Running update

Today I started week 5 of the Couch to 5k running program. After a 5 minute warm up I ran 8 minutes, walked 5, ran 8 more, and then walked for 5 minutes to cool down. On Wed or Thursday I am scheduled to run 20 minutes without stopping. Eek.

Miles today: approximately 2.7 (my Garmin battery died before I finished).

Not in a good mood.

Phil and I went running this morning. It was hard. Pretty much every part of my body hurt. We were running in 5 minute spurts and granted, we didn’t keel over on the ground, but that’s about the best thing I can say about it. My 5k race is in 3 weeks and I have no idea how I’m going to be running 30 minutes at that point.

You don't want to run behind me.

I’ve been thinking about my run this morning. When I started out it was just as hard as any other run. My legs felt like they were made of lead and I was running so slowly, I’m surprised I was moving at all. It didn’t help that I was running into the wind. I had planned to do the 8 minute spurts and if I hadn’t run that 10 minutes last week I don’t know if I would have believed my body could do it. But I knew that no matter how hard 5 minutes felt it was nothing because I’d already run twice that.

At some point I realized that while it wasn’t effortless running, it had become easier. I wonder whether I would have hit that point 5-10 minutes into a run all the way back in November (when I started)? My next run is 20 minutes straight, so I guess I’ll find out.

I read an article in Runner’s World magazine about a man who competes in Triple Ironman races. A Triple Ironman consists of a 7.2 mile swim, a 336 mile bike ride, and running 78.6 miles. One thing he said really stood out to me. When he’s running/biking/swimming he doesn’t allow himself to have ANY negative thoughts. If a thought that is less than positive pops into his mind he immediately follows it up with a positive thought. Thinking positive thoughts keeps those feel good chemicals swirling around in his brain & he’s able to enjoy the race.

So I’ve tried to implement that in my workouts. When I run, and I feel like stopping, I picture the fat melting away from my body and dropping to the ground as I run past. If I were to turn around I’d see a trail of gooey fat. Gross, but it helps.

Couch to 5k - week 5 here I come!

Tomorrow I start week 5 of the Couch to 5k program. I'm making progress, although not as quickly as I'd like.

Life is a beautiful thing

What started out as an awful run turned into my best run yet. I got out there and started running, but pretty much like every other time my run started off with negative thoughts swirling around in my brain. Why was I doing this? Was I ever going to be good at it? Would it ever feel good? Would I ever be able to breathe and run at the same time? Keep in mind this was going on when I was about 1 minute into the first 3 minute segment. I was feeling very discouraged, as I often do, because my next goal is to run for 30 minutes or a 5k without stopping.

Let me stop here to remind myself along with you all that 6 weeks ago running for 90 seconds was tough. On the one hand I’m amazed that I’m now running 3-5 minutes without stopping because THAT seemed so out of reach in the beginning. I spend most of my time on the other hand, though, thinking that running 3 minutes is not remotely close to running for 30.

When I started into my 5 minute segment I was feeling a little bit better. Not great, but 5 minutes didn’t seem TOO much harder than 3. The negative thoughts were still swirling. Was it really worth it? Would I ever be a REAL runner? etc.

My last segment was 5 minutes. I was feeling more positive. I was feeling like I can do this 5k. I was feeling pretty good about life. And at the end of the 5 minutes I decided to keep running. I just wanted to see if I could run for another 5 minutes. AND I DID. If you know me & if you live in my head when I run you know this is possible proof that my body has been taken over by an alien life form. I ran (jogged) that extra 5 minutes and it honestly wasn’t any harder. I was keeping my mind on my Chi Running form, and thinking that it felt good and it did. IT FELT REALLY GOOD. I could have gone on a little longer, but I was feeling pretty positive and didn’t want to jinx myself.

And now I know that next week when I bump the running up to 8 minute segments, I’ll be able to do it, no questions asked. Life is a beautiful thing.

Running

I haven’t been able to run since Monday which is really frustrating me. Each day I think I’ll sneak in some time to go to the gym, at the very least, because they have daycare. But I haven’t managed it. And I don’t know how the little ones will do at daycare. They’ve been before, of course, but I am always worried that they’ll start crying and pitching a fit when I go to drop them off. So I don’t try it. Today is a tough week, running wise, in the Couch to 5k training program, so possibly on a subconscious level I am procrastinating. I don’t think so, though, I’m just overworked and exhausted. Fortunately it’s almost Friday.

Didn't want to run today.

Today begins Week 3 of the Couch to 5k program I’ve been following. Week 2 had me running 90 seconds, which wasn’t easy, but it was doable. Week 3 calls for 3 minutes, and I honestly didn’t know whether my body could do it.

My sweet husband decided to go running with me this morning. I was very grateful for the offer of moral and physical support. Although it was tough, I did manage to do it. (OK, I do realize I sound silly blathering on about running for 3 minutes, especially considering I’ve been running for 5 months now. But trust me, this body hasn’t done anything remotely athletic in over 3 years.)

So I know I can do this, and I’m excited that I am making progress. Mostly I’m positive about running, but sometimes I get unhappy that everything is taking longer than I thought, and is proving harder than I thought. Some days it’s hard to believe I’ll ever be able to run several miles without stopping.