To Run in the Snow or Not?

Husband S and I have somewhat kept up with running. We haven't had much time to run together the past few weeks but we have ran on our own inside the gym. It's tough running in the gym on a small track. The turns come up too quickly and you are always working one leg more than the other. I should try running on a treadmill more instead.

Anyway, this post is about running an actual race, which we haven't done yet because there haven't been any races offered in our town to date. However, there are some offered in a nearby city on Thanksgiving day. I love the names of the races - Turkey trots and Gobble gallops. The thing is, it snowed recently up in that city. And I mean a lot. So the trails would be covered with ice and snow. We haven't ran in those conditions yet and I'm not sure it would be the best idea to run our first 5K race in those conditions. What do you think? Does this look like a good idea?

Is anyone else planning on running on Thanksgiving Day? It would make you feel better about eating all of that food afterward, wouldn't it?!

THE 5K!

Today was our 1 year anniversary and we ran a 5K!!!!! We skipped the week 9 sessions of 30 minutes and just went straight for the 5K today. We ran it up at our alma mater (the college we met at 5.5 years ago). This was our first time not running on the trails in our current town and I think it went well. We didn't run in an official race because there weren't any going on this weekend; we just ran it on our own using Husband S's iphone nike plus app.

The weather was in the 50's and pretty sunny when we ran around noon. But it was cool and I still wore my Nike running jacket for part of the run. The run wasn't so bad but at times it felt pretty long just because we didn't know the route. I knew the route would hit up with another trail eventually but it took longer than I thought it would to get to that trail. The scariest part was running over the foot bridge that goes over the Interstate (with cars and trucks going 75mph below you). I kind of have a fear of open bridges like that so it was almost harder for me to run over that bridge each way than it was to run the whole 5K. I just held onto Husband S's arm and didn't look down at the cars going below me, praying to God the whole time that the wooden bridge didn't fall down or something like that. It was pretty hard on the second half of the run because there were more uphill segments on the way back. Husband S kept telling me our distance and I felt like we were stuck around 3.6 km forever. It just took forever to get to 4km. The last 0.5km went by pretty fast. I actually thought we were going to have to run a bit further at the end but then the iphone said "Congratulations you have finished your 5K". And then Lance Armstrong came on and said something about it being a new personal best (that's because it's our only personal best at this time)!

I bet you want to know our time? I'm pretty proud of it. It was my goal to run our first 5K in under 35 minutes and we did just that. We ran it in 34:48. Pretty impressive for a first time 5K. We were both proud of what we've accomplished. I asked Husband S what he would have thought if a year ago on our wedding day I had told him we'd be running a 5K in a year. He said he wouldn't have believed me back then. I don't think I would have believed myself back then either!

We took a picture of ourselves just after we finished our race. We felt very accomplished but probably look tired since we are all red in the face. I'll upload it tomorrow if I get a chance. It's too late at night to pull out all the camera cords right now.

This just goes to show that anyone can become a runner! Even two lazy grad students who always hated running and couldn't even run a mile back in gym class in middle school or high school!

This RUNNER is going to bed now after a long but successful day! Goodnight all and good luck to everyone else still in the program! Keep on running!

W8D3

We ran W8D3 (28 minutes with the usual 5 minute warmup and cooldown) early this morning around 7:50. It was so cold outside. Maybe 50 degrees or less. I should have worn my running jacket but I didn't since I thought it was going to be warmer. It took about 13 minutes for my arms and hands to finally warm up. Next time I'll check the temp before I go out for a morning run!

I also made the mistake of eating some dark chocolate before the run. I had just woken up and I wanted to get that morning taste out of my mouth. The dark chocolate did not go over well while running. I ate too much and I felt like I had a stomach ache. So overall, today's run was slower and we ran a little less than normal distance-wise. The stomach ache and the cold temps really slowed me down!

One nice thing about running in the morning is that it really wakes you up and there are less people on the trail. However, I still think I prefer running in the afternoon better - around 4pm or 5pm.

Do you prefer to run at a specific time? Any reason why?

Looking forward to the full 30 minutes on Thursday or Friday! I'm excited to see how far we actually can run in 30 minutes. I am not sure if it will be a full 5K but I'm hoping it's close!

W8D2

We ran W8D2 this evening: 5 minute warmup, 28 minute run, & a 5 minute cool-down. It was unusually warm this weekend for our state. In the mid 80's! Usually it's like 50 degrees this time of year.

Because of the nice weather we spent much of the weekend outside and were very active. We dog-sat for a friend and walked the dog a lot (2x/day). We went to an apple orchard and picked up some pumpkins and mum flowers. We went to a state park and climbed up about 500+ steps to get to the top of a cliff/bluff and take photos. So, we were very tired by the time our run came around on Sunday night.

It was a very hard run for me. I just felt physically exhausted by the end. Like a 10 on those exhaustion scales they have up on posters in the gym. Husband S said I could have ran more but I am not so sure. I kept having him reassure me throughout the run because I wasn't sure I would finish strong. I just wanted a walking break. Even a 30 second walking break would have helped!

