Thursday, November 5, 2009

Week 9 (Goal Reached!)

FINAL WEEK!!!

Week 9 Instruction: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Note: Again, (and from now on I think) I only timed the actual jogging portion. Counting the warm-up and "cool down" (walking to get back home or to get back to the car) we probably go an average of .5 miles in addition to the mileage listed below.

Day 1 – 10/29
Run time: 30:12
Run Distance: 2.11 miles
Ave Pace: 14:20/mi

Day 2 – 11/01
Run time: 30:13
Run Distance: 2.13 miles
Ave Pace: 14:12/mi

Day 3 – 11/03
Run time: 30:13
Run Distance: 2.08 miles
Ave Pace: 14:34/mi

Neither C or I were worried about bumping up to 30 mins. We did repeat week 8 but only because we wanted to keep ramping up very slowly. On Day 1 we weren't intimidated by the 2 extra mins and we were able to push through to 30 mins without much problem.

Right at the beginning of the run on Day 1 the bottom of my right calf/top of my heel (maybe my achilles tendon area?) started hurting. It felt very tight, like it was cramping, and it wasn't an ache, more like a bit sharper pain. I have no idea what it was from. It wasn't really bad, just something I noted. I ran through it and it didn't get any worse, but it didn't get better either. I tried to stretch it out well afterwards. I continued to notice it while just walking around after that.

On Day 1 we went around the little loop (my neighborhood) once, and around the big loop (adjacent neighborhood) three times. On Day 2 we went to a new area of the local bike path. This day was much tougher for some reason. We both felt really tired and C ended up stopping to walk for a min or two near the end. She caught up to me though. Looking at our pace, maybe we were just going slightly faster than usual so we tired more quickly. My achilles tendon area hurt again on this day, but it was a little bit better.

On Day 3 we repeated our course from Day 1. It was very cold and windy out - pretty unpleasant for jogging. I have a zip-up sweatshirt that I wear but half way through my core gets too hot and I have to take it off. However, my thighs and my butt are always freezing! I'm going to have to get something to wear under my jogging pants for the winter.

Day 3 was pretty crappy. Along with the cold and wind, I felt completely uncoordinated and weak. I know this will happen sometimes but it sucked that it happened on the very last day. We wanted to celebrate but instead we had to concentrate to make it all the way through. We usually talk quite a bit but we were pretty quiet on this day trying to make our bodies to what we wanted.

We made it though! Week 9 completed! We are proud!

C and I are celebrating this weekend by going out to dinner at The M.elting Po.t. She's never been and I've only been there once. It should be fun :)

It's really amazing to me, especially if I go back and read posts from the early weeks, that I'm now able to jog without stopping for 30 mins. We even jog for most of the 5 min warm up now, instead of walking.

My achilles tendon pain was yet a bit better on Day 3 and now I'm pretty sure it's gone. At the very beginning (last March/April/May) I had very tender shins but this time around, and all the way through to week 9, I haven't had that issue. My knees I can't quite figure out. I continue to have almost no knee pain when I run but my knees hurt when going up and down stairs. They always did but it seems as if it's a little worse now. It could be just normal aging-with-arthritis stuff. I plan on going to an orthopedist next year if I continue with the running. Just to make sure I'm doing all I can to preserve what health my knees do still have.

The biggest difference I have noticed (I really started to notice in the past few days) is my breathing. I used to breath so hard that I could barely swallow. And I'm not talking on the longer jogs. I'm talking during jogging for 3 or 5 mins this would happen. If I had to swallow, I would breath a few times and then hold my breath while I swallowed quickly. It was unpleasant. Now it's totally different. I don't have to think to swallow anymore. I breath much more easily, even at the end of a 30 min jog.

I haven't ever managed to get back that magic "I could jog forever" pace. I think I've been close a few times. Jogging always with C is a factor I think. We talk which takes more energy and makes it so that I can't inwardly focus very well. I wouldn't change it for the world - I love going with her - but jogging alone seems to be a different experience.

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So, now my first goal is complete.

My overall goal is still to jog regularly for a year ('till the beginning of Aug 2010), but I need a new short term goal. I'm not sure what it should be yet.

