I'm back! I am settled in New York and now living in a location sans 100 degree temps and 90% humidity I am actually able to go outside. YAY!!!! The only time I was able to run in Florida was after 7:30 PM, that was when it finally cooled down enough to workout outside, and then I only had about 30-45 minutes til sundown. I tried going out in the early morning before sun up but with no sidewalks, no shoulders, no parks and no streetlights (yes, Cape Coral may be the poorest planned city in the nation) it was downright dangerous!! If I working on a show (which I was doing consistently from January - June as I did 3 in a row as a performer and 2 as a teacher) I was in rehearsal during the only possible running time. I just wasn't able to maintain any sort of consistent schedule.
Today I went on my first real run since I got here last week and will be starting my Couch to 5K back up.
I'm not going to start where I left off. Even though I had been running 1.5 miles with some regularity in Cape Coral up until the day I left, it feels like a whole new ballgame now. Cape Coral is flat, flat, FLAT. Honestly, not a hill in sight. Central Park is, well, the exact opposite. Running feels so much harder with hills. So, I've decided to backtrack on the program just a little and work my way back up again.
This week I am doing Week 4, I went out today and that seemed like the exact perfect place. It wasn't too easy yet it wasn't awfully difficult either.
So, the regimen for Week 4 is:
-Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 3 minutes
Walk for 90 seconds
Jog for 5 minutes
Walk for 2 1/2 minutes
Jog for 3 minutes
Walk for 90 seconds
Jog for 5 minutes
(I added a 20 minute cool down walk on the end since I was quite a distance from my apartment when the intervals ended)
It wasn't horrible, I made it through but it definitely wasn't as easy as it has been. I know I've been running much longer, farther, and faster in recent weeks but my legs are tiring much more quickly with the hills. I know my body will adapt and I just have to be patient!
I'll probably do one more day of the Week 4 schedule (Friday) and then if I am feeling comfortable I'll start the full Week 5 regimen next week.
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
I'm Still Here!
Hey all, I'm still alive and planning to complete my 5K. I was out of running commission for two weeks due to illness, but I'm finally feeling better so I've been out running this week. I did 1 mile Monday, 1.5 miles today, and I plan to do 2 miles one day this weekend and then I will start Week 7 up again next week!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Week 7, Day 1
The Week 7, Day 1 regimen looks like this:
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 25 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down on the end)
Weather: 82F, Windy
Route: 2.5 miles
Today's run sucked. There is just no way around it. There are some wild fires burning to the East of us, and when the smoke blows in it's nasty. I ran Week 6, Day 3 again on Friday and the fires were really burning then, but the wind had changed direction so we did not smell it so badly out this direction. Today the wind was blowing right at us, and even though the fires have died down some, the smoke still made my run very unpleasant. Even the warm-up walk felt unusually hard. My lungs and throat were burning the whole time! Add to that a right knee that was bothering me, and badly needing to pee about halfway through (despite using the restroom immediately before I walked out the door!) and it was all around not an enjoyable experience. But, I made it through. My pace sucked, but I made it through.
Week 7, Day 1: COMPLETE
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 25 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down on the end)
Weather: 82F, Windy
Route: 2.5 miles
Today's run sucked. There is just no way around it. There are some wild fires burning to the East of us, and when the smoke blows in it's nasty. I ran Week 6, Day 3 again on Friday and the fires were really burning then, but the wind had changed direction so we did not smell it so badly out this direction. Today the wind was blowing right at us, and even though the fires have died down some, the smoke still made my run very unpleasant. Even the warm-up walk felt unusually hard. My lungs and throat were burning the whole time! Add to that a right knee that was bothering me, and badly needing to pee about halfway through (despite using the restroom immediately before I walked out the door!) and it was all around not an enjoyable experience. But, I made it through. My pace sucked, but I made it through.
Week 7, Day 1: COMPLETE
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Week 6, Day 4
The Week 6, Day 4 regimen looks like this:
(Repeat of week 6, Day 3)
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 25 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down walk)
Weather: 72F, light breeze
Route: 2.2 miles
Yay! I did it! I am not going to say it was easy. I always seem to hit this wall about 10 minutes in where I get bored and want to quit. It's not that I'm feeling particularly winded or tired, but that I just no longer feel particularly motivated to press on. Today I just focused on my music and pushed through it. The last 5 minutes I finished particularly strong. I am making my own song lists for the long run, so I arranged to finish on Odeon from "Bright Lights, Big City" which is basically a cocaine binge in the 1980s New York City nightclub...so yeah, a good uptempo number.
