success :)

I think I can officially call myself a C25K graduate ... even though I kind of did the GED version towards the end there. But I ran 30 minutes without stopping yesterday! :) OK ... I stopped twice. But they were stoplights ... not my fault!

Anyway it was pretty good. 2.6 miles Slow though (11:30). But speed will come.

I'm going to complete a few more 30-minute runs and then start a new plan.

I'm thinking of either "becoming a one-hour runner" or training for a 10K even though there are no 10K's in my future ... what do you think?

here's the OHR:

Weeks 1 - 3: 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Weekley total: 90 minutes

Week 4: Run 30 minutes, 29 minutes, 35 minutes. Weekly total: 94 minutes
Week 5: Run 30 minutes, 32 minutes, 38 minutes Weekly total: 100 minutes
Week 6: Run 30 minutes, 33 minutes, 41 minutes Weekly total: 104 minutes
Week 7: Run 30 minutes, 34 minutes, 45 minutes Weekly total: 109 minutes
Week 8: Run 30 minutes, 36 minutes , 49 minute Weekly total: 115 minutes
Week 9: Run 30 minutes, 38 minutes, 54 minutes Weekly total: 122 minutes
Week 10: Run 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minutes Weekly total: 130 minutes

here's the 10K (Hal Higdon):

What do you guys think?

Tagged

So ... FrayedLaces tagged me awhile back (okay I guess it was like a week. I guess it's been a long week) ... and then I forgot.

And then I was cleaning out my e-mail account ... and then I remembered.

So here we go:

"Six Word Memoir"

Here's the rules:

(1) Write your own six word memoir.

(2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.

(3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogs-universe.

(4) Tag at least five more blogs with links.

(5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Mine is: "Not there yet - Will be eventually"

That's the first thing I thought of at least ... I think it's accurate about my life as a whole:

• I'm mid-schooling (halfway through my Master's ... meaning I still have years of Ph.D. and then post-doc before I have a "real job")


• I'm mid- "grown up"


• I'm non-relationshipped (was engaged, didn't work out, not really sure where to go from here ...)


• I'm mid-fit (working on it, but not getting anywhere fast - may be at a plateau ... already?!)

but, unfortunately, it seems so ... pessimistic. Which I think I am, or maybe cynical. Which I'm not proud of. So here's to more optimism ... anyone have any tips? I need them.

Maybe I should have just changed the word "eventually" to something peppier and skipped all that. Oh well. There you have me. I'm tagging people that inspire me:

Pieces of Me

Aaron

Runnin Duff

Rob

Dani

Today's running report: Went out for W8D1 (28 min) ... got to 14, walked a minuteish, got to 21, stopped. Probably the water thing again. I don't know how to "get thirsty" ... I keep a water bottle on my desk but I never ever get the urge to drink from it. *sigh*

W7D3

So ... I'm an idiot.

This run didn't work out so well.

I went. but I had to stop ~15 minutes and walk for 2 minutes before finishing it out.

Problem? I didn't have any water.

All day.

It was 7p and WARM and, as a result, I was overdressed. It was 60 and sunny and the long-sleeve shirt was too much. A t-shirt would have been fine. So I realized I was sweating, and thirsty, and then I realized that I'd had a busy day and that I hadn't had anything to drink since my morning coffee. No joke. So it wasn't so fun. And I know better.

I've noticed I haven't been drinking hardly anything at all for a couple weeks now. I just haven't ever been thirsty except for right after coming in from a run. I don't know what the deal is. But I guess I need to force myself to drink water throughout the day now ...

I'm still moving on to Week 8 tomorrow, regardless. Wish me luck :)

W7D1/2

First off, I'm a little disappointed that I was MIA for a week and no one called me out on it. Tell me when I'm slacking, people! I need to be held accountable for my laziness. haha.

OK so I skipped Day 1. Oh well. I didn't run Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Sunday was a planned day off so there were at least 3 excuses. And at least one of them was valid (killer headache). Who knows about the other two. After 4 days off of running, week 7 day 1/2 was suprisingly easy. I thought the break may have affected me but it didn't seem to at all. 11:00ish/mile again ... not particularly overjoyed but I didn't want to overdo it ... maybe I should have because I wasn't winded afterwards or tired or sore or ... anything. I felt like I could have kept running considerably longer ... My roomie went with me again and made it to 23:30 without stopping so I may officially have a training partner!

I'm wondering what I will write about now that the progress reports are (1) boring and (2) basically all the same. Suggestions? I could start handing out exercise physiology advice, because I do know a lot of science that applies to running ... but ... at the same time, I'm not an accomplished runner yet so I don't know how it would go over.

Seriously ... suggestions?

haha.

