Yesterday began a series of runs that start with a 5 minute warm-up walk and then running for 1:30, walking for 1:30, running for 3:00, walking for 3:00. Repeat and then cool-down for 5 minutes.
I'm not gonna lie - I was nervous about the 3:00 runs. The 2:00 runs were difficult at times, so adding an entire minute on to it seemed daunting. For the seasoned runners out there, 3:00 is a breeze, laughable really. But remember that I'm just starting out from 0:00. No running at all. Ever. Buuuuuuuttt...the first 3:00 wasn't that bad! When I saw 1:30 left on the clock, I said to myself, "Oh, I got this." And I did. I ran for 3:00 straight and I didn't die. Not even close. I was happy to have that first 3:00 walk though! Ha! And I was glad that the 3's were separated by the 1:30's. The second 3 minute run was a little tougher, but not impossible. I found myself counting down the seconds and assuring myself that I could do it, and I did. And I was proud.
Something that bothers me about this program though: Whatever workout you're doing, it always ends on walking, followed by a 5-minute walking cool-down. So yesterday, it was supposed to be 8 straight minutes of walking. That annoyed me. I'm trying to run; I don't want to walk for 8 minutes! So after the last 3 minute walk, instead of walking for another 5 minutes, I ran for 4!! I wanted to go for more, but I was already at a 29 minute workout with a cool-down to go, and I didn't want to keep my daughter waiting for me any longer (I waited for the boy to fall asleep before I ran yesterday). She was sitting on the couch next to the treadmill with a DVD, and when I looked over during the last minute of the cool-down walk, I saw that she had fallen asleep. Poor kid. So I could have run more but didn't know it. Oh well. I'm sure I will make up for it!
Taking the weekend off & then back to business on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Training Day 6
So, who the heck am I becoming? I actually woke up at 5:45am this morning to run. Yes. Me. I did.
If you don't know me, you don't know what a ridiculous idea this is. I am NOT a morning person. At all. I have to lay in bed for a good 15 minutes before I can even think about getting out of it. And then when I do, I can't quite form sentences until I've had at least one cup of coffee. And if I have to speak at all, I'm not very nice about it. It's not pretty. I know, it's one of my downfalls.
And when I say I woke up & ran, I literally woke up & ran. The only prep I did was throw on my glasses, drink some water, and find the iPad so I could use my app. That's it. As the workout went on and I began to wake up, I started to realize that maybe I should have brushed my teeth & put on some deodorant, but I guess these are things we learn with time & experience.
But let me tell you, this was a slap-in-the-face wake-up like I've never had before! You don't have a choice but to get your body moving and your mind alert because if you don't, you'll fall off of the treadmill! The first 10 minutes were awful. I wasn't ready to be awake, I wanted to be laying in my soft, comfy bed, and both my body & mind were screaming at me, "What is WRONG with you??!!" But if I wanted to squeeze everything I had planned into the day AND get the workout in, it had to be at this ungodly hour of the morning. And so onward I trudged. And I survived.
I was on a VERY tight time restraint since wifey needed to get showered & ready for this place she goes to called work, so I couldn't really add on too much extra. It was the last day of alternating between 1:30 running & 2:00 walking, so after the last spurt of walking when I was supposed to go into my 5 minute cool-down period, I ran for 2:30 and then walked the rest. Not my best workout and not my furthest distance so far, only hit 2.28 miles but there's always tomorrow! (Of which, I am a bit scared - we step it up a little more tomorrow!) Calves are still feeling tight & are firm to the touch, but no pain so no complaint from me!
When all was said & done, I had gotten a workout, showered & was dressed by 7:00am, the time I am usually just getting out of bed. So it ended up being a pretty fantastic morning. However, by 5:30pm I felt like I was going to slip into a coma, I was so tired! It also could have been the day spent in the sun & water, but either way, I was drained! Hopefully I won't have to have too many of these dawn workouts, but now that I have done one & lived to tell about it, I might not be as reluctant.
If you don't know me, you don't know what a ridiculous idea this is. I am NOT a morning person. At all. I have to lay in bed for a good 15 minutes before I can even think about getting out of it. And then when I do, I can't quite form sentences until I've had at least one cup of coffee. And if I have to speak at all, I'm not very nice about it. It's not pretty. I know, it's one of my downfalls.
And when I say I woke up & ran, I literally woke up & ran. The only prep I did was throw on my glasses, drink some water, and find the iPad so I could use my app. That's it. As the workout went on and I began to wake up, I started to realize that maybe I should have brushed my teeth & put on some deodorant, but I guess these are things we learn with time & experience.
