Couch to 5k: Week 2, Day 2

Day 2 of week 2 was the same routine as day one: 5 minute warm up, 90 seconds of running followed by 60 seconds of walking for 20 minutes and then a 5 minute cool down.  I ran on the treadmill in the fitness center at work today because for reasons unknown the park I've been running in is closed on Wednesdays.  I did a total of 2.5 miles today in 30 minutes.  That equates to a 12 minute mile.  I increased my running speed today to 6.2 on the treadmill with a 1% incline.  I'm not sure, but I think my pace is a little faster than that when I'm running in the park.  It's hard to know for sure without a way to monitor my pace when I'm not on the treadmill, but I do know I felt more winded after my 90 second runs in the park on Monday.   

As usual, the run started off easy and I was barely breathing hard after the first 90 seconds of running.  My body progressively got more tired from there but I was never exhausted to the point of not wanting to go on.  During the last 90 seconds I increased my pace every 15 seconds or so until I was up to a 7.5 minute/mile pace.  When the 90 seconds was up, I was feeling really good so I kept pushing myself at that pace for about 30 seconds until I could no longer regulate my breathing.

I find myself enjoying the running more.  I'm looking forward to my first 5k and to being able to run for more than just a few seconds at a time. 

I do enjoy my days off to rest my body, but more because I dislike getting up early enough to have time to run and shower before work than because I dislike the running. 

My body seems to be handling the stress of running well.  I only have a few minor pains, still more muscle soreness than actual pain.  I had a slight ache in my right knee after this morning's run, but it's barely noticeable and I'm not going to worry much about it unless it gets worse.  My feet feel good, no signs of PF.  I've not had any back or shoulder pain since I started paying attention to my posture.  I do have to focus on relaxing my arms or I find them tensing up and riding high. 

The biggest struggle right now is mind over matter when the alarm goes off at 5:50AM and then late in the run when I'm starting to feel winded.  The good thing is, once I'm awake in the morning, I have a hard time going back to sleep so I'm able to reason with myself that I might as well get up anyway.  Then, at the end of the run, I'm making it a point to push myself as hard as I can go for the last 30 seconds to combat the desire to quit. It's hard to tell my body to speed up when it's telling me there's nothing left but I've done it consistently and obviously my body is lying to me. 

For now, I'm looking forward to resting my body tomorrow in preparation for the final day of week 2.