Couch to 5K (week 1)

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  • ljc1057
    ljc1057 Posts: 357 Member
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    W4D3 finished! YEA!
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    W4D3 finished! YEA!

    Good job! And me too...

    I am still here, and still running after a very minor bump in the road (figuratively). I did W4D2 as scheduled on Thursday morning, but it was uneventful and I was pretty busy the rest of the day so I just didn't post about it. I also did my usual "off day" walk on Friday morning before work. Friday evening I got a last-minute visit from an old college friend who had been out of the country, and may be moving back out of state again soon. So, I knew that would mean we would stay up all night drinking and catching up on old times (we did) and I also knew that there was no way I would do my run Saturday morning as scheduled (I didn't). The old me would've let that throw off my whole weekend, and who knows what would've happened to my running this week. But instead I got up this morning and did my W4D3 run, and now I feel like I haven't missed a beat!
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    Another note- Thursday's and today's runs just reinforced what I've been thinking, and sundinsgurl and others have mentioned, about clock-watching. Thursday morning I wanted to listen to a morning radio show instead of the Ullrey podcast. I figured since it was longer intervals it wouldn't be much of a problem to time it myself. But I still found myself clock-watching, and constantly aware of how much time I had left. That definitely made it harder. This morning I went back to the Ullrey podcast, didn't even have the music volume that loud, I just wanted to have a little background noise and the voice prompts to run and walk. Then I just let my mind wander- thinking about the great results I've gotten so far, the success yet to come, and planning some of the healthy food I was going to get at the grocery store today for this week's meals. It makes so much of a difference to just let your mind wander and forget you're running for a fixed amount of time!

    I think I saw someone say (maybe in another thread) that there is a smartphone app where it will just keep track of time and give you voice prompts, while you can listen to your own music? I am in line for a Droid X at Best Buy, so I hope to get it this week and see if I can find an app like that. If not, I will continue to use the Ullrey podcast, or maybe I'll check out the DJ Beatsmith one as well. I can't wait until this is over and I am just a normal runner without timed intervals, and I can just run and run and run without even thinking about it!

    Sorry for another long post, I guess I am just playing catch-up!
  • meokk
    meokk Posts: 787 Member
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    well the plan to do week 2 day 3 isn't happening today. I am exhausted after burning 1056 calories doing some serious gardening today and it has just started raining which is all the excuse I need to stay inside. :frown:

    Will be back at it later in the week for sure. The last session was actually quite enjoyable.
  • MericoX
    MericoX Posts: 199 Member
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    W1D1 completed! It majorly sucked in the beginning, but by the end I wasn't so out of breath and dying. Can't wait to do it again on Tuesday!
  • sundinsgurl
    sundinsgurl Posts: 1,157 Member
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    Completed Week 4 Run #2 :) almost onto week 5!

    MericoX - hang in there :) You can do it!!

    meokk - wow it sounds like you burned a ton of calories doing gardening!!!

    Max_Power - I have heard about the podcasts, however I would only want to do it if I could listen to my own music while doing it. Todays run went a lot better - I tried to keep my mind busy thinking about how far Ive come (just like you said) it worked... and I got through the 3 mins easily! will continue to keep my mind occupied thinking about anything and everything lol I also struggle with running/working out after a night of drinking (which is usually Friday/Saturday night). I have only been getting my runs in on weekdays.

    Goal30Lori - way to make it to week 5!! Its nice to see so many of us around the same week - great motivation to continue

    ljc - way to go on completing Week 4 :)
  • goal30Lori
    goal30Lori Posts: 307 Member
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    Week 5 Day 2 is in the bag! I am halfway to 5k baby!!! Woot! The 8 min runs were not that bad! I even threw in an extra 5 min run afterward because I was far away from home, LOL!

    Way to go everyone on great progress!!!

    (Still scared of the 20 min run on Wednesday though!!)
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    W5D1 this morning, three 5-minute runs, and I felt great! This morning I was thinking I've come a long ways since Week 1 when I could barely do the 60 second intervals, and now I finally have confidence that I WILL be able to complete this! I know there's still a long ways to go, but when I think about the improvements so far, I realize I will continue to improve. I'm actually looking forward to the 8-minute runs on Thursday, although the 20-minute run on Saturday is looming large I know I'll be ready for it.... as long as no old friends drop by on Friday night! :)
  • ljc1057
    ljc1057 Posts: 357 Member
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    I did W5D1 yesterday and I didn't think it was too bad either. The temperatures were a little cooler, which helped. I not sure how the rest of this week will go. I'm taking my youngest two children to college early tomorrow morning and won't be home until Friday evening. I have clothes in the car for tonight after work, but not sure if that's going to happen. A meeting at 6 and then a funeral visitation I really should go to, especially since I cannot make the funeral tomorrow. I'm still going to get this in though. It is so nice having the podcasts so I can just take them with me and run anywhere.

    Max and Lori, I too am nervous about the 20-minute run, but we can do it! Thanks so much for all of you posting and keeping me motivated.
  • sundinsgurl
    sundinsgurl Posts: 1,157 Member
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    today was my rest day from running - played some tennis and did day #5 of Level 3 for the 30 day shred.

    Just wanted to drop in and let everyone they are doing so great!!! I too am nervous for that 20 min run but WE CAN DO IT!!
  • annecolorgreen
    annecolorgreen Posts: 116 Member
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    oh my word, I did not look ahead to the 20 min run. can I do it? I'm not as confident as you are! Day 1 this week was tough (tonight) but 20 min seems like a big jump!

    Do you know what speed you are running? I forgot to take my Nike sensor tonight, so I may have tried to run too fast. I made it though. The temps are cooler here, too, so that did help quite a bit.

