Week Two – Days 2-5

You’ll notice there’s a big chunk of time missing from this blog. That would be because starting Monday, I had a sore throat. I started to wonder if I should run on Tuesday, and determined that since I was feeling fatigued, I wouldn’t.

That was probably a good decision, considering I ended up staying home on Wednesday. I slept late, napped through parts of the day and went to bed at 8:30pm. I ended up going back to work on Thursday, but came home after work to get some more rest.

So, to make up for this week, I will walk/jog today and then get back on the normal schedule Saturday and Sunday. I will probably “repeat” week two in my schedule, since I didn’t get to build up and sort of feel like I have to start over again.

One of the hardest things I’ve dealt with mentally since I’ve started this is that I’m typically an overachiever, and it’s hard for me not to be able to just do something right away. I have to keep reminding myself that I can’t just get up and run a 7 minute mile – it’s something I have to work up to. I’ll be able to do it when I’m ready. The hard part is that I won’t know I’m ready until I’m ready. I’m learning this lesson in the Couch to 5K and have realized that I can apply it to other things in my life. It’s been a valuable lesson, even in the short time I’ve been working on the program.

Day 8 - Week Two - Day 1

Today on the Couch to 5K schedule was a 30-60 minute walk. I took Dakota along today, and my goal was a 45 minute walk.

3.4 miles

52:12 minutes

318 calories

3.9 miles/hour

I'm finding myself to be more than tired...more like exhausted. But I'm trying to keep up the idea that eventually my body will get used to this. I still haven't run a whole lot, but hopefully will be able to work up to that.

I can say that Dakota is not used to walking so much, and while she had her normal fast paced walk to begin, I could tell she was getting tired toward the end. Though, she wasn't too tired to try to chase cars!

Day 7 - Shoes and end of week one

While I'm feeling like I'm a bit behind on sleep, I'm still trying to make sure that I keep with the schedule for the Couch to 5K. Today, since I had some time, I went to Playmakers to get some shoes. I was able to get some sale shoes - so that worked out well!

Today's stats:

2.5 miles

37:31 minutes

234 calories

4.0 miles/hr

So, in week one, I ended up walking/jogging 8.64 miles. I haven't had any pains other than the normal "I really am not used to any sort of exercise" effects on my body. I've been running a little bit during the week, but only in short spurts. And, somehow, I was able to stay in a decent amount of calories and not go over.

I know I'm going to have some challenges in week two, since my schedule might be a little difficult to follow. So, I just have to make sure that I make it a priority.

Days 5 & 6 - Oh boy...

Yesterday, I did a walk/jog for Day 5. I had a committee meeting and then had trivia later, so I ended up going to the Lansing City Market to catch the River Trail.

1.92 miles

26:43 minutes

179 calories

4.3 miles/hr

Today is Day 6. Between long hours at work, making sure I stick with the Couch to 5K and a lack of sleep, I am looking forward to having most of the weekend to catch up on sleep and clean the apartment a bit. My body is a bit exhausted, and I'm trying to get used to being a bit sore.

I'll finish week 1 of the Couch to 5K tomorrow with another 1.5 mile walk/jog and then start week 2 with a 30-60 minute walk. I'm hoping the weather is somewhat decent over the weekend.

Eventually, the food intake will have to be addressed, because I seem to be going through a junk food phase right now. But, that's for another time.

Day 4 - One thing at a time...

As I've been trying to get into the habit of walking/running with the Couch to 5K program, I also downloaded an app to my phone called MyFitnessPal. It's a way to keep track of what I'm eating and where my calories are coming from, and also a weight loss management tool. It tells you how you'd do in 5 weeks if every day were like today.

Well...while I'm doing well on the walking/running part so far, the food part is not coming together. I'm doing fine for a 2,000 calorie diet, but not so much for the target 1,600 they have me at.

But, I'm ok with that. I've decided I can only focus on creating one habit at a time.

Now, I just need to figure out how to get music on my phone...

Day 3 - Leaving the apartment complex

So, today was Day 3 of my Couch to 5K. Yesterday was a rest day.

Days 3, 5 and 7 call for 1.5 miles running. Unfortunately, I don't think I am quite ready for running that much yet, so I mostly walked and alternated some jogging (though minimal and more like "plodding"). I actually went 2.1 miles today and LEFT THE APARTMENT COMPLEX!

Today's stats:

2.11 miles

31:45 minutes

15:03 minutes/mile

197 calories

4.0 miles/hr

I noticed on the first workout I had, I logged it wrong, and the calories should have been lower. I'm testing a few different apps on my phone to keep track of stuff and hopefully will settle on one soon.

I have a feeling Thursday is going to be tough. I'm hoping to make my comeback to yoga tomorrow night (barring any issues). But after sitting down after tonight's workout, I could feel how tired I was. But, that's two days from now...

It's been awhile...

So, it's been almost a year since the last time I wrote on this blog. Lots of things have happened between then and now (like getting a job, getting a new to me car and other stuff). But I come back today because I'm starting a new adventure.

Today was the first day of my "Couch to 5K" effort.

This was the first week schedule I've been given:

Week 1 Dist /Time Training Effort
Day 1 20-50 min Walk Easy
Day 2 Rest or short walk Walk Easy
Day 3 1.5 miles / 2.4k Run Easy
Day 4 Rest or short walk Walk Easy
Day 5 1.5 miles / 2.4k Run Easy
Day 6 Rest None None
Day 7 1.5 miles / 2.4k Run Easy

I decided to start today because it works well with my schedule for the week. Things have been crazy at work and I've been working a lot of hours, and in addition, have lot of other stuff going on. I need to somehow remember to take time out for me.

I downloaded an app called Endomondo to my phone, and it keeps track of distance, time, calories, avg. pace and the like. So, for today's results from my walk:

2.10 miles

34:19 minutes

16:20 minutes/mile

258 calories