classictoaster's progress!

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Alright guys I'm just going to make a thread for my progress here on out instead of creating new threads per week. d:

Today I finished W6D1. I gotta say - it was tough. I think a large portion of that was due to not enough water pre-run - for some reason the water was shut off at the office for a substantial amount of time today?? - and forgot to drink my usual two glasses when I got home. Another reason was because I was feeling a little cocky after that 20 minute run on Monday, and started out a little bit quicker. Big no-no, found that out fast.

But I finished, rehydrated, and felt much better. Looking forward to D2, though also dreading it - after Friday, no more walking intervals... x:

PS - Feel free to join in with me on this thread! MFP pal motivation has really helped me overcome my mental block, and I love helping others out too!

Replies

  • jsidel126
    jsidel126 Posts: 694 Member
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    I completed W5D3 over a week ago. Wasn't as bad as I thought prior to the run. I was stiff for the next two days. I tried W6D1 the next day. About half way through I bailed on the program and did my own run/walk segments to get back to the car. The next day I was able to complete W6D1 with no problem.

    I have completed W6D3 also (no stiffness after.) Currently wrestling with the idea of 25 - 30 min runs with no breaks and keeping a respectable speed for the duration... Would like to run my first 5k at a 5 mph pace (<40 min)...
  • classictoaster
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    Currently wrestling with the idea of 25 - 30 min runs with no breaks and keeping a respectable speed for the duration... Would like to run my first 5k at a 5 mph pace (<40 min)...

    Way to go on W6! Glad you made it through without any stiffness. I'm having the same thought process, and similar goal set: I'd like to run mine anywhere between 5-6mph, closer to 6 would be nicer. I'm shooting for a finishing time of 30:00, just to see if I can. Let us know how your W7D1 goes when you run it - you've made it this far, at this point you're just tacking on a few extra minutes at a time. I think you'll do great. (:
  • classictoaster
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    Did W6D2 last night... it was really hot outside, really humid, and I was definitely feeling it. Plugged away at those 10 minute intervals though and got it done. Not as difficult as D1 for some reason, and I made sure to hydrate adequately before going out.

    Farewell, walking intervals! It's been nice knowing you. d:
  • darkling_glory
    darkling_glory Posts: 239 Member
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    Farewell, walking intervals! It's been nice knowing you. d:

    Love this! You're a runner now!
  • classictoaster
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    Love this! You're a runner now!

    Ahhh thank you! That is kind of a surreal thought. (:

    I'm officially finished with W6! Belted out D3 today like it was nothing. Humidity was up, so it felt pretty muggy, but kept my pace and kept moving - never felt an overwhelming desire to stop during the entire run.

    Over Christmas break, I toyed with running around the route I take now, and couldn't even finish a third of the distance. Today I blew that old me out of the water - finished almost the entire 2.3 mile loop in the 22 minutes. I couldnt be happier with my progress, and I can't wait to finish this program! I can taste that 5K distance... (:
  • classictoaster
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    Did W7D1 last night and totally rocked it. I was kind of frustrated before my run over other things, and it definitely fueled into my workout, haha... pace felt much faster, I pushed myself a little more, and got a little further than I normally would have, I think. I can already tell that by the time I graduate the program I will not be running a full 5K in the allotted 30 minutes, and that's totally okay with me - I've got about a month until my first race post-graduation, and I'll use those four weeks to focus on distance.

    Weird to think that I'm only 5 minutes short of "graduating" the program!
  • darkling_glory
    darkling_glory Posts: 239 Member
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    Yay! You are doing great! Just a few more runs and you'll be at 30 minutes no time!
  • krawles
    krawles Posts: 18 Member
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    What a difference a little water makes! Instead of dreading your next run, try eagerly anticipating successfully completing it without any trouble. It might just come true!
  • classictoaster
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    Oh Krawles - I never totally dread a run! :P Sometimes I do get a little anxious.. but I think those days are totally behind me at last!

    Today I used my (brand new!!) RunKeeper app to track my pace, and it turns out I ran an average pace of 10:28 mil/min! SO much faster than the 12 min/miles I was estimating. I am so pumped and excited to see that this is where I stand - now I have a goal of reaching 9:30 min/mile when my first 5K rolls around. (:

    Super excited to see where I am and so pumped to see where I'll be at the end of the program.
  • krawles
    krawles Posts: 18 Member
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    Great progress! Keep it up and you'll TOAST everyone. :drinker:
  • darkling_glory
    darkling_glory Posts: 239 Member
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    Oh Krawles - I never totally dread a run! :P Sometimes I do get a little anxious.. but I think those days are totally behind me at last!

    Today I used my (brand new!!) RunKeeper app to track my pace, and it turns out I ran an average pace of 10:28 mil/min! SO much faster than the 12 min/miles I was estimating. I am so pumped and excited to see that this is where I stand - now I have a goal of reaching 9:30 min/mile when my first 5K rolls around. (:

    Super excited to see where I am and so pumped to see where I'll be at the end of the program.

    This is FANTASTIC! I love how fast you're cruising along! Great job, girl!
  • classictoaster
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    Haha, thank you both!! (: I'm having a bunch of fun now that I KNOW my pace (thank you parents for iPhone gloriousness), and trying to see what I can do to increase my pace... ;)

    Yesterday was my last day of W7, and I did make the mistake of going out too early in the evening. Usually about 60% of my route is shaded, but the sun was still pretty high in the sky, so there was hardly any shade, and of course there wasn't a breeze going, either. I was expecting that to cut severely into my time, but my average pace was 10:31 min/mile - only 3 seconds slower than my average pace for D2. Not bad, considering the weather circumstances.

