Well, week two is in the books. I ran outside for the first time. Man I have definitely realized the running hierarchy–treadmills are easiest (not easy), indoor track is more of a challenge because I actually have to propel my fat ass forward, but street running is the worst. Even minor hills suck. I live in Colorado Springs and there is not a flat area longer than 200 yards within about 5 miles of my house except for a track. Still, I must say that this last run is the fastest the time has gone by since I started. Blue sky, Pike’s peak and a variety of road surfaces kept things interesting.
I was debating doing week two one more time before “graduating” to week three, but week three doesn’t look all that bad. I’ll try it and if it doesn’t work by the second day, I’ll fall back.
I know this is really late in the thread (and I usually kill any thread I touch), but I highly recommend this for anyone considering running–even if you don’t want to run a 5K. This program is great for me. I have goals and objectives to reach rather than just going out and slogging until I’m tired and miserable. I do the program and no more. As I said up thread, I ran for 20 years when I was in the service and hated every minute because my goal was speed vs exercise. Now, I run at my natural gait and while I’d never pass a PT test at this speed, I also don’t have sore joints.
I’ve also noticed I don’t feel like eating for several hours after I run, and in general feel sick if I eat my normal amount of food. We had errands to run a couple of nights ago so we hit McDonald’s. All I ordered was an All American Meal (i.e. Happy Meal, hold the embarassment) vs. my normal quarter pounder or Big Mac, and was stuffed when I finished.
Yeah, I figured from your past posts on the topic that you’re coming from a place of experience. From various life experiences, I have become fairly aware of my body, so I felt comfortable just seeing what I could do. That and I’m lazy enough that the chances of me doing too little far outweigh the chances of me doing too much.
Thank you for your advice though. Even though I didn’t take it, I appreciated it.
Yesterday I ran again after a week of doing other activities (and it being too cold/rainy for me). It was OK, but I’m having hydration problems. It is cold, and even though I’m thirsty, I’m refusing to drink water because it is too cold for me, even if I leave it on the counter. Instead, I’m overdosing on coffee with milk.
I’ve been stuck on Week 5 Day 3 for ages. It’s pretty severe (sets of 13-13-15-15-12-12-10-30, with just 45 seconds rest between sets). It’s that last set that gets me every time, and I’ve been failing 3 times a week for a fair while.
So I’ve tried giving myself slightly more recovery time (a full minute between sets and 3 minutes before the final set) and tonight I finally did it. So, now to try again, until I can do it with the “correct” recovery time.
Today I ran with a heart rate monitor for the first time. I was generally around 70%-80%, with the 80% coming on hills (whether uphill or downhill). I was slightly slower overall - I eased off whenever the 80% alarm sounded.
Good heavens! I’ve been off for 2 months. I’d have to go back to the beginning, and I didn’t even start at the beginning. I finally decided to get off my lazy ass and start kickboxing videos again. My legs hurt. I figure by the time I get back into running shape, there’ll be less snow on the ground and it’ll be warmer than a witch’s tit.
Instead, I’m overdosing on coffee with milk.