To say my first post-C25k run last week was a disappointment could possibly be the understatement of the century. It started off normal enough but the minor aches from my legs quickly developed into noticeable aches with flare ups here and there that bordered on painful; and I've got a pretty high tolerance for pain. I tried to slow my pace and focused on anything but the aches. Unfortunately, just 1.5 miles into the run (2 miles total), I had to call it a night and stop running.
Whether or not I have shin splints, I didn't want to continue pushing and, in turn, mess up my legs to the point that I simply can't run. I planned to have my rest day like normal and, if my legs allowed, I'd go running on Friday 8/5. When it came down to it, though, my shins ached a little bit about an hour or so before the run and I chose not to run. Instead, I put my foot down and decided to do one thing I didn't expect to do: take a week off from running. The thing that made me most apprehensive about that was the chance of falling back out of shape.
Luckily for me, I happen to have a stationary bike at home. Although it's not exactly the same type of workout, it's low impact and something that I could do to stay in shape while I gave my shins a rest. Since I couldn't run on Friday, I biked for about 30 minutes and covered roughly 8 miles; all without breaking a sweat even though I went along at a 17-19 MPH pace most of the workout. Tonight I was back at it and decided to spend a bit more time pedaling in place.
I had warmup and cooldown portions in this workout (5 minutes each) and I went at the 17-19 MPH pace for 35 minutes. In total, I covered 12.5 miles. I'm planning to do this Wednesday and Friday and, hopefully, get back to running on Monday.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Onto Bigger and Better Things
July 31st marked a big day for me. From an outsider's view, it was nothing more than the end of a month. For me, however, it represents a turning point in a long journey. On May 29th, just two months earlier, I embarked on a structured plan to get myself from sitting around on my time off to achieving a level of fitness that would allow me to run a 5k without stopping. In order for me to further prove why I feel this program is such a great way to get in shape, consider the fact that prior to starting it, the extent of my physical activity pretty much revolved around work.
I'm in retail management which means I'm on my feet quite a bit throughout each day. I typically cover 2-3 miles but it's not in one shot. Instead, it's spread out across an entire day and is littered with plenty of moments of standing and sitting. While this is better than nothing, the only thing it achieves is potentially slowing down the inevitable weight gain by a margin to small to be worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm no stranger to physical activity. I used to play a bunch of sports growing up and as recently as about a year and a half ago, I kayaked whenever I had the opportunity. Unfortunately, the chance to do that isn't always there and nothing owning my own kayak means the rentals can add up fairly quickly.
I finally reached a point where I was just tired of making excuses with regards to my health. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I love beer. I don't mean that in the sense that I love to spend my Friday nights with a case of Bud Light and some friends (nothing wrong with that), I just love the taste of beer and the countless varieties available. I typically drink just a couple at a time and, even then, just a couple of times a week. Even though my consumption is nowhere near the levels of the local frat houses I found myself developing a bit of a beer gut. I'm a tall guy but I've never been a big guy and this wasn't the way I envisioned myself bulking up when I used to think about how much I disliked being so skinny with my height.
When I started the C25k program, I was at my heaviest weight; about 210lbs. On a 6'6" frame, that still comes across somewhat thin and my clothes do a wonderful job of hiding the gut like a ninja without being too big for me. Although I would joke about it from time to time, I honestly began to get a bit self conscious about the gut. I've never put too much stock into what other people think if it's something negative, I found myself worrying about it much in the same light as an adolescent who discovered their first whitehead smack dab in the middle of their face. Between that and listening to some passionate runners, I decided something needed to change.
Unlike many people whose C25k stories I read up on before starting out, I decided to forgo an initial exercise plan (walking multiple times a week for at least a week prior) and hit the ground running. One of my goals for the program was to finish it without repeating a week. That meant going from nothing to 5k distance in 9 weeks. I knew it would be tough but I also knew there was a good chance the difficulty would be more mental than physical considering all the variables; and I was right.
Here I am, two months later, announcing my graduation from the program. W9D3 came in went much like the other two runs of the week. A flare up or two in each leg early on followed by dull aches sporadically throughout the run. I covered a bit more than 2.8 miles during the 30 minutes and the heavens even decided to unleash a light shower on me during the last minute of the run and the majority of the cooldown walk.
