I've decided to embark on a new challenge. I am going to try (again) to finish the C25K program. For anyone that is unaware of this program, it is basically a training program that helps you run a 5k from starting nowhere near being a runner (hence the Couch to 5k name) in about 8 weeks. You train 3 days a week and alternate running and walking while slowly building up your running time and distance each week. In all honesty, this is not the first time I have tried this program. This is actually attempt #4, but I am hoping that I am able to stick with it this time and actually get somewhere. I have many reasons (aka excuses) for stopping before but I'm hoping that if I can document my progress to be able to go back and read where I started, then I will be a bit more motivate and hopefully follow through. I read an article in a magazine recently that said that mindful workouts are better than ones during which you try to zone out and part of being mindful can be writing down how you felt/feel before, during, and after a workout so this is part of that for me. I'm not so great at not zoning out when actually working out but I am working on it. No, I do not have a 5k in mind that I want to run, I just want to be able to do so and eventually I will sign up for one. I'm going to be the first to admit that running is not my thing. Am I going to do a marathon one day? Probably not. Do I know the stress running puts on your body? Of course. Am I going to still try to be able to run 3.1 miles? You betcha.
Steven and I talked about doing the IOA Corporate 5k this year as a part of his office's team, but it falls on a Thursday night and childcare is not the easiest during the week. We will see though because we still have time to sign up. I have actually done this 5k before but I walked the entire thing. I remember telling my teammates that year that I had a grand plan to run it the following year... then I got pregnant with Kenzie. While I know you can do whatever you do before being pregnant (within limits) when pregnant, I wasn't a runner before so I wasn't going to start after getting pregnant and then the 5k plans just went out the window.
Steven has talked about doing C25K, as well. I think it would be his second attempt. We both just didn't follow through before. We tried to do it together, but honestly, he would probably run faster and farther without me just because our strides are so different. Plus, we tried to take the kids and push the double stroller. For anyone that has tried to run both with and without a stroller, you know that without is so much easier. Especially since we do not have a jogging stroller. If we did both do it and did both run a 5k together, I wouldn't be surprised to have him leave me behind because he is naturally faster than me most of the time. No worries. I think one day we will both run one... it's just a matter of time. I am mainly looking to get into better physical shape right now though and this allows me 30 minutes to myself every few days when I get to just clear my head and concentrate on running and myself rather than everyone and everything around me. Anyway, like I said, I want to document my progress so I figure I will do so every few weeks so I can look back at it to actually see (and remember) where I started and how far I (hopefully) have come. So, here we go...
Week 1, Day 1: As I am running/walking today, I realize that starting this program in the winter is not my best idea to date. It was cold! I pushed through though and finished on a high note. Let's back up though. On Day 1, I was gung ho. I set my alarm for 5:30am. I had to start before Steven was set to get up and get ready for work because if one of the kids wakes up with issues while he is trying to get ready to go, he is likely to end up late if I am not home to help deal with it. So, my plan was to be out of the house as quickly after 5:30am as possible and back around 6. The program takes 30 minutes in week 1. This week I will walk (briskly) for 5 minutes then alternate running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds for the next 20 minutes. Then there is a 5 minute cool down. I did pretty well despite being SO VERY COLD. I think the temperature was around 47 when I went out. Then, I eventually started sweating which wasn't a problem until the cool down when I started walking and my body temp fell some making me cold and wet. Lovely. I made it though. Okay, I almost made it. I walked during run 7 of 8. I remembered one of the reasons I often stop this program too. I get shin splints. I think a lot of it is my stride. I am still learning to strike in the center of my foot and part of it is just the change from walking only to adding on periods of jogging or running. When I finished though, I felt really good. I felt good because I got out and moved and good because I made it through Day 1. It's just Day 1, but I have high hopes.
