pain as the run progressed, but nothing significant. That's probably just from the use of different muscles and redistributing some of the stress to different parts of my legs. The first eight minutes flew by. I was breathing hard at the end and was glad for the five minute break, but felt like I could have kept going. The next eight minutes weren't too bad. It became a challenge to regulate my breathing and keep my form correct. I was really feeling it by the end and had to push myself to keep up the pace. All in all, a good run.
Next up, 20 minutes. I've done it before, I know I can do it again. I can already tell that pacing myself is going to be an issue. I've gotten to the point where I just want to go faster.
Today's stats: I covered 2.48 miles in 30:10. That's a pace of 12:10/mile. I'm not sure if concentrating on better form has improved my pace or if I just broke through a barrier and got a little faster. My last three runs have been consistently faster than I have become accustomed to.
Today consisted of two eight minute runs separated by a five minute walk. I continued my journey toward the proper foot strike this morning. I had a little ankle and shin pain as the run progressed, but nothing significant. That's probably just from the use of different muscles and redistributing some of the stress to different parts of my legs. The first eight minutes flew by. I was breathing hard at the end and was glad for the five minute break, but felt like I could have kept going. The next eight minutes weren't too bad. It became a challenge to regulate my breathing and keep my form correct. I was really feeling it by the end and had to push myself to keep up the pace. All in all, a good run.
Next up, 20 minutes. I've done it before, I know I can do it again. I can already tell that pacing myself is going to be an issue. I've gotten to the point where I just want to go faster.
Today's stats: I covered 2.48 miles in 30:10. That's a pace of 12:10/mile. I'm not sure if concentrating on better form has improved my pace or if I just broke through a barrier and got a little faster. My last three runs have been consistently faster than I have become accustomed to.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 5, Day 1 v.2
Today began my second run through week 5. I first did week 5 back in mid August, right after the camping trip/hike that put me on the sidelines for several weeks . You can read about that ordeal here. From a health perspective, I'm feeling really good right now. I've not had any knee pain in several weeks. In addition, I'm making stretching a top priority and I'm working on my form to help ward off any future injuries.
My calves have been quite sore since my run on Friday. I'm guessing it's a result of trying to change up my strike. Striking on the ball as opposed to the heel gets a different set of muscles involved. I worked on the same thing this morning. Even though my legs are sore, striking on the ball of my foot as opposed to my heel definitely makes a difference in the stress on my lower legs and probably the rest of my body. I can definitely tell a difference in the way my shins and knees felt after my run. I normally have a little minor pain in my shins and my knees feel a little stiff after a run. After my last two runs, my shin pain has been practically zero and my knees feel completely normal. On the other hand, it was difficult to maintain the ball strike through the whole run. My calf muscles started to tire out toward the end and I found myself falling back into heel strike mode. I allowed myself to run like that for a few seconds, but then forced myself back into what I know is better form.
Today's run felt really good. It was cold and I really felt it during my warm up walk. Once I started running, though, I was thankful for the cold. I get really hot when I do any kind of physical activity and the colder air was really refreshing. I was really glad to wake up to daylight today. I'm not sure how long it will last, because the days are only getting shorter. I'll definitely enjoy it for now, though. I went out expecting to either be slightly slower today or to run a shorter distance because of the change in routine but I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the halfway point according to the clock and found myself right at my regular turn around.
Today's stats:
I did my 2.48 miles today in 30:20 for a pace of 12:14/mile. It wasn't as fast as Friday, but still well better than my average. I don't know if that was due to the colder air, my change in running form, improved physical conditioning, something else, or a combination of some or all of the above.
Next up - Week 5 Day 2!
My calves have been quite sore since my run on Friday. I'm guessing it's a result of trying to change up my strike. Striking on the ball as opposed to the heel gets a different set of muscles involved. I worked on the same thing this morning. Even though my legs are sore, striking on the ball of my foot as opposed to my heel definitely makes a difference in the stress on my lower legs and probably the rest of my body. I can definitely tell a difference in the way my shins and knees felt after my run. I normally have a little minor pain in my shins and my knees feel a little stiff after a run. After my last two runs, my shin pain has been practically zero and my knees feel completely normal. On the other hand, it was difficult to maintain the ball strike through the whole run. My calf muscles started to tire out toward the end and I found myself falling back into heel strike mode. I allowed myself to run like that for a few seconds, but then forced myself back into what I know is better form.
Today's run felt really good. It was cold and I really felt it during my warm up walk. Once I started running, though, I was thankful for the cold. I get really hot when I do any kind of physical activity and the colder air was really refreshing. I was really glad to wake up to daylight today. I'm not sure how long it will last, because the days are only getting shorter. I'll definitely enjoy it for now, though. I went out expecting to either be slightly slower today or to run a shorter distance because of the change in routine but I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the halfway point according to the clock and found myself right at my regular turn around.
Today's stats:
I did my 2.48 miles today in 30:20 for a pace of 12:14/mile. It wasn't as fast as Friday, but still well better than my average. I don't know if that was due to the colder air, my change in running form, improved physical conditioning, something else, or a combination of some or all of the above.
Next up - Week 5 Day 2!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Week 4, The End
I'm really hoping this is the end of week 4 for me. I've done the week 4 routine 8 times according to my records. That's almost 3 weeks worth of week 4. I officially kicked its ass this morning, too. I was on the treadmill again because of the dark cold morning in which I didn't want to run. I love being able to see my pace right in front of me. A Garmin GPS fitness watch is definitely on my wish list. When I can see what I'm doing in numbers, I am better able to motivate myself to push harder. I worked on my form a little today, too. I am a heel striker. I admit it. I've read that I should not be. This morning I tried landing on the balls of my feet. It takes some effort because it doesn't feel natural, but I think it's overall less taxing on my body, especially the knees. I didn't feel as fatigued as have in the past. It definitely gets some different muscles involved. Overall, it was a great run. I'm looking forward to the time change this weekend and getting back outside for my runs.
Today's stats:
I did 2.65 miles in 31:32. That's a pace of 11:43/mile which is right in line with my fastest pace ever which was my first attempt at Week 4 Day 3 back in August, and just a hair below my 5K pace of 11:44. If all goes according to schedule, I'm hoping to be able to run most of the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and finish in well under 35 minutes.
Today's stats:
I did 2.65 miles in 31:32. That's a pace of 11:43/mile which is right in line with my fastest pace ever which was my first attempt at Week 4 Day 3 back in August, and just a hair below my 5K pace of 11:44. If all goes according to schedule, I'm hoping to be able to run most of the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and finish in well under 35 minutes.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Couch to 5K Week 4
It was a dark, cold, and rainy morning so I took myself to the fitness center and ran on the treadmill. It was a bit harder than I had anticipated. That could be partially due to the incline I had it set on. One thing I really like about running on the treadmill is being able to set a pace and not vary from it. I did my 5 minute warmup walk, and then set it at a 12 minute mile pace and did my first 3 minute run and 5 minute run at that pace. For the second set I increased the pace to 11:19. I was trying to run at what felt like the pace I would run outside.
Todays stats:
I must have run a little slower than usual because I finished the whole routine in 31:42 but only did 2.43 miles. That's a pace of 13:03 - the slowest I've been in a long time. I'm chalking that up partly to the incline and partly to not really knowing what pace I run at when I'm outside.
Todays stats:
I must have run a little slower than usual because I finished the whole routine in 31:42 but only did 2.43 miles. That's a pace of 13:03 - the slowest I've been in a long time. I'm chalking that up partly to the incline and partly to not really knowing what pace I run at when I'm outside.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 4 Day 1 v.3 or 4
Seems I'm stuck on week 4. The good news is, it's becoming easy. I plan to continue with week 4 through the rest of this week and then move on to week 5 next week. I'm trying really hard to keep from pushing myself too hard and end up having to take any time off.
