Day 1

Today was the first day of my 5k race training. I'm supposed to walk 6 minutes, then run for 1 minute. I'm supposed to do this three times during one session, three times this week. After reading what I needed to do, I said, "Oh, this is easy. I can do that." And it was easy. I set the time on the treadmill for 45 minutes. The actually "training" aspect was only going to be 21 minutes and I still wanted to get my cardio in for the day. Because I'm so out of shape, I walked at only 3.7 mph and had to hold onto the treadmill for most of the walking part. I remember when I could walk at 4.0 mph. I'll get back to 4.0 before I know it. When I got to the 6 minute mark, I cranked the speed up to 4.5. I didn't want to overdo it. At 4.5 I got a nice easy jog. The first minute went by and I slowed back down to 3.7. I was breathing a little hard but that's okay. I have no endurance. After another 6 minutes, I cranked it back up to 4.5. This was a little more difficult because I was starting to get tired. I was breathing harder but finished the 1 minute jog. The last minute long jog, I felt great. I was in a groove. I was tempted to continue jogging past the 1 minute mark but I decided to stick to what I should be doing. I finished off my workout by walking for the remaining minutes.

When I got off the treadmill, I noticed that my legs were tight and that my left knee was a little sore. I've been having problems - nothing major - with my left knee since the summer. I stretched the best I could. I realized I need to become more flexible. I'm thinking I need to find a yoga class or buy a DVD that I can do at home. I think loosening my muscles will help me with the running.

Day One wasn't bad. I felt good. My legs were a little tight but I'm going to work on that with continued stretching.

Maybe this running thing won't be that bad.