In that last post, I meant W2D2. That’s what I get for posting before coffee.
Anyway, W2D2 in the bag! Today was about the same in difficulty as W2D1 was. No easier, but no harder, either. I liked running in the early morning before the sun really started blazing.
A couple of solid indicators that this is all having an effect: 1, my shorts are falling off. Like, literally I had to keep hiking them up during my run. Time for new running shorts! 2, I checked my resting heart rate a few weeks ago and it was about 80. Checked it last night before bed and it was 58. :eek: I think that was probably a fluke, but still, I think it has definitely dropped at least somewhat.
I just finished week 3. I run arround a track for my day 1&2 workouts but since my day 3s are on Saturday I run up the mountain by my house, it’s about 3/4 of a mile to the top of the road. When I running on the track, starting at the begining of week 3, I’m running for distance.
I was a little nervous today because it only takes me about 100 sec to run a 400 when I’m fresh so my run was going to be longer and I’m sure my walks were shorter. Also my track is nice and flat while the moutnain is not. It ended up being a great run. My distance dropped considerably, going by distance I run/walk 1.5 but today by time I only made ~1.3.
But I feel good and I don’t think I’ll have trouble making the full run in two weeks.
Week 3 day 1 done last night - I was thinking about one more week2 run but impatience to move forward beat the fear of failure.
Brainiac4 then tried week1 day 1 - and I forgot to give him advice so he made all the mistakes I made - he went back into our very hilly park - where I go - but I’ve found a flat circle to run - he ran the hills. And then he started by running, not jogging - so by the time he’d finished rep one, he was already struggling - with the hills yet in front of him. He ended up with a few 45 second jogs.
Oh man my thighs are burning. It’s been so long since I’ve been active, I forgot about the initial crappiness.
And I woke up this morning so nauseous and achy that I called in to work. I managed not to puke but I think I caught whatever my friend’s son has while babysitting the other night. Not cool, tonight is my sister’s 40th birthday party, and I don’t think I’ll be in any shape to do W1D2 tomorrow.
Well, most of it. I’ve got this lower calf thing- Compartment Syndrome- which makes any sort of running extremely painful. I managed to do about 3/4ths of the workout, and I won’t be moving on to the second day 'til I make it all the way through the first. I did find that the 1st day workout allowed me to walk/run longer than I normally can.
I think I also need to find a better place to do it. The street my house is on is not good at all for running- fast cars, no sidewalk- so I ran a course in my back yard. The problem is that my backyard is not level, and my shoes got soaked from the dew.
I found a C25K iPhone app, and it works great! I can listen to my music, and a voiceover will tell me when to start, stop, run, and walk. It works really well.
Well the wife and I started on Sunday. I made it, although just barely as sad as that is. I’m out of shape and I have issues with my feet. I’m going to keep at it until I either can’t or I’ve completed the program.
Lightnin, I don’t know where you are at, but are there any parks or trails reasonably close to your house? I don’t care for running in my neighborhood either, due to dogs, and having to cross the street and whatnot, so I go to a nearby metro park and run on the trails there.
I bought myself a new pair of running shoes yesterday, as my reward for (almost) finishing week 2! I promised myself that I wouldn’t buy any running gear until I’d done at least two weeks of the program, in case I crapped out early. Yeah, I have a ton of self-confidence in my own ability. Anyway, I did make it through two weeks, and now I have a really nice pair of shoes! I also bought a pair of running shorts that actually fit me, because right now all of my shorts are either uncomfortably loose and therefore falling off while I try to run, or uncomfortably tight and restrictive.
I have gear. I’m doing W2D3 later this afternoon after the sun has gone down a bit.
ETA: Meatros, I bet you will be surprised at how well you are able to keep up with the program. Although I say that before having attempted week 3, so we’ll see how cocky I am next week.
Did W1D2 today. Not too bad, made sure to stretch a lot so hopefully I won’t be too sore tomorrow. Still trying to find a good course to run, I think I will try walking down to the waterfront. It’ll take a lot longer, but at least I’ll have a nice view and won’t have to worry about waiting for lights.
I actually need to find a place to run that is accessible at 5:30 am. I prefer to run before my husband goes to work, and he needs to leave our house by 7:00. Unfortunately, the metro park where I have been doing most of my running doesn’t open until 6:30 am. Like, literally, the main entrance is gated off until a park official opens it at 6:30. So I need to either find another trail in a park that is opened earlier or that doesn’t have a gated entrance or something, or run in my neighborhood (feh). More research necessary.
Did my first run today. It is to laugh that I call it “run”. But that’s OK, I knew it would be like that…old ladies and their walkers and all that. I think I heard a couple of caterpillars outside laughing at me through the window…bastards.
I honestly don’t know what to say about it other than it sucked major butt. I was very, very sick over the weekend and I think I’m dehydrated as a result. I was horribly thirsty all the way through the run tonight. Amped up the water intake the rest of the evening, though, and will do that also tomorrow. Hopefully Wednesday won’t be so yucky.
The last time I started this, I don’t remember it being quite so sucky. It wasn’t easy, but it was enjoyable. This time, no joy…just suckage. I think it’s from having been so sick. Ah well, W1D1 is done. Progress is progress, right? Wednesday will be better, I’m sure.
