Working On My Fitness

Sorry, It's been awhile, but I'm still here.

There hasn't been much to post about until recently, but here's a quick 'catch up' of whats been going on!

After nearly 12 weeks, my knee finally decided to stop giving me a hard time. As of today I'm pretty confident that it is back to 100%, but I haven't really giving it a good run for its money lately, or pushed my luck with it too much. :)

We've really lucked out lately here with the weather being so great. The bad part of that though is that its so dark so early now its pretty much impossible for me to take advantage of it. I'm hoping that if the weather stays nice for just a few more weekends, I should be able to get some daylight hours in those days to try and run!

In the meantime, the family and I are now official members of this 'little' place. I started working PT in the salon/spa there so that has made it possible for us to be members. And so far, we've really enjoyed it! Running on a treadmill isn't exactly the same as running in the great outdoors, but its better then nothing, right?

And aparently there is an indoor running track? (according to the website for our location) I have yet to find it in this huge place, but I'm really hoping that its true! It will be my mission to find it this week!

Between the treadmill and the track, I should be able to stay on track with some type of running program as we settle in for winter here.

I'm not one for running in the snow.

I don't think...

I mean I've never actually done it I guess...snow running.

But it doesn't sound fun.

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Well, this was supposed to be my 2nd 5k race, but it just didn't work out that way unfortunatly.

I settled for the 1 Mile Family Fun Walk.

Not exactly the same as running the actual 5k, but what ev.

At least it was still a timed 'race'. I finished in 24:25. :)

There were alot of people there! I couldn't walk any faster then that!

Anyhoo, my mom and I did the walk together. She is a 6 year breast cancer survivor and this was our 3rd year I think doing the walk?

Here's my horrible attempt at taking a picture of the two of us with my camera phone...how did I not remember to bring a real camera!!!

In other news: I can hardly believe its been over 7 weeks since I've ran. :( How can that be? My knee has been feeling ALOT better the last week and I was almost temped to just suck it up and run the 5k yesterday but then realized that that probably wouldn't have been a good idea considering it was been SEVEN weeks since I've run...probably wouldn't have been a pretty site.

But I am planning on making a conscious effort to get back into running this week. My plan is still to start the Couch 2 5k program over again and see how far I get before it snows here...which by the way sounds like it could happen this weekend already!

boo!
Crossing my fingers that if it snows on Saturday it will be 80 degrees on Sunday...because that how we roll here. Heaters on one day, air conditioner the next. :)

Follow Up

So after a month of going back and forth on whether or not my knee is okay or not, I finally broke down and called OrthoWest and scheduled an appt with the Orthopedic Surgeon that did my husbands knee surgery last year....

Then I got an email from them today saying they are doing another free injury evaluation clinic at Scheels next week.

Go figure. :)

So now I'm thinking of cancelling the appt. and going to the free clinic and seeing what the PT have to say about it.

My knee has its good days and its bad days.

Today is a good day...I've laid off the high heels all week. :) I think that helped a bit.

Its been 1 month and 1 day since the MS 5K..which was officially my first big race and my last time running. :(

I miss it!

Stupid knee!

I'm thinking about just giving running another try tomorrow..see how it goes.

Maybe its giving me grief in protest of NOT running??

:) Wishful thinking...

Taking A Short Break

Don't worry people, just because the first 5k is behind me, it doesn't mean I've retired from running. :)

I decided to take a week off and rest up to start this adventure all over again. I really intended on starting back up yesterday with my Sun/Tues/Thurs running schedule but things have just been busy with school starting back up and it seems like something has been going on just about every night, last night included, that prevented me from getting back out there.

That, plus the fact that my right knee has decided to act up on me again...which is strange because it hasn't bothered me in weeks...then the morning of the 5k it decided that it was going to start to give me trouble again. That morning I just figured it was due to the rain and cooler weather and would go away..but it has stayed and I'm starting to feel like an old lady with achy joints. :) It's just not letting up. :( So I'm thinking I need to ease back into running again.

My plan is to start the Couch 2 5k program all over again from the beginning, hopefully with tomorrow being the first day. Since I've been running for the last 12 weeks or so, it shouldn't be too difficult to do and if I happen to have to miss a day or so each week, like this week for example, it shouldn't set me back to far.

My reasons for doing this are:

1:) I seem to run much better, longer, stronger when I have a set plan of running/walking combined together as opposed to just one long run for x amt of time. I never really got to a point after about 10 or 12 minutes where I could just keep going. I was convinced I needed some sort of break and I want to work on getting out of that habit before the next race, which leads me to #2

2:) I'm signing up for another race. The Koman Race for the Cure, which is Oct 4th and I'd like to build back up my stamina before that. I think the best and easiest way to do that would be to do another round of, in some way, shape or form, the C25K.


October 4th is really only about 5 or so weeks way, so I'm obviously not going to be able to complete the whole program, but I also haven't really decided 100% yet if I'm actually going to start at week 1 or maybe jump up a few weeks.

Week 3 or 4 wouldn't be so bad to start with...I don't know..Maybe I could do one day of weeks 1 - 3 in one week and then jump up to 4 the next week? I 'should' be able to do that no problem..but we'll see.

I'm hoping that after a week or so off my body hasn't forgotten how to run!

Fast Forward's Race Against MS aka My First 5k!!

The results are in!!

105 Shannon S. F 31 38:55

Not sure how they were timing this thing, but according to them I finished almost a whole minute sooner then the time on the Garmin read...I had my time at 39:48...but I like theirs better. :)

Mandy informed me that there was a big board at the finish line that popped your time up as soon as you crossed, and she even said the time they posted for her did not match the time that was on the board.

I was oblivious to the board at the time, but now I'm curious as to what it said and if it was closer to what I timed myself at. I think they might have made a mistake in the times, but I think it was for our benefit.

They spelled my last name wrong too on the results page. :)

I finished 105 out of 114. But I finished, and under my goal of 45 minutes, so that's all that matters!

The first place 'kid', and I say kid because he is 19, finished with a time of 16:07...crazy! I thought the guy that came in 3rd place had won...he was the first one I remember seeing pass us by, so obviously the first two guys were a blur as they ran by.

I think I would have done much better without all the hills! The first big hill at the start of the race wasn't too bad at the time and I was able to run up it, but once we turned around and ran back the way we came and I had to run up it again at the end of the race...well, that was a different story!

I didn't walk a whole lot, but a lot more then I wanted to.

But HOLLAR for the little kids handing out water!! ;) SOOOO glad they were there!

My legs hurt more today then they did yesterday and more yesterday then Saturday. No pain, no gain I guess??

Nonetheless, I'm proud of myself for doing this!!! I can't believe I actually ran a race! HA!