But let me tell you, this was a slap-in-the-face wake-up like I've never had before! You don't have a choice but to get your body moving and your mind alert because if you don't, you'll fall off of the treadmill! The first 10 minutes were awful. I wasn't ready to be awake, I wanted to be laying in my soft, comfy bed, and both my body & mind were screaming at me, "What is WRONG with you??!!" But if I wanted to squeeze everything I had planned into the day AND get the workout in, it had to be at this ungodly hour of the morning. And so onward I trudged. And I survived.
I was on a VERY tight time restraint since wifey needed to get showered & ready for this place she goes to called work, so I couldn't really add on too much extra. It was the last day of alternating between 1:30 running & 2:00 walking, so after the last spurt of walking when I was supposed to go into my 5 minute cool-down period, I ran for 2:30 and then walked the rest. Not my best workout and not my furthest distance so far, only hit 2.28 miles but there's always tomorrow! (Of which, I am a bit scared - we step it up a little more tomorrow!) Calves are still feeling tight & are firm to the touch, but no pain so no complaint from me!
When all was said & done, I had gotten a workout, showered & was dressed by 7:00am, the time I am usually just getting out of bed. So it ended up being a pretty fantastic morning. However, by 5:30pm I felt like I was going to slip into a coma, I was so tired! It also could have been the day spent in the sun & water, but either way, I was drained! Hopefully I won't have to have too many of these dawn workouts, but now that I have done one & lived to tell about it, I might not be as reluctant.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
A Day of Resting my Lead Calves
Today as I walk around my house I am noticing that my calf muscles are feeling pretty tight. Not sore, tight. I'm making sure that I stretch my legs out after each run while I'm still warm, but maybe I'm not doing enough? Or maybe this is completely normal?
I've had sore/tight calves before. We've all been to Disney World, we all know what I'm talking about. It's Day 3 of the parks and it's only 9am and you feel like your calves are giant bowling balls hanging off of the backs of your legs. It hurts to take any kind of step forward and you wonder how you're supposed to make it to the next ride, let alone a whole day of walking! But this isn't like that. There is no pain, no soreness at all really. It just feels tight or heavy, like something is latched on back there, and the muscles are firm to the touch as well, but again are not sore to the touch as a long day of walking would turn out.
Maybe I just did a lot yesterday? After my workout I took the kiddos to the boardwalk again and we did a fair amount of walking between the boardwalk itself, far away parking, and stopping for potty breaks, which of course are at the complete opposite end of where we were settling. And then it was up & down the basement stairs for laundry. None of these things are exceptional, and all of which I am used to on a fairly constant basis. But maybe doing all of them in one day was a lot?
I don't know. No pain or soreness, for that I am thankful :) Let's see what happens in tomorrow's workout! But for today, it's relaxing by the pool. Well, as relaxing as keeping after a 1 year old and a 3 year old by a pool can be, haha!
I've had sore/tight calves before. We've all been to Disney World, we all know what I'm talking about. It's Day 3 of the parks and it's only 9am and you feel like your calves are giant bowling balls hanging off of the backs of your legs. It hurts to take any kind of step forward and you wonder how you're supposed to make it to the next ride, let alone a whole day of walking! But this isn't like that. There is no pain, no soreness at all really. It just feels tight or heavy, like something is latched on back there, and the muscles are firm to the touch as well, but again are not sore to the touch as a long day of walking would turn out.
Maybe I just did a lot yesterday? After my workout I took the kiddos to the boardwalk again and we did a fair amount of walking between the boardwalk itself, far away parking, and stopping for potty breaks, which of course are at the complete opposite end of where we were settling. And then it was up & down the basement stairs for laundry. None of these things are exceptional, and all of which I am used to on a fairly constant basis. But maybe doing all of them in one day was a lot?
I don't know. No pain or soreness, for that I am thankful :) Let's see what happens in tomorrow's workout! But for today, it's relaxing by the pool. Well, as relaxing as keeping after a 1 year old and a 3 year old by a pool can be, haha!
Training Day 5 - More of the Same
Yesterday was more or less a repeat of Monday. 5 minute walking session followed by intervals of 1:30 running and 2:00
walking. Again, R did not go down for a nap early so into the Pack & Play it was! However, this time he was less than thrilled about it. Since by the end of the workout he was crying, I didn't add too much extra to the routine, only one 2:00 spurt of running. There's something about listening to a child cry & running that do not go well together...I might have to re-think how I schedule all of this. I don't like the idea of running at 9:00 at night, but having a screaming child right next to me isn't doing anything for me either. It was nice when I was able to get lost inside my own head for a little bit. So we'll see what the rest of the week brings!
Other than that, nothing major to report. No aches, no pains, no major breakthroughs, nothing special. Business as usual.
