C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 6 Day 1

I'm getting closer to getting caught up so I'm back on a Monday is Day 1 of  week thing. I'm going to take Monday off so hubby and I can go for a hike on the holiday. I was thinking that today was going to be walk for 5, run for 10, walk for 5, run for 10, walk for 5, but it was run for 5, walk for 3, just for 8, walk for 3, jog for 5, walk for 5. I was kinda looking forward to only having two running segments. Having the third one in there kinda messed with my brain. The cold weather messed with my lungs. OMG! It was soooooooooooooo cold! I could barely breathe in my first running segment. by the end, my breathing was horrible. When I got home, I was talking to hubby and I could barely finish a sentence without coughing. It was horrible and remained that way for most of the day. My body felt fine during the run other than my lungs. I did the faster pace at the end of the runs again. I did it last year, so I should do it this year. I'm hoping it helps me improve my horribly slow pace.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

My heart rate screen shot is a mess. It really annoys me when it gets like this. Maybe it's time to tighten the strap again or pay closer attention to which bra I'm wearing when it happens like this. 

C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 5 Day 3

This was the day that I was dreading. I had to run 20 minutes straight. The good news though......I did this last year so I knew I could do it. I just wasn't sure if I could do it on the street and at a faster pace than last year. The answer would appear to be that yes indeed I can do it on the street and I can do it at faster pace than last year. I wasn't a happy camper at the end of this run the last time around, but it wasn't that bad this time. I was definitely not as fast as I would have liked, but I got through it and wasn't sore the next day. My breathing was okay too. I'm quite impressed with myself this time. Hubby didn't come with me so I ran to the high school and around the block. I went all the way down to the Bi-mart street. Not really sure what possessed me to do that, but I did it even though I knew I'd end up having to go uphill at the very end. I really pushed for the last minute of the running segment. I read my post from last round before I did this workout and I did that same thing last year. I was all happy because I got to a 12ish minute mile pace so I wanted to go faster and I did! Woot Woot!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

I'm not really sure where those crazy spikes came from on the heart rate monitor or the crazy dips, This thing drives me nuts sometimes. 

Review of C25K Couch to 5k Round 2 Week 5 Day 2

Week 5 Day 2 of C25K was a five minute warm up followed by 8 minutes of jogging, 5 minutes of walking, 8 minutes of jogging and 5 minutes of walking. Hubby didn't go with me, so I ran on the street. I wasn't in the mood for the pesky hill at the end though so I turned left onto my street instead of going all the way down to the street for Bi-mart. I ended up getting back too soon though so I just walked past the street and turned around and then went back to the back gate. It felt good doing this run. The temperature was just about perfect so it wasn't too bad on my lungs. My breathing was decent and I didn't really hurt all that much. I was so ready for it to be over when it was done though. I had some issues with my pace in the first running segment. You can see the nice wavy line there. The second one was a little more consistent, but you can still see the gradual slow down. I did kick it up a notch in the last minute or so of the second running segment. I still need to work on my speed! I'm way too slow!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots from the run. 

Review of Couch to 5K C25K Round 2 Week 5 Day 1

The best part of Week 5 Day 1 is that there were three running intervals! That's because each one was 5 minutes long! I wasn't sure how it was going to go with three 5 minute jogging intervals so we walked to the track. I grew to regret that decision. We get back soooooooo much faster if we ride. It just makes the running harder for me though.

I wanted to avoid the pain that I had in the previous couple workouts, so I didn't really push the runs too hard. I barely made it into the 12ish minute per mile pace in the last run. I didn't care though. Walking home was so hard. I was just exhausted. I think it was at that point that I realized the perfect way to fix my issue with being on the wrong days. I want to get back on a Monday through Friday schedule with day 1 of the week on Monday and day 3 on Friday. This day 1 being a Wednesday and Day 3 being a Monday is messing with my head. I had been thinking of doing a Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday deal one week to make up the missing day, but instead I decided to skip going on Friday and then skip going one day the following week which should put me back on track! (no pun intended there) I'm just not sure which day I'll skip. I think I'll end up waiting on my next skip until July 4th weekend. That would be a good day to skip. I want to skip a day this week though! LOL.