Here's a few unflattering pics of me looking like I have huge thunder thighs and that I'm picking my shorts out of my crotch :)

When It Rains, It Pours

***First off, I hope to have a full report of the 5K we ran yesterday...I'm awaiting for the 'official' results to be posted and pictures of me crossing the finish line too..once I have those, I'll post a recap of that.***

But this post is all about rain. :)

Friday night, while we were at our Monthly Girls Bunco Night GTG, Mandy made the comment that it was crazy that we had been running for 11 weeks, 3 times a week, so 33 days of running and it had never, not once, rained on us or did we have to reschedule a run because of rain.

Essentially a month of no rain while running....

Well, it rained a months worth of rain on Saturday morning. And that is no exaggeration...

I woke up around 5:30 to the sound of thunder and pouring rain...and it just kept on raining and raining and raining...

By the time Lisa and Mandy showed up at 7:15 a.m. to leave for the race, it hadn't let up and on the way there I had the windsheild wipers going full speed...it was still pretty dark out and I was having a hard time seeing while driving to the race site.

The Lightning was wicked...

Apon our arrival there, it started letting up a bit...enough for us to make a mad dash to the registration tent and check in for the 8 a.m. race...the parking lot was pretty much a river, as was everything else around us, the lightning was still pretty intense and we got soaked running to and from the car.

At check-in we were informed that the 5K actually started at 8:30. The 1 mile race was to start at 8, so we had over an hour until race time. We inquired about if the race was on, rain or shine and they said yes. We were a bit surprised, not so much because of the rain, but the lightning. We weren't sure they would allow us to run because of it, but they said if they needed to push the race back a bit until it cleared up, they would.

We retreated back to the car in what was now a full blown down pour and proceeded to wipe ourselves dry with our race t-shirts. We spend the next 45 mintutes sitting in my car, ran pouring down all around us while we watched people run to and from their cars to the registration tent and back.

We seriously considered not running...at least Lisa and I did...I don't mind the rain, but didn't feel like dying at my first race because I was struck by lightning. Mandy was adement that she was running no matter what. I wonder how many people got their shirts and ran...like out of there and back home...not in the race. :)

At about 8:15 we decided to brave the weather, head to the bathroom and prepare for the race. By the time people started lining up at the start line, the rain had slowed down to barely a drizzle and as soon as they blew the horn to start, there wasn't a drop in the sky.

It was the craziest thing. I think someone up there really wanted me to stay and run and not get struck by lightning. :)

About 25 feet from the finish line the path we were running on was COMPLETELY flooded..like ankle deep water and there was no where to run but right through it. :) That was probably the worst part of the whole thing; Having soaked feet. But at least it was at the very end of the race and not the very beginning..I'm not sure what that would have been like to run in wet shoes/socks for 40 minutes. :(

I managed to keep my nice, white shoes just that, nice and white, for the last 11 weeks...after yesterday they finally look worn, dirty, and broken in. :)

Like they have been worn by a true runner.

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Race Day! What I have been training and working up to for the last 11 weeks.




This week we took it kind of easy. Went to the race site and scoped out the terrain on Tuesday. Here's a picture of the course map:

There's a couple of hills that I'm hoping we get to avoid running, but other than that it's a pretty straight course.

Last night Mandy and I headed over to 'the lake' we normally have been running at when not on the track and just walked a bit further then normal and ran back to the car. I didn't have my Garmin last night so I'm not sure how long/far we ran..it couldn't have been more the 5 or 6 minutes though...just a quick little run.

We're trying to conserve our energy for tomorrow! ;)

I have been noticing a lot more side pain during these last few days of running. I really hadn't had much of an issue with it since the very beginning, but it started creeping back up this last week or so. Not sure if that because of bad hydration?? Or not breathing properly? I really need to pay attention to the breathing tomorrow and make sure I'm hydrated well.

I've been thinking about what I'd like my 'goal' to be as far as a finish time for the race. When we run at the track, I'm averaging about 3 mins per lap, or 12 minute miles...If I was able to keep that pass for the entire 5k, I should be able to finish it in about 36 minutes...but I'm not going to set myself up for failure by setting that as my goal. I'm sure I'll have to have a little walking break at some point..but hopefully not too many or for two long. :)

If you remember back to my follow-up post after the Bennington Daze Race, I finished that in a little over 28 mins and it was a 2 mile that I'm pretty sure I walked at least a mile of...

So for tomorrow I think I'm just going to hope to finish the race, and to finish it in under 45 minutes..if it's closer to 36 minutes, then that's a gold star for me, but I'd still be happy with less then 45.

Wish Me Luck!

The forecast earlier this week called for a high of 94, low of 72 for tomorrow, but that has been changed to a high of 82, low of 69 with a 50% chance of rain...I'm hoping the rain holds off until after the race and that its a cool, non-humid 69 degrees for race time. I think that will make it go much smoother for me!

I'm sure I'll have a full update/recap of the day sometime before Monday..after I come home, shower up and take a long nap!!

Just What the Doctor Ordered...

A decent run after a two week rut.

Still haven't quite worked up to that full 3.1 miles, but tonight was the closest I've gotten to it and it was the boost I needed to feel a little bit better about the race on Saturday.

Tonight I 'ran' a total of 33:14 time wise, and 2.38 miles.

After about 6 weeks of wearing the Garmin, I finally figured out after last Thursdays run that there is actual a button labeled 'lap'..right there in bright green letters...and that if I would have been hitting that little button every time I ran a 'lap' I'd have a nice little break down of how many laps I'd run and how long each lap took. Convenient, huh??

I put that button to good use tonight. Here's the boring breakdown:

Lap 1: 5:03 (Warm-up lap)
Lap 2: 2:50 (Ran)
Lap 3: 3:02 (Ran)
Lap 4: 3:04 (Ran)
Lap 5: 3:11 (Ran)
Lap 6: 4:49 (Walked)
Lap 7: 3:05 (Ran)
Lap 8: 3:09 (Ran)
Lap 9: 4:40 (Walked)

There are a few more seconds in there someplace..from me getting a little hit happy with the lap button and causing it to calculate 5 second laps. ;)

As far as I know we are sticking with the usual plan for running, as far as days go, so we'll get in at least two more runs before Saturday's race. I'd like to try and get another one in, but don't want to push it and end up tiring myself out or hurting my knees before Saturday, so for now I'll stick to the plan and hope the rest of the week goes as well as tonight.

Week 9 - The Final Week!

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

I decided to just lump this whole week into one post since basically every run was the same and, quite frankly, there is nothing much to say about them other than they sucked. :)

For some reason the last two weeks I've just been in a funk about running. I only ran two nights this week instead of three; Sunday and Thursday.

Although I was excited about returning to the track a few weeks ago, mainly for my knees, I'm really starting to think it has had a very negative effect on my motivation.

Something about the boring repetitiveness of running around in circles for 30 minutes?

For me, there's no 'goal' at the track...no destination I feel I need to push myself to reach. I can see my car the entire time...its calling for me to jump in and drive home. There's no 'scary' woods to run your ass off through to make it out alive...no crazy guys sitting at picnic tables...no deer waiting to jump out and attack you.

