training to run - week 4: day 2

I skipped my running on Saturday and instead did it yesterday at Wall Doxey State Park. It was nice to get a change in scenery, but my run was terrible.

It was the same as the last run: run 3 minutes, walk 1 1/2 minutes, then run 5 minutes & walk 2 1/2 minutes (x 2). However there were a couple factors which made it a little more difficult.

First of all: hills. There were many more hills than I am used to and I wasn't as prepared for them as I had hoped to be. I got extremely tired about halfway through.

Wetness. There had been a lot of rain on Saturday and I found out that my shoes are not the best at gripping wet pavement. Thank goodness I'm getting new shoes for Christmas.

On my last 5 minute run, I stopped halfway through. I couldn't breathe well and I was just tired. I walked for a minute, then finished out the last minute and a half. After I walked back to my car I ran for another minute to make up for what I had skipped.

Still, it made me feel horrible to not finish. So what I think I'll do is try the last run of the week and if I still am struggling, I'm going to repeat the week. I read somewhere that this is a good thing to do if your endurance isn't building as quickly as you'd like.

Also I've started a calorie counting diet (using an app called Lose It on the iPhone) that requires me to log in everything I eat/drink. So far I haven't gone over my limit for the last few days, though I got close yesterday! We had a meal at church and let's just say I ate well.

I got a Christmas present for myself last week...it is a iPod nano, 5th generation. I got it to use with the Nike+ system & shoes that I'll be getting for Christmas from the parents. It's an awesome little machine. I wish my old iPod did half the things this little guy does.

Well that's all for me at the moment. Enjoy your day...and I have a post coming in a day or so that DOESN'T have to do with running!

training to run - week 4: day 1

I just finished day 1 of week 4 of my Couch to 5k program...and I thought I was going to die.

First of all it is COLD outside! At the moment it's 28 degrees out.

Secondly, I was required to run 3 minutes, walk 1 1/2 minutes, then run 5 minutes & walk 2 1/2 minutes (twice). Overall that was 16 minutes total, which (to me) is a lot.

I have been done for over an hour now and feel pretty good. This whole week will be the same type of running and I can't wait to continue building up my endurance.

training to run - week 3: days 2 & 3

Want to hear about a busy Saturday? Then you, my friend, are in luck.

I had planned to get up and run early on Saturday, but as my alarm went off I just wasn't in the mood. Friday night I'd been at my cousin Taylor's house to eat and hang out with him, my uncle Anthony, aunt Son Cha, and family friends Yassir & Michell Janah. I didn't get home until close to midnight and had to be in Memphis the next morning to watch Anthony, Son Cha, and Yassir compete in the St. Jude marathon. I decided to just wait until later in the day to run.

I ended up walking around downtown Memphis from 9 AM until close to 2 PM following the runners/looking for Yassir. After getting home I headed down to work on our church's float for the Holly Springs Christmas parade. I walked alongside the float as it made it's way through town for about 45 minutes.

All this to say that I was pretty exhausted by the time I got ready to run. Corey Garner, who walked along during the parade, wanted to run with me, so I waited a little while for him to get ready. I opted to run around the well-lit square rather than go out to the cemetery at that time of night.

I mentioned last time that my ankle had begun hurting after my run on Thursday. Saturday night it throbbed but overall didn't hurt too badly. I finished up and kept my same pace throughout and Corey did pretty well considering he doesn't run.

Sunday was a different story. My ankle was in some pain. It wasn't swollen but kinda hurt. I bought a brace for it and it made such a big difference. Today my ankle felt great, and I ran without much problem at all.

The runs for these days were the same as Thursday's; a 1 1/2 minute run followed by a 1 1/2 minute walk, then a 3 minute run followed by a 3 minute walk and then everything repeated once.

I went ahead and did extra stretches afterward and iced my ankle for precaution. I've worn my brace tonight but at the moment I feel great. I think what I'm experiencing is backlash from years of not staying in shape catching up with me.

Starting Thursday I will be on week 4. I'm 1/3 of the way through my training! And so far it's been very rewarding. I'm already wearing jeans that I couldn't fit into a month ago and my belt is fastening at the smallest notch. Not too bad for 3 weeks of running!

training to run - week 3: day 1

I decided to blog every day that I run rather than weekly, since I would more than likely forget details that I consider important.

After Monday's run, I had Tuesday and Wednesday off before starting again today (Thursday). I decided to do different exercises on Tuesday afternoon, including benching, sit-ups, and squats. And I overdid it. Wednesday my walking was like that of a zombie...slow and lumbering, complete with various moans/groans.

So this morning when I woke up I was pretty bummed to find that my legs still felt like death. I got a little nervous about running this afternoon on shaky, hurting legs. But by the time this afternoon came around I was getting around pretty well.

I got home and headed out to warm up before my run at around 5 PM. My first run was refreshingly easy. It was for a minute and a half, immediately followed by walking for the same amount of time. I can really feel my stamina picking up during each week.

After that run/walk combination I ran for 3 minutes straight with a walk of 3 minutes directly afterward. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be.

The program called for me to repeat that entire sequence just one time. When I finished, I wasn't nearly as winded as I have been in the past. All signs are looking great for these 9 weeks to be effective.

Saturday I will be cheering my aunt & uncle (and Yassir) on in a marathon for St. Jude in Memphis. I look forward to checking out their techniques and maybe learning a thing or two from them.

Oh I almost forgot to mention this...

When I was running my second 1 1/2 minute run, I felt a cramp or pull or something in my right leg, just above my ankle on the inside of my leg. Afterward, I rubbed it and stretched more before my final 3 minute run, but on the walk home it still felt irritated. I bought an ankle support brace to alleviate the pain (which really isn't that severe at this point) and it feels fine right now. But yeah...anyone have any suggestions/thoughts?

Until next time...