Week 6 Day 3
I can't believe I have finished 6 weeks of Couch to 5K! Today was walk for 5 minutes, run for 22 minutes and walk for 5 minutes. I use the word run, but it wasn't really running. I started out with a 14ish minute mile pace, but once I got to the slight incline (about 1%) my pace went down. I got it back up again, but then I started to get tired and my shins and calves were killing me so my pace went down again. The slowest I got to was about 17-1/2 minute mile pace. The entire workout including my 10 minutes of walking totaled about 1.9 miles. I was supposed to run for 2-1/4 miles. Oopsy. I just can't pull off the pace that I need to in order to hit the mile markers they set. I'm totally okay with it. I knew going into this that it was most likely not going to get me in shape to run a 5k at the end. I'm happy that I have managed to get me endurance to the point where it is. I'm 275 pounds and I can "run" for 22 minutes. Granted, I wanted to die afterwards, but I did it. My shins were killing me! Oddly enough, they actually hurt worse while I was walking during the cool down.
Today's workout almost didn't happen. I had the day off from work because the 4th of July fell on a Saturday. I wanted to sleep in, but I knew it wasn't really an option if I was still going to do my run. Hubby was planning on coming with me too. We were going to go walk on the track even though the front gate is locked. It was supposed to be super hot today, so I knew I needed to get out there early. I planned on doing my normal 4:00 wake up time so I could still run under the cover of darkness. I haven't yet gotten the courage to run during the day light. Well, that's not completely true. My first attempt at running was back several months ago. I walked towards the high school and then ran back. That trip was during the daylight and it was horrible! I felt so exposed! I'm digging this cover of darkness thing. Not only is it too dark for most people to notice me, but it's so dang early that no one is really out and about anyway! Okay I got off topic. The plan was to wake up at 4:00. I assumed that hubby was going to wake up a few minutes after me. When I got up, I asked if he was still planning on coming with me. He said that he was. I hung out on the couch for a few minutes checking email and playing Hay Day. Then it all went downhill. My stomach was a mess! Forty minutes later, I decided that whatever was going on in my belly was over, so I laid down on the bed next to hubby trying to inspire him to get up. He didn't find it very inspiring. He eventually got up and sat on the couch. My stomach roared up again. About 15 minutes later, I decided I was going for a run and my stomach was going to be okay with it and he decided to sit on the couch and wait by the phone in case I decided I needed an emergency pick up. :)
After I got home from the run, hubby started talking to me. My answers were all in hand signals. I just couldn't talk. I wasn't crazy out of breath or anything. I didn't have any cardiovascular issues during the run. I was just exhausted and couldn't find the energy for words. I sat on the couch and drank some water. After all of that was done, I decided that there was no way I would be ready for a 5k run in 2 more weeks. I probably ran for 1.5 miles. A 5k is 3.1 miles. There's no way I'll be able to double my distance in 2 weeks. I run too slow to do it in the time that the app allows me. My choices then became.......Work on speed or Work on endurance to run longer. I know that I'm not going to be able to do much in the speed department. My shins were killing me when I was done. Normally that pain goes away fairly quickly once I stop running, but the cool down was torture and I could still feel it hours later sitting on the couch. I knew that I needed to find a way to do longer workouts. The answer came to me in the app while I was looking ahead at the next two weeks. I've seen it before, but it never really dawned on me to look at it.
The answer was simple. After I'm done with C25K, I'm going to do 10K trainer! I have no intentions on actually running a 10k, but the 10K Trainer has hour long workouts! Since I can't increase my speed enough to be able to run a 10 minute mile, I need to work on my ability to run for 45 to 50 minutes! The first 8 weeks of the 10K trainer is just the same stuff as C25K. After the first 8 weeks, it turns into 54 minute workouts! They increase up to about an hour and 10 minutes. This is exactly what I need! I love this app. I love how easy it is to use. I love the format. I love that I can listen to my own music and not miss out on the audio instructions. The app is awesome. My only issue was that it expected me to be able to sustain a 10 minute mile pace. So far I haven't even made it to a 10 minute mile pace for any length of time. I'm so excited about my epiphany! I can't wait to graduate from C25K to 10K trainer! Two more weeks to go! I'm going to try my 1 minute speed bursts when I start back to doing intervals. There are no more intervals for the rest of C25K! It's just walk for five minutes and then run! Today was 22 minutes, but Monday will be 25 minutes. Then it goes to 28 minutes and then it goes to 30 minutes.
My next mission is to find a flat place to run. The track was flat, but I started to find it boring running around the track and then they closed the front gate. You wouldn't think that a 1% incline would even be noticeable, but it really is when I'm running. Cut me some slack though. I'm 274 pounds!
Polar M400
I decided to put the heart rate monitor under the band for my bra. I'm not sure if it helped or not. I did have a couple or breaks in connection at the end, but they look short and I think it only happened twice. My heart rate stayed pretty steady even though my speed was pretty touch and go. That first drop in speed was when I hit the incline. The increase in pace just before the midway point was when I found a decline. It didn't feel like I was gong back uphill after that, but maybe I was. My speed really tanked there just before the end. For the last minute, I tried to run fast, but my legs were killing me. There was just no way I could pull off anything close to my 12 minute mile place record. It's okay though. This was the longest I've ever run in my entire life. Even as a kid, I wasn't into running. I'm still not sure why I decided to do this program. I guess it was the dreams about running where I'm just so incredibly happy. I wanted to see if that would happen in real life. In the dreams, I run like a gazelle. In reality, not so much, but I do feel happier on days that I run. I've never been much of a post workout high kind of girl, but this running thing seems different. Two weeks left!
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