I miss that.

Last night was the last official run of the Couch 2 5K program for me...and even though I still do not feel like I ended it strong, or that I'm anywhere near ready to run an entire 5K, I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking it out for the 9 (actually 10) weeks.

This morning I'm registering for the race next Saturday. Something I've been putting off, but now there is no reason too.

We plan on spending all of next week running the actual race route at the race site. I'm hoping to do that at least three days next week, if not more.

I'd really like to try and run this weekend some too, but the summer weather has returned in full force finally....today and tomorrow the temps is going to be at or very close to 100.

That makes me very nervous...I'm watching the weather like a hawk waiting to see what next Saturday holds....last week they predicted 84 for a high on race day, but we all know how accurate the weather is that far out....I'm hoping, praying, they are right...there would be nothing worse then to have spent the last 10 weeks of your life preparing for a race that you will kneel over and die running in the first 5 minutes because of the heat and humidity.

That would be the ultimate let down. :)

Week 8, Day 1

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes)

I guess yesterday was really the first official day of Week 8 for me. Even though I ran on Sunday, it was the Week 4 workout, so I'm not counting it.

Sad thing is, Sunday was a much better day for me. Not only did I set my personal best running distance/time to date, but I just felt great running that day, despite the heat of the early morning.

I skipped out on Running Tuesday night...actually, we all did I think?? Everyone had plans, and Monday was actually my birthday, so we celebrated Tuesday night with family. I figured I wouldn't want to run much after grilling steaks that night! :)

But skipping out on Tuesday really hurt my run last night. It started out well at first. We were back at the track to see if that would help with my knees. My first two laps around the track were averaging about 2:30/lap, which is awesome! It was taking at least 3 minutes to run a lap a few weeks ago when we were at the track and I was able to do two laps in about 5:15.

After that though, it was all down hill.

My legs just were not cooperating with me. They were tight and cramping and just didn't feel like moving. I tried alternating walking and running for a bit, but with no motivation. I ended up walking the rest of the 24 minutes we were out there.

Next week is the final week of the Couch 2 5K training and I am nowhere near ready for the race...and not even close to getting that 3.1 miles in.

I'm starting to think that maybe I should run more often after next week?

I definitely think I need a 'doable' Sunday run each week...something like the Week 4 plan that was really easy to accomplish for me to get the week started off right and me feeling good about running again. I think I'm starting to get bored with it, and I don't want that to happen at all.

Me & My Buddy, Me & My Buddy, My Buddy & Me!

Sunday I should have started Week 8 (Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes)) but Linda was in town this weekend and since I got her hooked on this running thing, I figured it would be fun for us to be able to run together once!

Plus since Linda was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" in high school, and she was valedictorian, I figured this would be something I might be able to do better then her for once....HA! :)

I actually thought this would be a pretty easy run for me, considering she was just starting Week 4:

Run 3 mins
Walk 90 sec
Run 5 mins
Walk 2 mins
Run 3 mins
Walk 90 sec
Run 5 mins

But then I remembered that when it came time for us (Mandy, Lisa & I) to run Week 4 we almost died...and decided to repeat Week 3.

Also factor in a BBQ the night before that might have involved a few drinks, and rolling out of bed before 8 a.m. to run...on the hottest morning in a long time, and it was pretty tough....

But we did it.

We ran back at the track and somehow I also managed to run my best time/distance so far. I'm not sure exactly how that happened...I assume it was probably due to the fact that I'm running at a faster pace now then back when I was running Week 4, but even with the short breaks in between, we ended up running 2.18 miles...my best before that was 2.08 miles.

That made it worth it!

Props to Linda too for a great run! Unlike me, she made it through the first day of Week 4 without dying or having to do a repeat of Week 3!

Week 7, Day 3

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).


Tonight we took it easy and decided to walk our 25 minutes instead of run. I was still feeling pretty 'blah' about running for some reason and didn't object to walking tonight at all. Plus, my knees are starting to get a little bit of a 'twinge' in them again. I'm probably going to have to start wearing the brace on them again to see if it helps, but I'm pretty sure alot of it has to do with the fact that we are running on the pavement again.

Maybe I can convince everyone to head back to the track for a few days to see if that helps.

Only 3 more weeks of training before 'the big race.' I've been really obsessed with watching the weather lately...dreading those hots days making a comeback. Today the temp is supposed to be around 95 degrees...with is normal July weather here, but it will actually be the first time this month it has gotten that warm and it's expected to cool down again tomorrow already.

We have been so spoiled! I'm not sure if this is going to me a very mild August as well, or if Mother Nature is going to make up for all the cool July days with super hot August ones. :( I just hope she waits until after the 15th to do that! The hot weather and humidity will make me think twice about running...I hate being hot! :(

This weekend Linda is in town so I told her she and I needed a morning to run together...but I don't think I'm going to talk her into running my Week 8 schedule! She should be starting Week 4, so I can handle that!

An easier run might get me motivated again!

Week 7, Day 2

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
Last night was 'BLAH'. I just wasn't 'feeling it', ya know?

I pushed to try and do that first mile in 10 minutes, and was close, but no cigar. At the 10:00 minute mark I was at 0.92 miles. And I would have gladly called it a night right then and there, but I had to somehow get back to the parking lot.

It was the farthest I have gotten so far on our original path around the lake. I have no idea where exactly I was, but there was a road you had to cross to get to the other side of the lake and it was the first time I had seen that, so that was a bonus.

The run back took me a bit longer. I walked 3 minutes before I picked back up and ran, but only for another 1 1/2 before I had to walk again. Like I said, I just wasn't feeling it.

I walked for maybe another minute and then slowly picked backup the running again..but didn't push it. After another 4 mintues I walked again for a few, then ran off and on until I got back to the beginning...

It was a cool night, so I didn't feel hot, but just more exhausted. I know I wasn't well hydrated for the run and my legs (not knees) and side seemed to cramp up alot last night. I think I may have started out running too fast again because the side cramps came on pretty fast. And I think I probably only have a few more days until the legs/knees start giving me trouble again. So far I've been lucky, but I have a feeling my luck is running out. Last night as I laid in bed I kept thinking about recovery socks and where I could get a pair pronto.

Week 7, Day 1

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).

Last Nights run was Spooktacular...

As you know we are back to running around the lake and Mandy had the idea to 'shake things up' and run the opposite direction around the lake then we were used to going. Which was fine by all of us. We needed a change of scenery.

Little did I know that that route was much more 'wooded' and hilly, and when you're running at your own pace, you tend to pull away from 'the pack' so to speak and the next thing you know you're all alone...on a path...that is dark, and wooded, and you hear all kinds of noises (or you would if you didn't have your iPod blaring in your ear so that you COULDN'T hear all kinds of noises.) and wildlife could jump out and attack you at any minute. But they didn't..so that's a bonus.

