Celebrating 8 years

Beautiful flowers from my hubby =)

C25K

Week 2 - Day 2

I let my pride get the best of me today during my workout. This week is 5 minutes walking for a warm up, then alternating running for 90 seconds and walking for two minutes for a total of 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cool-down walk. On my first running section I finished up just as I was going by a group of people on the jogging path and I just couldn't let myself stop and walk right in front of them. I have no problem with people seeing me going for a walk but I struggle with people seeing me stop to walk. My pride makes me look down at my watch when I do that so people will think that I am just at the end of my run and not that I can only run for 90 seconds at a time. Sometimes I wonder why I care what people think so much. Fortunately I was able to complete the run just fine even with my own stubborness making me stray from the planned workout. On monday I certainly wouldn't have been able to do so. So far the first day of a new workout is pretty hard by the end of the run sections I'm very ready to walk. Then the second day I'm feeling like I can handle it and by the third day it's almost easy. It seems to be a good progression following this program, I'm pushing myself but at the same time I'm achieving success at a sustainable level.

Running log BC and AC

Before children - had to stop to re-tie shoelaces

After children - had to stop to remove choking hazard from Ethan's mouth

Running

I'm on my second training day of my Couch to 5K (C25K) program. It starts out doing a run/walk program and at the end it has you running for 30 minutes, very similar to the Galloway running system. The first week starts with a 5 minute walk, followed by alternating running for a minute and then walking for a minute and a half of walking for 20 minutes and then finish up with a 5 minute walk to cool down. I spent $2.99 on this app for my Ipod and it lets me listen to music and then breaks in with alerts to tell me when to run and walk. It's nice because I don't have to think about it or even look at my Ipod. It's like having a little electronic coach. I'm sure it could vary a lot from person to person because it's not a set pace but in today's 30 minute workout I went just over two miles. Pretty good for just getting started I think.

I'll be running several 5K races with my family when I go home for the holidays but I had thought I would find a half-marathon to train for. I did a couple of ten mile runs when I was in high school so a half would be my longest race distance. I thought during Wil's deployment that training for a distance I've never done before would help keep me motivated. However it turns out that mid-November through January in Michigan is not a popular time for half-marathons. The closest I've been able to find is a good three hours from my parents' house.

My next thought was to do the Great Aloha Run after I returned from Michigan, it's "only" 8 miles but it would still be a long race to train for. However when looking over their website I discovered this:

"DISQUALIFICATION: Anyone who does not follow Great Aloha Run safety rules and procedures MAY BE DELETED FROM THE OFFICIAL RESULTS AND DISQUALIFIED FROM THE GREAT ALOHA RUN FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS.

Major violations include:
• Jumping into the race along the course
• Running with a baby jogger, stroller, or assisted wheelchair
• Starting in the wrong color group
• Disregarding generally accepted rules for the safe and fair conduct of a running event"

Um, yes, running parents need not apply for the race. So much for Aloha.

So I'm stuck still looking for a "big" race to train for.

Ethan Walking

I tried to upload the video of Ethan walking here but it looks like the file is too big. If you want to check out a good video of him walking you can check it out on Wil's facebook page.