Other than that, nothing major to report. No aches, no pains, no major breakthroughs, nothing special. Business as usual.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Training Day 4
Luckily, my hip pain from this weekend has resolved itself and I was able to start this week's workouts without any reservation. Today started & ended with 5 minute walking sessions as usual, but instead of 1:00 running and 1:30 walking intervals, it was 1:30 running & 2:00 walking. I am hoping that the walking intervals decrease over time as well, but I was thankful for the longer "breaks" today! I'm not sure if it's because I had 2 days off back-to-back or if the additional 30 seconds of running time makes that much of a difference, but today's workout was tough! I kept my walk at a 3.8 for most of the session & the runs started at 5.0 and went up to 5.3. I think I might keep the walks at the 3.8 since I struggle to find the pace at 4.0.
R wouldn't go down for an early nap today, and I didn't want to delay things too much longer, so I set up a Pack & Play in the basement, put both kids in it with some water & snacks and let Toy Story 2 entertain them while I kept an eye on them. It went pretty well as far as the kids were concerned - it's still a novelty to them so they are content to play in the basement for now. I'm not sure how much longer this will last, but we'll see how it goes. I find it tough to have to keep an eye on them and try to run, especially if I have to call to them for anything. I'm still not completely able to speak while running, but I'm sure with time I'll get there. On the days when they're not down there with me it's easier for me to get lost in my own thoughts and the workout seems to go by faster. Today it dragged on & on! I checked to see how much time I had left and there were still 19 minutes!
Of course, I had to push a little further than the program called for. When I got to the 5 minute cool-down, I ran for 2:00, walked for 1:00 and then ran another 2:00 followed by the 5:00 cool-down. Total distance 2.67 miles. Feeling pretty good! My recovery time after each session is getting shorter. At first it took me probably close to 15 minutes before my breathing came down to normal and I was steady on my legs again. Now all I need is a few minutes to gather myself & I'm good to go. Mostly because when the treadmill stops, I still feel like I'm moving! So it takes me a minute to find my footing - kind of like the elevator effect, haha. But my breathing goes back to basically normal at some point during my final walk. So I do feel like some kind of progress is being made, though I want to be able to run for longer spurts. All in good time!
R wouldn't go down for an early nap today, and I didn't want to delay things too much longer, so I set up a Pack & Play in the basement, put both kids in it with some water & snacks and let Toy Story 2 entertain them while I kept an eye on them. It went pretty well as far as the kids were concerned - it's still a novelty to them so they are content to play in the basement for now. I'm not sure how much longer this will last, but we'll see how it goes. I find it tough to have to keep an eye on them and try to run, especially if I have to call to them for anything. I'm still not completely able to speak while running, but I'm sure with time I'll get there. On the days when they're not down there with me it's easier for me to get lost in my own thoughts and the workout seems to go by faster. Today it dragged on & on! I checked to see how much time I had left and there were still 19 minutes!
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| K & R in the Pack & Play watching Toy Story 2 on a DVD player set up on our pool table. |
Of course, I had to push a little further than the program called for. When I got to the 5 minute cool-down, I ran for 2:00, walked for 1:00 and then ran another 2:00 followed by the 5:00 cool-down. Total distance 2.67 miles. Feeling pretty good! My recovery time after each session is getting shorter. At first it took me probably close to 15 minutes before my breathing came down to normal and I was steady on my legs again. Now all I need is a few minutes to gather myself & I'm good to go. Mostly because when the treadmill stops, I still feel like I'm moving! So it takes me a minute to find my footing - kind of like the elevator effect, haha. But my breathing goes back to basically normal at some point during my final walk. So I do feel like some kind of progress is being made, though I want to be able to run for longer spurts. All in good time!
Oy, My Hip Flops!
So I stumbled upon a bit of a glitch and I'm not sure if it has to do with the running or the flip-flops I have been wearing, since both started around the same time...
A few weeks ago, I started wearing a newer-ish pair of flip-flops (only wore them once or twice last summer). I noticed that when I wore them I would get a pain in the top of my foot by the end of the day. So I stopped wearing them. And then summer came upon us like a mofo last week and I said screw it, I'm wearing my flip-flops.
In my last blog on Friday, I mentioned a pain in my right hip from the moment I woke up; Well, it was there when I woke up on Saturday too and it was a bit more intense than it was on Friday. It got a little bit better as I moved around, but I was happy that I had decided to take the weekend off. But this Saturday we decided to take the kids to Jenkinson's Aquarium in Point Pleasant. Of course, since the weather was wonderful and it was a Saturday we had to park about 2 miles away from the aquarium. No, really, I'm not even kidding. I've never had to park that far away, ever! Wifey & I laughed that at least we would get some exercise out of the trip, ha! But as I walked for what seemed like forever to me at the time, the pain in my hip grew worse & worse. At one point, I thought that I might even need a break! But it was incredibly hot outside, I had R strapped to my chest in the ErgoBaby, and K was excited to pet her "friends" (stingrays), so I pushed on without stopping.
