Couch to 5K is BACK

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!