Not much to say about the workout. The five minute intervals weren't too bad going at my slightly slower pace. No pain.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

I'm not sure what happened with my heart rate monitor. It's looking a bit ragged. Oh well. 

Review of Couch to 5K C25K Round 2 Week 4 Day 3 - The halfway point!

I made it through the halfway point of the program! Hubby came with me again and we rode the bikes again. I'm starting to think the bike thing isn't such a good idea. It gets us there faster and home faster, but OMG my legs were not really all that into this running thing after riding to the track. This was the same workout as the previous two where it was a five minute warm up followed by 3 minutes of jogging, then 90 seconds walking, 5 minutes jogging, 2-1/2 minutes walking, 3 minutes jogging, 90 seconds walking and 5 minutes of jogging. I had a hard time getting into the 12 minute mile pace on this workout. I ended up getting there for each run, but it was a fight each time. My fastest pace was a little off too. Oh well. I got through half of the program which means, I only have half to go! Although, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to do 10K trainer after I finish C25K which means, I'm not really done with my running in four weeks. :) Don't tell my legs that though.

I had that horrible pain again in my right side during the last couple runs. I was trying to push myself to keep a decent pace. Apparently my body just doesn't like that pace. My legs didn't hurt though. I didn't make any comments about the side pain in my post last year for Week 4 Day 3 of C25K though so it bothers me that it's happening. Oh well. Maybe I'll do better in round 3!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots from the workout. I had to edit this to include the correct pictures. I originally included the following workout. Oopsy. 

Review of C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 4 Day 2

Here's another post from my marathon of getting caught up on Couch two 5K. I hate getting behind! Last weekend I spent so much time working, so I ran out of time to post about my workouts! Ugh! Week 4 Day 2 was the same as Week 4 Day 1. I did a five minute warm up followed by 3 minutes of running, 90 seconds of walking, 5 minutes of running, 2-1/2 minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running and 5 minutes if walking. Then there was the five minute cool down.

Hubby didn't come with me so I went down to the high school and then around to the middle school to finish off on the downhill straight section. I did the same route earlier when I was still on week three. It turns out that I finish up right near my street so I can just walk home! Or so I thought! There was more running involved in this one, so I had to go a little further to make sure that I didn't get home too soon, so instead of turning left onto my street, I kept going straight and turned up by the street for Bi-mart. Turns out, the stretch of that road between my street and the street for Bi-mart is UPHILL! It's not a steep uphill, but I was pretty tired already and was so not interested in going uphill again. My breathing was pretty horrible and I was pretty tired. I was so ready to be done with the running thing. Technically speaking, I'm not really sure that was actually running at this point though! I was going sooooooo slow up that last little stretch. I just wanted to be done! My legs didn't hurt though, but my breathing was sooooooo heavy and I was coughing a bit. I still did better going on the street for this one than I did for the same workout last year on the track. Feel free to read my workout for C25K Week 4 Day 2 from last year. If you're struggling to get through C25K, it might make you feel better. My first round was pretty much torture.

Polar M400 Screen Shots 

Here are the screen shots from the workout. I didn't get a running index score this time. I wonder why. Oh well. I was surprised to see that I got up to 12:05 minutes per mile. That must have been on the downhill right after the first uphill. 

Review of Couch to 5K C25K Round 2 Week 4 Day 1

My second post from my marathon of catching up again on my progress. So week 4 Day 1 was a day that I was dreading because we bumped up from 3 minutes of jogging to five minutes of jogging! It was a five minute warm up, 3 minutes of jogging, 90 seconds of walking, 5 minutes of jogging, 2-1/2 minutes of walking, jog for 3 minutes, walk for 90 seconds, jog for 5 minutes. That added up to a lot of jogging! Knowing that I had gotten through it last year made it easier to get through it this year. Reading all of my previous posts from the previous round really made me feel way better about this round. My Week 4 Day 1 post made it sound like I was about to die! My entire body hurt, bu this time around my breathing has been more of an issue than any pain. I haven't had any soreness since my first workout and that was all in my abs and chest really. I haven't had any soreness in my legs this time around. I have noticed that my legs aren't at full capacity during our hikes on Saturdays, but it hasn't been painful. I just feel like a wimp on the hikes.

