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.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
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.
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