So needless to say that fact that I felt completly isolated in the dark woods kept me running my little butt off.

Okay, so there was an occasional couple walking or kids riding their bikes, but still....it was spooky.

And definetly not the same as running on the wide open path across the lake where you could see eachother and keep track of where everyone is at all times...and can see the deer as they come bolting down the hill at you...and not have to worry about them jumping out of the trees and scare you have to death and peeing your pants. Which did not happen. But it could have been a real possibility because of all that water I chugged before running....

Anywhoo...The 'hills' were a killer for me. I was definetly feeling the pain, especially on the run back.

I had decided again to try and shoot for a 10 mintute run, then a small break, then another 10 minute run back. The first run went as planned. This time I didn't start my timer until after our 5 minute warm-up walk so that I'd have a better idea of how far I actually ran. At the 10 minute mark I ran .93 miles. Not good. I would love to get to around a 8 min mile...but not sure if that's going to happen. At this point I'd be happy with anything under 10 mintues.

At the 10 minutes mark I turned around and started on my way back. Walked for about 3 mintues and then picked up the running again, but it was much harder to keep the running up...those darn hills!!

It felt like I was running forever on the way back, but it had ended up being only about 4 1/2 mintues and I have to give myself another small break.

To be honest, at this point I didn't pay much attention to how much I ran/walked. I just wanted to get out of those woods and find everyone else. I started to have a small panic attack that I was lost, but then came across a walker that I had run past in the beginning, so I figured I was heading in the right direction and picked up the running again. By the time I got back up towards the parking lot, I spotted Mandy, who I hadn't seen since the first 7 1/2 minutes of running and felt much better, but was tired for sure.

I think I probably ended up running close to 8 or 9 minutes on the second run, but they were broken up by a few brisk walks, especially up hill.

I can't remember now what the Garmin said when I stopped running..either 24 or 26 minutes...so shorter then the previous run back at the lake, but since we were on a different 'path' I didn't have a good sence of the distance we had gone or anything to compare it to time wise.

Distance wise, I was sitting at 2.04 miles.

I guess thats decent...but still aways to go to that 3.1 mile goal.

We've also talked about heading over to 'the other lake' where our race is actually going to take place to see if we can figure out the path of that race and try and run it to see what we are up against. We have a feeling it's also going to be a pretty hilly path/race and would like to try and practice running it before the big day.

I'm hoping it's not too bad...and I'm still praying hard for nice weather for August 15th!! We've been pretty spoiled here! This Friday the high temp is forcasted to be 90 degrees and if it hits that, it will officially be the HOTTEST day we've seen in July yet. That is just crazy!!! Usually by this time, 90 would be considered a cool day!

This is one thing I am very thankful for right now. I know the cool weather has really helped keep me motivated and in 'shape' to run. And by that I mean, NO KNEE PAIN! Even with being back on the pavement. That has been great!!

So as a recap:

• Still working up to 3.1 miles
• This week the workout goal is 2.5 miles or 25 straight minutes of running each day this week
• We are back at 'the lake' with a goal to move to 'the other lake' maybe by the end of this week
• Tues. if we are back on the 'original' path we were doing at the lake, I'm going to try and push myself to get to 1 1/2 miles of running before stopping..not matter the time it takes.

Week 6, Day 2

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)


Again, I'm a day behind since I only ran Tuesday and Thursday nights this week. We decided to stick with the Day 2 plan as that seems more attainable with the break in between runs.

We also decided to switch it up a bit and move back to the lake and an earlier time since it is so cool out this week. It felt great running out there with a cool breeze!

I pretty much accomplished the workout for Day 2. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what we ran by the time on the Garmin...I know when I reached the parking lot and stopped the time it was 28:14. So I'm going to talk this out here and try and figure it out. :)

We got to talking during our 5 minutes warm up walk and lost track of time a bit, so we actually walked 6 minutes instead of 5...and so that threw me off. I'm so used to running until the timer says 15 minutes now that I'm trying to get to 10 minutes before breaking, and that's what I did..then realized after we stopped that we had only ran 9 minutes because we walked an extra minute in the beginning...(Timer read 15:00 when we stopped)

We had just passed the 1 mile marker around the lake when my timer was at about 14:45. Because of the walk at the beginning, my Garmin actually showed .95 miles at that point. Lisa went on and ran to the 1 1/4 mile marker, but Mandy and I turned around there to head back and ran the last 15 seconds or so until I stopped us early at 9 minutes.

I *thought* we walked an extra minute (4 total) after that first run, but I'm almost positive the timer read 18:00 when we started running again (3 minutes). I'm not sure. I know we ran another 7 minutes, had just rounded the Corner and could see the parking lot when Mandy asked me how many minutes we had run and I said 7. That would have put us at 25:00 minutes...I don't remember what the Garmin said at that point. We both stopped there for a quick breathe....I shuffled the songs on my iPod and decided with the 'finish line' in site, I was just going to go for it, so after about 30 seconds of walking I took off again.

That last stretch didn't seem like it would be that long since I could see my car, but It ended up being at least 3 more minutes..like I mentioned above, I stopped the Garmin when I got there and it said 28:14 and 2.08 miles.

Mandy and I talked about that time/distance a bit and it didn't really seem accurate...but I'm assuming it was....If you remember back to my post about the Bennington Days race, I finished that 2 mile run in a time of 28:25....so that is what is confusing me, because I had to walk a lot of that race because my knees hurt so bad...and I definitely felt like I ran A LOT more last night then I did in that race, but the time/distance are almost identical....and that seems off.

I guess if I think about it, with the warm up walk and the break walk that is 8 or 9 minutes total walking time...so only about 20 minutes of running...I still think I walked a lot more at the race, but I'm not going to dwell on it right now.

I just feel really good about being able to run at or very close to 10 minutes without stopping. :)

One thing about the Lake is that you really do not have a good sense of distance like at the track, where your just running in a circle and you know how far you have gone....there are markers at the lake that tell how many yards (?) you've gone and then mile markers, but come on...how many of us can actually judge how far 400 yards are? Anyone? Anyone?? Not I. So having the Garmin at the Lake with the timer/distance tracker is huge.

I was also surprised at how well my knees are doing. I didn't wear any of the braces on them last night, and they are great this morning. Haven't had to ice for the last 3 runs or so...I didn't feel like I needed to, but I probably should be doing it anyway just in case.

Trying to keep a steady pace was a bit harder for me as well at the lake...I felt like I was going too fast right off the bat and my sides were both cramping up pretty early on...but I'm sure that had a lot to do with the fact that there were some pretty decent inclines on the path we were running...and it probably didn't help that I had a bowl of fettuccine alfredo for dinner either...but I did eat a small portion...didn't want to be hurling that up while running. :)

I'm hoping that while it's cool this next week, we'll stick to the lake. That will get us used to running on the pavement again and pretty much the exact same conditions as we will be running the 5k in August in. I wish the weather would stay in the high 70's, low 80's until that race, but who am I kidding. We've literally been breaking record lows for temps here over the last few days, so I'm expecting to have god awful record high temps by the time the race gets here! But hopefully before that happens I'll have a decent running time down.

