Week 5 end

I feel like I am cheating my program because I have been using the treadmill though technically I am not. I was supposed to be doing 6 sets of 2 walk/3 run all week but on Wednesday I only walked Chi Max for 28 minutes around the neighborhood before Aaron's bus arrived because I was on the phone most of the morning and afternoon (much needed communication with a friend back home). I was in quite the hormonal funk all week up to that point which made motivation a real challenge. Finally by the end of Wed I was freed and felt more like myself.

I wanted to be done with my running before the boys left for school yesterday and the timing worked out that I could jump on the treadmill and be done in time to get the boys up and going. So that is what I did. I decided to challenge myself though so the first set I added an incline on the walk part then sent it back to position for the run and upped the speed to 5 mph for the whole training. I kept the walk at 3.5 mph until the last two sets and then brought it down to 3.0 mph. I had to talk myself through sets 4-6 on the run because the speed was challenging to maintain at that point. But, I did it. I could feel my left ham string? wanting to cramp on me but thankfully never did.

I ended up going 2.40 miles with that speed which I like to see. It is much more fulfilling than 2. I figure if I am using the treadmill then I need to work on increasing speed because it is hard to do that consistently on the road. I think the road is definitely more of a workout challenge because it is my own effort that moves me all the time. The treadmill forces my legs to move so it is not my own power motivating me. I do think it is a lot easier on my knees though. They hadn't bothered me at all since I started the treadmill last week. I thought it was because of the cushioning of the treadmill but then they started hurting Tues or Wed and Matthew informed me a cold front was moving in. It appears they may have quit hurting because the temp had warmed up. Perhaps I have a weather gauge in my knees.

I have been having this mental battle about using the treadmill. I LOVE the convenience of the treadmill. I like that I can listen to my music while I exercise. I don't have to go out in the cold. If the boys are asleep and wake up while I am exercising I am still in the house so they can find me and not be worried they were left alone. Did I mention I don't have to go out in the cold? I am grateful that it was not an option in the beginning because it forced me outside and allowed me to see the beauty of this area and experience it firsthand as well as meet people in my neighborhood. I would have missed out on so much.  It opened up the possibilities of a 5K and half marathon in my mind because I began setting goals based on distance instead of time. It empowered me. It gave me a chance to help the dog get his energy out and feel more loved. So all those reasons make me feel guilty about using the treadmill - especially the dog and the feeling of empowerment. I keep telling myself that I should enjoy being outside while I can and save the treadmill for when the winter comes for good. But if I am more willing to go down in the basement and get the training done in a timely manner, that is worth a lot to me too. So much of my morning is spent avoiding the exercise or recovering from it that my day is almost robbed from me... It is all a big balancing and juggling act.

Starting Over: Rookie 5K RUN Day 1 (week 5)

I am continuing my training by moving to the rookie training which is an 8 week training program that prepares us to run a 5K. I skipped to week 5 because the first four weeks are basically what I did in the 5 wk walk/run training. This week is a repeat of the previous week: 6 sets of walk 2/run 3.

Quite frankly I was in a funk this morning and had no desire to get my butt off the bed and do anything but veg. In the process I ended up discovering a possibility that got me all excited. Suddenly I didn't mind getting off the bed and exercising. As odd as it seems, one of the things that sometimes creates a mental hurdle is the idea of changing my clothes. I needed to do laundry today anyway, so I decided to run on the treadmill and not change out of my pajamas. Good enough (except for the dog who feels a little cheated and wanted a treat for my efforts afterward as if we had just done our normal routine).

I decided to start the 4mph/20 min program on the treadmill for a warmup, stop it when I was ready, and begin a manual program following the 2 walk/3 run training. It worked well enough. I realized this on Saturday, but it surprised me again to find that the 6 sets = 2 miles. Kind of disappointing because I was going further out in the neighborhood but I recognize I was actually going somewhere too and had to get back which of course adds more time. I read an article this morning about the differences between treadmill and outdoor running and it explained a lot about why I found the treadmill so much easier. Maybe I wasn't as bad off as I thought I was in the beginning - it just really is harder to run outdoors (which means a better workout too).  

Because of my hodge-podge run on Saturday, I have been trying to figure out my time for the 5K and realized the timing was working out on today's run to mimic it. So when I was at 1.80 miles I was on my last set. I kicked it up to 5 mph and ran until I made it to the 2 mile mark. Surprisingly, I hit it before my 3 minutes were up. I actually had 30 seconds to spare! So, if each set is 5 minutes and it takes 3 sets per mile, my time was approximately 45 minutes. Not bad for my first 5K :)