9 weeks, nearly 77 miles, and 6 pounds.
The middle number, at least to me, is a bit impressive considering how slow you start off. The total time to complete the program is something I'm proud of because I enjoy reaching the goals I set for myself; especially when they seem lofty. Six pounds. From 210 down to 204. That doesn't sound like much for 2 months of running 3 times a week. However, once you consider the fact that I built up a fair amount of muscles in my legs, you realize that the total amount lost was offset by the amount gained. I'd venture to say I probably lost around 15 (5lbs lost at week 3).
The most important differences, though, are the significantly slighter bulge of my gut and all the noticeable changes in my level of fitness. I feel better than I have in a long time and I'm at a point where I can definitely say I'm a runner.
I'm in retail management which means I'm on my feet quite a bit throughout each day. I typically cover 2-3 miles but it's not in one shot. Instead, it's spread out across an entire day and is littered with plenty of moments of standing and sitting. While this is better than nothing, the only thing it achieves is potentially slowing down the inevitable weight gain by a margin to small to be worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm no stranger to physical activity. I used to play a bunch of sports growing up and as recently as about a year and a half ago, I kayaked whenever I had the opportunity. Unfortunately, the chance to do that isn't always there and nothing owning my own kayak means the rentals can add up fairly quickly.
I finally reached a point where I was just tired of making excuses with regards to my health. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I love beer. I don't mean that in the sense that I love to spend my Friday nights with a case of Bud Light and some friends (nothing wrong with that), I just love the taste of beer and the countless varieties available. I typically drink just a couple at a time and, even then, just a couple of times a week. Even though my consumption is nowhere near the levels of the local frat houses I found myself developing a bit of a beer gut. I'm a tall guy but I've never been a big guy and this wasn't the way I envisioned myself bulking up when I used to think about how much I disliked being so skinny with my height.
When I started the C25k program, I was at my heaviest weight; about 210lbs. On a 6'6" frame, that still comes across somewhat thin and my clothes do a wonderful job of hiding the gut like a ninja without being too big for me. Although I would joke about it from time to time, I honestly began to get a bit self conscious about the gut. I've never put too much stock into what other people think if it's something negative, I found myself worrying about it much in the same light as an adolescent who discovered their first whitehead smack dab in the middle of their face. Between that and listening to some passionate runners, I decided something needed to change.
Unlike many people whose C25k stories I read up on before starting out, I decided to forgo an initial exercise plan (walking multiple times a week for at least a week prior) and hit the ground running. One of my goals for the program was to finish it without repeating a week. That meant going from nothing to 5k distance in 9 weeks. I knew it would be tough but I also knew there was a good chance the difficulty would be more mental than physical considering all the variables; and I was right.
Here I am, two months later, announcing my graduation from the program. W9D3 came in went much like the other two runs of the week. A flare up or two in each leg early on followed by dull aches sporadically throughout the run. I covered a bit more than 2.8 miles during the 30 minutes and the heavens even decided to unleash a light shower on me during the last minute of the run and the majority of the cooldown walk.
9 weeks, nearly 77 miles, and 6 pounds.
The middle number, at least to me, is a bit impressive considering how slow you start off. The total time to complete the program is something I'm proud of because I enjoy reaching the goals I set for myself; especially when they seem lofty. Six pounds. From 210 down to 204. That doesn't sound like much for 2 months of running 3 times a week. However, once you consider the fact that I built up a fair amount of muscles in my legs, you realize that the total amount lost was offset by the amount gained. I'd venture to say I probably lost around 15 (5lbs lost at week 3).
The most important differences, though, are the significantly slighter bulge of my gut and all the noticeable changes in my level of fitness. I feel better than I have in a long time and I'm at a point where I can definitely say I'm a runner.
W9D2
This run was actually completed this run on the 29th but kept putting off writing the post since it was a pretty uneventful run. One positive result that came from the run outside of finishing it was lessened discomfort in my shins. I still had aches but it was nothing like W8D3. I've been icing it when it's bothered me enough during a run that I felt it needed it and I've even resorted to wrapping the area with an Ace bandage. Those two things seem to have helped to some degree.