    I think part of it was that I was mentally preparing myself for a brutal run, and once I was out there, I just kept repeating to myself that I wasn't dying, I was just "hot". It worked, and I didn't overwork myself either - I knew my real limits and got through those 25 minutes like they were nothing. (:

    I'm going to have to modify my route for next weeks 28 min run - I'm currently not having enough distance to have a full 5 minute cooldown before I'm back to my car, and I like walking those 5 minutes without muddling around. So funny to me how far I've come in these 7 weeks.
  • classictoaster
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    Completed W8D1 last night. I can already tell that those last 5-10 minutes of my 5K are going to be all mental... I pushed through and managed to keep an average pace of 10:32 min/mile. So, not bad! Just was tougher there at the end. d: I also started out at an average pace of 9:40ish min/mile - obviously, near the end, I was going much slower (bout a minute or so).

    I've also been mentally and physically exhausted these past two days, and was feeling nauseous earlier yesterday, so that could have affected the run. I plan on taking a day off from any strenuous physical activity today, just to give my body a chance to catch up.

    In other news, I weighed in this morning and reached a milestone: 149.3lb! Finally in the 140's! I am absolutely elated. :D I cannot believe how much has changed in the past 7-8 weeks: I've lost over 5lb, I'm running for 28min straight, and I feel better than I have in a long, long time. c: Can't wait for D2 tomorrow!
  • krawles
    krawles Posts: 18 Member
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    Persistence pays!
  • SLHartman
    SLHartman Posts: 142 Member
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    Completed W8D1 last night. I can already tell that those last 5-10 minutes of my 5K are going to be all mental... I pushed through and managed to keep an average pace of 10:32 min/mile. So, not bad! Just was tougher there at the end. d: I also started out at an average pace of 9:40ish min/mile - obviously, near the end, I was going much slower (bout a minute or so).

    I've also been mentally and physically exhausted these past two days, and was feeling nauseous earlier yesterday, so that could have affected the run. I plan on taking a day off from any strenuous physical activity today, just to give my body a chance to catch up.

    In other news, I weighed in this morning and reached a milestone: 149.3lb! Finally in the 140's! I am absolutely elated. :D I cannot believe how much has changed in the past 7-8 weeks: I've lost over 5lb, I'm running for 28min straight, and I feel better than I have in a long, long time. c: Can't wait for D2 tomorrow!

    That's wonderful! I'm happy to see folks having such a wonderful experience with this process. I'm beginning week 7 of an 8 week program tomorrow and I can't wait to see how I do. I keep thinking back to how I struggled with 90 seconds only 6 weeks ago. Amazing!
  • classictoaster
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    That's wonderful! I'm happy to see folks having such a wonderful experience with this process. I'm beginning week 7 of an 8 week program tomorrow and I can't wait to see how I do. I keep thinking back to how I struggled with 90 seconds only 6 weeks ago. Amazing!

    Thank you so much! My confidence has sky rocketed since starting this program, that's for sure. What program are you doing?

    I ran W8D2 yesterday, and it was tough! I have the sneaking suspicion that I either have some sort of food allergy, or IBS, or something wrong with me - I've had horrible stomach growls for as long as I can remember, and they can cause all sorts of problem/pains for me, and I'm finally getting fed up with it (I always thought it was normal, but they've gotten increasingly worse over time) - and whatever it is flared up right before my run. The only thing that really helps it - yet exacerbates it later - is bread, so I ate some before my run. Sure enough, stomach was rumbling about 10 minutes into the run.

    Avg. Pace was 10:47 min/mile - much slower than my past two runs. Hoping to set up an appointment with a gastroenterologist in the next few weeks to finally figure out what's wrong with me and make this stop.. Hmph.

    Good news is that I didn't stop running, even when I wanted to. Pushing on to W8D3 tomorrow... I can't believe I'll be running 5K's next week!!
  • classictoaster
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    Ran W8D3 yesterday morning, and it went SLOW. It was my first time running without eating before, and I didn't get as much water as I probably needed - stopped twice at two water fountains to keep me going. BUT I ran the entire allotted 28 minutes, so I declare this week conquered!

    Now, here's the tricky bit - I can't decide if I want to just go for the 30 full minutes, or if I want to set RunKeeper up for me to just run a full 5K. I'm probably going to go with the latter, since I KNOW I can do it... Will report back dutifully!
  • classictoaster
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    Yesterday was W9D1 - I can't believe I've finally made it to this point!! - and I went ahead and plugged in just a 5K distance on RunKeeper, rather than 30 minutes flat.

    And I totally did it! I ran my first ever 5K DISTANCE! My time was 36:12, so I have a starting point now - I can only get better from here. :D I definitely went slower the whole way to conserve energy, since I didn't know how far I was going, but now that I know what it's like, I'm going to start improving on times. I won't consider myself a graduate until the end of this week, but I'm well on my way... :D
  • darkling_glory
    darkling_glory Posts: 239 Member
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    w00t! You are awesome, girlie!
  • classictoaster
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    I am officially done! I ran my last 5K run yesterday early morning~ My best time was on Thursday at 33:32. (: Not shabby, in my opinion!

    I cannot even begin to describe how happy and proud of myself I am. I have come so far in 8 weeks (I skipped W1), it's absolutely amazing. Now that I know I can do it, the next step for me will be to work on my speed and get to a time below 30 minutes, and then eventually below 25. Goal 1 is aimed to be reached by the time Color Run comes around in September, so I will report on how I do in my races then.

    After my 5K races, I have tentatively decided to start training for a sprint tri. I'm not sure if college opportunities will lead me in another direction, but that is the plan for now.

    If I can do it, anyone can! My only words of wisdom is to get a good playlist, get out of your head, and sloooowwww dowwwwnnnn. ;)