    ~~anne

    (good luck with the college thing--my 2nd youngest starts college next week but it's local)
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    I did W5D1 yesterday and I didn't think it was too bad either. The temperatures were a little cooler, which helped. I not sure how the rest of this week will go. I'm taking my youngest two children to college early tomorrow morning and won't be home until Friday evening. I have clothes in the car for tonight after work, but not sure if that's going to happen. A meeting at 6 and then a funeral visitation I really should go to, especially since I cannot make the funeral tomorrow. I'm still going to get this in though. It is so nice having the podcasts so I can just take them with me and run anywhere.

    Max and Lori, I too am nervous about the 20-minute run, but we can do it! Thanks so much for all of you posting and keeping me motivated.

    Just get up an hour before everyone else, and use your run as a way to explore the campus! :) If you don't run there, just make it up when you get back home. Nothing wrong with delaying a run a day or two, just don't let it throw you way off track!
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    Anne-

    I had no idea how fast/far I was running when following the interval times, but the last two times I ran around a track at a nearby middle school. It surrounds a football field so should be about 1/4 mile around, and I think I went about 1.5 laps (3/8 of a mile) during the average 5-minute interval. C25K plan calls for 1/2 mile, but I said from the start that I was more concerned with time than distance, at least starting out. I do know that my pace has definitely picked up since the beginning, I hope when I'm on W9D3 I am running the full 3 miles they call for.


    On that note- I know I've mentioned before how much of a difference it makes for me to use a podcast with voice prompts as opposed to watching the clock myself. I just let my mind wander and the run goes by quicker. I've also noticed it seems quicker/easier running on the track instead of a route through my neighborhood or on the bike path through the woods. As boring as a track may seem, I think it also helps me lose track (no pun intended) of where I'm at/what I'm doing and just run. When I was running the same route through the neighborhood I would start to notice landmarks and think things like "oh no, I made it to THAT signpost up ahead at the 3-minute interval yesterday, I must be running slower today..." I'm sure it's different for everybody, that's just what's working for me.

    Sorry for rambling...
  • annecolorgreen
    annecolorgreen Posts: 116 Member
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    no, that's interesting. I'll have to give the track a try. I used the track to calibrate my sensor but it was SO freakin' hot--the heat just poured off the black track. I calibrated and got the heck out! I'm surprised just because I prefer running outside over the treadmill (and I've had to resort to that a few times this summer).

    which podcast do you use? I'm pretty tech illiterate and will have to get my husband to help me I'm sure.

    Thanks for the ideas!

    Anne
  • goal30Lori
    goal30Lori Posts: 307 Member
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    Hey guys! I'm at work right now, started back tonight after a year of mat leave. I work till 11pm and I don't get home until midnight, and then hopefully asleep by 12:30am. I'm really hoping to get up in the morning to run that big 20 minute run! If not, it will happen after the kids are in bed, but some weeks I will be working more often than not, so those mornings are going to be the only time I'll have! I'm scared that going back to work is going to derail my running and weight loss goals, but I am determined to keep at it!!
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    Anne-

    I use the Ullrey podcast right now. http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/podcasts/podcasts.html The music is kind of bland, but it probably works for a broad group of users that way. Usually I just kind of tune it out and listen for the voice prompts, but today (first day of W5) I actually enjoyed the music. Maybe because I was just in such a good mood from running. Some people here have mentioned using podcasts from DJ Beatsmith, I'm sure they're linked somewhere around here.

    There are also apps for both Android and I-phone that will run in the background and call out your intervals while you listen to your own music. I am on a waiting list for a Droid at Best Buy, so as soon as I get it I will probably try it out and report back.


    Lori- Good luck on W5D3! Let us know how it goes!
  • sundinsgurl
    sundinsgurl Posts: 1,157 Member
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    wohooo! Completed run #3 for week 4!! Onto Week 5 :):):)
  • goal30Lori
    goal30Lori Posts: 307 Member
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    I did it, I did it, I DID IT!!!!! And - you know what??? It felt friggen fantastic!! So fantastic that I didn't even stop at the 20 minute mark, I went a few minutes longer!!! It was like, about 12 minutes in, my lungs opened up, my legs loosened up, I found the groove and I just went!! I felt like I could have run FOREVER!!! For the first time, I KNOW that I will run every step of that 5K in October!!!

    So - for those of you just about to head out for that 20 minute run, embrace it, let it take over, and you will fly through it!!!

    I am on top of the world right now!!!
  • dothompson
    dothompson Posts: 1,184 Member
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    I finished week 2 and then we took a 4 day vacation, although I took my shoes, & inteneded to start week 3, I ended up taking a week off. I'm back on tomorrow, however I'm not sure if I should repeat week 2 or start week 3.

    Any advice would be appreciated.

    Thanks,
  • Max_Power
    Max_Power Posts: 84 Member
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    Lori- Wow, great job! That is very encouraging to hear. I did the 8-minute runs this morning, and it also went well, at least from an endurance standpoint. I've had a little lower back pain creeping up these last few days, and I'm not sure if it's from my running or not. It wasn't really bad, but it was enough to make me constantly aware of how much time I had left which definitely makes the run a little harder. Hopefully if I take it easy these next couple days it will get better, I am really looking forward to the 20-minute run on Saturday. Thanks for the update, and great job again!

    Dot- if I remember right, I didn't feel like it was a huge jump from week 2 to 3 so you might be ok. Personally I'm not sure if I would've gone on after a week off, but I was in pretty bad shape to begin with so I really needed the gradual increases. Week 3 and Week 2 both start with 90-second jogs, so if you try week 3 and just can't make it when you get to the 3 minute interval, it would probably be fairly easy to go back to all 90-second intervals of week 2. Or, maybe you could just do one day of week 2 and then start week 3 on Saturday or whenever your next day would be?

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