WEEK 5 DONE!!!!

OMG!!!!! I can not even begin to tell you how EXCITED I am!!!! I was SOOOOO scared of this week...I figured there was NO way in HELL I could run for 20 min at this stage of the game. Let me just tell you, I am PROUD to report, I WAS SOOOO WRONG!!!

THIS IS HOW THE WEEK WENT...

So, as I blogged earlier this week, I had started Week 5 last week. So, I did W5D1 twice. And LOVED it. But, I was a little nervous about the upcoming 8min runs becauase it seemed like I was barely making it through the 5min runs. I used Carli's podcast for both Day 1's. Not sure why I didn't use Suz's, but I didn't...meant to, but didn't.
Wednesday 9/8 I did W5D2 inside on my treadmill. And to my surprise, I got thru the 8min runs just fine!!! And LOVED it. I used Suz's podcast. My Ipod was dead, so instead of using that as an excuse, I set up a playlist on my computer with songs for stretching before and after, and did it anyway!!! YAY ME!!! I did like her podcast, but for the 1st time, it was very hard to hear/understand her when she cued in. I knew what she was gonna say because it was specific for that days training, but I couldn't fully understand her. The music was great though! I didn't feel completely confident with the runs though, so I did it again on Friday 9/10 and this time I decided to give it a shot outside. The weather has been much cooler this week, and I figured I will be running the race outside, so I need to get used to it. So, I got dressed in my workout clothes and took the baby in the stroller and my son up to the bus stop. I did some stretching before leaving the house, and then did some at the bus stop, but I did not stretch as long or as well as I usually do. As soon as my son was on the bus, I started my training. I made it through it, but it was REALLY tough!!! I felt like I was walking faster than I was running. My 8mo old is weighing almost 20lbs, plus the weight of the stoller...it is REALLY difficult!!! Not sure if it was so difficult because I was pushing all the extra weight or because outside is so much different than the treadmill or if it's because I didn't stretch as well as I usually do...my muscles were really killing me!!! I MADE IT THOUGH!!! I NEVER once stopped or walked when I was supposed to run...BUT, I was pretty nervous about the upcoming 20min run. (Are you noticing a pattern yet? LOL)
I knew from my friend that had done this training before, that W5D3 was REALLY tough, and she had read on the message boards of C25K that most people struggled with it, and didn't make it through it, but not to be discouraged...to view it as a test to see how far you had come and what work you still needed to do. So, I went into W5D3 figuring that I wouldn't be able to run the whole 20min, but I wanted to at least do 10min. I trained on Mon, Wed, Fri, this week, and knew that I COULD wait til Mon. to finish Week 5, especially since we would be out of town visiting my in-laws, but I really wanted to keep going. So, I packed my workout clothes, and figured I might do it outside or I might use my in-laws treadmill...I got up this morning and it was raining, so I got dressed in my workout clothes, popped my Ipod in and started stretching (after my cup of coffee of course!), I headed upstairs and jumped on their treadmill...which I LOVED btw!!! It has a little cool down fan on it that blows right on your face!!! It was really humid out with the rain, so I turned the ceiling fan on, opened the window and turned the cooldown fan on, and tried to mentally prepare. I wasn't sure how I would do because I have struggled with running in the humidity, but I REALLY wanted to be able to at least run 10min. I used Carli's podcast because I didn't have time to load Suz's Day3 on my Ipod. I started walking at 2.5 and was feeling pretty good...popped my run up to 3.0 and even though I was feeling pretty good, I didn't want to push my luck by upping the speed, so I stayed at 3.0 and just enjoyed the music. Carli used the same podcast for all 3 days, so it had the cues for the whole week on it. So, I got thru that 1st 5min run, and said, "Ok, cool. I feel pretty good." Then I got the cue for the end of the 1st 8min run, and said, "Ok, cool. I still feel pretty good! That's kinda exciting!" Then the cue came on that I had made it thru the middle of the 20min run...."Wait! What?" I had made my goal of running for 10min! And I still felt really good!!! So, I kept going, and before I knew it, I had been running for about 15min!! I felt SO good, and I LOVED the beat of the music, that I sped up!! I ran the last 4 or 5 min at 3.2!! When she chimed in to slow down for my walk, I slowed down to 3.0 and stayed there for most of my cooldown walk! And I actually felt like I made it though it easier than I had before. But, WAIT!!!! PAY ATTENTION...DID YOU GET THAT?????I RAN FOR 20 MINUTES AND INCREASED MY SPEED!!!!

