Day 4

This week I've been slacking, BIG TIME. I was supposed to start my Week 2 training on Monday but the lazy bug infected me. And it's SO cold outside!!! It's hard to leave the comfort of my nice, warm home to brave the cold winter weather outside. But I finally did it - with a nudge and word of encouragement from my hubby. So today was the beginning of my week two training.

5 minute warm up
Walk for 5 minutes - 3.7 mph
Jog for 2 minutes - 4.5 mph
Walk for 5 minutes - 3.7 mph
Jog for 2 minutes - 4.5 mph
Walk for 5 minutes - 3.7 mph
Jog for 2 minutes - 4.5 mph

The two minutes of jogging nearly killed me. I was huffing and puffing and sweating. It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. But I did it and I'm proud of myself. I've noticed that stretching afterwards has helped a lot. When I normally did cardio, I wouldn't stretch at all. Now I realize how important it is.

My second session will be tomorrow - hopefully. I need to make up for my laziness. It's nearly impossible for me to drag my behind to the gym on a Friday. Just can't do it. One of these days....

Now I'm going to continue to laze on the couch, drink my protein shake and figure out how to drag my weary body to the bathroom to take a nice, hot shower.

Side note: I really need to get that second pair of running shows. STAT!

Winter Basketball

Winter Basketball season has started. Saturday Darrius had his first basketball game. The boys - The Terminators - had a great game. They worked well as a team. They listened to their coach - who's a 18 year-old senior in high school - they passed the ball and they communicated. Darrius is the point guard and was not selfish about passing the ball to his teammates. Everyone on the team scored and they won! 44-8. Darrius had 2 points, 13 assists, 1 block (what! LOL!) and 1 steal.

A funny tidbit is the name of the plays that the coach has designed for the team. It was funny watching Darrius take the ball down the court yelling "Bacon!" Bacon? What? But it works. Their plays are Bacon, Oreo 1, Oreo 2, Motion and Free Throw. Whatever works. And the kids know what the plays mean so they don't have a problem with the play names.

Day 3 (unofficial)

It wasn't officially a training day but I took it upon myself to train off schedule and it HURT! My schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I went to the gym Thursday night to do my regular workout (weights and cardio). I hopped on the treadmill to warm up and get my cardio on when I decided I should do my interval walk/jog training instead. And on top of that, instead of running for 1 minute, I'm going to run for 1 minute 30 seconds! Take that! Ha! Annnd instead of doing the intervals 3 times, I'm going to do it 4 times. And after doing all that for a total of 45 minutes on the tread, I'm then going to hop on the stairclimber for 15 minutes for a total of 60 minutes of intense cardiovascular activity. Needless to say, at the 59:55 mark, my legs felt like wet noodles. I managed to stretch for 10 minutes even though I wanted to take a nap on the mat. The moment I got home, I flopped on the couch and did not want to move an inch. Of course, Darrius runs up to me and asks me to make him something to eat. Ugh! Can't you fix yourself a bowl of cereal? Mommy's legs are D-E-A-D.

While I was jogging, I started getting a pain in my left chin. I made sure to pay extra attention to it while I was stretching. I'm also taking MSM for my joints. I need to get a second pair of running shoes. The pair I have now is going to get worn out pretty quickly.

Next week I bump it up to 2 minutes. I can't wait! I'm enjoying this. I actually look forward to going to the gym. Imagine that.

Day 2

Day 2 of my training. It was tough. I don't know if it's due to me using a different treadmill than I did on Day 1 or what but tonight, it hurt. I was breathing heavier and at the one minute mark I slowed down to walking speed. There was no feeling of "oh, I can keep going" and "this feels good." I think my body has caught on to what I'm trying to do and it's starting to rebel. I was on the treadmill for 30 minutes - 5 minute warm up, 21 minutes of the walk/jog, and 4 minutes of walking. When I got off the 'mill I was drenched in sweat. The first day of training I barely broke a sweat. So what does this mean? I don't know. I do know that I stretched post-workout. And it felt good. My legs are still tight but I'm hoping they will loosen up as time goes on.

Today was an eye opener. This is not going to be easy especially when I start increasing the jogging/running minutes.

I'm feeling good....tight legs and all.

Looking for more races

Yesterday I spent some time on the internet looking for 5k races. I want to run a couple of 5k races before the Race for the Cure. I should be finished with my 10 week training by mid-March and would like to get a couple of 5ks under my belt. I found a great website www.runningintheusa.com. It lists all races - 5k, 10k, half marathons, marathons - by state. The list is not complete since we're only 7 days into the new year. There are a couple that caught my eye and I can't wait to sign up for them. One in particular is the Run Amuck race at Quantico Marine Base. It's a 4 mile off-road race where you navigate obstacles like hay bales, a tire challenge, and cargo nets. The race culminates with a 1.5 foot deep mud pit. It sounds fun and challenging and dirty.

Right now I'm really gung ho about this running thing. I know I'm only a couple of days into it and haven't done any real running as of yet. I hope the excitement never wears off because I'm excited and really looking forward to it.

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.

Let me introduce myself...

I am 35 years old. I'm 60 pounds overweight. And I am not a runner. I hate running. I try to avoid running at all costs. I remember when I tried out for the volleyball team in 11th grade and we had to run laps and run suicides, I was seriously offended. I told my coach, "This is why I tried out for volleyball, to avoid having to run!" So how did I end up blogging about running my first 5k race? Well, it started when I was on the metro, on my way to work, and saw a sign for the Avon Walk. When I got to work, I went on their website to get more information. First the walk is for 2 days, which isn't too bad. But then I saw that you had to raise $1,800. If you couldn't get that amount in contributions, you had to make up the difference. I didn't think I'd be able to get that much money, not in this economy. So then I went on the Susan G. Komen website. I decided I'd sign up for the Race for the Cure. While perusing the website, a thought hit me. Ping! I could try to run instead of walk! Whaaaat! Is that me saying that? But the more I thought about it, the more I warmed up to the idea. I need to step outside of my comfort zone. So I googled "how to train for a 5k" and of course tons of information was at my fingertips. I printed off a 5k training plan that will take 10 weeks; plenty of time to prepare for the Race for the Cure.

Here I am...soon to be runner. A person who tells her husband almost daily that she hates running and she will never run. I am eating my words.