C25K Week 4
Here it is, Week Four. I made it! Below will be my reports for this week’s runs, in chronological order, as they are posted on those days. To see what the Couch to 5K program is about, along with links to other resources and podcasts, check out the C25K site. To see my prior weeks’ reports, you can navigate to their individual pages either to the right or at the top of the page. Thanks for coming by!
Shannan
_____________________________________
Week Four…5 Minutes!
September 22, 2008
Today’s run was the most running I’ve done so far. 16 total minutes, with a little walking between intervals and the warm-up and cool-down. I ran nice and easy, because I’d never done 5 minutes at a time before. I had no trouble. Today is when I really experienced how this program works. I feel like I was doing 90-second intervals just yesterday, and now I’m up to 5.
My main problem (which isn’t really a problem) is that I need to occupy my brain during the longer times now. Otherwise, I’m just staring straight in front of me, which gets boring really fast. The podcast has music, but it’s very rhythmic and acts more like a pace keeper (is that a word?) than entertainment, for me. Today, I brought with me a yarn catalog (I like crocheting) and looked at that during the longer times, to make the time go by faster. Maybe it’s wrong. I still paid attention to my form, kept my head fairly straight and made sure not to fall off the treadmill while looking at the pretty pictures. 🙂 It just came easier today, and I felt ready to look at something other than the curtain on the window in front of me.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the week and day one of next week. After that, the time increases to 8 minutes and then a big jump to 20 (20!?!) , so it’ll be a test of my progress for sure. But for now, I’m going to enjoy the fact that I made it to 5 minutes.
Today’s the first day of Fall. I hate to see Summer go, but this is a really nice season, too. Just as long as it stays warm and mild, of course. Have a good one, everyone!
Shannan
___________________________________
Week Four, Day Two
September 24, 2008
Wow, it took a lonnnng time to actually get my behind onto the treadmill today. Between deciding to tack a few walking minutes onto the end of my workout — thereby having to download some music I’ve been meaning to get — synching the iPod and trying to figure out a solution to a problem at work (I’m home today, btw), I didn’t get started at 9am like I was intending. I got started around 10:40 instead. That really does wonders to my motivation, let me tell you. It went down the tubes. But!…as soon as I got all hooked up and plugged in, I was ready to go. Nice start, I tried to get past Ullrey’s introduction and get straight to the warm up and missed it, going straight to the first run, not realizing it until Robert told me it was the end of my first 3-minute run. I checked the time on the treadmill and adjusted it back to the warm up phase of the podcast to the point closest to the time it actually was.
The whole workout was pretty uneventful after that. I did slam my knuckle into the side the handle bar once again (did it on Monday, too), during a run interval. I got sloppy and, with my right hand turning a page of the California brochure I was perusing for mental stimulation, my left hand flailed off on its own, and I jammed my knuckle against the handle bar. If I do it again, I’m not going to ask for sympathy. I won’t even mention it. :-\
After the 5-minute or so cool down, when I walk as fast as I do during the workout’s walking segments, I put on some of my own music, set the incline to 5 and walked faster for a while. Then I “cooled down” by speeding up and putting the incline back down to 1 and then 0. 🙂 Then I slowed a bit, and was done! I’m not sure my feet and legs will thank me for that extra 14 minutes today, but I’m down 2 pts on my WW daily pts target/allowance (due to my weight loss – 10.4 lbs in the last 5 weeks), and I wanted to earn them back. There won’t be a problem once the running becomes longer, since I’ll be earning more activity pts.
That’s all for today. Thanks for coming by!
Shannan
___________________________________
Finished Week Four!
September 27, 2008
It’s Saturday (very early) morning. I literally ran out of time yesterday to report on yesterday’s Day 3 of Week 4. After a suspenseful day at work (it was my printing day in the office – bulletins, inserts, calendars), and the copier had been on the fritz since the morning prior, with no guarantee that it was going to be repairable. There was just the “Call for Service” message — with a picture of a sad man with a tie and briefcase, along with a number to call — on the display. After waiting all morning, that tech came out and fixed what he said was a problem with a fuse going, and in about 20 minutes the thing was fixed. Anyway, all this time I’m thinking I’ll never get in my run. We had karaoke night at the church (where I’m the secretary), and there wasn’t much time to spare as it was. I ended up getting home with enough time to eat, IM my sister, talk on the phone with my mother and get in my running for the day. That, and make dinner while figuring out webcam problems with my sister (who is living in Florida). Once hubby came home, we ate and watched an episode of Life on hulu.com.