This morning it was cool out and I was alone in the park. It was a perfect morning to run. I started out at what I hoped was a pretty slow pace with the intent of increasing my pace over the course of the whole session. My goal was to pick a pace for the first 3 and 5 minute repetitions and then up that pace slightly for the second 3 and 5 minute repetitions. I made it through the first 3, the first 5, and the second 3 without any problems. I definitely picked up my pace in the second three minute rep, but found myself concerned that I didn't have enough left to make it through the final 5 minutes. As I began the last 5 minute rep, I was not quite as recovered as I had been to start the other runs. At about the halfway point I found myself wanting to walk and catch my breath. I made myself keep running and was able to distract myself with trying to calculate the amount of time I had left in my head. It worked, and before I knew it the 5 minutes was up and I had made it back to my starting place plus a few feet.
I made it back to the car at 31:01 which was a pretty big improvement over Friday. It also probably explains why I was ready to walk during the last 5 minute run. I had picked up my pace fairly significantly. It's become almost instinctual now to run faster toward the end.
Today Stats: 2.48 miles in 31:01 for a pace of 12:30/mile. This reduced my overall average pace since beginning the program to 12:51/mile - the lowest it has ever been.
This morning it was cool out and I was alone in the park. It was a perfect morning to run. I started out at what I hoped was a pretty slow pace with the intent of increasing my pace over the course of the whole session. My goal was to pick a pace for the first 3 and 5 minute repetitions and then up that pace slightly for the second 3 and 5 minute repetitions. I made it through the first 3, the first 5, and the second 3 without any problems. I definitely picked up my pace in the second three minute rep, but found myself concerned that I didn't have enough left to make it through the final 5 minutes. As I began the last 5 minute rep, I was not quite as recovered as I had been to start the other runs. At about the halfway point I found myself wanting to walk and catch my breath. I made myself keep running and was able to distract myself with trying to calculate the amount of time I had left in my head. It worked, and before I knew it the 5 minutes was up and I had made it back to my starting place plus a few feet.
I made it back to the car at 31:01 which was a pretty big improvement over Friday. It also probably explains why I was ready to walk during the last 5 minute run. I had picked up my pace fairly significantly. It's become almost instinctual now to run faster toward the end.
Today Stats: 2.48 miles in 31:01 for a pace of 12:30/mile. This reduced my overall average pace since beginning the program to 12:51/mile - the lowest it has ever been.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 4, Day ???
I'm not really sure how many times I've done the week 4 routine. It just felt really good to be running this morning. It sucked getting up before 6 when it was still quite dark and cold. I'm really looking forward to next Sunday when time changes and it's light out when I wake up. I'm also looking forward to the bubble going up at the pool so I can get back to swimming. I'm not sure when that will be because it will need to be drained and resurfaced. I'm hoping by January at the latest.
Today's run was uneventful. The first three minute and five minute segments were incredibly easy. After that I felt like I was pushing myself a little. I had enough left to really sprint the last 15 seconds or so.
My pace was right on my average. I arrived at my turnaround exactly when I expected and back to the car in under 32 minutes. Overall not bad considering I haven't run in nearly two weeks. I'm back on the wagon, though. I plan to follow the program through to the end from here on out barring any unforeseen circumstances.
My goals:
1. Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving day - hopefully improving over my performance in the September 5K
2. Be able to run 30 solid minutes by the end of 2010
3. Have 100 total miles under my belt by the end of 2010
Today's stats: 2.48 miles in 31:46 for a pace of 12:49/mile. Slightly better than my average pace.
Today's run was uneventful. The first three minute and five minute segments were incredibly easy. After that I felt like I was pushing myself a little. I had enough left to really sprint the last 15 seconds or so.
My pace was right on my average. I arrived at my turnaround exactly when I expected and back to the car in under 32 minutes. Overall not bad considering I haven't run in nearly two weeks. I'm back on the wagon, though. I plan to follow the program through to the end from here on out barring any unforeseen circumstances.
My goals:
1. Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving day - hopefully improving over my performance in the September 5K
2. Be able to run 30 solid minutes by the end of 2010
3. Have 100 total miles under my belt by the end of 2010
Today's stats: 2.48 miles in 31:46 for a pace of 12:49/mile. Slightly better than my average pace.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Not Running
I've not done anything remotely resembling physical exercise since last Monday. Life has gotten in the way temporarily. I plan to pick back up where I left off tomorrow. I really need to start getting ready for the Thanksgiving Day 5K. The upcoming time-change will help. It's hard to get up and run when it's dark out.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 4, Day 1 v.2
I've done this before. I feel pretty good today after reading my original experience with W4D1. I'm not sure I remember how I felt that day, but reading over my notes, I'm pretty sure it was much easier today than it was the first time. I never felt like I was pushing myself. I took it slow and easy the whole way through and only slightly picked up the pace towards the end. I'm pretty sure I was pushing myself fairly hard the first time. Interestingly, I did practically the same distance today as I did back on August 2, but it took 42 fewer seconds and I don't feel like I was really challenged by today's run. That's good news. I remember being somewhat intimidated by the prospect of running 5 minutes when I first started looking over the C25K plan. Now, it's just something I can do. It's a little difficult, but I never felt the need to stop before the 5 minutes was up.
I want to skip forward a week, but I know I need to take the time to let my legs get used to the beating before venturing on. I'm going to continue along the prescribed route, at least until I feel like I'm being pushed, at which point I may find it necessary to repeat a week. That will be okay. I don't have a set goal in mind, other than completing the program at some point and being able to run a full 5K. I'm good with no dates and no pressure. I'm pushing myself hard enough just getting out there and doing it, I don't need the added pressure of a specific date by which I have to finish.
Having said that, I'm running in a 5k on Thanksgiving Day, and I would like to be able to run the whole thing, but I'm not making it a specific goal. If I can, great...if not, no big deal as long as I am making progress.
Today stats: 2.48 miles in 31:26 for a pace of 12:40/mile, 12 seconds better than my cumulative average pace since beginning on 7/12.
I want to skip forward a week, but I know I need to take the time to let my legs get used to the beating before venturing on. I'm going to continue along the prescribed route, at least until I feel like I'm being pushed, at which point I may find it necessary to repeat a week. That will be okay. I don't have a set goal in mind, other than completing the program at some point and being able to run a full 5K. I'm good with no dates and no pressure. I'm pushing myself hard enough just getting out there and doing it, I don't need the added pressure of a specific date by which I have to finish.
Having said that, I'm running in a 5k on Thanksgiving Day, and I would like to be able to run the whole thing, but I'm not making it a specific goal. If I can, great...if not, no big deal as long as I am making progress.
Today stats: 2.48 miles in 31:26 for a pace of 12:40/mile, 12 seconds better than my cumulative average pace since beginning on 7/12.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 3.5 day 4
My plan was the same today as it was Wednesday. I ended up changing it up very slightly in the middle to walk 2:30 instead of just 2 because I felt I needed a little extra time to catch my breath between runs. I felt more out of breath and my legs were more tired than usual this morning, but I think it may have been due to donating blood yesterday. I'm still having some right leg lower shin pain. It almost feels like my ankle. The thing is, it only hurts when I'm walking. I'm going to spend some time this weekend alternating ice and heat and just generally resting it. It's more annoying right now than anything. It's definitely not something that's going to keep me from running.
Even though I was tired, the run went quite well. I was able to keep a fairly fast pace (for me), even though I felt like I was pushing myself pretty hard at times. At the very end I pushed to run all the way back to where I started running regardless of the time. When I rounded the corner and could see the point across the way my mind protested. It looked too far and I really didn't think I could make it but my will won out this time. I picked up the pace slightly and ran all the way back to my starting point. It was a struggle and I was physically exhausted when I finally made it but it felt good to know I had won the battle.