C and I need to figure out what we are going to do now. Should we just continue jogging for 30 mins, 3x, every week? Should we go back to the beginning of the couch to 5k plan and jog for distance this time instead of time? Should we work on jogging more often?

I'm not sure I will ever want to jog for more than maybe 30-45 mins but maybe that will change. I always imagined myself jogging about 3 miles, 3x or 4x per week and that's it. I'm interested in doing 5k's eventually but a 10k? I'm not so sure I'll ever be that good or even have the desire.

Decisions, decisions...

14 comments:

  1. Congrats!

    And a little blabla:
    I'd really look into your running form and shoes. Very-very important!If you weren't fitted for those shoes in a serious running store, please do go to one.
    The knee thing can be just ITB and such, you might want to do some strengthening exercises.
    As for the goal, I'd suggest you pick a nearby 5K race and train for it, but prepare to run it primarily for fun. I think you're a bit ahead of the C25K starting point, but you could still give it a try.
    Good luck!

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  2. oh, almost forgot...

    the achilles is a typical part to hurt if you're a heel-striker(or have bad shoes) or new to hill running.
    Be careful because achilles injuries heal slowly, so better not injure them at all :)

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  3. Oh, my gosh, I've only been to the Melting Pot once - but it was amazing. I was so worried that I was going to undercook my chicken, but it was just delicious!

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  4. SOOOO proud of you!! I think you should run a 5K!! You will be amazed at what your body can do now! The most I trained with was 2.5 miles before I did my 5k's. GO FOR IT!! I will be joining you running in about 10 weeks!!

    Depending on what your goals are is what you should do next. Do you want to add distance? Speed? Really you can do whatever you want :) If you just want to run 2 miles 3x a week or 30 minutes - do that! If you start running races and get hooked you can add speed training which is fun and breaks things up!

    Yay you!!

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  5. That is AWE.SOME!!! I'm super proud of you for sticking with it!

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  6. Congrats, congrats, congrats!! That's a huge milestone! Way to go, finishing the C25K program!!!

    Once I was well and comfortable with the 5k distance (once I was running a consistent 5k in 33-ish minutes), I started training for a 10k distance. And I loved training for it, but I kept injuring myself, so I ultimately determined that my distance is just going to have to stay 5 miles or less. Oh, well!

    Of course, then I started this infertility treatment nonsense, and since then, my distance has averaged, oh, ZERO miles, but I know I'll hop back on the running horse some time in the future!

    YAY! Great job!!!

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  7. I'm not an expert by any means, but at one point in my life, I thought it would be a good idea to run a 10K. There's a huge one every year in my city - 60 thousand ran last year. Please check out your shoes - you may need a new pair or a different pair - you will seriously mess up your achilles/knees/hips if you ignore it. If you can do 30 minutes, you CAN do a 10K. To keep yourself going, find a goal, a cause, a race to run for. The feeling of running a 5K or 10K for charity will make your feel invincible! Congratuations on your progres so far!

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  8. I'm so impressed with your dedication! You must be so proud of yourself! I know I would be! :)

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  9. YAY! Congrats on making it to week 9! That is amazing!!!

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  10. Congrats on your progress! Way to go! There is a program somewhere called gateway to 8k that takes you from the 5k distance to about 3 miles.

    Good luck and have fun

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  11. Rock on, congratulations on reaching your first goal. I definitely think you should enter a 5km race - nothing better than crossing that finishing line and feeling the pride in yourself!!

    I am more of a distance girl than speed, I do intervals and tempo runs begrudgingly but I do like my Sunday long slow runs (not that I have been doing much of any consistently of late). I tell you, there was a time when I couldn't run 100metres but a few years ago I did a half marathon (21km) - you don't have to be a good runner to do distances, just determined which you have in spades, my girl!

    Good luck on coming up with your next goal!

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  12. Posting back to give wings to your wish for 2010 to be pregnant and deliver a baby. I knew one blogger who went back to running, after stopping for years to ttc, and lo and behold she got pregnant - on her own! Surprised the heck out of her doctor who told her to not run. She even ran pregnant for months!

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  13. What good sticktoitiveness you have!

    Have fun at the Melting Pot. Mmmmmm...

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  14. Congratulations! My DH is a runner, so I know the dedication you have. Amazing!

    Thanks for your support yesterday and today!

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