I'm sorry if I haven't been writing lately. I feel like there isn't much to update on here now because it's clear to me that I can run for 25 or 28 minutes at a time. It wasn't a hard transition at all for me to go from 25 to 28 minutes. There isn't much difference day to day now besides the fact that some days I have more energy than others. Anyone else feel the same?

This weekend is our wedding anniversary. The goal when I started this program was to be able to run a 5K by our 1st anniversary. I got a little off track in the program and instead of finishing W9 by our anniversary I will now be finishing it a few days later. But I think it is safe to say that I could run the full 30 minutes by our anniversary. Whether the full 3o minutes is enough for me to finish a 5K remains to be seen. Husband S has the Nike GPS app (I'm not sure what it's called). It tracks our distance and speed. I think we are running a 5K at about a 33 minute pace. Or somewhere around there. So we are pretty close to running a full 5K by this weekend if we can run a full 30 minutes. Yay for us. Happy Anniversary Husband S. I'm glad we did this program together!

W7D1

Today was the best run yet! It was such a good run. The weather was perfect - upper 60's and sunny, but not too sunny because the trees were shading the trail partially by 6pm. The air was crisp and it felt like fall, my favorite season.

We started off our run by sprinting pretty fast. We joked around that we should run as fast as we could the whole run. That only lasted about 30 seconds and then we fell into an actual pace that would allow us to last 25 minutes. Still, we had a much faster pace today than previous days and it showed. We were able to get farther on the trail than any other runs. We made it all the way to the old apartment building we lived in. Maybe ~2.7 miles total today?

The bad thing is that my heel started to hurt on the way back. Just after the half way point, I stopped to tighten my shoe because it was sort of moving around and I thought that might be causing the problem. That didn't really fix it though. While I was running I could feel my heel starting to hurt but I just kept working through it. However, a few hours later now it is really hurting when I put any weight on my left foot to walk. I hope I didn't do something to my Achilles or a bone. I don't want to get injured! I want to keep running. I'm scared though. It doesn't feel right.

I think our next run will be Saturday morning and I'm really hoping that my foot is better by then. I want to make that run just as good as today's, if not better! I feel like we could do the 5K now. We probably could've done it today! I'm excited about the fact that soon we will be able to run that far, even if we haven't technically signed up for a race yet to run that far! Am I the only one who is doing this program who hasn't signed up for a 5K yet?

W6D3 and procrastination

Oh man, we sure are getting behind in our program. We aren't giving up, it's just that we've been busy lately and haven't been getting home on time to run. By the time we get home it's after 6 and then we just want to eat dinner, not run, stretch, and shower for an hour. So we were supposed to do W7D1 yesterday. We didn't get to it. We were supposed to do it tonight then but instead we had a date night. So tomorrow we must do it! We have to! No way out this time, no matter what!

I'll write first about W6D3. We ran this on Sunday afternoon, maybe around 1pm. It was very sunny outside. Clear skies. I remember thinking it was going to be cold out so I brought my running jacket with. But then as we walked half a block outside we both decided it was warm and we went back to the house to drop off our jackets so we wouldn't have to run with them. We are so indecisive in this fall weather. It was a good decision to ditch the jackets because it did end up being very hot on the run!

The 25 minute run was difficult. That's our longest run ever! But I will say that it wasn't impossible. I just had to pace myself. It was a rather slow pace sometimes. But I still kept up the motions of running at all times, even if it may have been faster to just power walk.

I was happy because we made it our farthest distance yet on that run. We went past the farthest bridge and around the corner of the trail to where we could see the old apartment building we used to live in. It was always my goal to run that far and I was glad we finally made it there. I always thought we'd make it there earlier in the program but I'm glad we at least made it that far at some point in the program. My new goal is to get a little bit beyond that point every time now. It will mean I'm running farther and improving my pace each time. I can see us getting closer and closer to the 5K now. I estimate we are running about 2.6 miles right now in the 25 minutes. I think we will get to the 5K pretty soon!

W6D2

Husband S was not around today so I had to run alone. It's also been raining buckets here the past day and a half so I had to run inside on a treadmill for the first time in this program. Don't believe me? Check out this photo below of the creek by our house. It normally looks like a small stream. See that trail on the left? That's our running trail. It's completely under water! I don't know when we'll get to run on it again. Hopefully by next week?

Anyways, running on a treadmill is different. In some ways I felt like I was running faster than I do on the land, but in other ways I couldn't really gauge how fast I was going. The machine said I ran 2.4 miles by the end of the workout and burned 150 calories. Not bad, but I really thought I would have gone a farther distance especially since I was running for a total of 20 minutes today and walking for 13 minutes. Will I really make it to 3.1 miles by the time I run for 30 minutes? I guess 2.4 miles might be around what we normally travel on our outdoor runs, so I guess I'm keeping up the same pace.

I did feel like I sweat more on today's indoor run. I don't like sweating indoors so I felt pretty yucky by the end of the run. The run felt a lot harder because I had my iphone sitting in front of me on the treadmill and I kept seeing the time accidentally. The 10 minute runs went by pretty slow, especially since I didn't have Husband S with me to converse with. I am amazed though at how I can endure through the runs. It's all a mind game now. Even if my calves and shins start to cramp up I can usually work through the pain as long as I tell myself I can. Maybe it won't always be that way though, especially if I ever run for longer than 45 minutes. I could imagine hitting a wall then!