It was somewhere in the 40 degree neighborhood this morning when I started running. I like running in the cooler weather. I sweat just as much, but I don't feel as miserable. It was cool enough that I ran in sweat pants this morning for the first time. I'm going to need some gloves. My hands were really cold, and if I plan to do this through the winter I imagine there will be mornings when I'm out and the temps are below freezing. I like the way my head steams after a good run. It looks like I'm smoking from going so fast.
Monday I start on Week 4, which I've already conquered once. I expect it to go well. I know I can run 5 consecutive minutes. 3 minutes has become almost too easy.
Here's the routine:
Run 3 minutes
Walk 90 seconds
Run 5min
Walk 2.5min
Run 3min
Walk 90sec
Run 5min
Today's stats: 2.48 miles in 30:56 for a 12:28/mile pace. I'm hoping to push my 2.5 miles up to 2.75 next week to coincide with the recommended 10% increase in mileage per week.
Even though I was tired, the run went quite well. I was able to keep a fairly fast pace (for me), even though I felt like I was pushing myself pretty hard at times. At the very end I pushed to run all the way back to where I started running regardless of the time. When I rounded the corner and could see the point across the way my mind protested. It looked too far and I really didn't think I could make it but my will won out this time. I picked up the pace slightly and ran all the way back to my starting point. It was a struggle and I was physically exhausted when I finally made it but it felt good to know I had won the battle.
It was somewhere in the 40 degree neighborhood this morning when I started running. I like running in the cooler weather. I sweat just as much, but I don't feel as miserable. It was cool enough that I ran in sweat pants this morning for the first time. I'm going to need some gloves. My hands were really cold, and if I plan to do this through the winter I imagine there will be mornings when I'm out and the temps are below freezing. I like the way my head steams after a good run. It looks like I'm smoking from going so fast.
Monday I start on Week 4, which I've already conquered once. I expect it to go well. I know I can run 5 consecutive minutes. 3 minutes has become almost too easy.
Here's the routine:
Run 3 minutes
Walk 90 seconds
Run 5min
Walk 2.5min
Run 3min
Walk 90sec
Run 5min
Today's stats: 2.48 miles in 30:56 for a 12:28/mile pace. I'm hoping to push my 2.5 miles up to 2.75 next week to coincide with the recommended 10% increase in mileage per week.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 3.5 day 3
I started out today with a specific plan that I thought would push me but not too hard. The plan was to:
run 4 minutes
walk 2
run 3
walk 2
run 4
walk 2
run 3
It went well. I started off more slowly than I did last Friday or this Monday. That was partially intentional because I was changing up the routine and wanted to be able to make it through and partially because I had a little remaining soreness from Monday. I only really picked up the pace for the last minute or so of the last 3 minute run.
I've made it a habit to turn around for the return portion of my out and back run at the same point each time. This gives me a definite comparison of my time as compared to previous runs.
I did have some pain in my right shin after the run, but not during. I have probably started out too fast for my legs given the amout of time I took off. The good news is I don't have any knee or IT band pain. Even the slight hints of pain in my IT band seem to be gone. The month of rest and stretching are paying off. I'm going to repeat today's routine on Friday or Saturday and then I'm planning to start week 4 next Monday.
Today's stats: 2.48 miles in 31:53 for a pace of 12:51 / mile. This pace includes my 5 minute warm up and cool down walks.
run 4 minutes
walk 2
run 3
walk 2
run 4
walk 2
run 3
It went well. I started off more slowly than I did last Friday or this Monday. That was partially intentional because I was changing up the routine and wanted to be able to make it through and partially because I had a little remaining soreness from Monday. I only really picked up the pace for the last minute or so of the last 3 minute run.
I've made it a habit to turn around for the return portion of my out and back run at the same point each time. This gives me a definite comparison of my time as compared to previous runs.
I did have some pain in my right shin after the run, but not during. I have probably started out too fast for my legs given the amout of time I took off. The good news is I don't have any knee or IT band pain. Even the slight hints of pain in my IT band seem to be gone. The month of rest and stretching are paying off. I'm going to repeat today's routine on Friday or Saturday and then I'm planning to start week 4 next Monday.
Today's stats: 2.48 miles in 31:53 for a pace of 12:51 / mile. This pace includes my 5 minute warm up and cool down walks.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 3.5 day 2?
I'm still working somewhere between week 3 and 4, so I'm calling it week 3.5. Next Monday I hope to start on week 4, but I want to spend this week making sure my legs are ready for it. I'm pleased to say that I've had no IT band problems since my Friday run, and didn't have any this morning. I'm stretching at least three times a day, and more on days that I run.
This morning I set out to do the same routine I did Friday but decided to try to push myself a little more because three minutes running just didn't feel like enough and 3 minutes walking felt like too much. I ended up doing this:
3 minute run
3 minute walk
3 minute run
2 minute walk
4 minute run
2.5 minute walk
3.5 minute run
My legs generally felt good during the run. I'm having very slight IT band twinges, which may or may not be my imagination. My legs are tiring more quickly that I'm used to and I'm having some minor shin pain immediately after running. Both are probably due to trying to ramp up too quickly after so much time off. I'll monitor the shins this week and if it becomes more of a problem, I may back off a little.
Today's Stats: 2.48 miles in 30:45 which calculates to a pace of 12:24/mile
This morning I set out to do the same routine I did Friday but decided to try to push myself a little more because three minutes running just didn't feel like enough and 3 minutes walking felt like too much. I ended up doing this:
3 minute run
3 minute walk
3 minute run
2 minute walk
4 minute run
2.5 minute walk
3.5 minute run
My legs generally felt good during the run. I'm having very slight IT band twinges, which may or may not be my imagination. My legs are tiring more quickly that I'm used to and I'm having some minor shin pain immediately after running. Both are probably due to trying to ramp up too quickly after so much time off. I'll monitor the shins this week and if it becomes more of a problem, I may back off a little.
Today's Stats: 2.48 miles in 30:45 which calculates to a pace of 12:24/mile
Friday, October 8, 2010
Week 3.5 day ?
We went Monday morning as a family to try out C25K with the kids. They were less than thrilled, and really showed no interest in trying again, so I think we're dropping that idea until (when/if) they show interest. We did day 1 week 1 with them and I found it way too easy, so I can't bring myself to go all the way back to the beginning. Since Sept 5 I've only run twice, once in the 5K on 9/26 and once Monday morning with the kids, so I didn't really know what to expect when I laced up my shoes this morning and headed to the park.
My plan was to modify week 3 and instead of run 90s, walk 90s, run 3m, walk 3m twice I would alternate 3 minutes running with 3 minutes walking for 21 minutes. Everything went great. I warmed up and stretched, enjoying the 50 degree weather. I ran the first three minutes pretty hard. I tried to slow down on the next three minute run but found myself constantly creeping towards an all out run rather than a jog. I was able to keep the 3rd three minute set down to a fast jog but really opened it up for the last three minutes. For whatever reason, I find myself wanting to run fast. I think the elliptical trainer is partly to blame. I don't really mind so much, as it feels good to go fast.
As for my IT band, I felt a few slight twinges, and actually stopped for a few seconds to stretch it out at the halfway point just for good measure. I spent some time concentrating on my stride and varying things up to see what felt better or worse. I found that my left foot really turns in when I run and when I let it turn in, I feel the twinges of pain, but when I concentrate on keeping it straight the pain goes away.
I've been stretching my IT band pretty diligently, even taking time during the day in the office to stretch, so I was hopeful that I would make it through without letting me down. I'm pleased that I never felt like I needed to stop because of pain. I'm going to keep on stretching it and the modified week 3 routine through next week and see if I feel ready to move on from there.