Week 6 ... check

W6D2 was a very brief, unexciting, but un-fun run. Knowing that I don't have to stop and stopping anyway kinda threw me off, but the second 10 minutes went really well.

Day 3 was great! It was SUPER windy, which I've noticed only once before during a run, but this time I really felt it. I felt like my pace was extremely slow, but I calculated with both gmaps & my ipod+ and it was about 11:04 pace. So I feel like I'll be able to finish the 5K in under 40 minutes at least. My biggest worry is being the slowest person out there ...

Anyway I feel like the next 3 weeks won't be as *exciting* as the last 7 have been because there won't be any "big steps" - just more running. I could have gone another 5 minutes today pretty easily. This program is amazing. I was skeptical at first but it totally worked. I plan to fudge the running times ever so slightly so I can get it at least one continus running 3-miler before the race. I seem to be stuck at 2.3 miles and even running 30 minutes at this pace I'll be at least a quarter mile away from my goal. So we'll work on that! ...

W6 D1

As I've read from other C25K bloggers, W6 D1 was suprisingly tough(ish) even though W5D3 was a longer run. I didn't really have any problems with finishing, but the first 5 minutes was pretty tough. Just like it was last week. And just like it will probably always be (it is, after all, a Natural Law of Running).

This was the first run I did without music, as I convinced my roommate to come with me. She did really well considering she doesn't ever run - She made it through all 3 segments ... in fact it kind of made me feel a little lame that it took me 5 weeks to get to that point. Oh well. Good news is she might possibly run the 5K with me.

Pace was slightly slower -- we did about the same distance I covered in my 20 minute run, except today it was 24 minutes. I blame this on the walking ... which wasn't so brisk. haha.

Tightness in the calf ... again. No pain though. I wore new shoes. They're identical in every way to my normal shoes, just ... new. I don't know if that helped but I felt a little more stable.


Question of the Day - What are your thoughts on shoelaces?? I feel like my shoes aren't tight enough, but I also know that your feet swell, etc. when you run so they shouldn't be too tight .... I'm perplexed. haha

Week 5 ... check

So I run for 20 minutes for the first time in my life ... and I don't bother to blog about it.

If there were ever a run where all the signs were pointing to "don't do it" - this run would have been it. Fortunately I didn't have to be at work until 10:30 on Saturday so I decided to go pre-work.

I wake up. I look at weather.com. It's cold. (32F) and windy (15mph) and snowing a little. Great.
So I look for enough clothes to put on to keep me warm without making me hot or weighing me down ... check
I take my apt. key off my keyring so I can put it in my shoe pocket.
Then I take the key out because I'm going to have to look the door and put it on the couch.
I throw my headwarmer and ipod on the couch.
I put my gloves and headwarmer and jacket on.
I turn on my ipod. Nothing's happening. The battery is dead. Fan-tastic.
It's hot in all these clothes.
I go looking for my old MP3 player. Something is right with the world because I find it, it's charged, and it has workout music loaded onto it.
Then I have to find my running watch.
I'm getting really hot here.
I go to grab the key and ... it's not there.
I check under the cushions ... not there.
I check EVERYWHERE. My bedroom, the chair, the floor, under the couch.
I take off my gloves, hat, jacket, one of my shirts - look for the key in my clothes.
Check under the cushions again - yay! key!
I put everything back on and head out the door.

*sigh* Let me tell you I was impressed with myself right then and there. I was kind of cold starting out, so I skipped a couple minutes of the warm up. My leg was tight. I don't know if it slowed me down or not. After a couple minutes I was at the perfect temperature and was comfortable the rest of the time.

What was weird (or maybe normal, based on what I've read) was that the first 10 minutes was hell. I didn't think I could do it. I was considering stopping when I looked at my watch and saw: "2'47''" ... wow, lisa, are you joking?

But then I got to my turnaround and then next 10 minutes were great. I stopped for 15 seconds because my shoe came untied, but solid (slow!) running for 20:44 (I had to make it to the end of the road to check mileage since I didn't have Nike+ with me.

I checked my mileage with gmaps and it worked out to exactly 12:00/mile. Which means that I either slowed down a lot from previous runs or Nike+ has been lying to me. Probably a little of both, but mostly the latter. That's okay though. I will get faster. And I'll calibrate the Nike+ better possibly this week.


so ... take home message: Yay! I did it! - The rest of C25K seems like cake now. I KNOW I can run 20 minutes even if it doesn't feel good the whole time. And it's all willpower now. I have 10 minutes left of will in me!!!


On a side note:
I've been blogging-discouraged because I don't think my blog has that same "gotta read it" feel as a lot of other runners' blogs do (at least, they do for me). So... tips are welcome. What would you like to hear about?


*sorry for the ridiculous length - if you're still with me, you're awesome. haha.