TIPS

Just keep running!!!! I have found that when I feel like it's getting tough and I might not make it through the run, I zone out. I focus on the lyrics or I watch my feet or I stare at something, or I get deep in thought about some other thing that pops in my head...then it doesn't seem so bad....distraction is a wonderful thing!

EPIPHANY

I think my treadmill is a bit weird! LOL!!! I know, perfect, right? It seems that even when my incline is at 0, my treadmill still has a natural, slight incline to it, which may be why it has been so hard for me to increase my speed at home, and may also be why it was so easy on my in-laws treadmill. I've noticed before that I seem to be able to go faster on the treadmills at the gym, and that walking on my treadmill seems more difficult, and it doesn't feel as flat. I definitely know when I have pushed the incline button, but when I haven't it still feels off. My husband has taken a look at it and seems to think it does have a very slight incline to it. He's going to take the level to it to confirm. LOL. I will keep you posted on what we discover.

So, despite feeling SO good today, I think I may still repeat W5D3 on Tuesday...I want to see how it feels on this treadmill and see if I can do it. I am also planning on trying to train outside this Saturday without the baby and stroller, and see how I do. Though I have to say, looking over Week 6's training...it kinda seems easy after running 20min, but we shall see how it feels on MY treadmill. I will keep you posted.

Thanks SO much for your support and encouragement...it really does keep me going when I think of giving up.

And as always, thanks for joining me on my Journey 2 Fabulous!

Week 5...

Monday 8/30, I started Week 5.
The 1st day is a 5min warmup walk as always, then 3 intervals of the following, 5min run, 3min walk, then ends with a cooldown walk.
I did it, AND LOVED IT!!!!
I was a little nervous about it because in Week 4, it seemed like I was barely making it thru the 5min runs...But, on Day 1, I just kept thinking, "Ok, this isn't SO bad!!" And I felt AMAZING afterwards!!!!
Then the AWFUL humidity set in...And even though I have air conditioning, I was walking my son to the bus stop every morning, and coming home feeling like I needed a shower and a nap!!! That litte walk to the bus stop sapped ALL the energy out of me, and then I just kept making excuse after excuse, as I am want to do...
So, a week went by and I did not finish Week 5...
But, yesterday 9/6 I did Week 5 Day 1 again. AND I FELT GREAT!!! I actually kept thinking, "I GOT THIS!!"


TIPS

My only tip for this week, is just STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!!! I am the Queen of them, but if I hadn't made excuses last week, I would be starting Week 6 instead of starting Week 5 again!!!
The only other thing I want to reiterate is if you are struggling to get through Week 4 and you are worried about Week 5...SLOW DOWN. DO NOT worry about how fast you are going. Just worry about running for the entire length of time. My friends that have been running so much faster than me, have told me that they are really struggling with Week 4. SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN!!!! This is my feeling...Once I know that I can run for 30min straight, which is the goal for the end of this program, then I can worry about increasing my speed. Now, if along the way, I begin to increase my speed like I did a couple weeks ago, then great, but I'm not going to stress about it, and I'm not going to beat myself up for slowing down if it means that I can actually RUN!!!!

PODCAST

So far, on both W5D1's I have used Carli's Podcast. I tried it for the 1st time last week, and really liked the way it was structured for Day 1, and I really liked the music. Carli's Podcast is 1 podcast for all 3 days even though they are all different. It gives cues for all 3 days on the podcast. It is GREAT for Day 1, but I think it would be difficult for Day 2 and 3 because I will be thinking she's going to tell me to stop running, when she's actually cuing in for a different day, so I am gonna try Suz's for Day 2 and maybe Day 3 too.
I listened to them all briefly, and it seemed that Suz's podcasts were lower quality sound than they had been. Which is also part of why I went with Carli's for my 1st day. But, like I said, I want to use a podcast for my specific day, so Suz's it will be. I will let you know what I think.

I will be doing Week 5 Day 2 tomorrow. And I feel ready. I am glad that I did Day 1 twice. I think it has helped. I am still nervous about Day 3, but I've heard from a bunch of people that have done this before that most people do not make it through it. To view it as simply a test of how far you've come, and where you still need to go. So, I will keep you posted.

As always, Thanks for joining me on My Journey 2 Fabulous!