Enough rambling! Hubby decided that we should ride the bikes to the track. I think this was the first time that we did this, but maybe we did it the previous week too. It made things a little challenging for me from a logistical standpoint. I wasn't sure when to start my apps. I wasn't sure if the ride to the track should count as my warm up. I wasn't sure what to do with my headphones on the trip over. I forgot to turn off my app before we left the track so my minute per mile is all jacked up. I think I got some speed record because I was riding my bike downhill during the workout on the Polar app. Oopsy.

So the run itself was a bit challenging. It's tough to say if it was because of the five minute jogging intervals or because we road to the track. The track is a little uphill from the house. most people wouldn't notice the include, but I'm a wimp on the bike so I really notice it. My hamstrings were feeling it when we got to the track. I tried to keep myself in the 12 minute per mile range, but it was quite challenging to do that. I started out at a good pace for each run, but then fell off the pace, but I got through it and wasn't in pain. I was ready to stop running because I couldn't breathe, but I could have kept going it I had needed to do so.

I ended up having some severe pain in my right side after the final running segment. It went from my hip to my shoulder. It was sharp and horrible. I walked it off in a couple minutes, but it was horrible while it lasted. It seriously felt like someone was stabbing me.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots. I just noticed that it gave me a running score. I'm not sure what that's all about. Check out how fast I was on the end of that workout? That was me going downhill on my bike because I forgot to shut the app off. UGH!

Review of Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 3 Day 3

I'm behind on these posts again so I'm going to go through a marathon posting spree. I hate getting behind. When I do round three of C25K, I'd really like to go back and re-read these like I re-read the ones from my round one while doing round 2. I just get so busy with editing and work so the blog ends up suffering. I need to make time for it though because I enjoy doing this and I love being able to look back at my workouts.

Okay so Week 3 day 3 was on a Monday instead of a Friday because I'm still screwed up from missed workout on the holiday. I have a plan to fix that though.

Week 3 Day 3 was the same as the previous two workouts. After five minute warm up, I jogged for 90 seconds, walked for 90 seconds, jogged for three minutes, walked for three minutes and then repeated from the 90 seconds of jogging. Then I did a five minute cool down. Hubby didn't feel like going with me so I ran on the street. I went down the high school and around to the middle school. Not that most of you know where I'm talking about, but I know. I picked this route because it would have me end up a downhill/flat section. The run wasn't that bad. I was definitely ready to turn left and start the downhill! It's not much of a downhill, but it's enough to make a huge difference in my speed and my breathing! I don't have much to say about this run. I have to admit that I don't remember much about it and in fact had to edit this post because I including stuff in it from the wrong workout.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots from the workout. My screen shots from last year, are MPH, but this year they are Minutes Per Mile which complicates things when I'm trying to compare last year to this year. I think I was faster this time during my runs. I kind of want to switch back to MPH so I can compare last year to this year better, but if I switch, it will make comparing my progress on this round more difficult. I'll just leave it alone for now I suppose. 

C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 3 Day 2

Day 2 of Week 3 didn't go as well as Day 1 of Week 3. It was pretty windy out and hubby went with me, so we went to the track. It's usually a bit windy on the way to the track, but it was exceptionally windy when I went out for the run. Going uphill on the first two runs is hard enough, but to run into the wind and go uphill is torture! I couldn't keep my 12ish minute mile pace. I didn't really try all that hard though admittedly. I just ran with my normal effort, but the pace was way off. I don't think I hit 12ish minute mile pace at all during the first two runs. This was just like Day 1 of Week 2. I had 90 seconds running, 60 seconds walking. Three minutes running and 20 minutes walking. Then I repeated the whole thing. I got through the runs fine. I wasn't in pain during them, but my breathing was horrible. I was coughing a lot. I wasn't sore the next day and the coughing cleared up once I was back home. I managed a little better with the two runs on the track, but I still wasn't breaking any land speed records. Hubby suggested we ride our bikes to the track to get there faster so I don't have to run on he street. We might try that tomorrow for week 3 day 3. It's going to lengthen the overall time of the workout though since I won't be starting the app as soon as we leave the house. We'll see how it goes.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

I like the heart rate chart a lot better from this workout over the last one. That was pretty weird on the last one. Not sure what happened there. This one makes sense though. 