Week 1, Day 2: I put this day off for a day. It wasn't because I couldn't do it (though my shins were still feeling a bit off) but mainly because the morning I was set to train again, it was about 38 degrees outside and I wasn't going to do that to myself. I'm not training for a specific date or race so I can pace myself and not be in pain from the cold AND the running. I ended up putting it off for only 1 day though, so I still stuck with it. I admit, it was difficult to get up. Kenzie actually woke up about 4am when she had to potty and leaked a bit in her pjs (that's another story for another time though... and really I'm callling what happened a win because she woke up knowing she had to potty without help.) Then, I laid awake in bed until about 5:15. At least that was the last time I looked at the clock and before I knew it, my alarm went off at 5:30. I told myself though that because my alarm probably wakes Steven up somewhat, I can't just reset it and forget the workout. If I'm going to wake him up too, I better get up so when I get home, I can tell him that I did something. The weather was a bit chilly. Probably close to the same temp as Day 1, but no wind so it wasn't as bad. I paced myself a bit more towards the beginning and in the end, my distance was a bit shorter BUT I managed to run all 8 minutes. My shin started bothering me fairly quickly, but it bothered me more when walking. When I run/jog, I find that I do not have any pain or anything which seems weird. I try to focus on my breathing and stride as much as possible so maybe I just have less time to think about my shins. I felt really good after the workout. It was definitely worth the time and effort. I'm thinking that (depending on my shins), I might actually do a day every 3 days instead of every other day. That means the program will take me a bit longer than 8 weeks, but if it helps my shins rest and I can keep going longer, I am willing to try it. We will see how I am feeling Saturday night and I will decide then if I want to do it Sunday morning or hold off until Monday.
Week 1, Day 3: Yay! I finished Week 1!! I actually ended up being able to get up and do Day 3 after just one day off. My shins didn't hurt at all on Saturday night, so I set my alarm for 5:55 on Sunday and managed to get the run in before needing to be home to get ready for church. I think this was a pretty good day as far as how I felt afterwards. I not only felt awesome because I got up and got my blood moving early, but I also didn't really have shin splints. Again, I noticed them more when walking than when running but they were 100% gone by the time I got home. I think one of my main issues (now that the shin splints are getting better) is breathing. I am definitely not in the best shape and I could probably run farther distances, but the breathing gets to me. I have to concentrate on taking strong breaths while I am running. It is getting slightly easier though, I think. I ran all 8 minutes without any issues and went about the same distance as I did the first day (which was more than Day 2 despite walking for 1 of the minutes on Day 1). I still paced myself, but I think my warm up and cool down walks might have been a bit faster. Next week starts longer running periods so we will see how that goes. I'm pretty excited. I never thought I would say that about running... but I am seeing a difference already so I am excited to see what I can do. If I even do the first day of Week 2, I think I have made it farther than I did on more than one occasion of this program. Here's to next week!
Steven and I talked about doing the IOA Corporate 5k this year as a part of his office's team, but it falls on a Thursday night and childcare is not the easiest during the week. We will see though because we still have time to sign up. I have actually done this 5k before but I walked the entire thing. I remember telling my teammates that year that I had a grand plan to run it the following year... then I got pregnant with Kenzie. While I know you can do whatever you do before being pregnant (within limits) when pregnant, I wasn't a runner before so I wasn't going to start after getting pregnant and then the 5k plans just went out the window.
Steven has talked about doing C25K, as well. I think it would be his second attempt. We both just didn't follow through before. We tried to do it together, but honestly, he would probably run faster and farther without me just because our strides are so different. Plus, we tried to take the kids and push the double stroller. For anyone that has tried to run both with and without a stroller, you know that without is so much easier. Especially since we do not have a jogging stroller. If we did both do it and did both run a 5k together, I wouldn't be surprised to have him leave me behind because he is naturally faster than me most of the time. No worries. I think one day we will both run one... it's just a matter of time. I am mainly looking to get into better physical shape right now though and this allows me 30 minutes to myself every few days when I get to just clear my head and concentrate on running and myself rather than everyone and everything around me. Anyway, like I said, I want to document my progress so I figure I will do so every few weeks so I can look back at it to actually see (and remember) where I started and how far I (hopefully) have come. So, here we go...
