So today was the first day of my second run of week 4 training. My first thought was whomever listed this c25k program for beginners needs a swift kick in the butt. This is NOT a beginner program. Period. End of the story.
Anyway before I go off on a tangent, here are my stats:
15 min Run (6.2mph-7mph)
5 min Light Jog (4.2mph-5mph)
10 min Run (6.5mph-6.9mph)
Covered 3.1miles (5k) in 30 mins.
Today was not a good day. Not sure if it’s due to starting off with a run that kicked my butt. But I did several stupid things today, including leaving for work with two purses instead of one purse and my laptop. Is it possible that I’m starting to see signs of senility at early 30′s? (sigh) If you need another example, I got off the elevator yesterday at the wrong floor and almost crapped myself when I went to unlock the door and heard voices inside of what should have been an empty apartment…eek!!!
Anyway on to the run. For some reason, I had this crazy thought that this would be easier the second time around. But not so much. It wasn’t harder, but definitely NOT easier. And I’m writing a letter to Mr. Fartlek because that speed work I did…yeah, did not increase my speed at all.
I won’t take you through the play-by-play, because it’s pretty similar to last week. But I’ve come to the conclusion that my legs just don’t want to run more than 20 mins straight. After that time, they usually reach up, tap me on the shoulder, and ask me “what part of leg cramps don’t you get, the leg or the cramps?” However, I did manage to get through it by attempting to tone out the pain and drowning my sorrows in my new Ciara Pandora Station. I haven’t heard One Two Step in a while and I forget how hype it can get me. For those that need it, here is a translation of hype or getting hype, from my new book, Ebonics for Dummies*:
Get hype=To become overly excited and pumped up.
*I really don’t have a book called Ebonics for Dummies. Please don’t send money in hopes of getting a copy mailed to you. Actually I’m not completely against you sending money. Just don’t expect anything in return.
Ok, I’ve decided I’ve had a rough day and I don’t really want to talk anymore about the run. Point black, I completed it. Not my best but I did it and feel good that I got through it. I don’t feel discouraged, just tired. On a side note, the DC metro area is expecting at least a foot of snow between Friday and Saturday, which means I will mostly likely be doing my speed work on the hamster wheel AGAIN! ARGHHH. If any of you live in PA and see that darned groundhog, please tell him his A$$ is mine!
Have a good night all!
An anonymous black girl who despise running and that damn groundhog!!!
Tags: Beginning runner, couch to 5k, ebonics, fitness, fitness blog, groundhog, I hate running, I love running, new to running, running, running for dummies, running journal, story about running
You must have the advanced version of C25K LOL! The one at the CoolRunnings site is not that hard or fast…especially on Week 4. The one I have in my ITouch app doesn’t even specify a speed for the runs. The bad thing is that I finished the program and couldn’t without running 3.1 miles though. If the program is truly to be for a couch potato to a completing a 5K, 10 minute miles is a lot to expect. Anyway, the program got me far along enough that I was able to complete a 5K even at my snail’s pace!
All runners have bad running days. Don’t beat yourself up about it. And if you want to run more than 20 minutes, try throwing in a SLOW long run day. It is usually recommended that you work on speed or distance, but not both at the same time.
3.1 miles in 30 minutes is not bad AT ALL!! I’ve been at it for almost a year now and, being both slow and having knees of glass, I’ve yet to bust that under-30 5K (though this morning I came close–and then almost hurled).
Bad runs happen–it’s just a matter of getting out there (or on the dreadmill) again and showing the run who’s boss. And from your blog, I can totally tell the boss is YOU.
@ keyalus, thanks for the advice. This makes a lot of sense. Today’s workout was much better.
@ LG (can I call you that?), It’s so crazy these programs don’t tell you approximately where you should be in terms of pace. I guess it’s their way of making it about the run more than the numbers. However, because I am new, I just kept pushing thinking everyone could do a 5k in like 25 mins. SO GLAD TO KNOW I WAS WRONG =) My legs kissed me today for figuring it out.