Next week I think my focus will be on watching my mile time and seeing if I can keep that consistant. I'm thinking that I'll have Lisa time our first 5 minute walk, and then I won't start my Garmin until we actually run...that way the time/distance is calculated by running and not the walks too.

After 6 Weeks of Running...

I've gained 3 pounds....

I'm not positive, but I think that that is a step in the wrong direction.

I am positive that if my husband was running, he would have lost 10 pounds in the first week...because that is how it works in my world.

Do NOT say it's muscle weight...It doesn't make me feel better. :)

Week 6, Day 1

But I ran Day 2's workout. Because I skipped Day 1's workout. Because I wanted to catch up to Lisa and Mandy. Understand? Good. :)

This is Day 1's Workout:

Brisk five-minute warm up walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

And this is what I actually ran...sorta. :)

Brisk five-minute warm up walk, then:
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

It was hella hot last night. Probably the hottest, most humid night we've ever ran, or can remember running. It was still close to 90 degrees when we started at 9:00 p.m. And that sucked.

I was prepared to totally crap out fast since A - it was hot, and B - I skipped Sundays run so I hadn't ran since last Thursday...and I was feeling pretty lazy about that.

BUT, much to my surprise, option B above might have actually helped me this time around. I'll chalk it up to being well rested and no knee pain, but those first 10 minutes running seemed to go by pretty fast. I tried not to look at my watch too much, mostly because it was too dark out to see it, plus I had the iPod charged up this time so it didn't die on me after the first song. I think the music helped keep my mind off of the time.

The second 10 minute run was considerably harder and that had everything to do with the heat. After about 4 minutes I just felt like I could not control my breathing or catch my breath so I stopped right there. Had the weather been cooler, I think I might have been able to make it. But I'm not positive.

We're actually having a 'cold wave' this week. I don't' think it's even going to get up to 80 on Thursday, so that will be a bonus. Our plan (Mandy and I...Lisa is a running queen right now) is to try and just do the same run Thursday as we did last night. Break it up into two 10 minute runs with a small break in between instead of 25 straight minutes.

We figure we have the time to work up to the long runs. We have exactly 1 month from today until our race, and will be done with this program by then. It will give us another week or so to try and attempt the longer runs. Plus this week is the last week of any type of runs with breaks in them. Week 7 - 9 has you running the same work out each day, 25, 28 & 30 minute runs for the last three weeks.

At this point, that will be a challenge. But one I'm looking forward too

Week 5, Day 3

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

I'm not even gonna lie...I was no where close to being able to do this yet and decided well before last Thursday that I would do what I could and go from there.

My knees had started bothering me again last Tuesday night, so I switched up what knee I wore the brace on to see if that helped and it did a bit, but I still could have used one on each knee.

I think I probably ran only a total of 13 minutes altogether. One 5 minute run, followed by a walk and then another short run/walk a few more times. After the first run/walk, I would try and run half a lap or a bit more, walk the other half, run the next half, etc. Repeated that until we hit the 20 minute mark. So I really didn't keep good track of it and the three of us were pretty much doing our own thing/running our own pace so we were not together at all and for me that was really 'unmotivating'.

I run much better and stay on task much better when I have people next to me that I'm trying to keep up with...when they aren't there I know I give in to stopping too easily and get too lazy about running. :) I need that motivation!!

Last night the girls started Week 6 while I was out having a nice steak dinner with the husband for our anniversary...I thought about joining them once dinner was done but didn't want to chance throwing up my nice dinner by running. :)

This week the weather is supposed to stay in the mid-80's everyday and next week as well! I'm looking forward to that! That should guarentee us some nice, cool evenings to run and I need that to make it to the end. It's usually pushing 100 degrees by now, so this is a bonus!

I may try to run Day 1 on my own tonight, otherwise I'll either skip it and go straight to Day 2 on Tuesday or run Day 1 on Tuesday...I don't know..haven't decided yet. We'll see what happens...

Week 5, Day 2

The Workout:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)


Eight Is Enough.

Last night was a hard one. Those first eight minutes seemed to drag on and on and on, and the five minute walks flew by.

I wouldn't say last night was a complete failure, but I didn't make it through the second eight minute run. After five minutes It was hard to keep up the pace and my knees were starting to complain, so I decided not to push it.

I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to run for a straight 20 minutes on Thursday night.

That will be a challenge....

We did decide to start a bit later last night, which helped with the heat. It was quite cool by 9:00 p.m., but it was really windy! I think that might of contributed to me pooping out at the end. It was hard to run against the wind, even if it was only for 1/2 a lap each time. It's much better having that wind at your back.

I'm hoping for another cool night Tomorrow and that the knees hold up and how many of those 20 minutes I can stick it out for.

Inspired

So apparently someone has been "inspired" by my running....

Okay, so maybe she doesn't count because she is my best friend and I'm sure she probably thought "Hell, if she can run, then I can run!" but she did actually use the word INSPIRED..so It counts damn it! So it counts, okay? :)

And since Linda has decided to run and blog about it, I've decided that I'm going to hold her accountable to that..and even told her I was going to make sure I had a link on this blog to her blog and that I was going to make sure that all my thousand of readers....um, hundreds of readers..., that all 5 of my readers new about her new adventure so that they could also hold her to it!

Good Luck Linda! And remember, I'm WATCHING YOU AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO!! :)

Week 5, Day 1

This week we start to mix it up a bit and every day will be a challenge:

Today's 'Workout':

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

It was hot this morning...not as hot as I'm sure it will be at night this week for Day 2 & 3's workout, but we were pretty spoiled this last week with the temps around a cool 70 degrees all week.

Not sure of the exact temp, but at 9 a.m. with the bright sun beating down on you, and stupid me wearing black, it felt like at least 90 degrees.

I was a bit nervous about the jump up to full 5 minute runs today, but I hung in there, gave it my best and was able to complete the entire workout..but it was hard...hot...and exhausting!

Paying more attention to my running pace and breathing, and less attention to how much time it's been since I started running, has really helped.

We aren't quite hitting the distance that the workout states we should be at (at 5 minutes we should have gone 1/2 mile, or two laps around the track and we are just getting over 1 1/2 laps), but we are hitting 1 full lap (1/4 mile) at 3 minutes so I try and hold off looking at the time until I've made that first full lap..then it feels like I'm at least half way there...at least for today. :)

I feel like the last few runs have gotten easier for me, even with the times getting longer, but I'm trying not to give myself a false sense of confidence. Especially when each day the times get longer, instead of each week. I don't have three days to build up to the next jump in time.

And with the temps climbing back up this week, it's going to prove challenging for me. I am NOT a fan of hot weather at all.

