So has anyone noticed that I haven’t posted about my Couch to 5K plan progress lately?  No?

OK, then.  Move along.  Nothing to see here.  I don’t know what you are talking about.

:: Looks around sheepishly ::

Alright, I admit it, I have totally fallen off the running bandwagon.  I did my first 5K, completed a few more running workouts, then totally blew it off.  I’m not proud.  And I miss it.

So how do I get back on the horse?  I’m actually hoping that with school starting next week, I can get more of a routine going and get back into running.  I may or may not jump back into the Couch to 5K plan.  It may be easier to just squeeze in short runs morning and evening.  I’ve been planning to have some transition time between work and home in the morning and afternoon and maybe this will fit the bill.

So who’s going to hold me accountable?  Who will annoy my ass until I actually get running again?

Hubby tries to encourage me to run but for whatever reason, I just get annoyed when he does.  Poor guy, just trying to help.  I promise I won’t get annoyed with my internet buddies.  Or if I do, I’ll keep it to myself.

OK, so Monday it’s ON!  Back to running.  I’m pumped!  (If I say stuff like this will I start to believe it?)

Tweet

Man am I behind on posting this.  It’s been about a week since I finished the last workout of Week 5.

The first workout for week 5 was tough.  It alternated 5 mins of running with 3 mins of walking 3 times.  I was able to do it without too much trouble but running for 5 mins at a time wasn’t the most fun ever.

Then we went on vacation and I didn’t run at all.  I didn’t do the second workout for about 2 weeks and it was the day before the 5K I was signed up for.  The second workout was 8 mins of running, 5 mins of walking and 8 more mins of running.  It SUCKED.  I was freaking out about my 5K but I did it anyway.

Then it took about another week to finally do the 3rd workout of week 5.  This time I had to run for 20 mins!  Yeah, I had trouble with that.  I ran for about 11, then walked 90 seconds, ran a few more mins, walked a bit and kept doing that until I was done.  I made it through but not as planned.

So now I move on to week 6.  Work has been crazy and I have been putting off week 6.  I need to get back on the horse.  I am determined to finish the plan even though I already had my 5K.  I want to sign up for more races and keep running.  It clears my mind and makes me stronger.  It is good for me.

So no giving up this time.

I will keep running!

Tweet

OK, to be perfectly honest, this wasn’t exactly my first 5K.  Back in the late nineties, I did the AIDS 5K Walk, the key word there being WALK.  I remember how sore I was after walking that and I was much younger and lighter back then.  So even though I have covered this distance before, I’m just gonna keep calling this one my first.

So those of you who have followed along know that I did not complete by couch to 5K training plan (yet).  I got to the second workout of week 5 and I actually hadn’t run for about 2.5 weeks before yesterday.  So to say I felt a little unprepared is an understatement.  But I looked up some  past times (to make sure there were some over an hour) and told myself that even if I walked the whole thing, I likely wouldn’t be last.  I must say that didn’t do much for my confidence but whatevs.

I went to bed early last night.  Or I tried but I was pretty nervous so it took a while to fall asleep.  I also woke up several times during the night.  Maybe the extra hydration yesterday was part of that problem.  I got up early so I could have some coffee to help “clean things out” before heading to a place with only porta potties.  Then I had some toast, PB and jelly and a yogurt and got ready to rock.  Hubby, A and T came with me for support.

When we got there, they were starting stretches and we hit the porta potty just in case.  Then we lined up to start.

I started out “running” (let’s just refer to it as running although it wasn’t much faster than some young kids’ walking pace).  It started out uphill so I ended up walking pretty soon.  The course was through a neighborhood will some flat and some hilly parts.  And some freakin’ ginormous houses!  Wow.

I pretty much just alternated between running and walking.  Walking uphill, running downhill, some of both on flat spots.  I had one fairly long run (not sure how long but it sure felt long) in the middle.

The home stretch was all downhill.  As I crested the hill to start down, I was walking and when my brain told my legs to start running, they refused.  It was like I couldn’t lift them the tiny bit higher to start to run.  It was very weird.  My brain kept coaxing and they finally complied.  So I hit the downhill and saw my kids’ and Hubby.  I waved and T started to run along the side with me.  I was calling out to him to either go back to Daddy or stay with me.  Then I got close to the finish and sprinted leaving him behind.  Luckily he stopped and waited for Hubby so even thought it took me a minute to find him again, he was safe.

The clock at the end was just under 50 minutes.  I won’t know my official time until later.  I was secretly hoping to end in under 50 minutes so I was really happy about that.

Afterwards I steered clear of the gluten (pizza, bagels) and got some fruit and yogurt.  Hugged the kids and drank some water.  All in all, it was a great experience.  Already thinking about another one after I have completed the couch to 5k plan and have more running under my belt.

When I got home, I treated myself to a nice iced coffee and ibuprofen.  So sore already.

Tweet

Finally got in the last workout for week 4 (a little into the next week but hey, it’s done).

This week had much more running.  Am I the only one who is doing the math of how many minutes of each workout is running and comparing it to the prior week while I run?  Week 3 had a total of 9 minutes running split up into at most 3 minute segments.  Week 4 had 16 minutes of running with 3 and 5 minute segments.  Yikes!

I was pretty proud when I got through the first workout of week 4.  I feel less like I am stomping through the runs and more like I am inelegantly gliding.  Definite improvement.  Although the workouts were hard, I felt pretty good during them and really good after.

So I’m just about half way through the program and I’m glad that I seem to be improving.  I am scared of the upcoming weeks.  Longer runs are in store and it will be hard to sustain.  Running 5 minutes at a time I catch myself peeking at the time all too often.

I also have to keep mindful of my breathing.  I hyperventilate and get light-headed if I don’t take care to breathe long and slow, in and out.  Sometimes I even say it in my head.  Long and slow, long and slow.  It helps.

So now on to Week 5!

Tweet

Well this “week” took 2 weeks to complete.  I finally got that last workout in and can move on to week 4 but having several days in between workouts made them pretty tough so I’m not looking forward to the week 4 workouts.  Plus, I haven’t been able to get to all my Wellness Challenge workouts so that isn’t helping.

Now here is where I freak out …

I did NOT build any slack into my running plan.  I had exactly 9 weeks before my 5K on July 4 and now I am a week behind.  So there is basically no way I will be able to complete the plan before the race.  What was I thinking?  I am never going to be able to do this.

And now the excuses …

I was put on a medication that has made me so tired I’ve been going to sleep around 8pm.  And my headaches have sucked so I’ve missed so many workouts due to pain.  And I had to go into the office more than usual which makes it so I don’t have the option of ducking downstairs during the workday to get in a workout. And this, and that, and this, and that.

Breathe … now for the forward plan …

OK, so what is the worst that could really happen?  I’m not able to run the whole race and have to alternate walking and running.  Maybe I come in last.  But I know I can finish even if it were today and I had to walk the whole thing.  So finishing is an entirely realistic and achievable goal.  So that is what I will aim for.  I will continue to work the running plan and however far I get is how far I get.  I will finish the race and finish the plan after the race and that is OK.  So all is good.  Right?

Tweet