C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 3 Day 1

I wasn't really looking forward to this day because it meant doubling my running time in a couple spots. It also meant doubling my walking time though so I had that to look forward to. Week 3 Day 1 is 90 seconds running, 60 seconds walking, 3 minutes running, 2 minutes walking and then you repeat that. Hubby went with me so we walked to the track. I started my running intervals on the way to the track though so save some time and then he caught up with me on the track. It works out pretty good doing that. Although, it means my first two running intervals are uphill. UGH!

I wasn't really sure what to expect during this workout since it was my first time this round doubling my running time from the previous workout. It went pretty well though. I ended up in the 12 minute mile pace for most of the running segments. I was happy with that. I slowed down a bit at the end of my last running interval, but I'm okay with that. I was hoping to get a nice little sprint on at the end, but it was just not going to happen. I made it through the workout though and I wasn't sure the next day. I was definitely ready for those 3 minute intervals to be over, but I could have kept going if I had to. I might have gone slower though if I needed to run longer. My maximum speed for C25K week 3 day 1 the first time I did it was 4.8 mph according to the Motion X app. I didn't urn that app this time though so there could be differences in the app vs. the Polar watch. Reading that post was interesting though. I definitely wasn't happy when I was done with that run, but this time was no big deal.

Polar M400 Screen Shots 

I'm not sure what's up with the weirdo heart rate readings in this workout, but the speed one looks pretty normal at least. 

C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 2 Day 3

I'm playing catch up on these blog posts. I've been doing too much editing lately. Plus, we had inventory at work last week. UGH! I used to love inventory, but not anymore! I'll try not to ramble too much. I'm still doing my second round of C25K. I haven't bailed on it yet. I feel like I'm further along than week two, but the holiday messed things up. I should get caught up on it one of these days and get it back so Day 1 is Monday!

Week 2 Day 3 was running for 90 seconds and walking for two minutes again. I was bound and determined to get under a 10 minute mile pace even if it was only for a few seconds. I tried last week, but failed. Hubby didn't go with me, so I ran on the street. I went up the block to the high school and then around towards the middle school. This made it so I would be going downhill or flat for my last couple runs. It did the trick because I made it to 9:34! I'm not sure how long I held that pace, but that does't matter. I made it under a 10 minute mile pace and that's all I was going for! As times goes on, maybe I can maintain that for a whole mile, but for now, I just needed to get there just to prove that I could get there. I'll work on duration later.

I've been fairly surprised with this round of C25K. I've been reading through old posts about my first round and it sounded like it was pretty much torture. I'm not actually sure why I continued to run since it didn't sound like I had much fun doing it and I wanted to die after doing it. Why did I continue? This time around, I've been ready for the running segments to be over because I hate being all out of breath and I hate coughing, but my body hasn't been sore. My abs hurt a little after the first day of this round, but that's it. Nothing sore in my legs, back or chest. The coughing hasn't been too bad. I think one day in my first week was pretty bad for a couple hours after the run, but nothing longer than that. I'm quite happy with the results so far. I'm not really looking forward to the 20 minute run coming up in week 5, but I got through it the first time around so I'll get through it this time around!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Couch to 5k C25K Round 2 Week 2 Day 2

Hubby actually decided to go out with me for Week 2 Day 2. I was pretty surprised. He went with m three days this week! Let's see if he picks it back up on Monday. I had planned on doing this entire round of C25K on the street/sidewalk/walking path, but it's just a bit weird to go out with hubby and then not be with him, so we walked to the track. I did my first and second running segments before we made it to the track, so I ended up there before he got there, but then we just both went around the track. He walked and I ran. At the end of my last running interval, I found him and we walked home. It was hard to find him since it was so dark!

I was determined to hit the under 10 minute mile pace for just a couple seconds today. Once again, I saved it until the end and once again, it didn't happen. The closest I got was 11:06. It's driving me nuts that I can't even get into the 10 minute mile pace since I did it in my first week! I'm seriously contemplating trying it during my first running interval instead of my last since I'm just not getting close. I fear that I won't be able to catch my breath enough to continue though. I'm so torn. It's a goal I really want to make, but I don't want to make it at the sacrifice of the rest of the workout. Decisions decisions. 