I'm looking forward to the next run because I might be able to do it with Husband S again. I hope it is back outside though. I much prefer outdoor running - more things to look at besides a white wall and a tv screen.

W6D1

Ah, today was hard! Probably the hardest day yet. Yes, even harder than W5D3! It was really cold this morning and over the lunch hour. Then when I left work 3 hours later it was super hot. Like 85 degrees and 60% humidity. Such a drastic difference from the lunch hour when I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, jacket, and pants. The weather in my state fluctuates so much this time of year, but usually it doesn't fluctuate that much in 3.5 hours! Seriously, last night we had the heat on. This afternoon we probably could have had the A/C on!

So for our run this evening it was sunny and hot and I pulled out a tank top and the Nike tempo shorts again. Did I tell you what I think of those tempo shorts? They do NOT work for me! They rub on the inside of my legs really bad and I get a burning rash. Not fun. Kind of sucks that I spent $13 on them and now I don't want to wear them.

So anyway, we ran harder today since we knew we had the breaks in between runs today. We wanted to try to increase our distance in those times. Running faster was not a good combination with the heat and the 2 glasses of milk that I drank and the chili that I sampled just before the run. What was I thinking? I felt like I was going to throw up on this run. But I made it through. It was probably the sweatiest run yet. My face was beet red by the end.

One good thing was that the heat made my muscles feel more relaxed. It was definitely easier to stretch at the end.

As much as I love summer, I'm hoping we get our fall weather back for our next run because I kind of like running in the cold weather. Is there a certain weather you prefer for running?

W5D3

Ok, I have not fallen off the face of the earth! And I haven't stopped the program. (Yay for husband S and I!) I just haven't had time to blog lately!

I'm going to get back on track with this blog and try to post some of the past days. But for now I'll start talking about today which was W5D3 - the day I was dreading for quite some time. I was basically scared ever since I first saw what it entailed, which is 20 minutes of running without any walking breaks besides the warm-up or cool-down.

The weather has been a lot cooler the past week or so. Today it was pretty chilly - maybe 50's. The coldest day of running so far. At least it was cloudy. I prefer clouds to the sun burning me. I wore shorts and my new zip-up running jacket. I didn't get very warm until about half way through. Then I took the jacket off because my arms were hot. Just my arms were hot, nothing else. Weird, huh?

Well the great thing about today was we made it through the 20 minutes. There were times when I mentally thought I wasn't going to make it. But I kept pushing through it and kept putting one foot in front of the other. Husband S gave me some positive words of encouragement and told me he knew I could finish. That helped a little too.

I felt incredibly proud of us as we finished the run right back by our starting bridge. We did it! It was something I never would have been able to do just 5 weeks prior. And it was definitely something I never ever thought I'd do just 2 months before. I never thought I'd be a runner, and now here I was running for 20 minutes.

I'm kind of excited about running in week 6 because we get a few walking breaks again. This will give me a chance to work on increasing my speed. I may have finished the 20 minutes today, but it wasn't the fastest run yet. So I'll enjoy working on running faster the next week.

To all of my followers, how did W5D3 go for you? Were you pleasantly surprised with your results?

W4D2

Today was hard! I feel like I say that every time but I really did have a hard time today. Maybe it is just something about day 2 of each week. It always feels like day 2 is the hardest! Perhaps because you aren't quite used to the new routine yet and you are still sore from day 1?

I think we started running off faster for awhile today. At least Husband S said we were running harder.

My calves hurt pretty bad after the first 5 minute segment. And my shins. I don't know if I had shin splints or not. But everything just felt very tight and cramped. Perhaps I didn't drink enough water earlier today.

The last 5 minute segment was the hardest. I just seemed to lose my speed and was going pretty slow toward the end when I could see the starting bridge off in the distance.

But all that matters is that I finished! We made it back to that starting bridge again!

I hope day 3 goes better than today. Maybe I'll have to repeat a day or something because I'm not sure I'm ready for week 5 yet!

September's Giveaway from UPrinting

It's time to announce the winner of September's contest. I used a random number generator to choose the winner from the eligible entries.

Congratulations Ann! You have won a set of business cards from UPrinting! Please contact me to claim your prize! Thanks again to UPrinting for sponsoring this contest on my blog!

________________________________________

UPrinting is sponsoring another giveaway on this blog for the month of September. UPrinting makes really awesome business cards. This giveaway is for UPrinting's diecut business cards.

Here are the details for the prize:

250 Die Cut Business Cards for One (1) Winner

2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card)

Die cutting options available: Rounded Corners, Leaf, Rounded One-Corner, Half-Circle Side, Circle

Paper Type: 14pt Cardstock Gloss, Matte, or High Gloss; 13pt Cardstock Uncoated

Color: 4Color Front, Blank Back; 4Color Front, Black Back; 4Color Both Sides

Limited to US residents only 18 years old and above

How to Enter - Mandatory Entry: please become a follower of this blog via Google Friend Connect, then comment below and let me know how you would use the greeting cards.