Plus I'm still worried about the knees. They are still giving me some grief, but not nearly the amount they were for the past two weeks. I'm chalking that up to the cooler weather, so we'll have to see what happens now that the heat is back on. But in the back of my head I'm very aware that at any minute they can decide to poop out on me again.

So for today, I'm very happy with my run. On Tuesday we are jumping up to 8 minute runs and I'm going to have to give myself a little pep talk to remind me that I can do this! What's 3 more minutes when you've already done 5? :)

Week 4, Day 3

So I'm not sure what the heck happened between Tuesday Night and Last Night, but we ran day 3 of this week last night and.....

I DID IT!!!!!


I did it, I did it, I did it, I did It!!!!! :)

I can not believe that I actually ran the entire 'workout' start to finish...every run for the correct amount of time...no cramping, no stopping, no falling behind, no having to walk when I should have been running. I ran THE ENTIRE THING!

I'm so pumped!!!

But still have no clue why I had no problem with it last night.

I did pay a lot more attention to the speed/pace I was going and also a lot more attention to my breathing...especially when I started to feel like my side was going to cramp up. Plus, having the Garmin on my wrist has really helped...it makes me want to watch the time a lot more, which probably isn't good, but last night It really helped me encourage myself to keep going...only 1 minute left...only 30 seconds left...and when the 5 minute run came along and I made it past the 3 minute mark, I was really telling myself:

'you're gonna do this...you made it to 3 minutes..only 2 left...keep going...you're really doing this!"

I think I tend to start out wanting to run too fast and then my legs/knees give out on me..so I started slower and kept the pace.

When I started to feel the pain in my side, I made sure to take longer, slower breathes until it went away, but kept the running at the same pace.

My right knee had a bit of a twinge to it, but I had the brace on that knee last night and it held up. Not too sore last night, but I did ice both knees when I got home (since I've been doing that anyway each night) and this morning they are pretty good. Right one is a bit stiff, but not too much pain.

Overall, it was a really good run! We all had a great night, and I think it's safe to say that this was probably my best night yet!

Next week will be the true test though.

I'm hoping for a repeat of last night on Sunday since the first day of week 5 has us doing the same run/times we did this week (except in the opposite order). Okay, so I read that wrong...it's run 5, WALK 3...then repeat...I got all excited about it being the same for nothing! :)

Week 5 also has you doing something different every night...instead of the same run each day for the week, there is a different goal for each day...and by the end of the week our expected goal is to be able to run 20 minutes straight..no walking in between...and this pattern continues for the remainder of the 9 week program.

If I continue to have days like last night, I think I should do pretty well for the rest of the program...but I am nervous about those 20 and 30 minute runs...I know everything we've been doing has been working up to that...but it's a pretty big jump to go from 5 minutes to 8 minutes to 20 minutes all in the same week!

I'm anxious to see how it goes. :)

Week 4, Day 2

This Post pretty much sums up my run last night...minus the hot weather and the trip to Target afterwards.

Ran on the track again last night and I still perfer that over the hard cement, but it didn't seem to matter last night.

Part of the problem I'm sure is that I also went out Monday night and tried to run a bit. Hoping for a repeat of the great run I had on Sunday, but that didn't happen. I pretty much had the same luck on Monday as I did last night...pain.

So I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised that running sucked last night.

My best days of running seem to be when I have at least 2 days inbetween runs. I'm starting to think that maybe I should just cut back to Sunday's and Thursday's only for awhile and see if that helps. Skip the Tuesday night run so get a few extra days rest in for the knees.

At the rate I'm going I'm never going to make it through a 5K...maybe not even TO a 5K. :(

Props to Lisa (who made a come back last night) and Mandy who were both able to complete the entire plan last night!

You Go Girl(s)!

Week 4, Day 1

Here's the Weekly Plan:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Yesterday was a GOOD DAY!

I'm almost completely convinced that the heat/humidity are my worst enemy...and since yesterday was a beautiful day, low temp, low humidity, I had a GREAT run.

Knees held up very well. I had little or no pain all weekend.

We decided for last nights run to give a track another try, just not the same track. :)

We headed over to one of the local high schools and ran on their track and it was WONDERFUL! I felt like I could actually run again and at a decent speed.

The 5 minute runs were still a challenge for us. I was only able to make it to 3 minutes on the first 5 minute run and then my side just started cramping up big time and I had to stop and walk a bit. I assume that has alot to do with breathing? I need someone to teach me how I'm supposed to breath when I run!

The second 5 minute run I had to stop after about 2 1/2 minutes, walk for about a minute and then finished up running to our starting point...probably just another 30 second or so. I was just pooped by the time that last 5 minute ran came along.

The 3 minutes runs were really good. The first seemed easy this time around. Again, I'm sure that had alot to do with the cooler weather. And I'm pretty sure that I ran the entire second 3 minute run after I had the bad side cramp..the 90 seconds of walking, even though it goes by way too fast, did help.

I really needed this run to be great. I was really getting down on myself about not being able to keep up and was starting to think that maybe I was just one of 'those people' that just can not run. I'm feeling much more confident today.

But also pretty sore! :)

My knees are feeling good, but my legs in general are just hurting. Just that normal feeling after a good workout, but still sore.

I need Niki to tell me more about these Recovery Socks! :) Are they just for after serious runs/races? Or would I qualify to wear them with the little running I'm doing? :) Would they make my legs hurt less the next morning? And most importantly, where do I get me a pair! :)

Also, on a side note, two things:

First: Lisa has been out of commission for the last few days...feeling a bit under the weather and we've missed her! I hope she's feeling better and back to running with us this week sometime.

Second: Since Lisa didn't run with us last Thursday (or yesterday) we were missing our official time keeper! So before we ran last night I asked the Husband if he happened to have some sort of stop watch we could use and he said it just so happens that he does, and then he pulled this out:

WTF? Why did he not mention to me that he had this little baby before?!?! I *might* vaguely remember that it exsisted....but don't you think a little light bulb should have went off in his head when I started running to alert him to the fact that he had a device that does this:

"The Forerunner 201 offers athletes a personal training device with GPS that measures speed, distance, pace and calories burned, and runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. After you run, connect your Forerunner 201 to your computer to store and analyze your workout."

Um, HELLO!? :)

Worst...Day...EVER...

I'm not even going to dignify this post with an actual "Week X, Day X" title because I don't even consider what I did as 'running'. :(

Lets just say that I only was able to run 1 three minute lap before my knees completely gave out..to the point where I could barely walk the rest of the 15 minutes and had to physically lift my legs into the car...They drag myself around Target for 30 minutes relying heavily on the cart to hold me up. :)

Both knees killed me the entire night and I even had to wake up at 3 a.m. to ice them they hurt so bad.

It was another one of the the hottest days so far for running too.

And I'm really hoping that that was the issue...because it's been much cooler the last three days, and even though my next run isn't until tonight, they haven't bothered me at all since the humidity is down.