Although the aches remain, I'm beginning to think it could be a combination of things rather than one specific thing. Perhaps muscles building in the legs as I increase time and distance. I could have even planted my foot wrong once, tweaked it, and now my foot strike is off from the norm because I'm trying to run as pain free as possible. Whatever the case may be, the runs must go on.
Although the aches remain, I'm beginning to think it could be a combination of things rather than one specific thing. Perhaps muscles building in the legs as I increase time and distance. I could have even planted my foot wrong once, tweaked it, and now my foot strike is off from the norm because I'm trying to run as pain free as possible. Whatever the case may be, the runs must go on.
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Beginning of the End...W9D1
I had every intention of starting W9 strong on Tuesday night but, unfortunately, my shin was still a bit tender so I decided to rest one more day and see how I felt the following night. It turned out to be the right move because my shin didn't bother me at all during the day on Wednesday. Or so I thought. About a third of the way into the warmup walk I began to feel a faint tingle in the shin. I shrugged it off and kept going.
Taking into consideration the way W8D3 went, I wanted to make sure I eased into the run; especially since W9 bumps things up to a full 30 minute run. Starting off slow is always tough when you have long legs and I'm beginning to think that may be a cause for the pain because it's just not natural for me to run at half my normal stride. The shin ached, a bit more than usual but nowhere near the way it did on Sunday. As I went along, the aching was less noticeable and I began to pick up the pace.
I wasn't quite at the pace from W8D1 but I was moving along comfortably and my breathing was solid. The most difficult part of the run was trying not to focus on whether or not I was planting my right leg in a way that wouldn't result in further discomfort. The extra 2 minutes didn't even seem to take a toll on me from an endurance standpoint which was surprising. However, that could have been because my mind was preoccupied with the shin.
In the end, I completed W9D1 without an issue. I covered 2.8 miles during the run and a total of 3.8 miles for the entire workout; both of which are personal records. It's a nice boost to my confidence that I maintained my 33 minute 5k pace despite being less than 100%. There's still work to be done if I want to reach my 30 minute or less goal but I have a good month and a half before the 5k so there's plenty of time to improve.
Taking into consideration the way W8D3 went, I wanted to make sure I eased into the run; especially since W9 bumps things up to a full 30 minute run. Starting off slow is always tough when you have long legs and I'm beginning to think that may be a cause for the pain because it's just not natural for me to run at half my normal stride. The shin ached, a bit more than usual but nowhere near the way it did on Sunday. As I went along, the aching was less noticeable and I began to pick up the pace.
I wasn't quite at the pace from W8D1 but I was moving along comfortably and my breathing was solid. The most difficult part of the run was trying not to focus on whether or not I was planting my right leg in a way that wouldn't result in further discomfort. The extra 2 minutes didn't even seem to take a toll on me from an endurance standpoint which was surprising. However, that could have been because my mind was preoccupied with the shin.
In the end, I completed W9D1 without an issue. I covered 2.8 miles during the run and a total of 3.8 miles for the entire workout; both of which are personal records. It's a nice boost to my confidence that I maintained my 33 minute 5k pace despite being less than 100%. There's still work to be done if I want to reach my 30 minute or less goal but I have a good month and a half before the 5k so there's plenty of time to improve.
Monday, July 25, 2011
W8D3...complete with aching shins
Last night I took care of business and finished W8. However, in keeping up with much of the last two weeks, it wasn't without its share of difficulty. The workout started out like most of the others but, about two minutes into the run, I began to feel an aching in my right shin. The ache was at its worst at the left side of the shin and the same side of the calf. It was minor at first, as usual, but it quickly flared up to a point that it bordered on actual pain.
Despite that, I kept on going. I slowed my pace down a tad to see if that would help and it did; sort of. I could still feel the aching but it wasn't quite as noticeable. From that point on, it simply flared up here and there. At about 22 minutes in, I started to worry that it may be something serious so I slowed down to a brisk walk. I did this for about a minute and the aching calmed down some so I decided to try running again. It didn't flare up again but the remaining part of the run wasn't too comfortable.