W5 D2

... did this workout yesterday evening. My calf was a little sore (as it always is the day or two after a run ... I really gotta figure this thing out). It didn't really give me any trouble during the run as far as being able to do it, but it didn't feel good (not PAIN per se, but considerable discomfort).

The run was on the rough side. I'm not sure how 20 solid minutes will go tomorrow. I was pretty tired and needing the rest break by 8 minutes. Have any of you done C25K? How was the transition for you??

The good news is, I'm mentally in a really good place right now. I don't dread running, I don't look for excuses not to run, I just go. And I enjoy it. Even though it's hard. And will probably be super duper hard tomorrow.

So...

Wish me luck.

W5 D1

I'm starting to worry that I'm developing a preference for nasty weather. The two runs I've done outside in the rain have been my two most enjoyable runs. Maybe not in terms of physical comfort, but I just feel like I've really accomplished something when I finish.

I did 3 miles today! It took about 35 minutes and of those I walked at least 16, so I think I'm moving at a decent pace during my running segments. I had absolutely no trouble with the running portions at all. I'm excited about the rest of this week!!

It was rainy, but not cold (~52 degrees) which was kind of perfect. The only problem was the water from puddles/passing cars/etc. saturated my shoes and shoelaces and kind of killed the support. So I ended up with a couple aches I don't usually have but I don't think they'll linger.

I was really attached to the treadmill when I started, but I'm kinda over it. When I have to set the pace I'm going to go, I feel like I can't adjust it to how I feel. I think the treadmill will be a useful tool next winter (when I'm running without walk breaks and am more accustomed to the pace I want to run at) but for now, I'm done with it. It's still March so the weather won't be fantastic, but I can run on the indoor track on campus if need be.


Oh yeah, one more thing - check out my mileage. I've run a marathon this year! Yeah, a lot of runners do that and much more in a week, and yeah it took me 13 runs, but I'm chalking it up as a success anyway :)

Week 4 ... check

Week 5 ... not so much.

I've been MIA due to being in sunny Florida without internet.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot to report anyhow. I did run Sunday about an hour after we got out of the car (impressive, considering I'd been in a car for 24+ hours and hadn't slept much if at all).

However, that was the only time I ran ALL week.

It's like it never occured to me to run. I was originally planning on running when I woke up in the mornings while waiting for everyone else to get up, but it never happened. I slept until at least 8 every day, and by then my grandparents were up so I had breakfast and did the crossword puzzle, and then it got hot and we did other stuff.

I feel bad about it, but I'll be back on track (again). I don't think a week off will kill me.

I am bummed reading some other C25K blogs though because, between the injury/bronchitis/vacation people that were a week ahead of me are now DONE! (Congrats Aaron!) However, I know that this is attainable. I now have zero days in between the last run of C25K and my 5K so no more breaks for me!

It looks like I'm going to be running the 5K alone - any tips for a first time racer? I'm super nervous about this.

W4D1

I feel wildly successful today - I wasn't too concerned about the transition from Week 3 to Week 4, but looking back, those 5min runs are almost double the 3min ones ... and you jump right into that first 3min ... and there's less rest ... and the whole thing is flat-out longer ...

but it was great!

I even did it outside! If you remember a few weeks back, running outside didn't agree with me ... at all. I ended up with a somewhat seriously injured calf. Yesterday was pain-free. Except for my skin. Which ... is my fault.

See, it was about 56 degrees yesterday morning. Unfortunately, I didn't run in the morning. I ran at 6p. It turns out a 6p it was about 38 ... and raining. Did I dress for 38 and raining?

Nope. Not one bit. I did wear pants and a jacket - but no gloves, no head covering, no warm layer (I was trying to avoid something that would soak up water and get heavy). It was COLD.

I did about 2.5 mi -- the course was just out and back from my apartment. Problem is, the out was with the wind ... and the back was against it - so wind in my face, rain in my face (pure joy, eh?)

However - I was running along feeling stupid about running outside in the cold rain and then I got to my turnaround. The second I headed back the other direction I realized my wind/rain problem. And suprisingly, I got pumped. I went from being an idiot and running in the cold rain to a hard core "What rain!?" kinda girl. I picked up my pace, I ran taller, I was amazing.

The last couple minutes were HARD and I basically scrapped the cooldown due to wanting to go inside really badly. But it was awe.some.

Unfortunately, the next two runs of this week are going to be treadmill-bound. That 56 degree and sunny into 38 degree and rainy yesterday turned into a 28 degree and freezing rain today. And that's what the week pretty much looks like. Oh well.

note: I'm thinking Mr. Nike needs some calibration ... because I don't think I was putting up that kind of pace.

Week 3 ... check.