The pain didn't really let up the whole day. The only reason I wasn't getting too concerned was because it felt absolutely fine whenever I sat down. Still wasn't sure if it was from running or the flip-flops (I wore them to the aquarium), and I wasn't inclined to think flip-flops were the issue because the problem I had with them in the past was in my foot, not my hip. Then, things got worse at the end of the day. We happened to be able to catch a movie, just the two of us that evening, and on the way out of the theatre I found that I was actually struggling to walk. It felt like my hip needed to pop and it wasn't sitting right in the socket or something. This really started to freak me out! I have never had difficulty moving my leg like this before; and it wasn't from pain that I couldn't move it - it physically would not rotate (or whatever a hip does) enough for me to take a complete step, and I couldn't really put any weight on it without it feeling like it was going to give out. Something wasn't right.
We made it to the car and I tried to stretch it out. I did the full range of motion to make sure it actually could move, and it didn't; I couldn't open it all the way up. When we got home it was still bothering me, but I could actually walk now, so I guess the stretching helped. And as the night wore on I started to hear a clicking in my hip while I walked. I made the decision to stop wearing flip-flops to see if that would solve the problem and if nothing had changed by Monday I agreed to see a doctor about it. Aches & pains are one thing, not being able to move a joint is another.
Sunday I woke up with the same pain & clicking, but by the end of the day both had disappeared. Not sure if it is a coincidence or if it actually was the flip-flops! So I'm going to avoid the flops for another week and then bringing them back & see what happens.
Anyone have any insight into this?
A few weeks ago, I started wearing a newer-ish pair of flip-flops (only wore them once or twice last summer). I noticed that when I wore them I would get a pain in the top of my foot by the end of the day. So I stopped wearing them. And then summer came upon us like a mofo last week and I said screw it, I'm wearing my flip-flops.
In my last blog on Friday, I mentioned a pain in my right hip from the moment I woke up; Well, it was there when I woke up on Saturday too and it was a bit more intense than it was on Friday. It got a little bit better as I moved around, but I was happy that I had decided to take the weekend off. But this Saturday we decided to take the kids to Jenkinson's Aquarium in Point Pleasant. Of course, since the weather was wonderful and it was a Saturday we had to park about 2 miles away from the aquarium. No, really, I'm not even kidding. I've never had to park that far away, ever! Wifey & I laughed that at least we would get some exercise out of the trip, ha! But as I walked for what seemed like forever to me at the time, the pain in my hip grew worse & worse. At one point, I thought that I might even need a break! But it was incredibly hot outside, I had R strapped to my chest in the ErgoBaby, and K was excited to pet her "friends" (stingrays), so I pushed on without stopping.
The pain didn't really let up the whole day. The only reason I wasn't getting too concerned was because it felt absolutely fine whenever I sat down. Still wasn't sure if it was from running or the flip-flops (I wore them to the aquarium), and I wasn't inclined to think flip-flops were the issue because the problem I had with them in the past was in my foot, not my hip. Then, things got worse at the end of the day. We happened to be able to catch a movie, just the two of us that evening, and on the way out of the theatre I found that I was actually struggling to walk. It felt like my hip needed to pop and it wasn't sitting right in the socket or something. This really started to freak me out! I have never had difficulty moving my leg like this before; and it wasn't from pain that I couldn't move it - it physically would not rotate (or whatever a hip does) enough for me to take a complete step, and I couldn't really put any weight on it without it feeling like it was going to give out. Something wasn't right.
We made it to the car and I tried to stretch it out. I did the full range of motion to make sure it actually could move, and it didn't; I couldn't open it all the way up. When we got home it was still bothering me, but I could actually walk now, so I guess the stretching helped. And as the night wore on I started to hear a clicking in my hip while I walked. I made the decision to stop wearing flip-flops to see if that would solve the problem and if nothing had changed by Monday I agreed to see a doctor about it. Aches & pains are one thing, not being able to move a joint is another.
Sunday I woke up with the same pain & clicking, but by the end of the day both had disappeared. Not sure if it is a coincidence or if it actually was the flip-flops! So I'm going to avoid the flops for another week and then bringing them back & see what happens.
Anyone have any insight into this?
Friday, June 22, 2012
Training Day 3 - Aches & The NeverEnding Story
Today's workout was interesting to say the least! The 1 year old went down for his nap at about 10:00, and since the 3 year old was wide awake & I didn't want to leave her upstairs, alone for 30+ minutes, I brought her to the basement with me. I had set her up on the couch downstairs (thank you Aunt Stephie for needing a place to store it!) with a snack and the portable DVD player, which is always fun for her because we rarely use it, and I was able to keep an eye on her the whole time.