The pool I use is going to be resurfaced soon, and then they'll put the winter bubble up. I think I'll be able to start swimming again towards the first of November.
My stats for the day:
2.48 miles in 31 minutes for a pace of 12:30 which is 25 seconds better than my overall average pace of 12:55 but not as good as my 5k pace of 11:44.
My plan was to modify week 3 and instead of run 90s, walk 90s, run 3m, walk 3m twice I would alternate 3 minutes running with 3 minutes walking for 21 minutes. Everything went great. I warmed up and stretched, enjoying the 50 degree weather. I ran the first three minutes pretty hard. I tried to slow down on the next three minute run but found myself constantly creeping towards an all out run rather than a jog. I was able to keep the 3rd three minute set down to a fast jog but really opened it up for the last three minutes. For whatever reason, I find myself wanting to run fast. I think the elliptical trainer is partly to blame. I don't really mind so much, as it feels good to go fast.
As for my IT band, I felt a few slight twinges, and actually stopped for a few seconds to stretch it out at the halfway point just for good measure. I spent some time concentrating on my stride and varying things up to see what felt better or worse. I found that my left foot really turns in when I run and when I let it turn in, I feel the twinges of pain, but when I concentrate on keeping it straight the pain goes away.
I've been stretching my IT band pretty diligently, even taking time during the day in the office to stretch, so I was hopeful that I would make it through without letting me down. I'm pleased that I never felt like I needed to stop because of pain. I'm going to keep on stretching it and the modified week 3 routine through next week and see if I feel ready to move on from there.
The pool I use is going to be resurfaced soon, and then they'll put the winter bubble up. I think I'll be able to start swimming again towards the first of November.
My stats for the day:
2.48 miles in 31 minutes for a pace of 12:30 which is 25 seconds better than my overall average pace of 12:55 but not as good as my 5k pace of 11:44.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Week in review
After the 5K Sunday, I took Monday and Tuesday off. I think. I'm having trouble remembering because it's been such a crazy week. I used the elliptical machine on Wednesday, swam Thursday, and used the elliptical again today. I've gotten to where I can go 20 solid minute on the elliptical at a pretty good rate. I try to keep my heart rate between 140 & 160ish depending upon the difficulty level at which the machine is set. Swimming is still pretty challenging. I can do 100 yards nonstop but I have to change up strokes. I'm alternating 25 yards freestyle & 25 yards backstroke for the 100 and 50 yard swims.
Couch to 5K starts again on Monday. I'm starting back on day one. I know I'm more advanced than that, but I think it will be good for my legs to start at the beginning. Also, my daughters have expressed an interest in joining us in a 5K, so we'll be doing the program as a family, at least until they get tired of getting up at 6 to run. On my days not running, I'm hoping to have time to swim or use the elliptical.
If I can just run from here on without injury or nagging pain I'll consider myself successful.
Couch to 5K starts again on Monday. I'm starting back on day one. I know I'm more advanced than that, but I think it will be good for my legs to start at the beginning. Also, my daughters have expressed an interest in joining us in a 5K, so we'll be doing the program as a family, at least until they get tired of getting up at 6 to run. On my days not running, I'm hoping to have time to swim or use the elliptical.
If I can just run from here on without injury or nagging pain I'll consider myself successful.
Monday, September 27, 2010
First 5K: Race for the Cure
After not running for 3 weeks, I ran in my first 5k Sunday. I did much better than I expected and I had no knee or IT band pain. I finished in 36:22 which is 11:27 per mile. In my C25K program training I never matched that pace.
The race started out well. I jogged with Lauren for several minutes and we both stopped to walk at about the same time. I felt like I could have easily kept running but I knew it was wise to take a walk break considering I hadn't run in three weeks. I'm not sure how far or long I walked, but it wasn't long before I decided I wanted to run the majority of the first mile. I ran to the first drink station and walked while I finished my water. I walked for a few more seconds and then started to run again when I heard Lauren over my shoulder, so I walked with her for awhile. We both ran somewhat together down a pretty good sized hill. I started walking again when I got to the bottom and walked up a fairly steep hill before arriving at what was pretty close to the half way point. From there on I broke up my running and walking as evenly as possible, but I feel like I walked more than I ran. As I got closer to the finish, I started to hear the music and the crowd cheering on the runners and knew I had to push it out to the finish. I rounded the last turn onto the final straight to the finish and turned around to see if I could see Lauren behind me, and there she was rounding the next to the last corner. I waved as I disappeard behind a van and started jogging. I increased my pace steadily all the way to the finish until I was running all out. I passed several people on that last stretch and it felt really good to cross the line giving it all I could.
I had no idea what my time was but I was more interested in waiting for L to cross the line and congratulate her on a strong finish. She came in a little over a minute behind me. She did a great job, but was disappointed with her time.
I was really pleased with 36:22. I know the swimming and time on the elliptical have helped my cardiovascular stamina over the last few weeks. I never felt terribly out of breath and walked more for the sake of my legs than my lungs. Once I got into a breathing rhythm I was feeling good.
Our next 5K is tentatively on Thanksgiving Day. I'm really looking forward to it. My plan to prepare is to take the rest of this week off of running. I'll swim and use the elliptical machine the rest of this week and then start back on day 1 of C25K next week, hopefully with my daughters. I want to start from the beginning to work my leg strength back up. On days that I don't run, I'm hoping to be able to swim on my lunch break.
The race started out well. I jogged with Lauren for several minutes and we both stopped to walk at about the same time. I felt like I could have easily kept running but I knew it was wise to take a walk break considering I hadn't run in three weeks. I'm not sure how far or long I walked, but it wasn't long before I decided I wanted to run the majority of the first mile. I ran to the first drink station and walked while I finished my water. I walked for a few more seconds and then started to run again when I heard Lauren over my shoulder, so I walked with her for awhile. We both ran somewhat together down a pretty good sized hill. I started walking again when I got to the bottom and walked up a fairly steep hill before arriving at what was pretty close to the half way point. From there on I broke up my running and walking as evenly as possible, but I feel like I walked more than I ran. As I got closer to the finish, I started to hear the music and the crowd cheering on the runners and knew I had to push it out to the finish. I rounded the last turn onto the final straight to the finish and turned around to see if I could see Lauren behind me, and there she was rounding the next to the last corner. I waved as I disappeard behind a van and started jogging. I increased my pace steadily all the way to the finish until I was running all out. I passed several people on that last stretch and it felt really good to cross the line giving it all I could.
I had no idea what my time was but I was more interested in waiting for L to cross the line and congratulate her on a strong finish. She came in a little over a minute behind me. She did a great job, but was disappointed with her time.
I was really pleased with 36:22. I know the swimming and time on the elliptical have helped my cardiovascular stamina over the last few weeks. I never felt terribly out of breath and walked more for the sake of my legs than my lungs. Once I got into a breathing rhythm I was feeling good.
Our next 5K is tentatively on Thanksgiving Day. I'm really looking forward to it. My plan to prepare is to take the rest of this week off of running. I'll swim and use the elliptical machine the rest of this week and then start back on day 1 of C25K next week, hopefully with my daughters. I want to start from the beginning to work my leg strength back up. On days that I don't run, I'm hoping to be able to swim on my lunch break.
Friday, September 17, 2010
What do we do? We Swim!
I've been insanely busy at work and with my kids soccer season starting up a couple of weeks ago, so I've not maintained my blog schedule very well.
I've stopped running temporarily. I'm trying to give my IT band time to heal completely before going back to it. I'm still planning on the 5K on 9/26, but I'll most likely be walking a good portion of it. I'm trying to not let that get to me because I know the more I think about it, the harder I'm going to push myself on race-day. The last thing I need to do is go from not running for several weeks to trying to run a full 5K. To avoid that, I may go into it with a schedule of running and walking that I commit to, no matter what.
