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

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!!!!

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

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!

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!

Week 5, Day 3

Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 20 minutes
(I added a 10-minute cool down on the end)

Weather: Sunny, 82F
Route: 2.24 miles

Holy crap, I cannot believe I just did that. I feel horrible now. It was bloody hot out there, and I am drenched in sweat, but I cannot believe I ran for 20 straight minutes. When I mapped it out it ended up being about 1.7 miles. I learned one thing, I need to start making my own podcasts. The podcast I was using for the shorter intervals was fine, but I get soooooo bored of that music after 20 straight minutes, and it's only going to get worse as the runs get longer. If I am listening to something I can lose myself in, this running thing is much easier. If I have to spend the entire time thinking about what I'm doing, and how I'm feeling, and how much I'd rather be sleeping or whatever, it is torture to force myself through. But I survived! WHOA! 5 weeks ago I was all scared to increase my runs to 2 minute intervals, and now I ran for 20 minutes? Crazy!

Week 5, Day 3: COMPLETE!

Week 5, Day 2

The Week 5, Day 2 regimen looks like this:

Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
Jog for 8 minutes
Walk for 5 minutes
Jog for 8 minutes
(I added a 5-minute cool down walk on the end)

Weather: Windy, Overcast and Mild, 60F
Route: 2.09 miles

This run was so easy! I started out the first run a little too fast and felt myself fading after the first five minutes, but I managed to keep it going the entire time. The second run was a breeze. I added an extra 2 minutes on to the end because I had hit my stride and was feeling really good.

Friday comes the big one..the 20 minute run. *GULP!*

Week 5, Day 2: COMPLETE!

Week 5, Day 1

The Week 5, Day 1 regimen looks like this:

Brisk 5-minute warmup walk
Jog 5 minutes
Walk 3 minutes
Jog 5 minutes
Walk 3 minutes
Jog 5 minutes
(I added a 10 minute cool down walk at the end)

Route: Agualinda to Savonna to Home - 2.39 miles

I wasn't too concerned about today. I handled the 5 minute runs throughout Week 4 and again they presented no problem. It felt a little hot today (I ran much earlier this morning, so I'm not sure of the exact temperature) but otherwise it was a nice run. The next run is two 8 miles intervals. And then the last run of the week is a 20-minute run. SCARY!

Week 5, Day 1: COMPLETE!

Week 4, Day 3

The Week 4, Day 3 regimen looks like this:

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 5 minute cool down walk on the end)

Today's Weather: 81F, Sunny, VERY humid
Route: The neighborhood around Bernadino Canal - 2.13 miles

Okay, again, a long hiatus since my last run and I paid dearlu. I barely survived the first 5-minute run, and I did okay on the second 5-minute until the last 45 seconds or so. Life got in the way. Well, to put it bluntly, "Jekyll & Hyde" got in the way. I am trying to get myself back on track but with another weekend of J&H in front of me I am worried about how I am going to make that happen. I think I'm going to keep on week 4 for the rest of this week and then I'll move on to week 5 next week when Spring Break starts and I have a bit less on my plate.

Week 4, Day 3: COMPLETE