Week 1, Day 1: As I am running/walking today, I realize that starting this program in the winter is not my best idea to date. It was cold! I pushed through though and finished on a high note. Let's back up though. On Day 1, I was gung ho. I set my alarm for 5:30am. I had to start before Steven was set to get up and get ready for work because if one of the kids wakes up with issues while he is trying to get ready to go, he is likely to end up late if I am not home to help deal with it. So, my plan was to be out of the house as quickly after 5:30am as possible and back around 6. The program takes 30 minutes in week 1. This week I will walk (briskly) for 5 minutes then alternate running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds for the next 20 minutes. Then there is a 5 minute cool down. I did pretty well despite being SO VERY COLD. I think the temperature was around 47 when I went out. Then, I eventually started sweating which wasn't a problem until the cool down when I started walking and my body temp fell some making me cold and wet. Lovely. I made it though. Okay, I almost made it. I walked during run 7 of 8. I remembered one of the reasons I often stop this program too. I get shin splints. I think a lot of it is my stride. I am still learning to strike in the center of my foot and part of it is just the change from walking only to adding on periods of jogging or running. When I finished though, I felt really good. I felt good because I got out and moved and good because I made it through Day 1. It's just Day 1, but I have high hopes.
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| Putting my clothes out the night before not only gets me moving quicker in the morning, but also gives me an additional push to get going and get out the door. |
Week 1, Day 2: I put this day off for a day. It wasn't because I couldn't do it (though my shins were still feeling a bit off) but mainly because the morning I was set to train again, it was about 38 degrees outside and I wasn't going to do that to myself. I'm not training for a specific date or race so I can pace myself and not be in pain from the cold AND the running. I ended up putting it off for only 1 day though, so I still stuck with it. I admit, it was difficult to get up. Kenzie actually woke up about 4am when she had to potty and leaked a bit in her pjs (that's another story for another time though... and really I'm callling what happened a win because she woke up knowing she had to potty without help.) Then, I laid awake in bed until about 5:15. At least that was the last time I looked at the clock and before I knew it, my alarm went off at 5:30. I told myself though that because my alarm probably wakes Steven up somewhat, I can't just reset it and forget the workout. If I'm going to wake him up too, I better get up so when I get home, I can tell him that I did something. The weather was a bit chilly. Probably close to the same temp as Day 1, but no wind so it wasn't as bad. I paced myself a bit more towards the beginning and in the end, my distance was a bit shorter BUT I managed to run all 8 minutes. My shin started bothering me fairly quickly, but it bothered me more when walking. When I run/jog, I find that I do not have any pain or anything which seems weird. I try to focus on my breathing and stride as much as possible so maybe I just have less time to think about my shins. I felt really good after the workout. It was definitely worth the time and effort. I'm thinking that (depending on my shins), I might actually do a day every 3 days instead of every other day. That means the program will take me a bit longer than 8 weeks, but if it helps my shins rest and I can keep going longer, I am willing to try it. We will see how I am feeling Saturday night and I will decide then if I want to do it Sunday morning or hold off until Monday.
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| C25K in the morning and a long(ish) walk in the afternoon with the hubby, kids, and neighbors. |
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| All that walking made for a good steps day. I beat every goal I have. |
Week 1, Day 3: Yay! I finished Week 1!! I actually ended up being able to get up and do Day 3 after just one day off. My shins didn't hurt at all on Saturday night, so I set my alarm for 5:55 on Sunday and managed to get the run in before needing to be home to get ready for church. I think this was a pretty good day as far as how I felt afterwards. I not only felt awesome because I got up and got my blood moving early, but I also didn't really have shin splints. Again, I noticed them more when walking than when running but they were 100% gone by the time I got home. I think one of my main issues (now that the shin splints are getting better) is breathing. I am definitely not in the best shape and I could probably run farther distances, but the breathing gets to me. I have to concentrate on taking strong breaths while I am running. It is getting slightly easier though, I think. I ran all 8 minutes without any issues and went about the same distance as I did the first day (which was more than Day 2 despite walking for 1 of the minutes on Day 1). I still paced myself, but I think my warm up and cool down walks might have been a bit faster. Next week starts longer running periods so we will see how that goes. I'm pretty excited. I never thought I would say that about running... but I am seeing a difference already so I am excited to see what I can do. If I even do the first day of Week 2, I think I have made it farther than I did on more than one occasion of this program. Here's to next week!
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