In the meantime, I've spent some time on the elliptical machine and swimming. My swim goggles came in earlier this week and I've started the 0 to 1650 program. So far, week one is kicking my butt. I'm on day two. It calls for 700 total yards, which I'm doing, but not exactly as written. My plan is to keep doing the week one program until I can do it exactly as it is written before moving on to week two. I can do 50 yards before having to stop for a short breather. I'm basically doing the whole thing 50 yards at a time with a break for 10-15 breaths between each 50 yards until I get to the set of four 25s at the end. I'm hoping on my next swim I can get in a full 100 yards at least once without stopping for a break. I've found the key is to slow down, especially my legs. Kicking uses some serious oxygen. I've found swimming to be a much more challenging cardio workout than either running or the elliptical machine. When I go back to running, I'm expecting breathing to be a breeze (pun intended). I need to get back on the elliptical some days, though, to keep my legs in shape.
As for running, I don't know when I'll start back. I want to give everything plenty of time to rest before getting back in the groove. When I do start, I'm wondering if I should just start back at the beginning of C25K and see how it goes. There's a 5K on Thanksgiving day that I would tentatively like to do, but I'm afraid to set a goal to be able to run it because I tend to push myself to the point of burn out when I have a goal. If I start back on day one on 9/26, the Thanksgiving Day 5K could theoretically be my C25K graduation run. I don't want to set that as a goal, though, because I feel like that's at least part of what has me sitting on the bench right now. If I set it as a goal, I'll feel obligated to push myself through every workout as written, no matter what hurts.
For now, I'll just keep swimming.
I've stopped running temporarily. I'm trying to give my IT band time to heal completely before going back to it. I'm still planning on the 5K on 9/26, but I'll most likely be walking a good portion of it. I'm trying to not let that get to me because I know the more I think about it, the harder I'm going to push myself on race-day. The last thing I need to do is go from not running for several weeks to trying to run a full 5K. To avoid that, I may go into it with a schedule of running and walking that I commit to, no matter what.
In the meantime, I've spent some time on the elliptical machine and swimming. My swim goggles came in earlier this week and I've started the 0 to 1650 program. So far, week one is kicking my butt. I'm on day two. It calls for 700 total yards, which I'm doing, but not exactly as written. My plan is to keep doing the week one program until I can do it exactly as it is written before moving on to week two. I can do 50 yards before having to stop for a short breather. I'm basically doing the whole thing 50 yards at a time with a break for 10-15 breaths between each 50 yards until I get to the set of four 25s at the end. I'm hoping on my next swim I can get in a full 100 yards at least once without stopping for a break. I've found the key is to slow down, especially my legs. Kicking uses some serious oxygen. I've found swimming to be a much more challenging cardio workout than either running or the elliptical machine. When I go back to running, I'm expecting breathing to be a breeze (pun intended). I need to get back on the elliptical some days, though, to keep my legs in shape.
As for running, I don't know when I'll start back. I want to give everything plenty of time to rest before getting back in the groove. When I do start, I'm wondering if I should just start back at the beginning of C25K and see how it goes. There's a 5K on Thanksgiving day that I would tentatively like to do, but I'm afraid to set a goal to be able to run it because I tend to push myself to the point of burn out when I have a goal. If I start back on day one on 9/26, the Thanksgiving Day 5K could theoretically be my C25K graduation run. I don't want to set that as a goal, though, because I feel like that's at least part of what has me sitting on the bench right now. If I set it as a goal, I'll feel obligated to push myself through every workout as written, no matter what hurts.
For now, I'll just keep swimming.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
C25K Break and the Elliptical Machine
I tried running again on Sunday. I tried some new stretches for my IT band and wanted to see if they made a difference. I didn't do very well. I had to take a walk break seven minutes in. Considering I was scheduled to do 25 minutes, I was pretty disappointed. I attribute the poor performance mostly to it being the middle of the day and somewhat hotter than I had grown accustomed to. After catching my breath I started to run again, got about 3 minutes in and my IT band started acting up again. I stopped running and walked back to the car, disgusted and fully considering just giving up altogether. I'm not a quitter, though. I can't just give up on something. It's become somewhat of a challenge to me now. I'm determined to be able to run a full 5k. I probably pushed myself too hard. I also took that ridiculous hike back a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure that's what started it all.
With that, I've decided to take a few weeks off running and let my knee completely heal. I don't want to lose the cardiovascular stamina I had built up, though, so I'm looking for alternatives. This morning I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. It kicked my butt. It seemed to be more of an upper leg workout than I had been used to, almost like riding a bike while standing up. I tried to keep up a pretty good pace that felt similar to what I would be doing when running but when I got to the end it told me I had only done 1.1 miles. in the 30 minutes. If that's true, it was 1.1 miles of serious stair climbing. I was beat by the end of the workout.
I'm hoping to get some swim goggles soon and start this program:
Zero to One Mile
I'm not sure when I'll start running again. I'd like to be able to work my scheduled 5K on 9/26 into the C25K program somehow, but I'm not even sure I'll be back to running by then. My plan is to give my left left plenty of time to heal. Meanwhile, I'll stretch religiously and get in some cross training.
With that, I've decided to take a few weeks off running and let my knee completely heal. I don't want to lose the cardiovascular stamina I had built up, though, so I'm looking for alternatives. This morning I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. It kicked my butt. It seemed to be more of an upper leg workout than I had been used to, almost like riding a bike while standing up. I tried to keep up a pretty good pace that felt similar to what I would be doing when running but when I got to the end it told me I had only done 1.1 miles. in the 30 minutes. If that's true, it was 1.1 miles of serious stair climbing. I was beat by the end of the workout.
I'm hoping to get some swim goggles soon and start this program:
Zero to One Mile
I'm not sure when I'll start running again. I'd like to be able to work my scheduled 5K on 9/26 into the C25K program somehow, but I'm not even sure I'll be back to running by then. My plan is to give my left left plenty of time to heal. Meanwhile, I'll stretch religiously and get in some cross training.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 6 Day 3
Today's run didn't go as I had hoped. I only made it 12 minutes in and had to stop and walk the rest of the way due to my aching iliotibial band. The pain wasn't unbearable and I'm sure I could have kept running on it but everything I've read about it says to stop as soon as you feel pain. I was stubborn and ran 2 minutes past when I felt the pain because I wanted to make it at least to the halfway point. The good news is, I was on about an 11 minute mile pace when I had to quit. The bad news is I was only able to run a little over a mile. At this point I guess I'm going to have to resign myself to walking a good portion of my first 5k. For now I'm going to start a pretty aggressive stretching and rehab regimen so I can get through this and get back to running. I don't want to lose what I've gained with my lungs and heart so I'm planning to swim at least 3 days next week. I may not run again until Monday 9/13. If I go that long again without running, I'm not sure how far back in the C25K program that will push me. I really don't mind going back to the beginning at this point if it means I can do it injury free.
The disappointing thing is I had several moments this morning in which everything felt like it was coming together. I was breathing easily, my legs weren't overly tired, and everything felt natural. I made it to the 10 minute mark and was feeling great. I don't want to lose too much of that progress, so I need to find a way to keep myself moving and motivated while I take time to heal completely.
The stats - for what it's worth: I did 2.5 miles today. I only ran about 1.1 of that. It took me a total of 34:51 which was a 13:56 minutes/mile pace.
The disappointing thing is I had several moments this morning in which everything felt like it was coming together. I was breathing easily, my legs weren't overly tired, and everything felt natural. I made it to the 10 minute mark and was feeling great. I don't want to lose too much of that progress, so I need to find a way to keep myself moving and motivated while I take time to heal completely.