I realized today that we might need to make a slight adjustment to how the couch & treadmill are set up - They are VERY close to each other, so if K dangled her feet the wrong way, or mis-stepped while getting off the couch, she could have fallen onto the treadmill & it would have ended badly. Luckily, she listens fairly well for a 3 year old so we were able to avoid any catastrophies. I honestly wasn't sure how all of this would go, assuming that if it all went south I'd come back to finish in the evening.
But it wasn't too bad! I had to remind her a few times to stay on the couch or not to try to put her feet on the treadmill, which is tough when you're finishing a jogging section and you're trying to catch your breath. But we did it :) Lucky for me there are a TON of instruments in my basement, including two drum sets, so she was able to play around a little bit with those. It kept her occupied and out of trouble so we were both happy. I need to come up with some other things for her to do down there if I'm going to try to keep this up in the mornings, which I'm finding I prefer to evenings.
This was also the first day that I woke up with some aches. My right hip bothered me from the moment I woke up. Not sure if it's from having bad sneakers ($9 from PayLess), or maybe it's the way I carry myself while I run, but as I got out of bed I realized that my whole right side was in some pain. Not PAIN, pain, but also a little bit more than just your regular achy muscles. The right side of my lower back all the way down to my glute and into my calf and shin was achy/sore. But just my right side - the left side is fine. For a while I thought about taking the day off and doing the workout on Saturday, but I really wanted to have the weekend off, so I said that I would just stick to what the app had me doing and not push it any further. Just do what you need to do and take it easy, but I wasn't sure how that was going to actually feel; I wasn't sure if I'd be able to complete the workout.
At first it was rough. My right calf & shin muscle (I have no idea what that's called) were burning! I didn't know how I was going to make it through 30 minutes of this. But after the second spurt of jogging, they both loosened up and I barely noticed it for the rest of the workout.
Other things I am noticing:
BUT, there are some songs that are surprisingly fun to run to! The Proclaimers' 500 Miles just makes me laugh and I find myself breezing through the parts of the workout when that song comes on. And today, when I was in the cool-down period and I had only done 2.06 miles, and I had already made the agreement with myself that I wasn't going to push any further than the app called for, the theme song to The NeverEnding Story came on. How can you NOT run to that?! So I broke the deal with myself and ran for 90 seconds, walked for 1 minute, and then ran for 2 minutes, followed by a 5 minute walk to cool down. Total distance of 2.75 miles and a 40 minute workout. I am taking off the weekend to relax & enjoy myself but will start up again on Monday. I'm hoping to keep a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday workout schedule, with weekends free, but if I have to skip during the week the weekends can save me just in case.
Happy weekend everyone!
I realized today that we might need to make a slight adjustment to how the couch & treadmill are set up - They are VERY close to each other, so if K dangled her feet the wrong way, or mis-stepped while getting off the couch, she could have fallen onto the treadmill & it would have ended badly. Luckily, she listens fairly well for a 3 year old so we were able to avoid any catastrophies. I honestly wasn't sure how all of this would go, assuming that if it all went south I'd come back to finish in the evening.
But it wasn't too bad! I had to remind her a few times to stay on the couch or not to try to put her feet on the treadmill, which is tough when you're finishing a jogging section and you're trying to catch your breath. But we did it :) Lucky for me there are a TON of instruments in my basement, including two drum sets, so she was able to play around a little bit with those. It kept her occupied and out of trouble so we were both happy. I need to come up with some other things for her to do down there if I'm going to try to keep this up in the mornings, which I'm finding I prefer to evenings.
This was also the first day that I woke up with some aches. My right hip bothered me from the moment I woke up. Not sure if it's from having bad sneakers ($9 from PayLess), or maybe it's the way I carry myself while I run, but as I got out of bed I realized that my whole right side was in some pain. Not PAIN, pain, but also a little bit more than just your regular achy muscles. The right side of my lower back all the way down to my glute and into my calf and shin was achy/sore. But just my right side - the left side is fine. For a while I thought about taking the day off and doing the workout on Saturday, but I really wanted to have the weekend off, so I said that I would just stick to what the app had me doing and not push it any further. Just do what you need to do and take it easy, but I wasn't sure how that was going to actually feel; I wasn't sure if I'd be able to complete the workout.
At first it was rough. My right calf & shin muscle (I have no idea what that's called) were burning! I didn't know how I was going to make it through 30 minutes of this. But after the second spurt of jogging, they both loosened up and I barely noticed it for the rest of the workout.