Although I didn't run 28 minutes straight, I did surpass that amount of time overall. Since I paused the run portion to walk, I ran through the first minute or so of the cooldown walk to make up for it. At the end of the day, I know I can run 28 minutes straight without a problem so I wasn't too down on myself for completing D3 the way that I did. Once I got home, I put an icepack on the shin and kept it elevated for a little while. It helped some, but I'm not out of the woods yet. I'm planning to wait and see how I feel Tuesday evening before starting W9. There's a good chance I'll be holding off until Wednesday, though.
Despite that, I kept on going. I slowed my pace down a tad to see if that would help and it did; sort of. I could still feel the aching but it wasn't quite as noticeable. From that point on, it simply flared up here and there. At about 22 minutes in, I started to worry that it may be something serious so I slowed down to a brisk walk. I did this for about a minute and the aching calmed down some so I decided to try running again. It didn't flare up again but the remaining part of the run wasn't too comfortable.
Although I didn't run 28 minutes straight, I did surpass that amount of time overall. Since I paused the run portion to walk, I ran through the first minute or so of the cooldown walk to make up for it. At the end of the day, I know I can run 28 minutes straight without a problem so I wasn't too down on myself for completing D3 the way that I did. Once I got home, I put an icepack on the shin and kept it elevated for a little while. It helped some, but I'm not out of the woods yet. I'm planning to wait and see how I feel Tuesday evening before starting W9. There's a good chance I'll be holding off until Wednesday, though.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Critter Corral
After an unexpected 3 day break thanks to a random virus that I'm still not entirely over, I decided to take on W8D2 Friday night. Despite the fact that I wasn't quite at 100%, I somehow managed to cover more ground than I did on Monday (2.6 miles vs 2.53). Midway through my warmup run I came up on a dead snake, was black and about 4 feet long but a decent size in diameter. I kept expecting it to come after me when I passed, figuring he was just playing dead, but his status was confirmed on my return trip past that spot. I started the run well enough, maintaining a somewhat easy pace since I figured my breathing may not be as controlled as usual considering the circumstances.
About 6 minutes into the run I ran into my old pal, the armadillo. He scurried his way across the road before I reached him, though, so no antics were had. A couple times throughout the run I was able to pick up my pace a bit but I kept it slow and steady for the most part. For much of the early part of the run, I experienced the results of over-hydrating and had an urge to pee that got worse as I progressed. Once I reached the 1 1/2 mile mark, I paused the app at one of the few dark spots along my route and did my business. A few seconds later the app was back on and I continued along my way.
Stopping turned out to be a bad idea, though, because shortly after I began to experience some discomfort in my right lung and had every desire to stop running. I could honestly see myself, in my mind's eye, stop running and begin to walk. All the while that voice in the back of my head taunted me by expressing how much better it would be to walk. I kept pushing in spite of it. A little further down the road, I had to look down at my phone to see how much time was left because I was beginning to think there wasn't enough fuel in the tank. A time of 2:08 stared back at me and it was all I could do to keep running. I slowed down to, quite possibly, a bit slower than my W1 pace.
The "cooldown walk" announcement came an eternity later and a labored smile crossed my face as I tried to catch my breath. This was the closest I've come to being out of breath during the program but I was just happy I was able to finish. In total, I covered 3.3 miles during the workout which is a record for me. I'm guessing, at this point, that I could cover a 5k in roughly 33 minutes. At any rate, there are only 4 workouts left and if everything goes as expected, I should graduate next Saturday!
About 6 minutes into the run I ran into my old pal, the armadillo. He scurried his way across the road before I reached him, though, so no antics were had. A couple times throughout the run I was able to pick up my pace a bit but I kept it slow and steady for the most part. For much of the early part of the run, I experienced the results of over-hydrating and had an urge to pee that got worse as I progressed. Once I reached the 1 1/2 mile mark, I paused the app at one of the few dark spots along my route and did my business. A few seconds later the app was back on and I continued along my way.