The stats - for what it's worth: I did 2.5 miles today. I only ran about 1.1 of that. It took me a total of 34:51 which was a 13:56 minutes/mile pace.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 6, Day 2
The weather was almost perfect for this morning's run. I arrived at the park and watched the fog slowly rise off the lake as I did my 5 minute warm up walk. On today's agenda was 10 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking, followed by 10 more minutes of running. After stretching with the ducks I began my first segment of 10 minutes running. I started out fast, tried to slow down, sped up again and just went with it. I definitely pushed myself a little harder in the first 10 than I probably should have, but going fast felt good, so I just pretended I didn't have to run another 10 minutes and kept up the pace that felt most natural.
I was quite winded when it was time for the 3 minute walk but after 3 minutes I had caught my breath and I felt as ready as I was going to feel to run again. As I started to run I felt a little stiffness and pain in my left knee, but nothing close to what I felt before I had to take a week off to rest. I'm pretty sure I have iliotibial band syndrome. It's not really an injury, it's just an irritation of the iliotibial band caused by an increase in activity. The only cure is rest. As that is not really an option right now, I've chosen to treat it with NSAIDs and ice. I probably will take the next two days off to rest and then pick back up on Friday with W6D3.
Back to the run, I was almost immediately aware that I had pushed too hard in the first 10 minutes as I kept having to tell myself "I'll make it to 5 minutes and take a short walk break". When I made it to 5 minutes, I told myself I'd make it to 8. Once I made it to 8 I just toughed it out and ran through to the 10 minute mark, asking God for His help the whole way. I know my second half was slower than my first half by about 25 seconds but I'm not too disappointed because:
1. I got out of bed and ran this morning
2. I finished the run as written
3. My overall pace was better than my last run
The stats: I covered the same distance this morning as I did W6D1 at 2.69 miles. I did it in 33:25 and increased my pace to 12:25/mile which improved my average pace over the course of C25K to 12:58/mile.
Next up: 25 continuous minutes Friday morning. The key will be pacing myself.
I was quite winded when it was time for the 3 minute walk but after 3 minutes I had caught my breath and I felt as ready as I was going to feel to run again. As I started to run I felt a little stiffness and pain in my left knee, but nothing close to what I felt before I had to take a week off to rest. I'm pretty sure I have iliotibial band syndrome. It's not really an injury, it's just an irritation of the iliotibial band caused by an increase in activity. The only cure is rest. As that is not really an option right now, I've chosen to treat it with NSAIDs and ice. I probably will take the next two days off to rest and then pick back up on Friday with W6D3.
Back to the run, I was almost immediately aware that I had pushed too hard in the first 10 minutes as I kept having to tell myself "I'll make it to 5 minutes and take a short walk break". When I made it to 5 minutes, I told myself I'd make it to 8. Once I made it to 8 I just toughed it out and ran through to the 10 minute mark, asking God for His help the whole way. I know my second half was slower than my first half by about 25 seconds but I'm not too disappointed because:
1. I got out of bed and ran this morning
2. I finished the run as written
3. My overall pace was better than my last run
The stats: I covered the same distance this morning as I did W6D1 at 2.69 miles. I did it in 33:25 and increased my pace to 12:25/mile which improved my average pace over the course of C25K to 12:58/mile.
Next up: 25 continuous minutes Friday morning. The key will be pacing myself.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 6, Day 1
With my new schedule of running every other day, week 6 day 1 fell on Sunday (yesterday as of this posting). I got up at my normal time for a running day of 5:45 and prepared for what I had anticipated would be a fairly easy run.
I arrived at the park to locked gates and light drizzle. I had apparently arrived before the official opening time of "sunrise"...as if I could tell whether the sun had risen or not. I parked outside the gate and walked around and began my warm up walk. I stopped and stretched at the now familiar picnic table, enjoying the silence of a Sunday morning. As I started my run I noticed a little stiffness in my left knee and some soreness on the inside of my right calf. Both eased as I ran and my muscles warmed up some.
The first 5 minutes were pretty easy and I felt myself running faster than I probably should have but I kept the pace up anyway and tried to increase it some as I reached the end of the 5 minutes. A short 3 minute walk separated the 5 minute run from the next run which was to be 8 minutes. I started the 8 minute run fairly slowly and tried to maintain a fairly steady pace throughout. My legs started to fatigue somewhere in the middle of the 8 minute run but my lungs were keeping up very well. I pushed myself a little toward the end or the 8 minutes knowing that I had a 3 minute walk to help me recover. The final 5 minutes felt really good. My body was tired but I knew it was just 5 minutes so I pushed myself to keep the pace up, especially towards the end. I ran past my starting point before the 5 minutes were up so I knew I had done the second half of my run faster than my first half. I arrived back at the car at 33:36, indicating my second half was 24 seconds faster than my first half.
Overall, I felt good about the run. I'm still not to the point where any of it feels easy or natural. I'm hopeful that it's not always this hard. I have to keep telling myself that it's a gradual process and that as long as I'm asking my body to do more and more I can expect that it's going to be hard.
The stats: I did 2.69 miles in 33:36 which is 12:29 per mile. 1/3 of a mile farther and 30 seconds faster per mile than my last run. Seems odd that adding walking breaks can actually increase distance and speed, but it's true. My average pace over the whole course of the program to this point is right at 13 minutes per mile.
I arrived at the park to locked gates and light drizzle. I had apparently arrived before the official opening time of "sunrise"...as if I could tell whether the sun had risen or not. I parked outside the gate and walked around and began my warm up walk. I stopped and stretched at the now familiar picnic table, enjoying the silence of a Sunday morning. As I started my run I noticed a little stiffness in my left knee and some soreness on the inside of my right calf. Both eased as I ran and my muscles warmed up some.
The first 5 minutes were pretty easy and I felt myself running faster than I probably should have but I kept the pace up anyway and tried to increase it some as I reached the end of the 5 minutes. A short 3 minute walk separated the 5 minute run from the next run which was to be 8 minutes. I started the 8 minute run fairly slowly and tried to maintain a fairly steady pace throughout. My legs started to fatigue somewhere in the middle of the 8 minute run but my lungs were keeping up very well. I pushed myself a little toward the end or the 8 minutes knowing that I had a 3 minute walk to help me recover. The final 5 minutes felt really good. My body was tired but I knew it was just 5 minutes so I pushed myself to keep the pace up, especially towards the end. I ran past my starting point before the 5 minutes were up so I knew I had done the second half of my run faster than my first half. I arrived back at the car at 33:36, indicating my second half was 24 seconds faster than my first half.
Overall, I felt good about the run. I'm still not to the point where any of it feels easy or natural. I'm hopeful that it's not always this hard. I have to keep telling myself that it's a gradual process and that as long as I'm asking my body to do more and more I can expect that it's going to be hard.
The stats: I did 2.69 miles in 33:36 which is 12:29 per mile. 1/3 of a mile farther and 30 seconds faster per mile than my last run. Seems odd that adding walking breaks can actually increase distance and speed, but it's true. My average pace over the whole course of the program to this point is right at 13 minutes per mile.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 5, Day 3
On today's agenda was 20 minutes of continuous running. I didn't sleep well last night. I don't know if it was the large meal of fried catfish and hush puppies I had for dinner, the slice of strawberry pie I had right before bedtime, or the anticipation of the 20 minutes I was slated to run this morning that kept me awake. It was probably a combination of all three.
The alarm went off at quarter til six as it always does on my running days. I dragged myself out of bed and through my morning routine of getting ready to drive to the park, trying to keep a positive mental attitude. When I arrived at the lake it was 66 degrees, the sun was just starting to rise over the trees on the east end of the lake, and the geese were, well, being geese.
I got out of the car, stretched, did my five minute warm up walk, then stretched some more. As much as I hate it, I've found that stretching really makes a difference. I can feel the difference in my stride when I'm properly stretched and I'm hopefully preventing any further knee pain by keeping my hamstrings and quads good and loose. I'm spending about 3 minutes stretching before my walk, a good 5 minutes stretching between my warm up walk and the start of my run, then another 3 or so at the end.