Anyway, I got it in my head that since I was only .4 lbs from being the weight I was at our wedding 10 years ago, I was going to dig out the dress a little early. After finding it at the bottom of the living room closet, I pulled out the box, hung up the dress bag and took it out. After hubby armed himself with the camera, I put on the dress, still unzipped, and the phone rang. We let it ring. This was a moment I’ve been meaning to have for the last 10 years. Sorry, Mom. 🙂
Trying on my wedding dress after 10 years!
I can’t believe I can say that now. It makes me feel like I can actually do the 5-minute to 8-minute transition. Then, 20 minutes on Day 3!?! I might have another tearful moment when I reach the 8 minutes. Yesterday I seemed a little tired in the feet-being-heavy department. I think it was because I did this after work. Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to mention here. I’m going to be changing my schedule to Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I figure that since it’s a lot harder to run after coming home from work on Fridays (almost 95% of the time with a bad headache), it’s smart of me to change my day to Saturday. I’ve noticed that eating lunch after 2pm on Friday and running at 3pm isn’t working out well, and with work being busier at the end of the year, I might miss my runs altogether as time progresses.
So, Saturday mornings it will be instead. I’ll be challenged more and more as the weeks go on, and I really do better in the morning. I’ll also have hubby here to cheer me on during the longer runs that are coming my way.
Thanks for the comments, everyone, and thanks for coming by! Hey, the sun’s up! 🙂
Shannan
Oranges 2 Oranges 
Way to go!! It’s a great feeling to look back and realize how far you’ve come in such a short time! Pretty soon you’ll be saying “5 minutes used to seem long to me???”
I was kinda the same way as you at first, being bored the longer I ran. I finally just had to let my mind wander. I’ll talk to myself about work, things I need to get done later that day, trips I have planned, what I’m eating for dinner, why that biker had to pass so close to me, why that other biker insists on wearing spandex when he’s riding slower than I’m running. I also like to tell myself I’m just going to the next half mile or mile marker and that’s it.. then when I get there repeat the same thing (apparently I’m really gullible).
If all that fails my final motivation is repeating the quote from my RA signature: “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do” while thinking about the 1 person who told me I wouldn’t succeed at running.
Thanks, Thomas. You made me laugh *and* brought tears to my eyes (in a good way). 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement!
I’m really proud of you!
Like Thomas said, let the mind wander and keep mental lists and things. And like you said – posters perhaps?
Or you could set up your computer and listen to a movie or something, if you can time yourself with the podcasts.
Love and miss you!
SSS
Five minutes is so good! That’s a long time!
I ran for 22 seconds yesterday and had to stop LOL
Are you running outside or on a treadmill? I know I get bored on a treadmill, but outside there is so much to look at, the time kinda of flies by.
Biz, I’m running on a treadmill we got a few years ago (for walking). I’m more of an indoor person when it comes to doing something like this. Besides, I’d have to drive a distance to get to any place that I can safely run on a soft surface without worrying about cars or bikes, since I won’t run on the streets or concrete sidewalks. Also, since I need to have the earbuds in my ears, this is the safer way to do it. I’d love to be able to go out to a forest (or deserted neighborhood!) once in a while and run without worrying about timing intervals or listening to a timed podcast, but it’s just not practical right now where I am.
Sorry to hear about the knuckle.. hopefully that’s the only running injury you have to deal with! I would just second what Biz said about it being less boring for most people to run outside than on a treadmill. I’d recommend trying it at least every once in a while even if you have to drive to do it.
Just don’t get discouraged when you’re pace isn’t what you’re used to. A treadmill forces you to keep whatever pace you set, but running outside is a whole other animal. So now that I probably have you thoroughly confused I will leave 🙂 Good luck with the rest of week 4 or whatever is next for you!
Thanks, Thomas. I dreamt last night that I tried running outside and then saw your comment. I’ve been thinking about it more and more, and once I get the nerve to actually run in public like I know what I’m doing (I know, it’s silly), there’s a place I’d love to go that I visited this summer. It’s got forests, hills, a long, straight path over a lake, etc (It’s the place in my little icon). It’s hours away from us, but I can just see myself being able to run and run there. I’m looking forward to the day I can go longer than 5 minutes so I can do that. I’m so curious to see just how much I can do without the treadmill.
Thanks, Biz and Thomas for pushing toward running in the outdoors. 🙂
Wow! Yay! That’s so exciting about the dress! I want to see!