I started over with week 6. I was tired, and my body still feels on the brink of getting sick. But the words of a doctor I once went to were running through my head like a mantra: "sometimes you just have to exercise through the fatigue". Besides, I'm kind of tired of my body trifling with the decision of whether or not it does, in fact, want to be sick. Make up your mind already!!
It was 93.9 degrees and 14% humidity when I left. Not too bad, but I felt that humidity. I got the benefit of a full moon, though! Love when I can run by the light of the moon. It rocks!
I did a modified 6:1. On the second running interval I was going to "run for as long as I could" - which ended up being only about 10:15. So I did 5 running, 3 walking, 10+ running, 2.5 walking, and another 5 running.
I was pretty sore by the time I was done! I was limping home and threatening M that if we would've had to walk any further he would have had to carry me home.
I stretched like mad - for 15 minutes. I do this weird stretch I made up for my inner thighs/hamstrings. And I did it tonight until it stopped hurting. So it took a while. No ice, though. I really need to be stretching those legs every morning - not just before and after runs.
I'm thinking of wearing my knee band on my left knee next time - but I might have already expressed that I'm worried about being lop-sided since EVERY possible thing I have when I run is on my left: my watch, my water bottle, my iPod.
I'm in full bloat mode. I increased my water intake today. Plus it's nearly that time. Plus I haven't run since last Thursday. So, I'm not feeling so great about my progress. . . but this is a new week. And the bloat will subside. And I'll keep going.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Okay. . . So . . .
Sucky week last week. It got away from me. And then I felt crappy. And it certainly doesn't help that the humidity has only today dropped below 30%. Not my idea of fun!
I can do heat. I can't do humidity along with it. Seriously! Running last week at 88 degrees and high humidity was much worse than running in a dry 95 degrees.
Saturday morning I slept way way long and was lazy for the rest of the day. No run. I made the excuse that it was too humid and hot. Not that I was wrong, mind you. But it was an excuse.
Sunday morning I felt way crappy and it persisted throughout the day, culminating in a sore throat and major headache. Not much unlike today, actually.
I made it through work, but going for a run tonight would just be pushing my body and I'm not keen on getting worse. I'm going to try for tomorrow. . .
I should point out here that I really really miss running when I'm not doing it. And I'm really really excited to keep going with the program and "graduate" the C25k. Hopefully, this week I can get back on track. (yeah. I'm beginning to hate that phrase, too!)
I can do heat. I can't do humidity along with it. Seriously! Running last week at 88 degrees and high humidity was much worse than running in a dry 95 degrees.
Saturday morning I slept way way long and was lazy for the rest of the day. No run. I made the excuse that it was too humid and hot. Not that I was wrong, mind you. But it was an excuse.
Sunday morning I felt way crappy and it persisted throughout the day, culminating in a sore throat and major headache. Not much unlike today, actually.
I made it through work, but going for a run tonight would just be pushing my body and I'm not keen on getting worse. I'm going to try for tomorrow. . .
I should point out here that I really really miss running when I'm not doing it. And I'm really really excited to keep going with the program and "graduate" the C25k. Hopefully, this week I can get back on track. (yeah. I'm beginning to hate that phrase, too!)
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Next BIG Thing
I've been wondering what to do once I hit the 5k mark, since I'll likely hit it long before it cools down enough for any 5k runs. (The ones I have pegged are in October and December).
I finally found it! It's called "Becoming a One Hour Runner" (or OHR) and I know some of the C25k grads go on to do OHR. It goes like this:
Becoming a One Hour Runner
The key component of this program is the one long run per week. It builds up endurance and lays the foundation for further progress.
Weeks 1 - 3: Right now you are running 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Your weekly commitment of time is 90 minutes. Continue doing this for three weeks.
Week 4: Run 30 minutes, 29 minutes, 35 minutes. Weekly total: 94 minutes
Week 5: Run 30 minutes, 32 minutes, 38 minutes Weekly total: 100 minutes
Week 6: Run 30 minutes, 33 minutes, 41 minutes Weekly total: 104 minutes
Week 7: Run 30 minutes, 34 minutes, 45 minutes Weekly total: 109 minutes
Week 8: Run 30 minutes, 36 minutes , 49 minute Weekly total: 115 minutes
Week 9: Run 30 minutes, 38 minutes, 54 minutes Weekly total: 122 minutes
Week 10: Run 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minutes Weekly total: 130 minutes
And the author of this program, Katherine Switzer, added a personal note that made me feel OH SO MUCH BETTER. I've been getting down on myself for not doing the 9 week C25k program in 9 weeks. Katherine says: When you are trying to increase your distance, some days feel good and others feel awful. Listen to your body. Be willing to back off. There is no hurry. These schedules are designed for the best possible circumstances, and sometimes you just need more time to adapt. Never move on to the next higher distance until you feel totally comfortable with the one you did today. I can remember once doing the same mileage for three weeks before I felt I had the strength to add a bit more.
