A Colorful Run

My first 5k is on October 5th. I'll be running and walking with Steve and the boys in memory of a co-worker of Steve's that passed away from brain cancer. She was in her 20s and it was diagnosed only three months before she passed. To say it was unexpected would be an understatement. When we do this first 5k, I'll be treating it like a training day. It's next Saturday (not this coming Saturday, but a week from this Saturday).

My first "REAL" 5k will be on October 19th. It's a local Color Run (not THE Color Run, but close). I'll be running it with Lesley, Leigh Anne, Jo, Stacey, Jackie, and Heather (I think). We are all running at different levels (I am the slowest) but it should be a fun run to do together. You don't really do this one in any serious way because they throw stuff at you while you run.

I think it'll be fun, but I'm not sure how it'll go. This is not the official Color Run, so I don't know if it'll be as good, or not. Either way, I'm sure we'll have a good time running together.

We get a t-shirt and a pair of sunglasses to wear while we run. 

We've been preparing for this first 5k and each time I run I'm questioning if I'll be ready for it or not. I pray that by October 19th, I'm ready and that three miles doesn't seem like an eternity to complete. 

Steve will be traveling starting next week (during my birthday) and will be gone next week and then the week before my Color Run. I had asked my dad if he wanted to come down for my birthday, so I wouldn't have to spend it alone, but he can't. He said he was planning on coming down to be here for my race!

He'll be here for my first 5k.

To cheer me on and watch me finish.

It seriously brought me to tears when he said he wanted to come down to be here to support me. I've been preparing myself for this first 5k and it just means a lot to know that he wants to be here to see me accomplish something that I've been training for and working really hard to do.

I can't run tonight because Steve will be at a dinner thing tonight and won't get home until later. I've asked if anyone wants to run tomorrow, and Lesley said tomorrow works better for her anyway because it's supposed to rain all day and all night tonight.

Tomorrow we'll be running and then I'm hoping to run on Saturday. Steve is gone next Monday and won't get home until late Wednesday, so the earliest that I can run next week is on Thursday. I might try Monday morning with Hugh... but I don't know-- I hate my single jogger and I need to get the tires inflated. Oy.

The good news is that I'm not sore anymore from Monday's exhausting run. I feel decent today and hopefully having the extra day off will make the run tomorrow even better.

 

I Did It!

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.
 

Can It Get Worse?

For real.

So, today is Friday and I wasn't sure when I'd get a chance to run. Hugh had his 9 month appointment this morning, and then I had to be home at 11 for Gus to get off the bus. I wanted to go as soon as he got home, but Monika came over with my money (for my photo shoot that I did on Sunday) and she stayed until after 12.

I decided at 12:45 that I'd just go and get it over with so I could relax for the rest of the day.

I don't know what the heck I was thinking. It was a bad idea and as soon as I pulled into the park, a fear crept over me... "Please God, don't let today be as bad as the Friday two weeks ago."

I got the boys out and loaded into the double jogger.

It was 1pm and HOT. What was I thinking?!?! Hugh started crying the minute I started and he didn't stop. Do you know how hard it is to focus on running while you're nine month old is screaming like someone is torturing him?

It was horrible. Simply horrible. 

I couldn't focus, I was exhausted before I even started. I kept trying to calm him down and he wouldn't stop crying. He was hot, I was hot. He was in desperate need of  a nap and I thought he'd nap in the stroller, but he was too hot with the hot sun beating down on him.

I ended up going so slowly. I went 1.28 miles and walker 0.80 at 23.25 min and ran 0.48 at 18:50. It was not good.

So I came home very tired, sweaty, and just overwhelmed. I'm glad I went, but I hate running with the boys. I just can't focus and I end up pushing 80 pounds... it's too much.
 

As soon as we got home, Hugh crashed. He had a flu shot and hemoglobin check today, so that could be part of his overall unhappiness. 

I will be repeating week three next week because I am not ready to run five minutes straight. I can't even run three minutes straight, so I know five isn't possible yet.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing. I feel like it's a ridiculous notion to think that I'll be able to run a 5k next month. I pray that a good run comes my way soon, because I don't know if mentally I can handle feeling like crap after I run each time. I just get so disappointed and feel like I suck.

 This image is the one that scares the crap out of me. Oy.

And last but not least...

Another Tough One

I did not want to run last night. I was still sore from Monday and I just didn't have the drive or motivation to go. However, I have other people that I'm running with and I knew they were going to be there and I didn't want to let anyone down, or have anyone ask why I wasn't coming. I honestly didn't have a good excuse, and I couldn't imagine any of them being okay with any sad excuse that I may have tried to use.

So I went.

I did W3D2 and it was as difficult as Monday's run, but I did a MUCH better job than W3D1. Here's a chart of my progression thus far:

When I look at the progress from run to run, I notice that while I've always through that Monday was my best running day, it's the slowest, I am very surprised to see that last night's run was my fastest running pace so far. 

Last night it was just me, Lesley, and Stacey. It was W3D1 for Lesley, and she and Stacey ran together. For the most part, the three of us stayed together through the entire run, but the last 3 minute run is where they took a big lead on me. I pushed through and didn't stop or cheat, but they were faster.

Here's something that I really love about running this time- I love that it's getting cooler and not hotter. :-) When we started out our run, I was actually a bit chilly. Obviously, when we finished I felt like I was on fire, but it was so nice to run and feel a cool breeze and not sweltering heat.

I got home and got in the shower and crashed into bed. When Steve got me up this morning at 6:20, I was out cold. It took all that I had in me to get out of bed. I could have slept for another few hours.

I wasn't sure what I'll do about tomorrow, since no one is planning on running at 8pm, but I think I'll take Gus and Hugh in the double (after Gus gets home from school), and do my run with them. It's only 30 minutes and I *think* I can do it. If I need to walk, I'll walk, but I don't want to not do anything and I don't want to go tomorrow night alone.

I'm quite sore this morning. My calf hurts. I think I pulled something in my calves because both Monday and yesterday, they've hurt after running. 

I will say that I'm proud of myself. When I ran last year, for whatever reason, I only ended up running twice a week with Pilar and Christy. This year, I've been running for three weeks and three days a week. Even without any major running, I'm still doing more exercise now than I have in a really long time. I just wish my scale would reflect my hard work. Still no changes and still says I've gained a few instead of losing.

To all my loyal readers (hahahaha), thanks for your continued support. I always have these grandiose thoughts about running 5ks when I'm not running. It's when I'm actually running, that I think, "What the heck am I doing?!? How can I actually do a 5k?!?!" It'll be interesting for sure. 

Until next time...
>^..^<