Extra Entry (you get one extra entry for the following):

• Tweet this contest on Twitter and comment below to let me know you did so

Contest Timeline: Entries for the contest will be accepted until 6PM CST on Wednesday, September 8th. The winner will be announced shortly after.

Disclaimer: I will be receiving the same prize for hosting this contest.

W4D1

Whew! We ran 5 minutes straight! And we did that twice! With some 3 minute runs mixed in there too!

Yeah, so tonight at 6:15pm (much later than usual) we started week 4. It was our first run on a cloudy and gloomy day. It actually started to sprinkle during the second half of the run and I wish that the skies would have opened up and just poured rain on us. I still haven't ran in the rain and I really want to see what that is like. There was a nice breeze tonight, so that kept us relatively cool.

W4D1 consisted of a 5 minute warm-up, a 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, 2.5 minute walk, 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, and a 5 minute cool down.

I won't lie, the 5 minute runs felt like an eternity. But they weren't all that hard. I just really made sure to focus on my breathing. I regularly took deep breaths so that I would avoid a sideache. I felt a little heavy on my feet today. Kind of like I was pounding them into the ground too much. So I tried to roll on my feet more - from heel to toe. Nothing really hurt too much during the entire session until I got to the second half of the last 5 minute run. Then I started to get the sideache on my right side below my ribs and on my right shoulder (weird!). But I knew that the end would be coming soon because we started to approach the bridge where we started running. We always start at one place and turn around at the half way point (indicated by the man on the iphone telling us we are halfway done). We usually try to make it all the way back to where we started but generally we don't because we are slower on the second half of the workout. This time though I could see the starting bridge coming up so I knew the last 5 minute segment would be ending soon. I told myself to just work through the pain of the sideache. And I asked Husband S to encourage me and tell me I could do it because I was having a hard time mentally. Teamwork! It does wonders! If you are having a hard time with the program and you are going at it alone I highly recommend you get a running buddy. Husband S has really pushed me. He runs a little faster than me too which then makes me run faster than I would on my own.

So I felt great after the run but now a few hours later I am sore. In just a few hours! My gluts hurt. I had a hard time walking up and down the stairs too. My knees felt a little locked or my legs were sore. I couldn't really tell. I don't think I properly stretched my muscles after the run. I'll focus on more stretching in the future!

The new running clothes worked pretty well. Except for those Nike Tempo shorts. Maybe they take some getting used to. However, I felt like the crotch of them hung kind of low and they rubbed on my legs because of that. They gave me a rash where they rubbed. Ouch. I do like those Nike tops though. They felt very cool.

Overall I felt like we were kind of getting into a zone on the longer runs. We just kept running and it didn't feel that bad! Maybe that 20 minute run will be possible next week (or is it week 6?)

Looking forward to W4D2!

It's Official: We're Runners Now!

We visited an outlet mall this holiday weekend and shopped at the Nike Outlet Store. We wanted to buy some warmer workout wear because it is going to get cold pretty fast and we don't want to be running outside in that weather in shorts and tank tops. Just this weekend it got down to the 40's at night. Brrrr. So I went into the Nike store looking for some warmer running clothes and came out with a lot more than that! Check it out:

Nike Dri-Fit Track Jacket, Style number 362794, $24.99

Nike Dri-Fit Running Bra, Style number 362768, $12.99

Nike Dri-Fit Running Bra, Style number 362768, $14.99

Nike Tempo Shorts, Style number 211646, $12.99

Nike Dri-Fit Training Capris, Style number 208677, $9.99

Mavrk Skate Shoes, $14.99 (for everyday use, not for running! And yes, these are men's shoes, but I'm still going to wear them anyways because they are super comfy and they were in my size - 7.5 mens or 9.5 womens)

Husband S found some warmer styles too. He's really excited about his new running shoes, which he says are cushy and way better than his old shoes. Here's what he bought:

Nike Mens Jacket, Style number 339667, $19.99

Nike Mens Shorts, Style number 371638, $14.99

Nike Mens Air Max Moto+ 7 Shoes, $59.99 (I think this is the women's shoe pictured below, but the style is similar for men)

One thing that surprised me about all of these clothes is the number of pockets that they have! Pockets on the backs of the bra shirts for gel pouches. (First of all, I had no idea what a gel pouch was. So I had to google it and discovered it's a concentrated sports drink/gel.) Pockets inside the shorts. Pockets in all sorts of places on the jackets. Small pockets for keys. Larger pockets for ipods. Even a compartment in the shoes for the Nike+ program. I'd say we are race-ready now. We have enough pockets to carry keys, music, sports drinks, probably even a pocket for some mace should we decide to run in scary neighborhoods.

So now after that little shopping spree we really are invested in running. $185.89 invested. We're obligated to run now, folks. Not that I would want to stop anyway. I love running now!

P.S. In case you are curious as to what I wore while previously running, I wrote up a new post below. The shoes in that post are what I'm still going to wear while running until I save up some money for some actual running shoes.

