Week 10 - Closer to the 5K

Since the last update, I've done a pretty good job of staying on schedule. But it was HARD. The heat this past holiday weekend was debilitating and made it harder to run. However, here's the update.

Thursday, May 24 (run):

3.10 miles
38:53 minutes
348 calories
12:33 minutes/mile

Saturday, May 26 (ridiculously HUMID/HOT run):

2.90 miles
37:07 minutes
325 calories
12:48 minutes/mile

Sunday, May 27 (walk):

4.10 miles
1:00:47 minutes
458 calories (though, not accurate since I didn't change the settings on the phone)
14:49 minutes/mile

Monday, May 28 (run):

2.16 miles
26:51 minutes
242 calories
12:24 minutes/mile

I've noticed that the first couple miles are fine, but anything after 2 starts to get slower. Obviously, endurance is an issue, but I know that will come with time in order to be able to do longer runs.

My goal with the 5K is to finish in 40 minutes or less. I think it's doable, but also don't want to push myself too hard as I build up to this.

Getting Through - Week 9

Apparently, I'm now in Week 9 and just can't count. I blame it on the week that I took off at the beginning of May.

After taking the entire weekend off and losing my motivation, I endured enormous peer pressure yesterday and have decided to do my first 5K - in 3 weeks. June 16, Kalamazoo Klassic. I do not harbor ill will towards those that encouraged (making) me to do it. But I figured if it got me to see my friend Shawn herd us to the finish line, why not?

I have no delusions that I will run the entire thing. In fact, I'll probably run only about 50-60% of it. But, I'll finish. I know I can do that!

Meanwhile, in an effort to get my friend Dave (over at http://dqworthams.wordpress.com/) back on track with his Couch to 5K (and encourage him to run the Kalamazoo Klassic), we went for a run on the Lansing River Trail. This is the first time I've actually run with someone, so it was a little odd for me. But, I could still talk while doing so, so that's good!

While it was a little slower pace than what I left off with last week, it was still fairly good. It's been pretty humid and hot out over the past week and since I hadn't been out in a week, I'd say it was a success. Plus, Dave had his best pace so far!

Wednesday, May 23:

4.08 miles
56:41 minutes
458 calories
13:53 minutes/mile

I'll be out again tonight. Then taking Friday off and planning on going Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I've really got to try to keep to the 4 times a week schedule leading up to the race!

Motivation - Week 8

So, I started a more regular schedule last week. I had looked at my past outings and saw the pattern that I had improved from 15 minutes/mile at the beginning to somewhere between 13-14 minutes/mile recently. I decided to make a new short term goal to get to between 12-13 minutes/mile. I was actually able to get there the two times I ran last week. Mostly because I upped the amount I was running. I'll try to keep this up for a bit, then lower my time goal again.

Then the end of the week just got to me. I've lost my motivation - not just for going out to run but for some other things too. This isn't a good time for it either, as I have some deadlines to meet both personally and professionally in the next couple of weeks. I skipped my run on Saturday because I was gone most of the day. I skipped my walk on Sunday because my body was really sore and once I sat down from getting home from face painting at the East Lansing Art Festival, I couldn't talk myself into getting up again. Plus, I had laundry to do.

I'm really looking forward to this coming 3-day weekend. I have nowhere I'm planning to be except home. I have grandiose plans to work on paperwork, clean my apartment and make sure I run and walk. The main goal is to give myself a break (sort of a mini-vacation), since I haven't taken a long period of time off (unless you count that mono thing in the fall) in quite awhile. I'm also hoping to sit down and figure out when I may be able to take another longer weekend over the summer. I'm starting to think that lack of a break is having an effect on me and my motivation.

I just feel like there's something missing and I can't put my finger on it. I can see light in the future when I look ahead in about a month or so, but for the time being, it seems I'll just have to push through.

Recap time!

Sunday, May 13 (walk):

4.12 miles
55:35 minutes
327 calories
13:28 minutes/mile

Tuesday, May 15 (run):

2.08 miles
26:36 minutes
233 calories
12:47 minutes/mile

Wednesday, May 16 (run):

2.15 miles
26:43 minutes
241 calories
12:25 minutes/mile

Oops...Week 6 & 7

I had a lapse. I can use all the excuses I want to, but I really fell into the guise of "I have too much going on" and "I'm too tired" between Monday, April 30 and Thursday, May 10. That covers most of week 6 and part of week 7.