Stopping turned out to be a bad idea, though, because shortly after I began to experience some discomfort in my right lung and had every desire to stop running. I could honestly see myself, in my mind's eye, stop running and begin to walk. All the while that voice in the back of my head taunted me by expressing how much better it would be to walk. I kept pushing in spite of it. A little further down the road, I had to look down at my phone to see how much time was left because I was beginning to think there wasn't enough fuel in the tank. A time of 2:08 stared back at me and it was all I could do to keep running. I slowed down to, quite possibly, a bit slower than my W1 pace.
The "cooldown walk" announcement came an eternity later and a labored smile crossed my face as I tried to catch my breath. This was the closest I've come to being out of breath during the program but I was just happy I was able to finish. In total, I covered 3.3 miles during the workout which is a record for me. I'm guessing, at this point, that I could cover a 5k in roughly 33 minutes. At any rate, there are only 4 workouts left and if everything goes as expected, I should graduate next Saturday!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
It feels like years since it's been here
During my run last night, I realized that I forgot to make a post for W7D3 which I completed Friday the 15th. After doing some research on knee exercises, I decided to try one out that a member on the RunnersWorld.com forums suggested. Basically, you stand on one leg and swing the other back and forth a few repetitions; I stuck with 10. It definitely did the trick as my knees were essentially a non-issue during the run outside of a minor blip early on. I wasn't in the clear, though. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was the result of the new stretch or something else entirely but I aches in my shins and calves for the first time in a couple of week.
Although they've been there during that time, it's yet to be to the degree that it warranted mentioning. As a result, I had to slow my pace down considerably from what I prefer to run at because I didn't want to risk injury. Regardless of that fact, I was able to finish the 25 minutes without stopping and I was glad to have another week in the books.
Monday evening rolled around and it was time to get back in the saddle and start W8D1. For this week, each run is 28 minutes long. For those at home keeping score, that's an increase of 3 minutes, or about 3/10ths of a mile, for each workout. Oddly enough, it didn't seem all that daunting to me in the days leading up to it. I can safely say, though, that this was by far the best workout of the program for me so far which is surprising considering how sub-par each day of W7 felt.
I went at a pace that I would guess may end up as about 3/4 of my 5k pace for 90% of the run (25 of the 28 minutes) and I managed to cover roughly 2.53 miles in the time allotted. To be honest, I was tempted to continue running for another couple of minutes because I felt so great but I'm doing the program "by the book" so I eased into the cooldown walk when prompted.
I started the run off at a moderate pace because I didn't want to overexert myself right off the bat since I was tacking on 3 minutes to my previous high. The random flare up in the heel spur in my left foot also had a say in that decision. About a minute into the run, though, I was feeling fine and upped my pace to the level it would stay at until about 2 minutes left in the run. I think I was right about the source of the aches in my shins and calves last week. Tonight was the second time I've done the knee/hip exercise before a run and the only aches present in my shins or calves were minor expected aches from working out. Tomorrow's a rest day and it's back to the grind Wednesday night. I can't wait!
Although they've been there during that time, it's yet to be to the degree that it warranted mentioning. As a result, I had to slow my pace down considerably from what I prefer to run at because I didn't want to risk injury. Regardless of that fact, I was able to finish the 25 minutes without stopping and I was glad to have another week in the books.
Monday evening rolled around and it was time to get back in the saddle and start W8D1. For this week, each run is 28 minutes long. For those at home keeping score, that's an increase of 3 minutes, or about 3/10ths of a mile, for each workout. Oddly enough, it didn't seem all that daunting to me in the days leading up to it. I can safely say, though, that this was by far the best workout of the program for me so far which is surprising considering how sub-par each day of W7 felt.
I went at a pace that I would guess may end up as about 3/4 of my 5k pace for 90% of the run (25 of the 28 minutes) and I managed to cover roughly 2.53 miles in the time allotted. To be honest, I was tempted to continue running for another couple of minutes because I felt so great but I'm doing the program "by the book" so I eased into the cooldown walk when prompted.