I’ve had runs like that. When I know that I’m not hydrated very well I try to keep my water bottle with me for a few hours before my run, just sipping on it. The big thing is not to drink too much at a time. If you can feel water sloshing about in your stomach, you need to take a break from drinking water.
-Mossie…C25k Graduate who should have known better than to drink so much not-water last night and had a rough, dehydrated run this morning.
I want to do this, I really do. But I hate running. Always have. How do I get over the mental block and actually do it? Also, how do you people find hours to commit to this?
I hate running too, but I like being a runner. It’s totally an ego thing for me, which sounds pretty horrible, but at least it gets me out there. I got a cute running outfit and I always check myself out in front of a big mirror before I go out. I look like a runner until you see the speed at which I move.
Commit to the first week. Take time after work that you might be watching TV or surfing the web, and just do it. I’ll be waiting to hear that you did. The first week isn’t too bad. You just have to run for little one minute spurts and you can go slowly during those one minute spurts. In fact YOU SHOULD GO SLOWLY. It isn’t too bad. Just one week, just three days.
I hope so - but I think I really need a good pair of running shoes. The type I have right now are a little old. I’ll do that this weekend. Day two is today…
I hated running all through high school. The timed mile run every week in PE was the most demoralizing and painful experience – I dreaded it, for despite being involved in several sports I couldn’t run under a 10 minute mile to save my life. And sure, there’s some days where it still sucks. But C25K really breaks it down in a way that gives you both endurance and confidence as the weeks progress. You feel yourself getting stronger, being able to cover more distance, not feeling SO much like crap when you finish. If you’d asked me at week 1 day 1 if I thought I’d be able, at week 7 day 1 to run for 25 minutes without walking, I would have laughed. But that’s what I’m going to do when I get home tonight. The mental block will fall. I believe my ability to run 25 minutes without walking on Sunday was about 90% mental, especially for the last 3-5 minutes. Sure, I was slooooow, but I didn’t stop.
Also, as each workout is timed at 30 minutes (including a 5 minute warmup walk), you’re only committing to a minimum of 90 minutes of exercise a week.
It’s really not that big of a time commitment. For me I hit the track on my way home from work, change in my truck (3 min), skip the warm up, run / walk for 18 min, do my push-up and sit-ups and stretch during the 60 sec breaks between sets (15 min) then I go home. So my entire workout on run days is only 36 min and that’s only three days a week.
As far as the mental thing I was told once that the hardest part is showing up. it seems to be true no matter how shitty I feel if I can get myself to the track with my gear I can do my workout. the next trick is convincing yourself that you want to show up.
Antigen, I did this C25K before during the last thread and ended up having to quit due to some personal things that happened. I want to tell you that first so that I don’t come across as some kind of know-it-all here in my reply.
Anyway, here’s my little “secret”…don’t tell anyone, mkay? When I say I am “running” don’t you believe it for a second! I’m going at EXACTLY the same speed as my walk, only I’m doing it in a running style, if that makes sense. The speed on the treadmill doesn’t change! Other people might tell you to do it differently, but this is what worked for me last time. I was able to do it without shin splints or pain or anything else. So when Robert Ullreys tells me in my headphones to run, I just hold myself like a runner would…arms up, feet picked up, etc. The number of steps I take increases, but my stride shortens…so the overall speed is the same as walking. Is this cheating? I dunno. I don’t care. Because in my mind I am “running.” I figure I can increase speed and lengthen my stride at some vague point in the future.
And as far as the “hours” it takes to do this? Each workout only lasts about 20 minutes or so. To me it’s easier to do in the early evening before supper. I look forward to it during the stressful work day (this is what got me wanting to try this again…I missed it!) and do it as a decompression exercise between “work” and “home.” Other people like to do it when they first wake up. They say it starts their day off right and gives them energy. There’s no set requirement for when to do it. Whenever YOU want to do it is the “right” time.
Have you thought about why you want to do this? Is it for exercise? Is it to prove to yourself that you can accomplish something you “hate”? Is it because you feel you “should” since other people seem to want to do it and that makes you feel bad about yourself? I’d hate it if it was the last one. Maybe it’s just that you’re not a runner. Maybe you’re a bicyclist. Or a swimmer. Or a tennis player or a ballroom dancer or a yogi or a jazzercizer or a weight lifter. Or maybe a combination of any or all of those. That would be great, too! Not everyone is a runner. For me, I seem to go into some kind of zen-like headspace during the running parts. My brain gets very calm. I don’t really think about anything. Then suddenly there’s Robert Ullreys whispering into my ear like some kind of guardian angel telling me to walk for a little while. THAT’s what I like about it. The empty brain time. If I could get that same feeling with other exercises, I’d do those, too. But for me, the running seems to be the best way (so far) that I can get that.
Wow, I sound like a Nike commercial, don’t I? I guess when I go back and read over all this it’s pretty clear that I really did miss the running and am glad I’m getting the chance to get back into it again.
Update on results from yesterday: despite yesterday’s dehydration problem, I slept like a baby last night and woke up refreshed this morning. No pain, no leftover fatigue. Feels good. Yeah, I’m turning into a Nike commercial. No doubt about it.