This run was on a Thursday instead of a Wednesday since the holiday threw off my schedule. I tossed around the idea of running on Saturday to make up the missed workout. I also tossed around the idea of running two days in a row. I opted to just skip the extra run day and make it up on Monday since we had a hike planned for Saturday. I wouldn't have time to do a run before going to Albany, and there was no way I was going to run in the heat! I didn't want to run two days in a row because I knew the hike was going to be a bit of a challenge for me since it has been the two previous times we did the same hike! 

Polar M400 Screen Shots 

Here are the screen shots from the workout. 

C25K Couch to 5k Round 2 Week 2 Day 1

It was Memorial Day last weekend so I had the day off and so did hubby! We bought a new car instead of going for a run. I skipped my Monday run, but did it on Tuesday. The first week was only 60 seconds of running, but the second week is 90 seconds of running and two minutes of walking. I got through it before, so I knew I could get through it again. I just wasn't sure how it was going to go this time around. It wasn't so pleasant the first time around. It wasn't too bad this time. It's interesting to re-read the blog posts from the same day in the program when I did it the first time. I didn't have my Polar M400 the first time around, but I did play around with a Jawbone Up3 last year. I wasn't impressed.

I tried to keep my running pace in the 12 minute mile pace and I think I was successful for the most part doing that. I felt pretty good during this run. My legs didn't hurt. I was ready for the running intervals to be done, but that was more about my breathing than it was about my legs. I haven't been sore after my run days except after the first day and that was my abs more than anything. I ran on the path to town and then on the sidewalk through town and back again. I wanted to get under a 10 minute mile pace just once and it didn't work out last week. I tried again this week, but it didn't work out so well for me. I've been trying it at the end of my runs because I didn't want to tire myself out from the effort. My final run this time was uphill. It's not a big hill at all. It's not even really a hill. It's more of a gentle incline. I tried to hit the sub 10 minute mile pace, but I knew it wasn't going to happen while going uphill. I decided to try going downhill. I turned around and gave it all I got, but I didn't make it. I was just too beat. Another failed attempt at the sub 10 minute mile pace. I decided to try again for Day 2 of Week 2 and told myself that I would go around the block down to the high school so my final run would be going downhill.

I'm bummed that I didn't hit my goal, but I feel great after reading how torturous this was the first time around. I've made some great improvements. I can't lose weight, but I'm a better runner than I was a year ago. Eventually, the weight has to fall off if I continue to do stuff like hiking and running right? I know you can't out exercise a bad diet, but my diet isn't that bad. I know I need to cut out the bread and french fries on the weekends, but I'm doing great during the week!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

It pains me to see that the fastest pace was an 11:30 minute mile! I got faster than that last week, but I was trying to pace myself a bit since I had the longer running segments.

Zen Labs Couch to 5K C25K Round 2 Week 1 Day 3 - I survived a full week!

I managed to get through a full week of C25K. It's not that amazing of a triumph really though. It's only three days, but I got up and I kept at it! I had the crazy idea of trying to hit into the 10 minute mile pace for each of my running segments and then I was going to make a major push at the end of the final running segment to see if I could get under a 10 minute mile pace even for a couple seconds. I was back under the cover of darkness which was nice! I didn't run into anyone else on the path/sidewalk. Whatever you want to call it.

This whole week has been a 5 minute brisk walk warm up and the 60 seconds of jogging followed by 90 seconds of walking and then a 5 minute cool down. I've felt pretty good because I have been making it through the running segments without much of an issue. I'm ready to stop when the 60 seconds is over, but I haven't felt like I wanted to die except for the crazy fast running segment at the end of the previous workout.

I did this one on the street and went the shorter route so I would be back home when the time was up instead of the longer route which would give me an extra five to 10 minutes of walking once the workout was done. I procrastinated getting out of bed so I didn't really have the extra time to be walking. It's kind of nice being able to run on the streets! The 30 minute workouts were closer to 50 minutes because I had to get to the track before I could start running. Now, I can just start running as soon as the little beep goes off. It's nice.