I started the run off at a moderate pace because I didn't want to overexert myself right off the bat since I was tacking on 3 minutes to my previous high. The random flare up in the heel spur in my left foot also had a say in that decision. About a minute into the run, though, I was feeling fine and upped my pace to the level it would stay at until about 2 minutes left in the run. I think I was right about the source of the aches in my shins and calves last week. Tonight was the second time I've done the knee/hip exercise before a run and the only aches present in my shins or calves were minor expected aches from working out. Tomorrow's a rest day and it's back to the grind Wednesday night. I can't wait!
Friday, July 15, 2011
An Uncomfortable Run
I took care of W7D2 last night despite some discomfort in my right knee. During the run, I also surpassed the 50 mile mark for total distance so far in the program. Although this run wasn't my best, I'm just glad I finished it properly by going the full 25 minutes without stopping. The entire last mile was a bit of a struggle at points thanks to my knee.
The last few workouts, I've noticed a minor ache in my knees when the run following the warmup walk has started. It usually lasts no more than 1/4 mile and I feel fine after that. Last night, though, that wasn't the case. It came back a couple times during that last mile and it made the mental battles a lot tougher than they needed to be. During the cooldown walk, there really wasn't any discomfort but it didn't feel normal the whole way. On the bright side, my legs were fine all day at work (I'm on my feet all day) and there hasn't even been a slight ache.
I honestly think a contributing factor to the discomfort is the fact that I never do any pre-workout stretches to target my knees. Once I can find some online, I'm going to incorporate them into my pre-workout routine and see if that changes things. Another part of the problem, at least last night, was that I didn't properly hydrate before the workout. I usually drink a glass of water about half an hour before I run but it slipped my mind last night. I would bet the lack of stretching played a bigger role but both had a hand in the uncomfortable run from last night.
One funny thing I did notice though, as I took off my running shoes, was a 1/8" screw lodged into the front sole of my left shoe. It didn't make it in all the way, thankfully, but I'm not sure how much damage it would have done. At any rate, it's just not the sort of thing you expect to find after an evening run but that's the perils of running in Suburbia.
The last few workouts, I've noticed a minor ache in my knees when the run following the warmup walk has started. It usually lasts no more than 1/4 mile and I feel fine after that. Last night, though, that wasn't the case. It came back a couple times during that last mile and it made the mental battles a lot tougher than they needed to be. During the cooldown walk, there really wasn't any discomfort but it didn't feel normal the whole way. On the bright side, my legs were fine all day at work (I'm on my feet all day) and there hasn't even been a slight ache.
I honestly think a contributing factor to the discomfort is the fact that I never do any pre-workout stretches to target my knees. Once I can find some online, I'm going to incorporate them into my pre-workout routine and see if that changes things. Another part of the problem, at least last night, was that I didn't properly hydrate before the workout. I usually drink a glass of water about half an hour before I run but it slipped my mind last night. I would bet the lack of stretching played a bigger role but both had a hand in the uncomfortable run from last night.
One funny thing I did notice though, as I took off my running shoes, was a 1/8" screw lodged into the front sole of my left shoe. It didn't make it in all the way, thankfully, but I'm not sure how much damage it would have done. At any rate, it's just not the sort of thing you expect to find after an evening run but that's the perils of running in Suburbia.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
C-c-c-c-combo!
So it appears I forgot to make a post regarding my completion of W6D3. Since it's no longer fresh in my mind, I'll post what I wrote over on the C25k thread on the RunnersWorld.com forums and follow that with a recap of last night:
I had to wait to run a lot longer than I wanted to because of the crappy weather we've been having all day but I had to run tonight or risk throwing a hard slider at my training schedule. I'll be in Orlando from Friday-Monday so I'm already planning one extra day of rest before starting W7 and I didn't want to add those three days to the gap between W6D2 & W6D3 so, no matter what, I was going out tonight.
The run started off like all the others but about 8 or 9 minutes into it, my legs randomly began to get sore. It was just normal workout aches but they started sooner than I expected them to. My stomach even decided to join in the fun by sloshing around like the town drunk so I definitely didn't feel like myself much of the run. I didn't want to curb the progress I had been making to this point by cutting the 25 minute run short and re-doing W6 next week so I kept pushing.
