*New* – Weekly pages for C25K progress reports:

Couch to 5K – Logging my progress – Week Three

Here is where I will log the progress of my C25K (Couch to 5K) program as I complete the workouts. I had my first workout on Sept. 1, 2008. This means I will complete – or “graduate” – just after my 33rd birthday. Hopefully, I’ll also be several pounds lighter as well, as I am also on a program to lose weight. That is going great so far.

(Note: For the benefit of anyone who would like to know more about the Couch to 5K program, here is the site that offers tons of information and links to even more info… http://c25k.com.)

Shannan   (Scroll down to read the entries in chronological order)

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September 15, 2008 — Pre-First workout of Week Three

I found this thanks to the C25K site. I thought it would be fitting, entering the third week of the C25K and facing longer times. Well, they’re longer to me.  🙂

‘No Excuses’

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Week Three, Day One…Wow, I wasn’t expecting that!

September 15, 2008

Okay, I just finished week three, day one. I was a little intimidated by having to do 3 minutes of running at a time. I was hoping I didn’t have to stop or slow down once I started the running. For this week on the C25K, you do the 5-minute walking warmup, 90 seconds running/90 seconds walking, 3 minutes running/3 minutes walking, and then repeat those two intervals again, ending with a 5-minute walking cool down. It’s supposed to be the transition from doing 6 intervals of 90 seconds from the week before. It seemed like a big jump for me.

I had decided that I would start off the running going slower again, going about 4.0, and see how it felt to do that for 3 minutes. I decided I wouldn’t watch the time. I would just wait for Robert Ullrey (podcast) to tell me when to start walking again. I think I peeked about 2 minutes in, because it seemed to be going long. I need to stop doing that! When I got to the end of the 3 minutes, I knew I had progressed and made another step to finishing. It feels so good the first time you make that jump up. I actually started crying! It was something I half-doubted I could do and something I half-knew that I could do. It seems to be more of a mental game for me at this point. I mean, if the program says I can do this in this week, and there’s no injury or physical problem that would prevent it, then I just need to stop doubting myself and take it as it comes.

That’s about all there was to report today. I didn’t have any techincal difficulties or clumsiness. I did spend 5 minutes tying my right shoe, though. It seemed too tight, then too loose. I didn’t want to have to stop to loosen it, and wanted enough support that I wouldn’t run out of it.  🙂

Thanks to all of you who visit. It’s nice to know there are people out there to whom I can tell all these little things. It makes it more fun, too. Have a good one!

Shannan

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Week Three, Day Two

September 17, 2008

I should have eaten breakfast earlier, or run before breakfast or drunk more water beforehand. I’m not sure what caused it, but at the end of my workout I felt ill. I drank some water, which helped a little. I was afraid to drink too much.  😛

This week’s runs are shorter than the first two weeks’. There are only 4 intervals, and the total time is 25 minutes. I’m really wondering if I can do the 5 minute runs next week. Maybe I’m trying to go too fast, but I felt like my breathing was a little labored today. I did speed it up a *teensy* bit, and I think that made all the difference, because for the final interval I lowered it back down the little bit and it felt easier.

I felt so good in the first interval, like I’d done this all my life. It was only 90 seconds long, but for a moment there I felt like I could go forever. I’m at the point where I’m really comfortable for the first 2-2 1/2 minutes, and then the last 30 seconds is a push. I’m hoping by the time I finish week three that 3 minutes will feel that way all the way through!

I watched Biggest Loser last night. I’d seen the first hour online already, which is a good thing, since I was outside with a neighbor during the first part last night. I always like seeing the transformations at the end. It’s so hard to have to wait weeks and weeks to see progress from the contestants. I like seeing before & after pictures. It’s instant gratification. I think most of us want to see a quick end result — in our bodies, our fitness or a project we’re working on. We start off all gung-ho about it and get discouraged when we can’t see huge results right away.

But between doing WW and the C25K, time seems to be going by fairly quickly, and I’m seeing results. A lot of it is mental progress, too, which is something I didn’t have the last time I tried to start a fitness program or a weight-loss program. It was just a struggle to make it to the next week. This time, I have accomplishments behind me that I can use as stepping stones to the next level. It’s like a ladder with rungs, instead of a gradual incline. I like it better that way. (Does that make any sense?)  🙂

Have a good one, everyone!

Shannan

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Week Three Done

September 19, 2008

It’s a little weird to say I’m done with Week Three. That means I’m now moving on to Week Four. Week Four had seemed to me to be really close to being half way through the Couch to 5K (which it is), and I’ve surprised myself that I made it this far. This means more and more will be expected of me in the coming weeks. Today is the easiest it’s going to be. At least until today becomes yesterday, and longer times become easier. Looking back, I thought that a minute — and 90 seconds — was going to be tough. But, once I got to them and got through them, they weren’t that hard. I’m hoping that’s the case when I have to do the 5-minute intervals next week.

One day I’ll look back at these reports and grin, seeing how short these times really are.  🙂

As for the run itself, this was the earliest in the morning I’ve done a session, and I did it before eating breakfast and before drinking anything. Not sure if that was a mistake or not. I felt a little sluggish and had decided to go slower again, just because I really didn’t think I was going to make 3-minute intervals at a quicker pace. I wanted to accomplish finishing and not worry so much about my distance I would log this time. I’m glad I did slow down. I felt like I was breathing wrong, if that’s the correct way to explain it. I couldn’t find a pattern, and had to concentrate on something else just to get through the 3-minute intervals. I was fine for the 90-second ones.

Everything in my legs felt fine today, for the most part. I didn’t have any lace-tying problems today. 😀 I’m definitely feeling that I ran today, though. I start Week Four on Monday, and I hope the 3-day span isn’t too long before starting the 5-minute intervals.

It’s going to be a full day today. Work soon, then home to make a pear pie (my own concoction, sort of — it’s a combo of two other recipes that I lightened up). For dinner, we’re going over to have a going-away dinner for the sis, who’s moving to Florida for school for two years.

Have a great Friday, everyone, and enjoy the last official weekend of summer!

Shannan