I managed to hit the 10:xx minute mile pace for all of the running segments. There was one segment where I went all out and then started to feel like I wanted to die, so I slowed up a little bit and then I kicked it up a gear again. You cans see it on the speed and heart rate charts where my spike has a bit of a dip in it. Oh well. I didn't make it to the under 10 minute mile pace. I underestimated just how strenuous hitting the 10 minute mile pace during each running segment would be. By the last segment, my breathing was horrible and I was doing a lot of coughing. I didn't think it would be a very good idea to try to beat my record. I think I'll try it at the end of my next workout. I'm not sure though since next time, I'm supposed to run for 90 seconds instead of 60 seconds. It's only an extra 30 seconds and I do get an extra 30 seconds to recover between intervals, but that 30 seconds might be a big deal once I start running. We'll see! Eventually, I'll get under a 10 minute mile pace even if it's only for a few seconds.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots from the workout. I'm not really sure what's up with the weird readings at the beginning, but whatever. I love how it says that I significantly developed my aerobic fitness and my abilities to sustain high intensity effort for longer. It was a 30 minute workout. I don't think anything significantly changed during this workout. I am quite interested in finding out what speed I need to hit to make it into speed zones 3, 4 and 5 though. I might have to do some research to find out! 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 1 Day 2

I surprised myself and managed to get up for Week 1 Day 2 of C25K. The surprising part was that I went for my run without the cover of darkness. I usually just run in the dark, but I got to sleep in on Wednesday! It didn't stop me from going for a run though. People actually saw me too. Not just the cars going by, but other people on the path! I only ran into two people, but both times were during running intervals. The second time was while I was on my last running interval so I was trying to go as fast as I could! Oh he looked scared for me! He looked scared for himself too like if she falls down, am I gonna have to give her mouth to mouth? I didn't fall down though.

I ran on the sidewalk again. It's funny that I call it the sidewalk in this post, but I called it the path while I was talking to my hubby. He's like what path are you talking about? I'm like the one on the side of the road. He's like are you talking about the sidewalk? I'm like no. The path. It runs along the road, but it's not a sidewalk. Sidewalks are different. This is like asphalt and not like concrete sidewalk with a curb and everything. He thinks I'm crazy, but he knew I was nuts when he married me. I'm pretty sure he met my mother and my grandmother before he married me which means even if I wasn't nuts when I met him, he knew that with age, I too would be nuts. It's his own fault for marrying m. He's not getting out of it now.

Okay, back on track! I ramble a lot. So I ran on the sidewalk or the asphalt walking path next to the road. Whatever you want to call it. So last year when I did C25K, I mainly ran on the track because running on the hard surfaces of the path/sidewalk, made my legs hurt way worse than running on the track. I seem to be stronger now though because I'm not in pain while I'm running on the sidewalk/path. After day 1, my abs were a bit sore, but that was about it. I was surprised that my glues, hamstrings and calves weren't sore, but they weren't! Nothing was really sore after day 2. Again, I was pretty surprised by that. I'm getting so much stronger! It's good to go back and repeat programs that you've done in the past so you can compare how far you've come. To do that though, you need to keep track of things when you're doing it. Don't rely on your memory. That's why I love the blog. I can go back and check out how I felt after just about every workout that I've ever done. I have skipped a couple, but I've blogged about most of them.

My breathing wasn't bad at all after this one. I hardly coughed while I was doing this workout too. It was kinda nice. I felt pretty good about myself after this one. By the time I got back to he house, I was so ready to be done though. I was getting tired and hungry.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots. There's an extra picture today. They changed these ups so I can show the heart rate chart and the speed chart separately. I kinda liked it when they were together though so you could see how the speed impacted my heart rate, but I didn't make the decision to change it. See that big spike before the cooldown? That's my big burst of speed! I hit a pace of for a 10:23 mile. That's the fastest I've ever gone I think. I know last year, I hit an 11.xx minute mile pace for about 10 second. I can't remember what the seconds were, but I know it was in the 11 minute range. I don't think I ever hit 10 minute range. I'm dying to hit below 10 minute even if it's just for a short period! I'm not sure why it's a big deal to me, but it is. Sort of like I'm dying to do a full push up on my toes. I'll probably hit a sub 10 minute mile pace before I get that push up down. :) 

 