We also tried running on a track Thursday night, but it wasn't as nice as we thought it would be (the condition of the track) so tonight we are going to try another and see if its easier on the knees.

I'll report back with an official Week 4, Day 1 report either tonight or tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

Pray for me....

Mama Has A New Pair of Shoes

Just a little update that I went ahead and purchased the shoes I mentioned below yesterday after work. Wore them around the house for a bit and my feet/knees are happy. Tonight will be the true test when I actually run in them.

Also went to the Super Sports Store last night that was having the "Stride Analysis" clinic and spoke with one of the PT's there. I showed her the shoes I bought from the other store (didn't take them with me, but they had the same exact ones there) and she said that they *might* be too *cushy* for me...and I may decide I want something with a bit more *stability*.

She had one of the Shoe guys show me some other options, that of course were about 2x as much as I paid for mine, but whatever. I tried them on and really didn't notice much of a difference...I'm sure I wouldn't really notice until I started running. There was a pair that I considered getting but, of course, they didn't have my size.

So the plan is to stick with the original ones I bought and see how it goes. If I have to upgrade to a 'better' pair, then I will.

She also suggested that I alternate shoes as well. Wear the new ones one night, and my old ones the next. Not sure why...

She really didn't have much to say about my knees. Basically what she said in not so many words is that that is normal for people who decide to get off their butts and do something. :)

We'll see if it gets better.

Week 3, Day 1.....AGAIN!

Are you confused? Good..me too! :)

After Saturday's run, I decide to take Sunday off to give my knees another break (which was supposed to be the start of Week 4 for us) Mandy and Lisa went ahead and ran Day 1 of Week 4.

This is (was?) the plan for the Week 4:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

The 5 minute run combined with the 100 degree weather proved to me a bit too much to handle . They reported back to me and let me know that it was much harder this week then in the past and they found themselves really pushing to run the entire 5 minutes and ended up walking alot longer in between runs then they were supposed to.

I give them props though..because the 3 minutes is hard for me, and even worse when my knees decide to give out half way through the run. :(

We came to the consensous that maybe we'd ease into Week 4 next week, and repeat Week 3 again. They felt like that was pretty much what they ended up running/walking anyway.

So, that's the plan!

Tuesday Night we ran (my day 1, their day 2) of Week 3 again. Thank goodness it rained and cooled down to around 80 degrees, otherwise we were seriously considering just taking turns running on the treadmill at Lisa's after their experience on Sunday night.

I'm telling you, I think this weather has had a really negative impact on my running.

Not that I was much of a runner to begin with, but it's really freaking my legs/knees out!!

It's hard to explain, but I have pain in my knees that is making it uncomfortable to run, but my biggest problem is that I feel like my legs do not/can not move when I run. Like they are stiffing up in protest and are unable to bend. But it's not really 'cramping' feeling...just like they don't work...like they are refusing to work.

And it's starting to really piss me off.

And it's starting to become very frustrating for me.

I'm not too tired to run...at least I don't feel tired...maybe a bit 'winded' but I feel like I can keep running, but my legs are like cement and I cannot pick them up off the ground.

Why? :(

Tonight there is a clinic at one of the local Super Sports Stores (say that 10 times fast!) here in town. There are going to be PT's there from the Orthopedic Hospital doing stride analysis' for people and fitting them for proper running shoes. I'm planning on attending that. Hopefully they can help.

On a side note, the running shoes I posted about yesterday are on sale today AND I have another $10 off coupon for the store they are at (BONUS!)...so I'm thinking of maybe running (no pun intended) out and getting them after work and then taking them with me tonight to the Super Sports Store to see if they are a good fit for me.

I'm sure the Super Sports Store would like for me to buy a $100 pair of shoes from them...but it ain't gonna happen...Unless they are SUPER CUTE....Unless I win the lottery.

I'll report back on what they tell me.

Hopefully I'll be ready for Week 3, Day 2 (again) tomorrow.

Running Shoes

I'm thinking about investing in a new pair of running shoes..

Not sure if that will solve all of the knee pain issues, but it shouldn't make them any worse.

Right?

I'm thinking of giving these a try.

They are fairly inexpensive..and I'm not sure if I really want to spend $$$ on a pair of shoes...so I think these should work okay.

Aren't Asics supposed to be pretty decent running shoes?

I just really like the colors.

And they look cute on my feet.

This post is probably more suited for my other blog. :)

Bennington Daze Road Race

Bright and early on Saturday morning I 'ran' my first race! :)

I won't lie...it was NOT easy...I thought it might be, but I was mistaken.

I was actually surprised to wake up Saturday morning thinking my knee pain was miraculously gone...My knees felt great, so I left the brace I was wearing on the left one at home.

A few short steps into the race and I realized that I was mistaken, yet again.

The first mile of the race was basically uphill..so that was really hard for me. Mandy, Lisa and I stayed together for about the first 1/2 mile, alternating walking and running, but I sooned realized that I would have to take it a bit slower with all the knee pain...I would have to walk a little longer then them between runs.

Once I reached the top of the hill and turned around to finish the second mile, I was able to run a bit more...it helped that it was down hill..so I picked it up a bit, and once I came to the flat service, walked a bit longer again.

I think my official time was 28:25 (horrible)...a few minutes behind my friends (GREAT JOB GIRLS!!!!!)

I don't think I finished last....

But I'm not sure...there were at least some walkers still behind me and a 10 year old boy... :)

I crossed the finish line about 5 seconds behind some guy...

Who ran the 5 miles. :) I wonder if he was the first one to finish?? Not sure. :)

I had to bail right after the race to make it to a baby shower I was helping host, so I didn't get to stick around and see how "Miss N" did, but I heard she came in second in the 5 mile for the women?! Great Job Girl!!

Here's the evidence that I actually did participate in the run! :) #265. Thanks to Mandy's friend Michelle (Mrs. Nebraska) for this picture of us!

I think my face is the same color as my shirt, no? :)

Week 3, Day 2

...which really should have been day 3 for this week.

I skipped out on running Tuesday night, which should have been day 2, and last night day 3, but my knee just wasn't having it. I decided that it would probably be a better idea to stay off of it that night and ice it and then give it a few extra days rest so that I'd be ready for Thursday.

And that's what I did.

And last nights run sucked.

On top of my knee still not being 100%, add in 90 degree heat and about 1000% humidity even at 8 p.m. and that made for one sucky run.

I'm not sure if it was the heat, or the fact that I probably didn't stretch out enough, or the fact that it had been 4 days since my last run, but my legs just decided that they did not want to work...even the easy 90 second first run was hard for me...I just felt like I couldn't get my legs to bend and move. I couldn't get going. :(

But I toughed it out and made it through the first 90 second, the first 3 minute and the second 90 second runs...but by the time the last 3 minute run came around, I was really pushing it and the knee wasn't having it.