After stretching, I took off at what felt like a very slow pace. I had no goals this morning other than to finish the 20 minutes without having to stop for a break. 20 minutes without walking would be victory enough. I mentally noted a point where I'm usually around the halfway mark of my run. That was the point to which I decided to run before looking at the stop watch to see if it was time to turn around. I made it to that point, looked at the watch and I had been running for 10 minutes and 24 seconds. I was glad to see that I was past the halfway point. I turned around knowing that I had just run longer than I had ever run before, and that I was about to go another 10 minutes on top of that. It was a good feeling, but I still didn't know if I was going to be able to make it the full 20.
Oddly, the second half of my run seemed to go by faster than the first half. I kept having to hold myself back from trying to run faster. I know I was running faster anyway. By the 15 minute mark I was breathing harder and having to work harder to keep my lungs on pace with my legs. I found myself looking at the watch more often, wondering how much longer. I looked at the watch and noticed I had 3 minutes left. I told myself I wouldn't look back at it until I was to the point where I had started running. For whatever reason, I looked at it again before I got there and only had one minute left to go. I was really feeling it at this point, but I was pretty excited to know that I was going to make it, so I raised my arms in the air like a complete nutcase and ran like that for a few seconds. It felt good. I brought my arms back down and pushed as hard as I could to the picnic table where I stretch. I looked at the watch when I got there and it read 20:24. I was gasping for breath, my legs were quivering beneath me, and I was dripping with sweat, but I had just run a full 20 minutes plus some.
Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. Just a few weeks ago I remember thinking 3 minutes was going to be tough. I also remember looking ahead and thinking W5D3 would be the make it or break it run. Well, I made it. I'm over halfway through the program and I'm really looking forward to increasing my mileage over the next few weeks.
The stats: according to mapmyrun I did 2.34 miles including my warm up and cool down walks. It took a total of 30:24 for a pace of 12:59. I'm estimating I ran a total of 1.65 miles in 20:24 for a running pace of 12:22, which puts my walking pace at 14:30. I've definitely slowed some since the beginning of the program, but I'm less worried about pace than I am being able to know I can run a full 30 minutes by the time the program is finished.
Next up, the start of week 6. It sounds pretty easy. The program calls for run 5, walk 3, run 8, walk 3, run 5. That's only 18 minutes of total running with walking breaks. Should be a breeze. Famous last words?
The alarm went off at quarter til six as it always does on my running days. I dragged myself out of bed and through my morning routine of getting ready to drive to the park, trying to keep a positive mental attitude. When I arrived at the lake it was 66 degrees, the sun was just starting to rise over the trees on the east end of the lake, and the geese were, well, being geese.
I got out of the car, stretched, did my five minute warm up walk, then stretched some more. As much as I hate it, I've found that stretching really makes a difference. I can feel the difference in my stride when I'm properly stretched and I'm hopefully preventing any further knee pain by keeping my hamstrings and quads good and loose. I'm spending about 3 minutes stretching before my walk, a good 5 minutes stretching between my warm up walk and the start of my run, then another 3 or so at the end.
After stretching, I took off at what felt like a very slow pace. I had no goals this morning other than to finish the 20 minutes without having to stop for a break. 20 minutes without walking would be victory enough. I mentally noted a point where I'm usually around the halfway mark of my run. That was the point to which I decided to run before looking at the stop watch to see if it was time to turn around. I made it to that point, looked at the watch and I had been running for 10 minutes and 24 seconds. I was glad to see that I was past the halfway point. I turned around knowing that I had just run longer than I had ever run before, and that I was about to go another 10 minutes on top of that. It was a good feeling, but I still didn't know if I was going to be able to make it the full 20.
Oddly, the second half of my run seemed to go by faster than the first half. I kept having to hold myself back from trying to run faster. I know I was running faster anyway. By the 15 minute mark I was breathing harder and having to work harder to keep my lungs on pace with my legs. I found myself looking at the watch more often, wondering how much longer. I looked at the watch and noticed I had 3 minutes left. I told myself I wouldn't look back at it until I was to the point where I had started running. For whatever reason, I looked at it again before I got there and only had one minute left to go. I was really feeling it at this point, but I was pretty excited to know that I was going to make it, so I raised my arms in the air like a complete nutcase and ran like that for a few seconds. It felt good. I brought my arms back down and pushed as hard as I could to the picnic table where I stretch. I looked at the watch when I got there and it read 20:24. I was gasping for breath, my legs were quivering beneath me, and I was dripping with sweat, but I had just run a full 20 minutes plus some.
Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. Just a few weeks ago I remember thinking 3 minutes was going to be tough. I also remember looking ahead and thinking W5D3 would be the make it or break it run. Well, I made it. I'm over halfway through the program and I'm really looking forward to increasing my mileage over the next few weeks.
The stats: according to mapmyrun I did 2.34 miles including my warm up and cool down walks. It took a total of 30:24 for a pace of 12:59. I'm estimating I ran a total of 1.65 miles in 20:24 for a running pace of 12:22, which puts my walking pace at 14:30. I've definitely slowed some since the beginning of the program, but I'm less worried about pace than I am being able to know I can run a full 30 minutes by the time the program is finished.
Next up, the start of week 6. It sounds pretty easy. The program calls for run 5, walk 3, run 8, walk 3, run 5. That's only 18 minutes of total running with walking breaks. Should be a breeze. Famous last words?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Registered
Couch to 5K: Week 5, Day 2 - really, I mean it this time
It was a beautiful morning for a run. The temperature was about 65 degrees and I was all alone in the park except for two guys on bikes I passed late in the run. I did W5D2 as written today + 30 seconds added to the end. My right thigh started cramping up on me almost from the start, but I was able to run through it. The cramping didn't really stop until I was almost finished. I did 2.2 miles in 30 minutes and ran the second half exactly one minute faster than the first half. That's partially due to tacking on an extra 30 seconds to the end of my run and partially due to pushing my pace up gradually over the second half of the last 8 minute segment.
I'm still having occasional mild soreness in my knee, but it doesn't hurt to run or walk so I'm going to keep on keeping on.
Next up: 20 minutes non-stop on Friday. I expect to take it pretty slow if I want to be able to finish the whole 20 minutes without a break to walk and catch my breath. It's definitely going to be a challenge, but it's one that I've been looking forward to. I don't feel quite as ready for it as I did two weeks ago, but I'm going to take it slow and easy and push through it. Mind over matter, right?
I'm still having occasional mild soreness in my knee, but it doesn't hurt to run or walk so I'm going to keep on keeping on.
Next up: 20 minutes non-stop on Friday. I expect to take it pretty slow if I want to be able to finish the whole 20 minutes without a break to walk and catch my breath. It's definitely going to be a challenge, but it's one that I've been looking forward to. I don't feel quite as ready for it as I did two weeks ago, but I'm going to take it slow and easy and push through it. Mind over matter, right?
Monday, August 23, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 5, Day 2 - Mulligan
The good news is, I'm running again and my knee seems to be better. I felt what could best be described as a little tightness immediately after my run, but no pain. I'm glad to be over that hurdle and that it turned out to be nothing serious.
I'm taking a mulligan on today's attempt at repeating Week 5, Day 2. I had originally planned to start back at W5D1 but I got to the 5 minute mark this morning and knew I could push to 8 minutes. I figured, what the heck, if I can do 8 minutes once, I can do it twice. Well, what I realize now is that I was really running hard that first 8 minutes. I forgot how to pace myself in the 10 days I took off. I really took off running at the beginning and realized it about a minute in, so I slowed some, but not nearly enough. I was still running at a faster pace than I had been accustomed to.