Other things I am noticing:
1. My heart rate is already starting to become more steady. When I first started, it would zoom all the way up into the high 170's. Today, the highest it spiked was in the low 150's, but it mainly stayed in the 140's.
2. The point in which I wonder how much longer I have is getting later & later in the game. At first it was 18 minutes to go, then 12, and then today it was 8.
3. I am starting to feel more balanced while on the treadmill, and I'm hoping that the more I do this, the better it gets. It's still a little disorienting to be on there, and lowering the incline helped a little bit, but I still have some acclimating to do.
4. I need to make a running playlist.Number 4 needs some elaboration. Since the workout app is on the iPad, it pulls from the music that is on there. I must tell you that it is the most random selection of music I have ever seen. It is almost impossible to run to Sia's Breathe Me. I don't recommend it. So I have had to skip a few of the songs that have come up for that reason.
BUT, there are some songs that are surprisingly fun to run to! The Proclaimers' 500 Miles just makes me laugh and I find myself breezing through the parts of the workout when that song comes on. And today, when I was in the cool-down period and I had only done 2.06 miles, and I had already made the agreement with myself that I wasn't going to push any further than the app called for, the theme song to The NeverEnding Story came on. How can you NOT run to that?! So I broke the deal with myself and ran for 90 seconds, walked for 1 minute, and then ran for 2 minutes, followed by a 5 minute walk to cool down. Total distance of 2.75 miles and a 40 minute workout. I am taking off the weekend to relax & enjoy myself but will start up again on Monday. I'm hoping to keep a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday workout schedule, with weekends free, but if I have to skip during the week the weekends can save me just in case.
Happy weekend everyone!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Training Day 2
I happened to have some time earlier in the day today, so I ran in the morning! The girl (K) was at her last day of preschool, and the boy (R) decided to take a nap during that time, so I knew I had at least an hour and was hopeful that I could get through the whole workout. On the off chance that he woke up, my back-up plan was to run at night.
I started off the walk today at a 3.5, just below where I ended up walking last night. It's a warm-up, so you're not supposed to go in there, guns blazing right from the start. Eventually I settled in to speed-walking at a 4. Seeing this, I realized I had to increase my run speed as well, since I felt that my walk pace & run pace were too close together, lol. So I fell into a run at 5.3 and I think I'll probably stay there for a while.
Now, I don't know what was so different today from yesterday....maybe it's because it was the morning instead of the evening...maybe it's because even though I'm in an air-conditioned basement, it's still 102 degrees outside and my body can tell...I don't know...but I dripped sweat like I never have before from exercise! I mean, it was stinging my eyes, whole shirt drenched, dripping from my chin onto the belt of the treadmill sweat. Real sweat.
In the past, this has never happened from working out. Yes, I have been a pretty big sweater in general. In the summer months, I need to wear a tank top or else you can go ahead and call me Pit Stains McGee (gross, I know). But I've never been this covered in sweat before, nor has it ever poured off of me in a stream. My lungs always gave out before I got to this point, so I was actually kind of impressed because this means I'm doing well, I guess! And, of course, I'm simultaneously disgusted.
Luckily there was no lack of balance today since I discovered that the incline actually worked last night, haha. I kept it at a 3, because even though I knew it worked, I wasn't convinced it was as high as it "should" be. But the 3 worked out just fine :)
Today went really well. When I got to that point of, "Is this over yet??!!" I only had 12 minutes left instead of 18, so I was more than halfway through. And at the end of the 30 minutes, I had reached 2.3 miles, so I already beat last night's distance. Of course, having to push myself just a little further, I went for the 2.5 miles and followed up with the 5 minute walk. Grand total 2.65 miles.
I am finding that the walking portions seem more difficult than the running portions. I don't know if it's because it's a treadmill, or if I don't have the right pace set, but the walking part is starting to get on my nerves. It's too fast to just walk normally, so I have to speed walk, which is what the program is calling for. But my body wants me to run at that speed and I have to fight the urge. It's also too slow to actually run so again, I am forced to walk and it is uncomfortable.
Tomorrow's goal: Find a more comfortable walking pace, and a way to keep the sweat from streaming into my eyes and blinding me! (**Note to self - If I intend on running in the morning, try to avoid hair product as it will only sting more!!**)
I started off the walk today at a 3.5, just below where I ended up walking last night. It's a warm-up, so you're not supposed to go in there, guns blazing right from the start. Eventually I settled in to speed-walking at a 4. Seeing this, I realized I had to increase my run speed as well, since I felt that my walk pace & run pace were too close together, lol. So I fell into a run at 5.3 and I think I'll probably stay there for a while.