That makes me feel better!!! I'm not doing more distance necessarily, but I'm starting to ramp up the length of my running intervals. And I'm trying to be honest with myself about what my body can do. The whole point is to keep going, and keep trying. "There is no hurry!"
I finally found it! It's called "Becoming a One Hour Runner" (or OHR) and I know some of the C25k grads go on to do OHR. It goes like this:
Becoming a One Hour Runner
The key component of this program is the one long run per week. It builds up endurance and lays the foundation for further progress.
Weeks 1 - 3: Right now you are running 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Your weekly commitment of time is 90 minutes. Continue doing this for three weeks.
Week 4: Run 30 minutes, 29 minutes, 35 minutes. Weekly total: 94 minutes
Week 5: Run 30 minutes, 32 minutes, 38 minutes Weekly total: 100 minutes
Week 6: Run 30 minutes, 33 minutes, 41 minutes Weekly total: 104 minutes
Week 7: Run 30 minutes, 34 minutes, 45 minutes Weekly total: 109 minutes
Week 8: Run 30 minutes, 36 minutes , 49 minute Weekly total: 115 minutes
Week 9: Run 30 minutes, 38 minutes, 54 minutes Weekly total: 122 minutes
Week 10: Run 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minutes Weekly total: 130 minutes
And the author of this program, Katherine Switzer, added a personal note that made me feel OH SO MUCH BETTER. I've been getting down on myself for not doing the 9 week C25k program in 9 weeks. Katherine says: When you are trying to increase your distance, some days feel good and others feel awful. Listen to your body. Be willing to back off. There is no hurry. These schedules are designed for the best possible circumstances, and sometimes you just need more time to adapt. Never move on to the next higher distance until you feel totally comfortable with the one you did today. I can remember once doing the same mileage for three weeks before I felt I had the strength to add a bit more.
That makes me feel better!!! I'm not doing more distance necessarily, but I'm starting to ramp up the length of my running intervals. And I'm trying to be honest with myself about what my body can do. The whole point is to keep going, and keep trying. "There is no hurry!"
Thursday, July 10, 2008
6:1
All my good intentions died hard this week. I meant to do 6:1 Monday night, but other things came up; then rescheduled it for Tuesday morning but was VERY tired; rescheduled again for Tuesday night but was still in the grocery store at 9:00 (my normal evening running time); rescheduled for Wednesday morning but had a headache and was not "going there" with a run; rescheduled for Wednesday night but didn't start a project that needed work until 8:30. . .
So. Even on only 4 hours of sleep, I got up (mostly because I couldn't sleep any longer) and went this morning.
It was 87 when I left, 88.7 when I returned. I am one sticky chicky. Even after laying on my living room floor, spread out like a starfish under the breeze of the fan. I'm worried I may have overheated.
I didn't even stretch down yet.
I was dog tired on the last 5 minutes, AND my iPod quit on me. Ever wonder why I'm so codependent on my iPod? It's because when it's just me, I talk to myself out loud. And answer myself OUT LOUD:
"My land, it's HOT!"
"And quiet!"
"I hate that!"
"I know. I wanna puke."
"????"
"No. really. I feel sick"
Whatever. Mischief managed. And I can still fit in a run on Saturday.
I'm off to shower. Especially since my arms are sweating all over the desk as I type this.
So. Even on only 4 hours of sleep, I got up (mostly because I couldn't sleep any longer) and went this morning.
It was 87 when I left, 88.7 when I returned. I am one sticky chicky. Even after laying on my living room floor, spread out like a starfish under the breeze of the fan. I'm worried I may have overheated.
I didn't even stretch down yet.
I was dog tired on the last 5 minutes, AND my iPod quit on me. Ever wonder why I'm so codependent on my iPod? It's because when it's just me, I talk to myself out loud. And answer myself OUT LOUD:
"My land, it's HOT!"
"And quiet!"
"I hate that!"
"I know. I wanna puke."
"????"
"No. really. I feel sick"
Whatever. Mischief managed. And I can still fit in a run on Saturday.
I'm off to shower. Especially since my arms are sweating all over the desk as I type this.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
5:3
I FREAKIN' DID IT!!!
I ran 20 minutes without stopping! In 95 degree weather! (no joke.)
My back was hurting a little yesterday morning, so M decided to use the electric massager to massage my back. Then he decided to do my legs. Remember those strings in my pelvis connecting my legs to my body??? Well, we discovered VERY tight tendons running in the "posterior" inside of my legs. Um, hello cause-of-my-shin-splints-and-knee-pain!
