Today was a turning point. The C25K training went from warming up to starting to get serious.
I did not want to run tonight. I told Steve at 5:45 that I was going to let Stacey know that I wasn't going to run. He totally stopped me and told me that it wasn't an option. "I don't care if you walk tonight, but you're not staying home." His exact words.
So I went. However, I took two Aleve before leaving because I've got cramps and I'm not feeling great. My knee hurts, my lower back is throbbing, and I have a slight headache. So getting out of running was so appealing, but I went.
Tonight it was just me and Lesley and Stacey. I was slated to start Week 4, which includes running for FIVE straight minutes. I wasn't sure what to do... but Stacey said if I tried and couldn't do it, I could just walk what I needed. as she said last week, "You never know if you don't try." She's so wise.
So we started off together with the five minute warm-up walk. W4D1 was: five minute warm up, run for 3 minutes, walk for 1.5, run for 5 minutes, walk for 2.5, run for 3 minutes, walk for 1.5 and run for 5 with a five minute cool down. Total time: 31 minutes.
Just typing it I'm thinking, "Holy cow!" I walked a total of 0.84 miles at 18:49 and then ran 0.96 miles at 16:38. It's the longest I've run so far. My total distance tonight was 1.80 miles bringing my total miles since starting four weeks ago to 16.1 miles!
I was dying at the 1/2 way point. My legs felt like cement and it was really hard to keep going. My calves hurt, but I didn't feel like I was cramping there-- only I felt like I had cramped up on my right hip. I wasn't as out of breath as I thought I'd be, but I was physically tired.
Running for five straight minutes is no joke. It was a lot to do and the last two minutes were hard, but I did it. Thankfully, Lesley and Stacey were there with me giving me support as I finished my last five minute run.
So it's been four weeks of running. Four weeks of going three days a week without exception. Do I notice anything different yet? No. Do I feel different? Not really. I won't give up, but I am disappointed that I haven't noticed any big changes yet.
I will say one great thing is that my average heart rate was 128 and I was in the zone for 31 minutes and 26 seconds. My maximum heart rate was 168 which isn't too high... considering that I was running for five straight minutes and felt like someone had lit me on fire. So maybe there are changes happening that I'm just taking for granted.
I'm going to shower and to bed. I'm hoping that I'm not super sore tomorrow.
I'll close by saying that it wasn't a horrible run. It wasn't a great run either. It was difficult and challenging, but it wasn't as terrible as I had expected it to be. I'll take that as a win.