The Running Attire That I Started With

This is what I used to wear while I ran. The attire of weeks 1 - 3:

Tank tops. I have a few different colors. My favorite one is a purple one I bought at Old Navy for $5. These were bought for my summer wardrobe back when we were non-runners.

Soffe Shorts. I have many colors of these too - royal blue, gray, purple, and black with fluorescent colors splashed on them (totally 80's). I bought all of these back when we were non-runners for about $4 to $7 each at Kohl's. They are super comfy, hence why I bought them pre-running. My normal shorts were always getting too tight and I couldn't button them anymore. So I switched to these elastic band shorts. It's sad, but true. Hopefully if I keep running I can fit into my normal zipper and button shorts again.

Skecher Sport Shoes. These aren't real running shoes. In fact, I bought these as everyday shoes last year. I bought two pairs of these shoes because I liked them so much. The arch fell in just the right place. I have problems finding shoes where the arches line up with my feet correctly. I wore my silver and blue pair of these shoes everyday to work/school. They were so worn down that they hurt my feet on the first two days of the C25K program. I finally pulled out my brand-new orange and silver pair of these shoes, which I had been storing in the closet until the silver/blue pair was worn out. These have a lot more padding in them compared to the older pair and have been fine so far for my runs in this program. Some day I will get a new pair of real running shoes! These Skecher shoes cost me about $26/pair at JCPenney's last fall.

What do you wear when you run? Is there a certain brand of shoe that has worked well for you?

W3D3

We ran W3D3 a day later than scheduled because we thought we would be hanging out with friends and going to a happy hour on Friday night. Well that didn't happen. We each had to work late right before the holiday weekend. And I had a bad confrontation with a rude coworker on Friday afternoon. By the time we got home we were too tired and drained to run. So we ran Saturday at noon instead.

The weather today was very deceiving. It was cold in our house (~64 degrees, we had the windows open) so I thought it would be cold outside. I decided to wear some yoga pants on this run. Bad idea. By the time we finished the first 90 second segment of the run I was so hot. It didn't help that it was noon and the sun was high and the trails were not very shaded. Next time I will not be wearing pants while running until I'm 100% sure that is really cold outside. I should also remember to wear sunscreen while running at noon. I'm very prone to sunburns, especially at that time of day.

The run seemed harder today. I think the work week just caught up to me. I was pretty tired. The nice thing about this run is that my knees didn't really hurt. I was getting worried earlier in the week because I felt like my knees kept getting locked up and were swollen. Everything was better today though. It's funny how these things come and go so fast.

I did feel like I ran out of juice by the end of the run. The last 3 minute segment really wore on me. I think it was the combination of the sun and the tight yoga pants. It was just too hot to run in those pants. I actually got a sideache during the cool-down walk; which is odd for me because I usually get sideaches while running, not while walking.

Like always though, I felt much better after the run. That adrenaline really does help you continue on your day! Overall, both Husband S and I have noticed that we seem to be getting a little bit more toned from this program. The scale hasn't reflected any major changes yet, for me at least. In fact, I think the scale has gone up since I've started this program. Increased muscle weight, perhaps? But the fact that I do feel a tiny bit more toned in the stomach region gives me hope that running is helping my body get into shape and get healthier! I'm hoping it helps my knees get stronger in the long run too. I want to continue downhill skiing and water skiing. Lately my weak knees have had a hard time with those sports. So hopefully running will help increase my strength in my knees and overall too.

W3D2

Today was tough. I felt like I was really dragging at the end of each of the 3 minute segments. At the end of the first one we couldn't hear the alert and we actually ran a little bit longer than 3 minutes. At the end of the second 3 minute run I was really tired and was getting a sideache. I kept wanting to look at the clock because I thought maybe we didn't hear the timer. I finally did look at the clock only to discover we were just 5 seconds away from the walk portion. I wish I would have just kept running those last few seconds instead of peeking at the timer.

I did push myself a lot harder today though. I ran faster and picked my legs up more. So that's probably why I got tired sooner. I really am starting to have more of a runner's stance. I'm using my body more to propel itself. It feels good. My calves and shins didn't hurt as much today as they did on W3D1. That was a great improvement!

The weather wasn't so bad today either. Cooler than some days we've had recently and there was a slight breeze. Pretty sunny though. It's amazing how different it feels to run in the shade versus the full sun. I always wish the trails were 100% shade. And it always seems like our 3 minute run segments are right on the sunniest parts of the trail!

The good thing about today is that those 90 second runs went by really fast. When you start running 3 minute segments those 90 second runs feel like nothing! We'll see how we do next week when we bump it up to 5 minute runs with shorter walks!

W3D1

Wow, Week three day one! You were tough! You hurt so bad but felt so good! It was especially nice to run again after eating all that fair food on Saturday.

W3D1 consisted of a 5 minute warm-up, 90 second run, 90 second walk, 3 min run, 3 min walk, repeat those run/walk segments again, and then a 5 minute cool down. I thought I was going to die on that first three minute run. I wanted to check the time so badly but tried really hard not to cheat and look at the clock. My calves really tightened up and I think I was starting to get shin splints for the first time in my life. Everything just felt so tight in my legs; kind of like how you feel after you eat too much salt and you get swollen.