Now, I don't know what was so different today from yesterday....maybe it's because it was the morning instead of the evening...maybe it's because even though I'm in an air-conditioned basement, it's still 102 degrees outside and my body can tell...I don't know...but I dripped sweat like I never have before from exercise! I mean, it was stinging my eyes, whole shirt drenched, dripping from my chin onto the belt of the treadmill sweat. Real sweat.
In the past, this has never happened from working out. Yes, I have been a pretty big sweater in general. In the summer months, I need to wear a tank top or else you can go ahead and call me Pit Stains McGee (gross, I know). But I've never been this covered in sweat before, nor has it ever poured off of me in a stream. My lungs always gave out before I got to this point, so I was actually kind of impressed because this means I'm doing well, I guess! And, of course, I'm simultaneously disgusted.
Luckily there was no lack of balance today since I discovered that the incline actually worked last night, haha. I kept it at a 3, because even though I knew it worked, I wasn't convinced it was as high as it "should" be. But the 3 worked out just fine :)
Today went really well. When I got to that point of, "Is this over yet??!!" I only had 12 minutes left instead of 18, so I was more than halfway through. And at the end of the 30 minutes, I had reached 2.3 miles, so I already beat last night's distance. Of course, having to push myself just a little further, I went for the 2.5 miles and followed up with the 5 minute walk. Grand total 2.65 miles.
I am finding that the walking portions seem more difficult than the running portions. I don't know if it's because it's a treadmill, or if I don't have the right pace set, but the walking part is starting to get on my nerves. It's too fast to just walk normally, so I have to speed walk, which is what the program is calling for. But my body wants me to run at that speed and I have to fight the urge. It's also too slow to actually run so again, I am forced to walk and it is uncomfortable.
Tomorrow's goal: Find a more comfortable walking pace, and a way to keep the sweat from streaming into my eyes and blinding me! (**Note to self - If I intend on running in the morning, try to avoid hair product as it will only sting more!!**)
Training Day 1
Last night began my journey. The format for the program was simple - 5 minute warm-up walk followed by alternating between jogging for 60 seconds and speed-walking for 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes, and then a 5 minute cool-down walk, for a total of a 30 minute workout. Do this three times a week and after 9 weeks, you'll be running a 5K. Of course, the walk & run times change the further along you go, but the idea is 30 minutes, 3 times a week for 9 weeks. Since I have just over 9 weeks before my race, I want to aim to train 4 times a week instead, just to make sure that I'm comfortable with everything and that I'm in good enough shape to do a real run. Especially since it's at the end of August and who knows how hot it's going to be. So I want to be in the best shape I can be in before the day of the run.
Going into the first day I was a bit nervous. I have never run for any amount of time in my life. In middle school, we were forced to do the mile run in gym class. I started out running it - and I must admit that I kept a really good pace too! I was fast! And then I had an asthma attack, went to the nurse's office, was sent home & off to the hospital we went. From that point on, I walked the mile run.
The fact that this workout was broken down into minute-long runs kept me hopeful. But I wasn't sure where I should be walking/running as far as pace went. I talked with my sister, who is an avid runner, and she told me to aim for a pace of about 5mph for running - that's what she aims to do when training for her marathons. She also mentioned that I should be running at an incline of at least 1 to help simulate running outside. But since this was only my second time ever on this treadmill, I wasn't very familiar with it. I felt like the incline part wasn't working. I would press the button to increase the incline, and I heard a mechanical noise, but I didn't feel like it moved anywhere. So I set it at a 10, as high as it would go, and that's where I left it. I wasn't even sure it was actually inclined at all.
The 5 minute warm-up walk was difficult to pace. I have no idea how fast I walk, I have no idea what any mile per hour feels like to walk, so I'm flying blind. I just start walking and ease up on the "increase speed" button when I feel like I'm an an OK pace. Last night it was at a 3.
We hit the first minute of a jog, and again, I decide to just go for it and push it up to 5. Not too bad! I survived! I didn't fall off the treadmill and I didn't throw up! Both of which I of course am afraid of, thank you Biggest Loser. The second time to jog comes up and I fly through that as well. I start thinking, "I can DO this! I really can!". And when we go back to walking, a 3 just seems like it's too slow, so over the course of the 20 minutes, I gradually increase the walk to a 3.6, and that's where I kept it through the end (for the walking).
I was doing OK, except that I realized I had a hard time looking anywhere but the clock on the iPad, and I didn't want to do that. But when I looked up ahead in front of me, I started to get dizzy. No, dizzy isn't the right word...I felt off-balance. Something was weird when I tried to look straight ahead and I couldn't put my finger on it. So I kept staring at the iPad for fear of falling off the treadmill.
