Days 4 - 2.1

Every day posts apparently are not my strong suite. A recap...

Day 4 - Plan said to walk briskly for 30 minutes. We did yard work instead.

Day 5 - Walk 10, Jog 5, Walk 5, Jog 5, Walk 10. Accomplished. Felt decent - not too fast.

Day 6 - Walk 10, Jog 5-7, Walk 5, Jog 5-7, Walk 10. Jogged 7 on both legs! Woo-hoo!

Day 7 - Plan said: Walk 10, Jog 7-8, Walk 5, Jog 7-8, Walk 10. I took a 2 hour nap instead. :)

Day 2.1 - Plan said to walk briskly for 30 minutes. I did yesterday's plan instead and jogged 8 on both legs! Bonus - my shins/ankles don't hurt anymore when I walk (or maybe I'm just walking more slowly) and I catch my breath much more quickly when I stop jogging.

The cats are going crazy. I think it's because I won't let them on the porch as it is supposed to start raining pretty soon.

The upcoming week's plan looks...I'm not sure. In two days, I will be jogging for 10 minutes. Hopefully the weather is nice for me!

Day 3

I woke up this morning feeling a little tight. I suppose that's to be expected.

I ended up outside yesterday. My husband suggested we go to the trail to get a bit variety, so we did. We started out together...and ended together. And that was about it. Where he put in about 5 miles, I think I may have gotten just over 2 (I wasn't paying close attention to the mile markers..plus they have two sets. What's up with that?)

I was more controlled on my first jog - felt like I could have gone a little longer. The second one was a bit rough though. At first I thought I had started out too fast, but then I realized that there was a bit more uphill this time around and a bit more wind as well. So I definitely wasn't going faster. It was just more work.

Here's something odd - my legs hurt more when I'm walking than when I'm running. I think I pull my toes up too high on my walking stride, resulting in some discomfort in my shins. It's almost a relief to run at that point. Or maybe I'm trying to walk too briskly. Never thought that could be possible.

Tonight is walking only. In some training plans, this would be a rest day, but I'm down with active resting. I'm thinking I'll get bored with walking pretty soon, so it may be time to invest in a bike.

Day 2...a little late

The plan for yesterday:

Walk - 10 min.
Jog - 5 min.
Walk - 5 min.
Jog - 5 min.
Walk - 5-10 min.

I was ready to be done when I hit that 30 minute mark. I started my first 5-min jog a little fast...probably at a slowish jog pace for my husband, but fast for me all the same. It was tough. My second jog was much nicer, easier going, and a ton slower. That's okay....it's not about speed right now. It's about moving and consistency. So even though I got home about 2 hours late last night, I went out. And even while my hands started to get chapped and numb from the wind because I foolishly did not put gloves on, I continued on. That's northern Illinois in mid-March. What should I expect?

Tonight's plan is the same as yesterday. The forecast is not looking promising. 30% chance of rain and a high in the mid-40s. I don't mind the rain when it's warm and I don't have to run in it. But I've never "worked out" in the rain. And I'm not really looking forward to it. Maybe tonight would be a good time to fork over $2 to use the indoor track at the Park District. A real runner would tough it out and get outside and run...I'm not a real runner. So I'll get in my car and drive to the Park District. :)

Day 1

I don't like running. Shocker, considering the blog, I know. So why would I decide to run a 5k in about 8 weeks? I suppose for the same reasons a lot of non-runners run 5ks....to get in shape. But it goes a bit deeper than that, I think. I don't like exercising but I want to be healthy. I don't like exercising because I'm not disciplined. Don't get me wrong, I love that feeling when you're done exercising - it's just the actual doing it that I don't like.

I've tried running on a treadmill, using an elliptical, running inside on a track, running outside on a street, using a BeachBody DVD series, using any DVD/at home program, and it all ends in one of four options - I get bored, I get lazy, I get discouraged, or I run out of time. So I need a goal, I guess (other than looking good in a bikini, because that's not really me). Hello, 5K. I would like you to not humiliate me, please.

The other side of it is that I don't like doing things I'm not good at, but I'm satisfied with being good enough at most things. I played sports in middle school and was one of the best, but didn't pursue anything in high school because I didn't want to work that hard. I was (am?) musically inclined, but not passionate enough to improve my ability. Since I'm not good at running, and we've established that I'm not disciplined enough to work at things I'm good at (let alone things I'm not!), I've never been sold out on running.

But I want to be different. I want to be better.

Not just at running, but a better me. I figure if I can learn to be disciplined in this one, tangible area of my life, maybe, just maybe, I'll learn how to carry that discipline (and dare I say or hope, passion?) into other areas of my life.

So. Here I am. 26 years old, not quite so lean through the torso, never having run more than a mile (and even that was a while ago!), 8 weeks from my first 5k. "Training" will follow the New Balance Couch-to-5K in 5 weeks plan (maybe I'll actually enjoy those last 3 weeks and actually just run).

Week 1, Day 1: Brisk walk for 30 minutes. Done and done. (I would hope that I could walk for 30 minutes!)

And I already feel like a better me. Day 2, bring it on!