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Round 2 Week 1 Day 1

I've been seeing a lot of posts about running on my Facebook news feed, so I've been thinking about giving C25K another go. Yesterday, hubby was supposed to go for a walk with me since he's going to up his game as far as this whole Diabetes 2 thing goes. He's going to start walking with me more so he can get himself off his meds and get his sugar under control. he decided not to go with my though! UGH! So anyway, that left me with a decision to make. I could go for a walk alone or I could do something here, or I could just hang out on the couch and read. I decided that I was going to try my 10K app! It's the graduate program after C25K. You work yourself up to running a 10K. I checked the first day though and it was a 50 minute workout with 10 minute jogging intervals and I was pretty certain that I wasn't going to survive that. It's been many many months since I did any running. I decided to do C25K again instead. I didn't feel like walking to the track though, so I did it on the sidewalk. Last year, running on the sidewalk killed my shins so bad that I didn't do that more than a couple times, so I thought I would regret the decision, but I did it anyway.

I set out on my normal walking route and started up the app. The first day is a five minute warm up followed by 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking. You alternate between jogging and walking for 20 minutes and end with a 5 minute cool down. My cool down was longer because I didn't turn around at the halfway point. I didn't want to do less distance than my normal walking route. During the first running segment, I was on a hill! It's not really much of a hill at all, but it was still a hill since I was running! It didn't go that badly though. I was pretty surprised. When I got to the end of the 60 seconds, I wasn't dying! I actually felt like I could keep going. I didn't want to deviate from the app though so I went back to walking. There were a couple running segments where I actually felt like I really was running. There were a couple going down a slight incline which was nice.

By the time I was done, I was pretty tired and ready to be home. My breathing wasn't terrible, but I was coughing a little bit and the back of my throat felt a little funky. I didn't have any pain at all in my shins or calves though. I was pretty excited about that. Later that day, I read my blog post about  my first round of C25K. I was pretty happy after reading it! I have made so much progress in a year in terms of my strength. I may not be losing any weight lately, but I'm certainly getting stronger!

Polar M400 Screen Shots

I didn't have my Polar M400 when I started C25K last year! It's way more awesome than what I had last year! I haven't done this whole running thing since like August of 2015. I was surprised to see all the extra things on the app. The screen shot on the left has a bout twice the information it used to have. I think part of it is that they made some things always appear where before you would have to click on the thing to change it to another thing. Now you see it all at once. It also added a cadence count. I found that interesting. I love looking at the heart rate grid on this. I'm supposed to be doing interval training if I'm doing this whole Wild Movement. I talk about it, but then I don't really follow through with it. I haven't had much focus lately on working out. I can blame my hubby since I don't want to start a Beachbody program and then not be available to go for walks with him in the morning, but really I just use that as an excuse not to start a full on program. I hope I stick with this running thing so I've got something forcing me to workout on a regular basis!

Zen Labs C25K Couch to 5K Final Exam

It's been two weeks since my last run. It's been driving me nuts that I never attempted to actually run 5k after finishing up C25K. I was full of excuses. During the week, it's just too hard since there's not enough time to walk to the track, run the 5k and walk back. I could run on the street, but I need to find a flat enough spot for that and the road is just killer on my shins. Last Saturday I had to do a mystery shop early in the morning and I wanted to be able to sleep in. I decided that I was going to take a rest day from Rockin' Body today so I could let the calendar reset so Monday was Monday. I had a mystery shop early in the morning again though! I wasn't going to let that stop me from my run though! I woke up at 5:00 and went for my run! 

I geared up and headed outside to discover that it was light out! I run under the cover of darkness! I feel safe in the dark. No one can see me run in the dark! I almost turned around, but I kept going! I made it to the track and the front gate was still locked. UGH! At least they cleaned the portapotties so they smelled like cleaning agents instead of other things. They also created a couple parking spots back there. I'm wondering if I could get away with parking there in the morning. I hesitate to do that though since there's a house right there and I wouldn't want to freak them out at 4:00 AM.