I did days 2 & 3 of Week 3 yesterday morning and this morning. Both went okayish.

I'm glad Week 3 is over. I wasn't really crazy about it. I don't know if I'll like Week 4 better or not - time will tell. I found myself bored with the 90s runs and, although the 3min runs felt like a good challenge, I could have done a lot more than two of them. I almost did the whole thing twice this morning but I am trying to really stick to the program and not get injured like I did last time I tried to do something extra.

The bad news is, I've had to be on the treadmill every day this week. There's a healthy coating of ice (not snow, slippery slippery ice) covering just about everything outside ... I've nearly fallen several times walking - I can't imagine running on it. So there wasn't really any way around it unless I wanted to run around a concrete circle a million times (aka the area concourse @ my school) which I figured would be not so great for my legs ... people do it though, so idk.

Next week I will hopefully get one run in outside, and the following week (week 6) will be done ALL outside in sunny beautiful FLORIDA!

Now I know some people get to frequently visit fantastical places for work ... but my work is right here ... in the lab ... 99.9% of the time. Even the big annual meeting this year? Indianapolis. A whopping 60ish miles away.

But. I am still in college. And I still have that fantastic week we like to call Spring Break. And I happen to have a very fantastic set of grandparents that will put me up and feed me for 8 days so I can enjoy pure Florida sunshine free of charge. Ahh.

It will be a good week.

3.1

I did it.

I ran again.

It was FANTASTIC.

I was kind of expecting it to suck ... a lot. But it suprisingly didn't. It wasn't the easiest thing to get out of bed @ 5:30 this morning but I thought about how I was already like 3 weeks behind schedule and being lazy sure wasn't going to get me back on track.

I opted to go for Week 3 because I already had the podcast loaded. And to be honest, my hopes were very low that I'd be able to do it. I mean, I haven't run a step in weeks.

But I did do it. And it wasn't even that challenging. It was a little bit awkward the first 90 seconds but both 3 minute segments went by smoothly and I was kind of bummed that there were only 4 running secctions for the whole thing. I still have "leftover" bronchitis symptoms but they're not that bad and a little coughing post-run won't hurt me. I'm glad to report that I see no reason not to finish out Week 3 and keep moving on. If all works out I will still finish the plan before the 5K I was originally planning to run on April 19th. I'm in a GREAT mood today.

p.s. absolutely zero calf pain - apparently bronchitis is an effective cure for a muscle injury.

p.s.s. I'm also glad to report that I didn't gain any weight during my 3-week hiatus from exercise.

Week 2 ... check.

I was planning to run this morning before work but I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. So I pushed back my plans for the day so I could go after work. I still wasn't feeling so hot pre-run. I was hungry, tired, and a little nauseaous. But ... I went anyway. I've decided that I'm going to challenge myself on the last run of each week to help me prepare for the more intense workouts the following week. So today, I decide to do my recovery walks at a about 16:00 pace instead of my normal 17:00 pace. This wasn't bad at all and actually was a little more natural because it matched the music better. Also, about half-way through my workout, I noticed that someone had left the incline at 1%. I know that's not much, but it's a little (about a half-calorie extra per minute). So I just left it. And I had no problems with the run whatsoever. I'm totally ready for Week 3!

I also rode the bike for about 20 minutes. It said I did 5.5 miles but I beg to differ, because I'm pretty sure I wasn't movin' at 16mph. Oh well. I only did it to loosen up my legs and keep the calorie burning going a little longer since I was feeling so good.

I'm planning to run outside on Monday ... it's supposed to be niiiiiiice (high of 43 - still cold, but way better than the single digits of late). I know my legs need to spend some time on the road.

So what's the dressing situation for 43ish? Too cold for shorts I think ... Is that too warm for a sweatshirt? Give me your opinions!!! Monday's run won't be in the morning for that reason, I'll do it around 4 or 5p instead.

W2 D2

This morning's run:



Similar to Monday's, I think. 2.33 miles.

I was thinking I probably shouldn't be including the warm-up and cool-down in here, since it assumes I'm actively running during my "workout" ... but I'm not going to worry about that for now. I don't really care about pace, and I'm keeping my race relatively steady because I'm still on the treadmill (although, different treadmills depending on the day).

I wasn't scheduled to run today, but I was awake and I felt like it. How cool is that? (Probably not cool that I can never seem to sleep for more than 5 hours a nite, but ...) Anyone think my "short" nites of sleep could affect my running?

The only other problem I've had so far is a touch of ankle pain. It's not stabbing or anything but definitely hurts when I first start walking. It's an old injury, but doesn't give me problems walking or elliptical or anything. I'm assuming it's just the higher impact. It usually goes away after a few minutes - thoughts?

Have a good hump day everyone!