I'm going to repeat this run again on Friday just so I'm feeling secure, and then I'll move on to the Week 7 runs on Sunday.
Week 6, Day 3: COMPLETE!!!!
(Repeat of week 6, Day 3)
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 25 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down walk)
Weather: 72F, light breeze
Route: 2.2 miles
Yay! I did it! I am not going to say it was easy. I always seem to hit this wall about 10 minutes in where I get bored and want to quit. It's not that I'm feeling particularly winded or tired, but that I just no longer feel particularly motivated to press on. Today I just focused on my music and pushed through it. The last 5 minutes I finished particularly strong. I am making my own song lists for the long run, so I arranged to finish on Odeon from "Bright Lights, Big City" which is basically a cocaine binge in the 1980s New York City nightclub...so yeah, a good uptempo number.
I'm going to repeat this run again on Friday just so I'm feeling secure, and then I'll move on to the Week 7 runs on Sunday.
Week 6, Day 3: COMPLETE!!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Week 6, Day 3
The Week 6, Day 3 regimen:
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 25 minutes
(I added a 15 minute cool down walk)
Weather: 85F, Sunny
Route: 2.6 miles
I didn't make it today. :( I walked for probably 2 minutes in the middle. The sun was just killing me out there!
Anyway, my knees have been bothering me for the last couple of days, so I had already decided to repeat Week 6 this upcoming week to take it easy. I don't want to push it and end up hurting myself. So, I'll be repeating the Week 6, Day 1 interval on Tuesday.
Week 6, Day 3: incomplete
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 25 minutes
(I added a 15 minute cool down walk)
Weather: 85F, Sunny
Route: 2.6 miles
I didn't make it today. :( I walked for probably 2 minutes in the middle. The sun was just killing me out there!
Anyway, my knees have been bothering me for the last couple of days, so I had already decided to repeat Week 6 this upcoming week to take it easy. I don't want to push it and end up hurting myself. So, I'll be repeating the Week 6, Day 1 interval on Tuesday.
Week 6, Day 3: incomplete
Friday, April 17, 2009
Week 6, Day 2
The Week 6, Day 2 regimen looks like this:
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 10 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Jog for 10 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down walk on the end)
Weather: Overcast, 78F
Route: 2.6 miles
Today was a little tough. I didn't really realize how much time I spent on my feet at work until I had last week off for Spring Break. When I went back to school this week I was coming home with aching legs, and then I started to realize how much of my day is spent standing, walking, dancing or jumping around. It's been taking me a little while to get back into that groove and it's been making me more tired than usual. So, when I went out today, my legs were already feeling spent. But, I didn't quit, I made it through (at a decent pace too).
Week 6, Day 2: COMPLETE!
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 10 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Jog for 10 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down walk on the end)
Weather: Overcast, 78F
Route: 2.6 miles
Today was a little tough. I didn't really realize how much time I spent on my feet at work until I had last week off for Spring Break. When I went back to school this week I was coming home with aching legs, and then I started to realize how much of my day is spent standing, walking, dancing or jumping around. It's been taking me a little while to get back into that groove and it's been making me more tired than usual. So, when I went out today, my legs were already feeling spent. But, I didn't quit, I made it through (at a decent pace too).
Week 6, Day 2: COMPLETE!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Week 6, Day 1
The Week 6, Day 1 regimen looks like this:
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 5 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Jog for 8 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Jog for 5 minutes
(I added a 15 minute walk on the end)
Weather: 79F, Overcast VERY Humid.
Route: 2.77 miles
Today was so easy compared to last Friday. My pace definitely was a lot faster on my first two jogging intervals than it has been recently. The last jog interval I had to take a lot slower because I had pushed the first two a bit too fast. But I couldn't help myself, it felt really good.
Week 6, Day 1: COMPLETE!
Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 5 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Jog for 8 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Jog for 5 minutes
(I added a 15 minute walk on the end)
Weather: 79F, Overcast VERY Humid.
Route: 2.77 miles
Today was so easy compared to last Friday. My pace definitely was a lot faster on my first two jogging intervals than it has been recently. The last jog interval I had to take a lot slower because I had pushed the first two a bit too fast. But I couldn't help myself, it felt really good.
Week 6, Day 1: COMPLETE!
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