So the first lap was kind of hard for me. I was trying to keep myself in the 16ish minute mile pace because I was adding an extra mile to my run. My previous runs had maxed at 2 miles, but I needed 3.1 for the 5k. The second lap didn't get any better and then my worst nightmare happened! People showed up! There were a couple guys and a couple kids. They sat down on the bleachers. I almost stopped running and bailed, but I kept at it! When I got near the bleachers they nodded and said good morning. I didn't get any funny looks. It didn't look like anyone was pointing at the fat girl running around the track.  Then MORE PEOPLE came! They pulled a truck out onto the track and started unloading exercise equipment. There were boxes for box jumps, rowing machines and a bunch of barbells with huge weight plates. I had to run through this group of people. I really wanted to give up, by then, I was like halfway done and there was no way I could give up. It was sooooo hard though. I managed to do a full three miles. I looked at my watch wrong though. I thought it said 3.2 miles, but it said 3.03. I didn't actually complete my 5k! I was crushed, but like hubby pointed out, that .07 really isn't that much, so he's sure I can handle a full 5k even though I didn't actually complete one. I did a little sprint for the last little bit of the last lap, so if I was able to spring at the end, I know I had enough juice left in me to finish a 5k. I'm still bummed though and want to try it again! I have to wait until next Saturday though. I just hope that this run doesn't make it really hard on me tomorrow for the hike. I don't feel all weak in my legs, but it's the furthest I've ever run. I hope my shins don't hurt tomorrow! Hubby's worried about that. It is what it is. We'll see what happens tomorrow. 

Polar M400

Here are the screen shots for the run! I'm not really sure what was gong on with the heart rate monitor for the end of the workout. That's some funky stuff on there. Oh well. I got a nice calorie burn so I'm happy. I improved my best average pace, but it's not really legit since I didn't start the thing until I started the run. Normally, I start it right after I leave the house, but I wanted to be able to see the stats for just the run. It will be a long time before I'll be able to improve that average pace unless I do the same thing and start it when I get to the track. 

Zen Labs Couch to 5K C25K Week 8 Day 3

Week 8 Day 3

This was a 5 minute walk followed by a 30 minute run followed by a 5 minute walk. I ran for 30 minutes on Wednesday so I could complete my two miles, so this wasn't my first time running 30 minutes. I was determined to get my 2 miles in before the 30 minutes was up. This workout almost didn't happen. I slept with my contacts in and my eyes were not liking life in the morning. My left eye hurt so bad all the way to the track. Once I got to the track, it was fine though. I survived the 30 minute run, and my eye was killing me on the way back!

Hubby came with me on this run. I like it when he comes with me because it gives me motivation to look like an actual runner since I have a witness. I run faster when he's there. He walks while I run. I like catching him! I caught up to him on every third lap of mine. For a little bit, I didn't think I was going to make my 2 miles before the 30 minutes was up, but then I realized I could do it, but I just needed to push a little harder. The last lap, I was going pretty quickly for me! My heart was racing! I didn't think I could keep going, but I did and I touched my foot down on that line as the timer hit double zero! I was so excited!

I'm now done with my C25K training! I still haven't tried to run 5k though. I'm a mile short. I think if I slow down into the 16ish minute mile pace, I could get that extra mile. I'm going to try that next Saturday. We'll see how that goes. I talked about doing the 10K trainer, but I don't think I'm going to do that. My plan now (and who knows how long that will last since I seem to change every 5 minutes) is to run once a week on Saturdays and keep doing Rockin' Body. I'm enjoying Rockin' Body even though I suck at it. I hope I'll get better.

Eight weeks ago, I never thought that I would get through 8 weeks of running! I never thought I would be able to run for 30 minutes in eight weeks! I'm pretty stoked and pretty amazed that I was able to get as far as I did. I may not be able to run a 5k in 30 minutes, but 8 weeks ago, I could barely run for 60 seconds and now I'm running for 30 minutes. I still think I can actually run 5k too, but I just can't do it in 30 minutes. Seriously though, I'm 275 pounds and 8 weeks ago, I could barely run for 60 seconds straight. I didn't think I'd be able to pull off a 10 minute miles. I'm okay with it.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are my screen shots. I took a Fitness Test with the watch the other day, and since then, my calorie burn is way higher than it used to be. I apparently didn't score well on the fitness test so now it gives me bonus calories for being so out of shape. :) My heart rate went up and up and up and up even though my pace didn't keep going up and up and up and up.