I finished the first 8 minutes and was feeling pretty good, though somewhat out of breath. The 5 minute walk was over before I really felt ready but I took off anyway. I made it to 6:30 before I had to walk and catch my breath. My legs were burning and I couldn't keep my breath at a steady pace. I walked just long enough to catch my breath and then made up the 1:30 that I had cut the run short by. I didn't have anything left by the end of the run.
Overall it wasn't as bad as I had expected. I was afraid I might have set myself back a couple of weeks by taking 10 days off, but I'm pretty sure if I had paced myself a little better I could have done the W5D2 run as written. I'm going to try the same routine again on Wednesday, except I'm going to start out a little slower and pace myself better.
Hopefully on Friday I'll be able to pull off the full 20 minute run.
Today I did 2.35 miles in 31:26 for an overall pace of 13:23*.
* Just a note for clarification. I'm including my warm up and cool down walks in the distance, time and pace calculations.
I'm taking a mulligan on today's attempt at repeating Week 5, Day 2. I had originally planned to start back at W5D1 but I got to the 5 minute mark this morning and knew I could push to 8 minutes. I figured, what the heck, if I can do 8 minutes once, I can do it twice. Well, what I realize now is that I was really running hard that first 8 minutes. I forgot how to pace myself in the 10 days I took off. I really took off running at the beginning and realized it about a minute in, so I slowed some, but not nearly enough. I was still running at a faster pace than I had been accustomed to.
I finished the first 8 minutes and was feeling pretty good, though somewhat out of breath. The 5 minute walk was over before I really felt ready but I took off anyway. I made it to 6:30 before I had to walk and catch my breath. My legs were burning and I couldn't keep my breath at a steady pace. I walked just long enough to catch my breath and then made up the 1:30 that I had cut the run short by. I didn't have anything left by the end of the run.
Overall it wasn't as bad as I had expected. I was afraid I might have set myself back a couple of weeks by taking 10 days off, but I'm pretty sure if I had paced myself a little better I could have done the W5D2 run as written. I'm going to try the same routine again on Wednesday, except I'm going to start out a little slower and pace myself better.
Hopefully on Friday I'll be able to pull off the full 20 minute run.
Today I did 2.35 miles in 31:26 for an overall pace of 13:23*.
* Just a note for clarification. I'm including my warm up and cool down walks in the distance, time and pace calculations.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Knee Update & Week 5 Again
Since my visit to the Orthopedic Surgeon, my knee has felt much better. I don't know if I was being a hypochondriac or if the Aleve I've been taking since has really helped that much. What I do know is I feel like I could run now. I'm stretching religiously and doing some isometric exercises that were recommended by the doc to strengthen my thighs.
My plan now is to start back on Monday 8/23 with Week 5, Day 1. I'm still aiming for the 5k on 9/26. In order to do that, I'm accelerating my training slightly by running every other day regardless of the day of the week instead of just Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Barring any further setbacks, that will allow me to finish the C25K program on Monday 9/20 instead of Friday 9/24. My plan pre-knee problem was to finish on 9/10 which would have given me two weeks to get comfortable running 30 minutes non-stop before the 5k. Now I'll just have 5 days between C25K "graduation" and the actual 5k. I'm not sure what I'll do with those 5 days. I do hope to get at least one additional run in between program completion and the 5k, though. My goal is to run the whole 5K without having to walk.
My plan now is to start back on Monday 8/23 with Week 5, Day 1. I'm still aiming for the 5k on 9/26. In order to do that, I'm accelerating my training slightly by running every other day regardless of the day of the week instead of just Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Barring any further setbacks, that will allow me to finish the C25K program on Monday 9/20 instead of Friday 9/24. My plan pre-knee problem was to finish on 9/10 which would have given me two weeks to get comfortable running 30 minutes non-stop before the 5k. Now I'll just have 5 days between C25K "graduation" and the actual 5k. I'm not sure what I'll do with those 5 days. I do hope to get at least one additional run in between program completion and the 5k, though. My goal is to run the whole 5K without having to walk.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Knee News
The doc says there's no physical damage to my knee joint or the ligaments. I've been put on a diet of NSAIDs and knee rest for a week to ten days. He said it could take as long as three weeks to be back to normal. I'm really hopeful that it will be feeling well enough next Monday to run. If not, I'll just wait until it is well enough to start running again, or return to the doctor for an MRI if it's not better in two weeks.
While he said it wasn't technically "runners knee", it is similar. He gave me some stretches and exercises to help prevent a similar situation in the future. Apparently, strong thighs can help prevent knee pain. I guess I'll be adding thigh exercises to my exercise routine.
While he said it wasn't technically "runners knee", it is similar. He gave me some stretches and exercises to help prevent a similar situation in the future. Apparently, strong thighs can help prevent knee pain. I guess I'll be adding thigh exercises to my exercise routine.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Week Off
I'm taking the next week off. I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to have a look at my left knee. It's still sore and running on it is not an option. I'm a little disappointed because I was starting to really enjoy running again. I'm hoping it's something minor and a week or two of rest is all I need to be back on the road. I had hopes for my first 5k at the end of September, but those hopes are beginning to fade.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 5, Day 2
I ran today, and did the whole W5D2 routine, but I probably shouldn't have. My knee is really giving me problems. Whatever is wrong with it isn't getting any better. It felt better after resting it Tuesday and Wednesday, but I knew as soon as I started my warm up walk this morning that this might be my last run for awhile. The only reason I continued was to see if the pain was just stiffness that would work itself out, or if it was something that was going to need more than just a couple days of rest to heal.
On the positive side, I was able to run (more of a slow jog (slog?), actually) 8 minutes twice. I was very slow because of the pain in my knee, but I did it. I slogged 2.1 miles in 31:40 which is a pace of 15:05 mm.
A friend who was a physical therapist in a former career says it's likely a medial meniscus injury. Apparently rest and ice is the way to go unless it's severe in which case it will require surgery. He said if the pain was minimal after just a couple days rest, it's likely that it will heal on its own with rest and ice. To keep running on it risks further injury and the necessity of corrective surgery. I think I'll rest it. He recommended rest and ice until I am completely free of pain.
I'm not sure when I'll be running again. I'm going to give it til Monday 8/16 and see how I'm feeling, but I'm thinking it may be the following Monday, 8/23. I'm really pissed because I was just starting to enjoy running again and I don't want to get that far behind in my training for the 5K on 9/26. If I can restart at W5D1 on 8/23, that puts me right on schedule to do the last run of the program on 5K day. I had really hoped for a couple extra weeks to solidify the ability to run 30 solid minutes before the 5k. Pushing myself now might mean I don't get to run it at all, so I guess I'm just going to have to live with it.
On the positive side, I was able to run (more of a slow jog (slog?), actually) 8 minutes twice. I was very slow because of the pain in my knee, but I did it. I slogged 2.1 miles in 31:40 which is a pace of 15:05 mm.
A friend who was a physical therapist in a former career says it's likely a medial meniscus injury. Apparently rest and ice is the way to go unless it's severe in which case it will require surgery. He said if the pain was minimal after just a couple days rest, it's likely that it will heal on its own with rest and ice. To keep running on it risks further injury and the necessity of corrective surgery. I think I'll rest it. He recommended rest and ice until I am completely free of pain.
I'm not sure when I'll be running again. I'm going to give it til Monday 8/16 and see how I'm feeling, but I'm thinking it may be the following Monday, 8/23. I'm really pissed because I was just starting to enjoy running again and I don't want to get that far behind in my training for the 5K on 9/26. If I can restart at W5D1 on 8/23, that puts me right on schedule to do the last run of the program on 5K day. I had really hoped for a couple extra weeks to solidify the ability to run 30 solid minutes before the 5k. Pushing myself now might mean I don't get to run it at all, so I guess I'm just going to have to live with it.
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