But the good thing is I made it through the 3 minutes with the help of Husband S. The 90 second segments right after the first three minute run went way too fast. Then we had to do the final three minute run. My legs still hurt during that, but I seemed to be able to handle it better. I couldn't believe how much distance we covered in those three minutes. Probably 1/3 of a mile or so according to the trail markers. That's a lot for me!

It puzzles me why my legs hurt so much. I'm wondering if I changed my stance somehow. I try to run heel to toe, rolling my foot. Maybe I shouldn't do that so much? Maybe I'm hitting too hard on my feet? Or maybe this is just what happens. I have no idea, but I hope I can work through it.

Husband S and I talked a lot during this run. Usually I am breathing too hard and I can't talk, but I have been getting better at talking. We talked about the weather and how it was surprising that it has never rained yet on a running day. Knock on wood, the forecast predicts rain for our W3D2 run now. We also talked about music being banned in races and why that might be. Does the music give some runners an advantage by causing them to run faster? We have no idea. In addition, we talked about how we usually dread starting the run but how we always feel good after we finish it. I love the feeling of finishing a good aerobic workout. I'm glad we've both been able to push each other to get out there and continue running on a regular schedule.

Anyways, the weather on this run was hot and humid. Probably upper 80's. This run was around 6pm, which was later for us.

Looking forward to seeing if I can improve my distance during the next 3 minute segments on W3D2!

Another Recovery Day

Well, today was supposed to be W3D1 if we stayed on track with our every-other-day run routine. But, this weekend killed us and we needed time to recover. So tomorrow will be W3D1 instead of today.

Why did this weekend kill us? FOOD is the answer. Unhealthy food! Friday night we went out to eat at a sushi restaurant because we had a Groupon coupon to use that was going to be expired soon. Saturday we went to the State Fair. We stuffed our faces full of deep fried cheese curds, deep fried candy bars, butter soaked corn on the cob, reuben stuffed pretzels, a bucket full of cookies, ice cream, roasted almonds, apple cider, and apple freezies. It was a ton of food. Despite all of this, we still went to our neighborhood's Greek Festival today and ate pork souvlaki followed by a baklava sundae and deep fried Greek donuts.

I had every intention of running today with husband S to burn off some of those calories. But after all of this greasy food I felt like I just needed to recover for a day. So tomorrow we will start back on the C25K plan with full force! I will probably need to run about 20 miles to burn off those calories. The local paper had an article that a person needed to walk 11 miles to burn off the cheese curds alone from the fair! And 5 miles for the cookies! Maybe I'll burn off all of these calories by the end of week 9? :)

W2D3

Today was pretty rough. Woke up early to run. It was pretty hot and humid outside even though it was only 8AM. My muscles were pretty tight - especially my quads. And my knees have started to hurt more lately today. So this run was harder than usual. I felt like I really had to push myself to make it through the 90 second runs.

Not much else to update you on today. I was just glad I actually finished the workout because I was pretty tired and sore today. It's been a long week since I never caught up on sleep last weekend or slept in any days this week. Hopefully next week is less tiring.

W2D2

Today was a harder run. Husband S thinks we are starting to get to that middle hump now that happens when you do programs like this. I think I was just sore from some stretching we did yesterday in a therapy program. The stretching exercises made me realize I wasn't fully stretching all of my muscles after each run. I found muscles that were tight and needed to be stretched more (my butt and my hamstrings). We also walked around a lot yesterday and did two spurts of sprints that were each a block long. They felt good at the time, but I think we over did it and that is why running was harder today.

It was sunny today, low 70's (much cooler than recent days), and breezy. My legs felt tighter when we were running and I thought that maybe it was due to the cooler weather. I also started to get that bloody taste in my mouth, which is weird because I was just commenting earlier about that and how it hadn't happened yet in any previous runs. Usually, I always used to get that bloody taste anytime I would run any distance. Husband S thought I hadn't had it yet in the C25K program because the weather has been so hot and he said it happened usually in the cold. So maybe that's why it happened today for the first time. It was colder today.

The program went well today still. We weren't running as fast or as hard as previous days but we still made it through. We didn't get off track at all. I tried to listen to the beeping cues really hard so that we would stay on track with the timing.

The only concerns I have right now are my knees. They started hurting yesterday and were still a little swollen today. I can feel fluid inside of them; this is similar to what happens to my knees when I downhill ski. I think it may be time to ice them. I only hope this doesn't get worse because I want to keep running! Anyone know if it is common for runners to have sore knees?

Husband S also mentioned taking an extra day off to recover. We've been doing the program every other day. This will allow us to get ahead of schedule. Technically you are only supposed to do the program 3x per week, so we could take an extra day off if necessary.

Well, that's all I have for today. Make sure to enter my contest below!

W2D1

Week 2! Today was the first big change in the program! 5 minute warm-up, followed by 6 sessions of the following: 90 second run/jog and 2 minute walk. Lastly, there was a 5 minute walk to cool-down.