Eventually the aches subsided and I chugged along like normal. As I reached what I'm pretty sure was the 1.75 mile mark, though, I started to feel it again. My legs wanted me stop and at points I felt like I was dragging cement filled shoes with each step. A little bit further down the road, I slipped up and looked down at my iPhone to see how much time was left. To my surprise, the timer was at 3:27 and counting. I couldn't believe it and began to doubt my ability to finish but I told myself that I wasn't stopping until the lady told me to or my legs gave out on me. Before I knew it I was told there was 1 minute left and the workout was complete shortly after.
My pace was much slower tonight than in days past because of the aches so I only managed to cover 2.1 miles in the 25 minute period. Hopefully these rest days recharge my body and I'm back to my normal self on Monday evening when I get home.
Last night I took on W7D1. This week marks the return of weeks where the same workout is completed all 3 days. For W7, you simply carry over the final workout of W6; a 25 minute run. I felt a bit better than I did prior to W6D3 but I was running after a 3 day layoff so I wasn't expecting much. Although I wasn't inactive those three days (I walked at least 3 miles each day throughout Universal's Islands of Adventure & Disney's Epcot) the activity wasn't constant, it was spread out, so it didn't have quite the same results that running does.
However, I did notice just how much improvement there has been in my level of fitness while I was at the parks. A little over a year ago, I went to Disney with my wife. She had some issues with one of her feet and as a precaution while we waited for approval on her surgery, I pushed her around all 4 parks in a wheelchair. For those of you not familiar with the landscape at Disney, the surface is anything but level. You constantly encounter inclines and declines and people just plain don't care that someone in a wheelchair is near them so your reflexes are tested regularly.
Last year, my legs were sore at the end of each day. This year, though, it felt like I barely covered any distance. The only reason I was even tired was because of the amount of sun I had been getting. Although my wife only needed a wheelchair at Epcot (her foot swelled up a bit after Universal), I couldn't help but see how much easier the walking was thanks to the exercise I've had over the course of the last 6 weeks.
As for the run itself, it went pretty well. I had some random aches in my knees and my lower thighs but nothing major and my breathing was better since, for the most part, I felt relatively normal. I was able to increase my pace a bit here and there but managed to cover the same distance because I took things a little bit easier during my warmup walk since I felt like I rushed it a bit too much last time. I've got a crazy schedule ahead of me, 9 straight days of work counting today, but I'll be taking care of business on the asphalt regardless.
I had to wait to run a lot longer than I wanted to because of the crappy weather we've been having all day but I had to run tonight or risk throwing a hard slider at my training schedule. I'll be in Orlando from Friday-Monday so I'm already planning one extra day of rest before starting W7 and I didn't want to add those three days to the gap between W6D2 & W6D3 so, no matter what, I was going out tonight.
The run started off like all the others but about 8 or 9 minutes into it, my legs randomly began to get sore. It was just normal workout aches but they started sooner than I expected them to. My stomach even decided to join in the fun by sloshing around like the town drunk so I definitely didn't feel like myself much of the run. I didn't want to curb the progress I had been making to this point by cutting the 25 minute run short and re-doing W6 next week so I kept pushing.
Eventually the aches subsided and I chugged along like normal. As I reached what I'm pretty sure was the 1.75 mile mark, though, I started to feel it again. My legs wanted me stop and at points I felt like I was dragging cement filled shoes with each step. A little bit further down the road, I slipped up and looked down at my iPhone to see how much time was left. To my surprise, the timer was at 3:27 and counting. I couldn't believe it and began to doubt my ability to finish but I told myself that I wasn't stopping until the lady told me to or my legs gave out on me. Before I knew it I was told there was 1 minute left and the workout was complete shortly after.
My pace was much slower tonight than in days past because of the aches so I only managed to cover 2.1 miles in the 25 minute period. Hopefully these rest days recharge my body and I'm back to my normal self on Monday evening when I get home.
Last night I took on W7D1. This week marks the return of weeks where the same workout is completed all 3 days. For W7, you simply carry over the final workout of W6; a 25 minute run. I felt a bit better than I did prior to W6D3 but I was running after a 3 day layoff so I wasn't expecting much. Although I wasn't inactive those three days (I walked at least 3 miles each day throughout Universal's Islands of Adventure & Disney's Epcot) the activity wasn't constant, it was spread out, so it didn't have quite the same results that running does.
