Status Update!

My quest to complete the couch to 5k program is going well. I feel that I have recovered from my months off this spring, and I am confidently completing the week 3 sessions. Having learned from my injury, I am taking a mandatory day off after every workout.

I also feel that I am actually jogging now. The first time around - before the injury - I was completing a jogging-type motion but at a very low speed. It was more like speed walking than running. My goal was just to get my body used to the jogging movement and begin to work the muscles correctly.

I am a bit nervous about progressing to the week 4 regimine. It involves 5 minute stretches of running. I may require an extra cycle through week 3. I can feel myself getting stronger and faster on these intervals and I'm not sure I am ready to move on yet.

I will give the week 4 regimine a try tonight though, and hopefully the rain will subside a bit before I go out. Poor Oliver and his mop feet will have to stay home tonight!

The Virtues of Breaking Patterns

New Lesson: Mix it up!

Yesterday I went for a bit of a drive to Magnolia in an attempt to find Discovery Park, a place I have never been. I got a bit lost on the way, and decided to settle for a nice run along scenic Magnolia Drive. It's a really beautiful  part of Seattle - nice houses and a gorgeous view of the Sound. I set off through the neighborhood, alternating between the gentle slope of Magnolia Drive and the sharper climb of the side streets.

Partway through the routine, I decided that the week 1 routine was just a bit too easy. The running intervals were so short that they felt over before they'd ever begun. So I switched to the week 2 plan, and just as the second warm-up section was concluding I realized I had actually parked something like 6 blocks from the park's South entrance.

I wound up having a really nice run for two reasons. First, I was completely unfamiliar with the route so I had no idea what was coming up. I had to take whatever trail was before me and make it work. This lead me to a few unpleasant intervals of unexpected uphill running, but the end result was a more challenging workout than usual. Second, it was just nice to run in Discovery Park - it's very natural and unkept so it was the opposite of running down Aurora as I normally do. The change of scenery and variety of terrain made for a really lovely run. By the end I was far more exhausted than usual, and quite warm in the face! 

So that's where I am now - I have jumped ahead a little bit, back to week 2 of the training plan. The week 1 plan was making me feel more positive, but I think the week 2 program will push me harder without breaking me. I guess this week will tell!

Couch to 5K Reboot

I took this week to assess my overall fitness level. My injury put me out of training for 3 weeks followed by a month and a half of steady overtime. This basically puts me back at the beginning in terms of fitness, which is both demoralizing and encouraging.

While it's depressing to realize I will need to spend a good 3 weeks essentially re-leveling it does show me how far I had come from my starting fitness level. My cardiovascular endurance took the biggest hit, and today I rolled back to the Week 1 plan and pushed myself much harder than usual (too hard in fact, as I gave myself some pretty brutal cramps early on). 

This was absolutely the right thing to do. Instead of sluggishly jogging through a tougher program, I pushed through the easiest intervals at a pretty significant pace for me. I was finally enjoying myself again and it felt incredible to find the right pace. My ankle does hurt a bit so I probably overdid it by doing a double session, but I have learned from my previous mistakes and I am icing it while I write this entry.

I have also discovered quite a few things that I think will help me build and keep a good healthy routine. In no particular order:

Good running shoes are worth every stinking penny.

Run in two sports bras. Really. I did this tonight and it was the most amazing difference. It's a lot easier to enjoy yourself without pain!

Don't overdo it. You know, like I just did (again).

Don't be afraid to progress slowly. It's better than no progress at all.

Learn where you break and ice it before it hurts. Ice it when it hurts. Ice it after it hurts.

Stretch well and don't forget that running uses your upper body and core muscles as well as legs.

Plans and Goals:

Instead of running 3 times per week I am going to run 4 times a week. One of these runs will be a Week 1 or Week 2 session. This will allow me to track my improvement with a consistent baseline. I think this will be a nice break each week and also good encouragement.

I found a pretty good basic circuit routine, too: the sidewalk on the East side of Aurora is much flatter and safer, so I can walk up to Galer Street and climb the overpass during my warm-up (stairs, bonus!). Then I can run uninterrupted by lights and intersections all the way across the bridge to Freemont. The pedestrian underpass takes me right back to the Western side, and I wind up back home. 

Running with my iPod on shuffle was amazing. I discovered unexpected inspirational music had been hiding in here all along! I am going to give this a try once a week just to see what I can find that works well. I am also going to build out a good playlist from these discoveries so I don't have to skip so many songs.

Listening to the right song at the right point in time is amazing. Shameful, shameful pop music with just the right beat is great. I admit that I mostly danced my way back across the bridge and it was probably a terrible sight. But I had an awesome time doing it, Oliver smiles when I am happy, and it was pretty dark so I don't think the passing cars noticed. Now that I am starting to figure out the right BPM for my different segments I am going to investigate some options for playlists there as well. Nothing keeps me on track as well as the right song!

Figure out what the hell I need to eat to have enough energy and protein to be healthy while I am active. I am having an extremely hard time getting a substantial amount of protein and vitamins without going crazy overboard on calories (protein) or sugars (damn you fruit for being so delicious!).

Resume Training

I finally got off my couch and resumed training last night! I've been trying to talk myself into it for a week now, and I wish I had started sooner.

Previously I was on week 3 and feeling great. The 3 minute jogging segments weren't too bad until the end of each workout and I felt like I was making real progress.

I attempted to resume where I left off, and was disappointed to feel winded right away. I had to scale back to the week 2 training regimen to make it, and even then I felt soreness in my legs during the last few intervals. This could be due in part to the fact that I did stairs in the middle, but I definitely felt a degradation in my general fitness level. I may not have noticed the progress I was making, but I certainly notice its absence now.

I am hoping to get back on week 3 within a week's time, but I don't know if I will make that. Previously I was running more than 3 times per week, and that might have accelerated my progress, even though it did result in my injury as well.