After a while, I started to feel worn out. I felt like my heart was beating inside my head instead of my chest, I could see my blood pressure in my eyes, my neck was starting to get stiff from staring down, and I was dripping with sweat. I thought that I HAD to be nearing the end of this. So I looked at the ticker on the bottom right of the app that shows you how much you have left for the entire workout, and I wanted to cry when it read 18:27. I wasn't even halfway through! But I pressed on and I started to feel better the further along I got. At the end of it, during the 5 minute cool-down walk, I decided to move the iPad and see how far I had actually covered. When I saw 1.73 miles, I thought, "I can push it to 2!" And so I set my speed back at a 5 and kept an eye on the clock so that I could go back to walking after 1 minute. It took two turns of running to push past the 2 mile mark, but I did it! I followed up with the 5 minute cool-down walk, so when all was said & done, I covered a total of 2.3 miles.
Not bad for my first attempt at running! I think tomorrow I'm going to try to walk and run just a little bit faster. Nothing too crazy, but I want to try to push myself a little and I find that I'm kinda doing that naturally anyway :)
Oh, and I should mention that the incline DID in fact work, but I didn't realize this until I got off of the treadmill & tried to walk on level ground, LOL. I almost fell over! This also accounts for the loss of balance I had while trying to run. Go figure! Hopefully I'll be more balanced tomorrow, haha!
Going into the first day I was a bit nervous. I have never run for any amount of time in my life. In middle school, we were forced to do the mile run in gym class. I started out running it - and I must admit that I kept a really good pace too! I was fast! And then I had an asthma attack, went to the nurse's office, was sent home & off to the hospital we went. From that point on, I walked the mile run.
The fact that this workout was broken down into minute-long runs kept me hopeful. But I wasn't sure where I should be walking/running as far as pace went. I talked with my sister, who is an avid runner, and she told me to aim for a pace of about 5mph for running - that's what she aims to do when training for her marathons. She also mentioned that I should be running at an incline of at least 1 to help simulate running outside. But since this was only my second time ever on this treadmill, I wasn't very familiar with it. I felt like the incline part wasn't working. I would press the button to increase the incline, and I heard a mechanical noise, but I didn't feel like it moved anywhere. So I set it at a 10, as high as it would go, and that's where I left it. I wasn't even sure it was actually inclined at all.
The 5 minute warm-up walk was difficult to pace. I have no idea how fast I walk, I have no idea what any mile per hour feels like to walk, so I'm flying blind. I just start walking and ease up on the "increase speed" button when I feel like I'm an an OK pace. Last night it was at a 3.
We hit the first minute of a jog, and again, I decide to just go for it and push it up to 5. Not too bad! I survived! I didn't fall off the treadmill and I didn't throw up! Both of which I of course am afraid of, thank you Biggest Loser. The second time to jog comes up and I fly through that as well. I start thinking, "I can DO this! I really can!". And when we go back to walking, a 3 just seems like it's too slow, so over the course of the 20 minutes, I gradually increase the walk to a 3.6, and that's where I kept it through the end (for the walking).
I was doing OK, except that I realized I had a hard time looking anywhere but the clock on the iPad, and I didn't want to do that. But when I looked up ahead in front of me, I started to get dizzy. No, dizzy isn't the right word...I felt off-balance. Something was weird when I tried to look straight ahead and I couldn't put my finger on it. So I kept staring at the iPad for fear of falling off the treadmill.
After a while, I started to feel worn out. I felt like my heart was beating inside my head instead of my chest, I could see my blood pressure in my eyes, my neck was starting to get stiff from staring down, and I was dripping with sweat. I thought that I HAD to be nearing the end of this. So I looked at the ticker on the bottom right of the app that shows you how much you have left for the entire workout, and I wanted to cry when it read 18:27. I wasn't even halfway through! But I pressed on and I started to feel better the further along I got. At the end of it, during the 5 minute cool-down walk, I decided to move the iPad and see how far I had actually covered. When I saw 1.73 miles, I thought, "I can push it to 2!" And so I set my speed back at a 5 and kept an eye on the clock so that I could go back to walking after 1 minute. It took two turns of running to push past the 2 mile mark, but I did it! I followed up with the 5 minute cool-down walk, so when all was said & done, I covered a total of 2.3 miles.
Not bad for my first attempt at running! I think tomorrow I'm going to try to walk and run just a little bit faster. Nothing too crazy, but I want to try to push myself a little and I find that I'm kinda doing that naturally anyway :)
Oh, and I should mention that the incline DID in fact work, but I didn't realize this until I got off of the treadmill & tried to walk on level ground, LOL. I almost fell over! This also accounts for the loss of balance I had while trying to run. Go figure! Hopefully I'll be more balanced tomorrow, haha!
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