I went and bought some running shorts. Shorter than I would have liked (there was a day when shorts couldn't get too short for me, so it was odd to me to be looking for "longer" running shorts. . . ) but maybe my legs will get tan while they're also keeping cool without all that cotton fabric clinging to them.
Even though that little massaging "procedure" made my right calf/shin ache, I decided to go today. Even though it was 89 degrees when I woke up, 92 when I left, and 95 when I returned.
I had a little pep talk with my body before I got going. It went something like "OK. C'mon body. Don't let me down. We can do this!" And my body said "yes we can!" by giving a tiny rush of drugs to my system. Before I even started running. My body is awesome!
And so, I ran. I first looked at the watch at 7:48. Then at 9:30. I was trying to decide whether or not to cross the street as I've always done or come back the same side I usually run up on. I opted to turn a little circle at the end of my route and double back on the shady side of the street. This ended up being a good choice for a couple of reasons.
First, I got to run in the spotty shade of the trees. Second, you know how a trail doesn't look the same coming as it does going? Turns out that's a good little preemptive mental trick to pull when you fear your mind might try to one-up you with its own tricks. (For instance, the side streets on my route are alphabetized. And sometimes, I start thinking "oh crap! I'm only at G. I have to get all the way to P before I can stop. Yeah. It bites.)
By interrupting this little pity party of the mind, I preempted all such nonsense and my mind was a little discombobbled and too freakin' tired to try to figure it out. In short, I forced my mind to play along with my body. That mind can be a right old bully. . .
Third, when I was nearing 19:00, I was also nearing the last side street on the east side of the street - the same side street that's kind of a short cut home. I figured I would run the rest of my time on that side street and short cut it home. Small thing, but that was a bonus for being on that side of the street.
Sure, I was tired. Sure, I wanted to quit. When I started compulsively checking my watch at around 14:40 and then again at 15:46, I sternly told myself "stop that!" And I kept going. I thought "what a waste it would be to come this far and stop now when I'm SO close to making the 20 minute mark.
I freakin' did it!!
And I stretched my legs like a mother when I got home. Sadly, they are still achey and tight.
Next week:
I ran 20 minutes without stopping! In 95 degree weather! (no joke.)
My back was hurting a little yesterday morning, so M decided to use the electric massager to massage my back. Then he decided to do my legs. Remember those strings in my pelvis connecting my legs to my body??? Well, we discovered VERY tight tendons running in the "posterior" inside of my legs. Um, hello cause-of-my-shin-splints-and-knee-pain!
I went and bought some running shorts. Shorter than I would have liked (there was a day when shorts couldn't get too short for me, so it was odd to me to be looking for "longer" running shorts. . . ) but maybe my legs will get tan while they're also keeping cool without all that cotton fabric clinging to them.
Even though that little massaging "procedure" made my right calf/shin ache, I decided to go today. Even though it was 89 degrees when I woke up, 92 when I left, and 95 when I returned.
I had a little pep talk with my body before I got going. It went something like "OK. C'mon body. Don't let me down. We can do this!" And my body said "yes we can!" by giving a tiny rush of drugs to my system. Before I even started running. My body is awesome!
And so, I ran. I first looked at the watch at 7:48. Then at 9:30. I was trying to decide whether or not to cross the street as I've always done or come back the same side I usually run up on. I opted to turn a little circle at the end of my route and double back on the shady side of the street. This ended up being a good choice for a couple of reasons.
First, I got to run in the spotty shade of the trees. Second, you know how a trail doesn't look the same coming as it does going? Turns out that's a good little preemptive mental trick to pull when you fear your mind might try to one-up you with its own tricks. (For instance, the side streets on my route are alphabetized. And sometimes, I start thinking "oh crap! I'm only at G. I have to get all the way to P before I can stop. Yeah. It bites.)
By interrupting this little pity party of the mind, I preempted all such nonsense and my mind was a little discombobbled and too freakin' tired to try to figure it out. In short, I forced my mind to play along with my body. That mind can be a right old bully. . .
Third, when I was nearing 19:00, I was also nearing the last side street on the east side of the street - the same side street that's kind of a short cut home. I figured I would run the rest of my time on that side street and short cut it home. Small thing, but that was a bonus for being on that side of the street.
Sure, I was tired. Sure, I wanted to quit. When I started compulsively checking my watch at around 14:40 and then again at 15:46, I sternly told myself "stop that!" And I kept going. I thought "what a waste it would be to come this far and stop now when I'm SO close to making the 20 minute mark.
I freakin' did it!!