The weather was hot and humid again today. Weather.com says it was only 83 degrees but I swear with the full sun and clear skies it felt much hotter than that when we were running at 5pm.

We ran on the city trail again today. There were actually a lot of other people out on the trail too. I think it was a busy time since people were using the trails to get home from work. I felt pretty special to have other people see me running! I'm starting to become a real runner.

Overall I would say the run today wasn't that difficult. I remember I was super scared when I saw the week 2 itinerary when I started this program. 90 seconds seemed like a long time to run! But it wasn't so bad at all. The heat actually made it feel better because my muscles were more relaxed (I haven't had any of the pain lately that I had felt back on W1D1 and W1D2). I actually ran pretty fast for one of the 90 second legs. Husband S didn't even have to push me. He was pretty surprised when he saw me running so fast. He gave me a big high five after that leg. It was harder to run on the next leg since I was so tired from pushing myself during the previous 90 second leg. I still have to learn to do things in moderation so I can be consistent with my speed and efforts among all running sessions.

I'm excited for Wednesday and I'm proud that I haven't given up on this yet! This program really works so far! I will keep on running! Today I even told Husband S about my long-term goals --- run the 5K by our first wedding anniversary in October and hopefully run a 10K by our second wedding anniversary in October 2011 (with more 5Ks sprinkled in between that time too, if I like them enough). The last thing I want is to train for this one 5K and then just stop after that. I want to keep running or training, so I think training for a 10K would be the best bet for our next step?? We'll see what happens. I haven't researched the 10K training program at all yet so I don't know what it entails. But so far I LOVE what we have been doing with the C25K program!

W1D3

Had a good run today with Husband S. We woke up on a Saturday morning and were running by noon! Not the best time to run when you are prone to skin cancer. The sun was high and there wasn't a whole lot of cloud cover. But we ran hard. I really was excited for the run. It was the easiest one all week.

We are both starting to have the proper running form. Or at least what we think is proper - heel first and then rolling to the toe with each stride. Sometimes I feel like I'm just plopping my whole foot down, but I'm really trying to be conscious of my stride so that I don't injure myself.

I already feel like I'm more in shape and have better posture. I can feel my core strengthening. I can't wait to see what happens by the end of the 9 weeks. Maybe I'll be toned again (I haven't been toned since I was on a dance team back in H.S.)

I'm ready for week 2 now! I actually feel like I could start it tomorrow, but I don't want to over-do it!

Recovery day 2

Today was the 2nd recovery day. I actually felt pretty great today. The groin muscles are a little sore still and I can still feel the blisters. It was another day of wearing the moccasins!

The levels of soreness were so minimal that I actually wanted to run again today and get ahead in the training program. I had planned to run right before dinner but then I had to finish some things up in the lab and I didn't get home till pretty late. So that was disappointing. But I could have ran today. And I was actually excited and looking forward to it. What am I becoming? I haven't experienced a runner's high yet, but I think I am beginning to understand for the first time in my life why people love running. It's fun to exercise without any machines or gyms. It's just you and the open road exposed in the elements. It is addicting, and I've only been doing it for 2 days!

Since I didn't get to run today and I really wanted to, I am now REALLY excited to run tomorrow (Saturday, a weekend day!). I barely feel sore right now as I type this at night so I think tomorrow will be a good run. The only thing that concerns me are the blisters and whether they will get worse if I put those Skechers back on. I may need to consider purchasing a pair of running shoes this weekend. Anyone have any recommendations for which brand of shoes to go with? I know nothing about running shoes. I'm sure there are different types of running shoes and it varies from person to person. But if anyone has any advice, please share!

W1D2

Today was an early day for us. Husband S had football practice at night so we were forced to run in the morning. Neither of us are morning people so I don't think either of us thought the other one would actually wake up at 7:45 AM to go running. What the heck have we turned into? We are getting up early now AND we are running? So out of the ordinary for us. Running makes you do weird things!

Well, to our surprise we both got out of bed. I actually had trouble sleeping the whole night because I was nervous for the morning run. I kept waking up every hour and looking at the clock, wondering if it was 7:45 and if it was time to run yet. I was nervous to run I think because I was still so sore. I remember at one point early in the morning it was raining and I happily thought to myself, "yay, I won't have to run now." So funny. Anyways, 7:45 rolled around and it wasn't raining and it was time to run.

We went out on the trails by 8AM. It was humid, cloudy, and wet. I was definitely sore still. But it wasn't as bad as the previous days. This type of soreness was something I could work through. And I did. The running parts seemed more strenuous today. It may have been the combination of increased heat and humidity outside that made everything seem worse. I was having a harder time catching my breath during the 90 second walks. I also felt like I wasn't going as fast as I had the first day. In addition, I developed blisters on the soles of my feet during this run. My crappy Skechers shoes aren't really running shoes and they rub on the bottoms of my feet wrong. S and I also got off on the timing. There were some tractors on the trails and they were pretty noisy. We couldn't hear the iphone for awhile and missed our cues. So that kind of through off our whole circuit for awhile. But we made up for it at the end by running during some of the cool-down time and then just extending the cool-down time later.

