Week 4

No one ever taught me how to run.  Although I was on the track team in junior high, I was more of a field kid than a track kid.  Nonetheless, Coach put me and my clumsy gait on the track as the second person of the relay team.  Actually, I can't remember if I was the second or third kid, I only remember getting tangled in the hand off and falling to the ground.  The only prize I took home with me that day was a nice case of road rash and a badly bruised ego.  I never set foot on a track again.  Which brings me to my next question:

Why the heck am I training for a 5k???  At the age of 47???

Yesterday was the first day of the fourth week of my Couch to 5k program.  It's really hard for me to believe that I've been running for three weeks; and I haven't gotten sore, injured myself, or suffered any major physical consequences.  Mentally, I've been pretty good too.   Except for the initial shock of reviewing my intervals for the upcoming week, I've been able to get through the changes week-to-week without much whining. 

This week, my intervals look like this:

• Brisk five-minute warmup walk.
• Jog three minutes.
• Walk 90 seconds.
• Jog five minutes.
• Walk two and a half minutes.
• Jog three minutes.
• Walk 90 seconds.
• Jog five minutes.
• Five to ten minute cool down.  

Monday was cold and wet, so I took my running routine to the gym at OZ Fitness.  The last time I was at OZ, I only did a little bit of cardio because I was coming out of that cycle of pain/injury and I didn't want to hurt myself again.  Wow, what a difference two months make!  I hopped right on that treadmill and went to town. 

I was kind of relieved that I was at the gym on this day.  The televisions distracted me during the long five-minute intervals and the treadmill was softer than the concrete, which I really was feeling last Friday.  And, there were no hills.  I was also curious to see how the intervals and times translated into miles run and calories burned.  After my workout, I saw that I had logged 2.5 miles and burned 235 calories!  Not bad!  That really motivates me to keep going.

Until next time, see you on the road!