However, I did notice just how much improvement there has been in my level of fitness while I was at the parks. A little over a year ago, I went to Disney with my wife. She had some issues with one of her feet and as a precaution while we waited for approval on her surgery, I pushed her around all 4 parks in a wheelchair. For those of you not familiar with the landscape at Disney, the surface is anything but level. You constantly encounter inclines and declines and people just plain don't care that someone in a wheelchair is near them so your reflexes are tested regularly.
Last year, my legs were sore at the end of each day. This year, though, it felt like I barely covered any distance. The only reason I was even tired was because of the amount of sun I had been getting. Although my wife only needed a wheelchair at Epcot (her foot swelled up a bit after Universal), I couldn't help but see how much easier the walking was thanks to the exercise I've had over the course of the last 6 weeks.
As for the run itself, it went pretty well. I had some random aches in my knees and my lower thighs but nothing major and my breathing was better since, for the most part, I felt relatively normal. I was able to increase my pace a bit here and there but managed to cover the same distance because I took things a little bit easier during my warmup walk since I felt like I rushed it a bit too much last time. I've got a crazy schedule ahead of me, 9 straight days of work counting today, but I'll be taking care of business on the asphalt regardless.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I got a fever of 110...
...and the only prescription is more running. See what I did there? On Tuesday, I completed W6D2 and I've got to say, it's hard to believe that was the last day of intervals. From here on out, with the exception of the warm up and cool down walks, I'll only be running. The thought of that is a little bit daunting but my confidence level is still pretty high so I'm not worried.
I almost didn't run the other night because of a wicked sinus headache that had me feeling pretty crappy. Typically it's nearly impossible for me to take a nap because I just can't sleep when it's light out once I've woken up. However, I ended up taking a brief nap after taking some Day-Quil and Aspirin. Once I got up I just said screw it and got ready to run. For this workout, I ran 10 minutes followed by a 3 minute walk and another 10 minute run.
I upped the pace for the first 10 minute run and managed to cover 1.17 miles which surprised me. The 3 minute walk came and went and it was time for the second 10 minute run. I covered a bit less distance in that run, just .9 miles, but I had eased off the original pace a tad so it was expected. I'm not going to lie, the distance in the first 10 minute run had me psyched. It may not sound like too big a deal but since one of my sub-goals for my first 5k is to finish it in 30 minutes or less I knew that would entail being capable of running a mile in under 10 minutes.
It's exciting to realize that's not something that's out of my reach. Although I don't think I'd be able to do it just yet, I think it's quite possible in 2 1/2 months when I take part in the race. As it is, I can cover 3.1 miles in about 34 minutes with just 20 minutes of actual running so I don't think my goals are as far off as they seemed when I started the program.
I almost didn't run the other night because of a wicked sinus headache that had me feeling pretty crappy. Typically it's nearly impossible for me to take a nap because I just can't sleep when it's light out once I've woken up. However, I ended up taking a brief nap after taking some Day-Quil and Aspirin. Once I got up I just said screw it and got ready to run. For this workout, I ran 10 minutes followed by a 3 minute walk and another 10 minute run.
I upped the pace for the first 10 minute run and managed to cover 1.17 miles which surprised me. The 3 minute walk came and went and it was time for the second 10 minute run. I covered a bit less distance in that run, just .9 miles, but I had eased off the original pace a tad so it was expected. I'm not going to lie, the distance in the first 10 minute run had me psyched. It may not sound like too big a deal but since one of my sub-goals for my first 5k is to finish it in 30 minutes or less I knew that would entail being capable of running a mile in under 10 minutes.
It's exciting to realize that's not something that's out of my reach. Although I don't think I'd be able to do it just yet, I think it's quite possible in 2 1/2 months when I take part in the race. As it is, I can cover 3.1 miles in about 34 minutes with just 20 minutes of actual running so I don't think my goals are as far off as they seemed when I started the program.
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