I had to fall back and walk quite a bit..run a little...walk again...run again...off and on for that last three minutes. I finally did catch up with Mandy and Lisa, so that was good. It is really encouraging to have friends to run with...I know I would not have the drive to do this on my own, so I'm thankful that I have them. This morning every part of my body is a bit stiff...both knees a little achy.

There is a 2 mile run this Saturday morning that I have been going back and forth on about participating in....I finally decided yesterday afternoon that I was pretty sure I could do it...thought the knee would be good after 4 days off and that if last nights run went well, I'd be ready to go on Saturday morning....I even called the guy incharge of the run to make sure I could still sign up at the race on Saturday and was really excited about it...but after last night I'm starting to have doubts about it again. At least being able to run it...which I never really intended to be able to run the entire 2 miles...but maybe just off and on..now I'm not so sure. I think I may still participate even if I have to walk the whole thing.

I was kinda hoping I could say it was my first official 'race'...or run...whatever....but it may have to just be a long walk. :) We'll see.

Week 3, Day 1

Now that I'm on the right schedule, I'm changing the titles to reflect that..and that way if I miss out on a run or fall behind, you'll all know that I'm slacking off. :)

Here is the schedule for this week:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Can I say that this SERIOUSLY kicked my butt. I went from feeling like I was a 'running machine' to feeling like I could just fall over and die. :)

It probably didn't help that my left knee was/is seriously hurting...it started bothering me from day one, but usually only hurt the following day and was fine by the next. I think the fact that I ran so hard on the last day of week 2 and thought I was kicking butt, finally caught up with me. I've been icing it since yesterdays run.

We decided to run in the morning yesterday, as opposed to night as we have been, and so we were ready bright and early at 8:30 a.m. to start. My body was NOT ready for that.

Also it seems that somehow this plan skipped the week where you ran/walked for 2 minutes. :) We jumped from 90 seconds to THREE minutes! That may not seem like much..but it was a HUGE difference! :( I really struggled.

So the combo of 8 a.m. running, plus achy knee, plus the three minute jump really effected my running yesterday and I didn't feel as confident about my ability to do this as I had before.

Tomorrow is Day 2 of this schedule..and I'm nervous. :(

I'm really hoping my knee hangs in there. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

Day 4

Last Thursday was day four of training. Just to clear things up, because I was playing 'catch up' to get on the same schedule as Mandy & Lisa, day four for me was actually their Week 2, Day 3. The schedule we are following is three running days a week (Sun., Tues., & Thurs.)..so the first two weeks I actually only ran 2 days...instead of three like them. But now we are all on the same page. :)

So day four for me was the end of week two and I felt like I was really kicking ass! Again, very surprised I was keeping up and actually felt like I could really run at a pretty decent rate. Granted it was still a pretty easy run;

"Brisk five minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes."

But I still felt really good about it. I was starting to feel like the faster I ran, the less tired I felt...which doesn't really make sense, but that's how I felt. Lisa even joked for me to wait for them at the end of the run because I started to pull away a bit. If the entire 9 weeks was comprised of this, it would be no big deal...but I'd soon find out that the jump from Week 2 to 3 would seriously kick my butt....

Day 3

Okay, so technically I should have been running for Week 1, Day 3 of the C25K..but since Mandy and our other friend Lisa are a couple of days ahead of me and already on week 2, I ran that schedule with them. That consisted of the five minute vigorous walking warm up then 90 seconds of running, followed by 2 minutes of walking, repeated six times. (or however many times it takes for you to get to 20 minutes overall)

90 seconds of running doesn't sound like much.

Does a minute and a half sound better?

I think so.

We ran for 1 minute and a half, then walked for 2 minutes, 6 times.

Much better!

Again I was surprised that I was able to keep up the whole time. All together, including the walk back to the car, it took us about 25 minutes. I was pretty tired by the time we got back to the car, but was fine by the time I drove home. No sweat!

Well, lots of actual sweat...but you know what I mean.

I do have to say that my left knee is hurting a bit today...and wearing heels doesn't help that much at all.

Our plan is to run again on Thursday (tomorrow) so hopefully it will feel better with a 'day off'. Our goal is to run Sun., Tues., & Thurs. nights.

The 5k we are running is actually on Aug. 15th...I think I may have said it was July 15th before...which I was wrong...which is a good thing...and extra month to train! :)

Mandy and Lisa are also going to do a 2 mile run next weekend! I wish I could do it with them, but I have a prior commitment. :( Boo! But I think I might try and talk them into another 5K at the end of this month...I don't think we'll be ready to run the whole thing, but its on a Sunday and that could count as one of our training days..we'll could do the scheduled Day One training for that week at the race. I think I *might* try and convince them! :) We'll see.

Day 2

Was much harder then day one! :) Probably because my body was still aching..but that's what happens when it's not used to excersize of any kind.

But I still give myself credit for going out there and running..even as my body protested.

Friday night I ran by myself around the high school track. Which was much more boring then the first night running with Mandy at the lake. I did have my iPod, which helped a bit, but it was alot harder to time myself and make sure I was running according to the recommended Week 1 plan: 60 seconds of running, 90 seconds walking, repeat 8 times.

I really need to invest in a stop watch of some sort.

I was totally prepared to feel even more crappy come Saturday morning...I really thought I'd be hurting big time after the second run, but surprisingly, I felt great the next morning. Perfectly fine! Almost like I hadn't run the night before...but I promise I did!

I technically still have one day left in Week 1...but Mandy is already two days into Week 2 and if I'm going to run with her I might jump on over to the next week tonight. Week 2 consists of 90 seconds of running, followed by 2 minutes of walking; repeat 8 times.

This might pose a bit of a challenge for me, but I'm up for it. Why else would I be putting myself through this torture!

Day 1

So last night was day one of my Couch To 5K training and I'm pleasantly surprised to announce that I did not pass out and die as I expected. In fact, it was actually pretty okay. I am a little sore today...the legs are not quite used to all that activity, but I'm ready for Day 2!

My goal right now if to try and attempt to do Day 2 tonight, weather and legs permitting. If the legs don't want to cooperate, then I will probably just do 20 minutes of brisk walking tonight and pick back up with day 2 tomorrow.

Thanks to my friend Mandy for telling me that she was starting the program to prepare for a 5K race in July. My goal is to be ready to participate in that as well!

So lets sum up those goals, shall we?

1. Get through the first week of C25K
2. Finish the entire 9 weeks of the C25K program or at least a similar training schedule for the next month
3. Be ready to run the 5K on July 15th and finish it!
4. Hopefully loose some weight while doing all of the above.

#4 would actually be my biggest accomplishment...#3 a close second. :)

I did have my husband take a quick pic of me yesterday right before I headed out to run. I thought it would be a good idea to have a 'before' picture of me to see if all this running made a difference in the weight department...and I may post it on here..but right now it's a very scary picture. :) It would be much more fun to post it AFTER I loose 50 lbs..as a side-by-side comparison...Don't you think? :)