Husband S really pushed me today. I had a sideache a few times throughout the workout and he kept pushing me to go further. At the end we didn't exactly have a timer when we were trying to get back on track with the run/walk circuits and I wanted to stop at what I thought was a minute but he kept telling me to run to the end of the block. I didn't make it all the way there, but he definitely pushed me to go farther on that block than I had wanted to. A bad side-ache on my right side ensued after that. But I felt happy that we were working together as a team and motivating each other to do the best that we can.

I still felt sore the rest of the day, but not as bad as the first day. The worst part were the blisters on my feet. I had to wear my Minnetonka Moccasin shoes the rest of the day (they are like comfortable slippers). My boss at work commented on my colorful shoes and I just said I liked them because they were very comfortable.

So that was day 2. Overall, I was very impressed with the fact that we successfully ran for a second day and that we got up early to do it! We are on our way to becoming runners!

Recovery day 1

I don't think there is actually a name for the off days in this program. But I'm going to call them recovery days. Today definitely is a much-needed recovery day. I woke up very sore. My groin muscles really REALLY hurt. My quads were sore, as were my abs and knees. It was hard to walk. I tried to stretch some more. I couldn't believe how sore I was especially since I did stretch after the cool-down yesterday.

I definitely started to feel a little bit better as the day went on. No more diarrhea today at least! I actually started to feel a little bit like a runner. Since my abs hurt I felt like I had better posture and a strengthened core. All of this after one day of running! Sign me up for more!

W1D1

Today my husband S and I started the Couch to 5K (C25K) training program. We had been talking about getting in shape again for a long time and finally decided that now was the time. It is actually the perfect time for us. The training program is 9 weeks long. 9 weeks from now is our 1 year wedding anniversary - so what a perfect reason to get in shape! I'm going to try to get back to the weight I was on our wedding day (10-17-2009). I've definitely gained some weight since we've become newlyweds. Our lifestyle has become more sedentary - we stay home more and sit on the couch with kitties on our laps and watch movies on Netflix. Let's face it, it was time for us to get off the couch and become more active. This program will be the perfect opportunity for us to get in shape!

So today was W1D1 (week 1 day 1). It was sunny today and probably in the 80's. A little drier outside than the usual humidity we have been experiencing in August. We ran at 5:30pm on the paved trails along the creek. Today's program was a 5 minute warm-up walk, followed by 8 cycles of 60 second jogs and 90 second walks. Then there is a 5 minute cool-down walk. The run was difficult. Who are we kidding? I've never been a runner in my life so this was pretty hard! But I liked how there were intervals of walking and running. I never would have been able to just run straight for 5 minutes. At least not yet. So it was nice that there were breaks that gave us a chance to walk and catch our breath.

During the run my stomach started hurting. I felt like I was having digestion problems and I needed to let out a lot of gas. That would catch up to me later, as you'll read below.

After the run I felt pretty pumped up. I was actually sweating. I don't usually sweat that much at my work-outs at the gym. So it was somewhat satisfying that I was sweating. That meant I had a good workout.

Two hours after the run I went into the lab to work on some things. When I got in the car to drive to the lab I didn't feel so good. I brushed off those feelings and worked a bit when I got there. But those bad feelings caught up with me and I had to run to the bathroom. Diarrhea! It wasn't pretty. I didn't feel so hot. So this is what it feels like to be a runner.

I went home and looked up what was wrong with me on the internet. Apparently there is something called runner's trot. I'm not sure if I have it or not. We'll find out as I get farther into this program!

My muscles feel very sore right now. My groin muscles hurt most. I bet I'll hurt even more tomorrow! We'll soon find out!

Welcome!

This blog will chronicle the journey that my husband and I are taking through the C25K program. We have downloaded an iphone application to do this program. It allows us to listen to our music and at the same time we can hear the timers that tell us when to run or walk. It keeps track of everything for us! It's worth it for $2.99.

The program is 9 weeks long if we stay on track. But if things get hard I think it is OK to repeat a day or a whole week. We'll see how we do!

We haven't signed up for a 5K race at the end of this program. We aren't so much doing it for the race as we are for the training and the benefits of getting in shape. But our friends joke around that they will have a race for us. The race will be called the (insert funny Indian last name here) Classic. They claim they will even make special t-shirts for this race. The t-shirt will have an iron-on design of a numbered piece of paper safety pinned to the shirt. Get it? Instead of actually safety pinning a numbered piece of paper to a shirt like they usually do in races, my friends will actually make that the design of the shirt. Dorky idea, I know!

So this blog will basically tell my side of the story. I'm going to try to be 100% honest. It may get graphic. But that way people who want to do the C25K program (but are somewhat hesitant) will know exactly what they are getting into. I am also writing this blog for myself. I want to be able to track my progress and see how far I've come along. And if I ever fall off track again, I want to have this blog there so that I can show myself that I can get in shape and that it isn't that hard because I have done it before!

So that's the purpose of this blog. I hope you find it as valuable as I do! Welcome!