However, the main thing is I started again on Thursday, and have now got two days (walking mostly) back under my belt. So, here they are:

Thursday, May 10:

2.09 miles

28:29 minutes

166 calories

13:37 minutes/mile

Saturday, May 12:

2.01 miles

26:10 minutes

159 calories

13:02 minutes/mile

The next goal is going to be to get into the 12-13 minute/mile range. I've noticed a pattern, and I think I can get there....

Week 5 and 6 - yes, I'm still going!

The good news is that I'm still walk/jogging. However, the last couple of weeks, my schedule has been a little messed up, so I've been going three times a week, instead of four. I'm hoping to get back to the normal schedule next week. However, results so far...

Wednesday, April 25:

2.25 miles
29:35 minutes
252 calories
13:10 minutes/mile

Saturday, April 28:

2.07 miles
26:36 minutes
232 calories
12:52 minutes/mile

Sunday, April 29 (walk day):

4.21 miles
1:01:32 minutes
334 calories
14:37 minutes/mile

Since I began, I've gone 47.1 miles and burned 4615 calories. And now, I try to get myself ready to run tonight.

Weeks 4 & 5 and the Bucket List

Well, let's look at the good news first...

- I've been out and running on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and today.

- I went to the doctor this week and she was very happy with my weight, which I reminded her that it was helped by mono, but it's stayed off (151.6; it was a high of 178 in 2010) and blood pressure (which has traditionally been good), and it turns out that when I started this Couch to 5K thing, I most likely had bronchitis. Yup, that was brilliant on my part. Who knew? (Apparently, not me!)

- I can finish the distance of 5K without dying.

- I've been able to run for 8 minutes in a row.

- My life may be returning to some type of normalcy soon.

And the bad news...

- I ran a total of 8 minutes out of 57 minutes today. (Granted, it is a "walk" day on the Couch to 5K plan).

- I feel like work has taken over my life recently.

- Financially, I keep telling myself I just need to get through the month of May, and then things will be better.

- My apartment is an absolute mess (not that this is new, but I still have tons of stuff to go through and organize and get rid of).

- Life has felt a little out of balance recently...guess that means I should go back to yoga!

So, with everything going on, I decided that it's time for me to put together a Bucket List. And so far, I've been able to put things like "visit ...." or "Run and finish a 5K" but as I've thought of some things I've already done, I've been able to do some pretty cool things (Polar Plunge, speak in front of 400 people). Stay tuned for the Bucket List (which I'm sure I'll keep adding to)!

With all that, here's this week's progress - Week 4 going into Week 5!

Tuesday, April 17:

1.63 miles

21:30 minutes

152 calories

13:11 minutes/mile (I've changed how I view this on CardioTrainer)

Thursday, April 19:

3.20 miles

46:34 minutes

299 calories

14:33 minutes/mile

Saturday, April 21:

3.46 miles

45:58 minutes

457 calories

13:18 minutes/mile

Sunday, April 22:

4.12 miles

57:09 minutes

462 calories

13:53 minutes/mile

Since I started, I've burned 3,798 calories with the walk/jog and have gone 38.6 miles.

Week 3 and into Week 4...

I've been off the grid on the electronic side, but I've still been trying to keep a somewhat normal walking/jogging schedule.

The last check in on here was Sunday, April 8. Since then, here are the results:

Wednesday, April 11:

2.02 miles
28:17 minutes
189 calories
4.3 miles/hour

Thursday, April 12:

1.73 miles
22:52 minutes
162 calories
4.5 miles/hour

Sunday, April 15:

2.48 miles
36:50 minutes
232 calories
4.0 miles/hour

In that, I really just missed the Saturday walk/jog. I won't be able to make it up at this point, but it happens.

Highlights: Thursday, I ended up running 10 minutes out of the 22:52. Not too shabby and a bit unexpected. Sunday, I was absolutely exhausted and ran for a few minutes total, but mostly walked. It seems that I'm consistently walking/jogging at a 14 minute/mile pace. It was a little quicker on Thursday, but obviously, I ran more.

Though, the last few days, I've really been lacking motivation to get out and run. I know part of it is sheer exhaustion from everything else going on, but I just really need to get some motivation back.

Part of it is also that I don't feel like I've been improving, and that doesn't help with motivation. I'm still mostly walking and I'm just not feeling like I can run. So, it's been a little discouraging and I'm trying to muster up the motivation again.

Which means I have to try to go out and do today's workout.