And I stretched my legs like a mother when I got home. Sadly, they are still achey and tight.
Next week:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
| Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
| Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking. |
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Do-over of 5:2
I did not go running last night. I decided I was too tired. I was also too tired this morning, but I fear losing progress more than being lethargic, so I dragged my butt up and got myself going, the words of a doctor I saw within the last year echoing in my head: "sometimes you have to keep exercising through the fatigue". My back was better yesterday - today, not so much. Surprisingly, the running helped loosen it up. Weird.
It was 88.9 when I left the house and 90.5 when I got back. Not too bad. I guess.
My legs were RESTED! Almost NO shin splints this time. A little trouble with the left knee, but I'm working on that. I was trying to adjust the way my feet were pronating (look it up. I'm too tired to explain or link). And I also looked up some more stretches and some other things to try to do about knee and shin problems. And I busted out my knee strap after my run and am currently wearing it. But, no ice packs today. Hooray!
I was worried my body would forget how to run 8 minutes all at once. It didn't. Though the Jedi mindtricks of my brain took their toll on me during that second 8 minutes. I wanted to stop very badly. I wanted to look at my watch and see how long I'd been running - but that would also mean seeing how long I still had left. That kind of torture I just cannot abide. . .
Which makes me think about the real reason I took such a long break between runs. Well, you know, besides the real reason of back pain and spasms that took my breath away. Here's my theory: I saw that 5:3 entailed running for 20 minutes straight, and I freaked out. Just a little.
I know exactly how much running that equates to on my route. I know the mental, not to mention physical, endurance that's going to require. And I'm a little worried. And a little freaked out.
But, today, while running and thinking it over, I made a command decision. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it even if I can't do it. Even if my body wants to quit 10 or 15 minutes in. I'm going to do it or I'm going to give it one hell of a shot.
So. Saturday morning, I rendezvous with 5:3. I think tonight I'll go get me some runnin' shorts in preparation. I'm a little over the 3/4 length pants I've been wearing. . . especially when it's 90 degrees by 7:30 a.m.!
Oh, and also, I drove my route and tracked the mileage, then added enough of a detour so that I have a "new" route for when I get to the 5k part of this here venture. 3.1 miles, kids! 3.1 miles!
It was 88.9 when I left the house and 90.5 when I got back. Not too bad. I guess.
My legs were RESTED! Almost NO shin splints this time. A little trouble with the left knee, but I'm working on that. I was trying to adjust the way my feet were pronating (look it up. I'm too tired to explain or link). And I also looked up some more stretches and some other things to try to do about knee and shin problems. And I busted out my knee strap after my run and am currently wearing it. But, no ice packs today. Hooray!
I was worried my body would forget how to run 8 minutes all at once. It didn't. Though the Jedi mindtricks of my brain took their toll on me during that second 8 minutes. I wanted to stop very badly. I wanted to look at my watch and see how long I'd been running - but that would also mean seeing how long I still had left. That kind of torture I just cannot abide. . .
Which makes me think about the real reason I took such a long break between runs. Well, you know, besides the real reason of back pain and spasms that took my breath away. Here's my theory: I saw that 5:3 entailed running for 20 minutes straight, and I freaked out. Just a little.
I know exactly how much running that equates to on my route. I know the mental, not to mention physical, endurance that's going to require. And I'm a little worried. And a little freaked out.
But, today, while running and thinking it over, I made a command decision. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it even if I can't do it. Even if my body wants to quit 10 or 15 minutes in. I'm going to do it or I'm going to give it one hell of a shot.
So. Saturday morning, I rendezvous with 5:3. I think tonight I'll go get me some runnin' shorts in preparation. I'm a little over the 3/4 length pants I've been wearing. . . especially when it's 90 degrees by 7:30 a.m.!
Oh, and also, I drove my route and tracked the mileage, then added enough of a detour so that I have a "new" route for when I get to the 5k part of this here venture. 3.1 miles, kids! 3.1 miles!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Getting BACK
I went to the chiro today. My right-sided back pain lasted from Friday right up until I went to her.
I'm better now. So. I'm hoping to be able to survive the heat (praying for a breeze) and go running tonight. Since it's been so long since my last run, I plan to do a "do over" this week. I'll start with 5:2, and do 5:3 on Friday or Saturday. Then, I'll push 6 to next week and (hopefully) get back on track.
Stay tuned!
I'm better now. So. I'm hoping to be able to survive the heat (praying for a breeze) and go running tonight. Since it's been so long since my last run, I plan to do a "do over" this week. I'll start with 5:2, and do 5:3 on Friday or Saturday. Then, I'll push 6 to next week and (hopefully) get back on track.
Stay tuned!
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