Week 5, Day 3 -- whew

OK. Today was a 20 minute run. That isn't a lot really... but the thing is, when I started running six, seven weeks ago. I couldn't have run 20 minutes in a row at any speed. I was out of shape. My endurance was poop, and well, I was just no good at it.

I've talked to real runners and they run marathons and they're very polite when I talk about how I want to run a 5k and I haven't yet... am not even sure I could run the entire race without stopping to walk a minute or two. I know. It's only 3 miles... but when I started I couldn't run at all without running out of air.

So, I'm no Steve Prefontaine, but I'm in better shape now than I was when I started. I didn't start running to lose weight or get in shape or work on my cholesterol or diabetes (which I don't have) or any of that. I started running because I like running. You'd think I would be better at something I say I enjoy. I feel silly pretending to be a runner when I haven't yet run a race and seriously, when I DO run my first race my goal will be to finish. That's a pretty pathetic goal actually.

Ugh, I'm starting to feel like maybe I should quit talking about the running thing, not because nobody reads it. I'm OK with that... it's the part where I feel like I'm talking about something really really sad. It's like cheering that I ate a cracker without having to pause for a few minutes to rest up. I haven't really accomplished all that much in the scheme of things. I'll temper my excitement for a while.

In the software department... I'm liking Cardio Trainer for the android. I wish it gave as much information as the great stuff over at Bones In Motion. I look forward to them coming out with an android app soon. (Not that I've heard they would. I just hope they will.)

Week 5, Day 1! Ran outside today

Ran outside today. I got to run outside today which doesn't sound like much except that I've been doing a lot more treadmill work than I liked when I was out of town last week. That means of course that my shins hurt and that I didn't get any GPS data to use so no Bim posts while on the treadmill. The winter months are what are putting the most fear into me about running. I dislike the treadmill quite a bit, not because it's boring but because I hurt after I run on one and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I thought it was pace, but it doesn't seem to matter if I slow it down or speed it up. My shins hurt when I treadmill it. Today when I ran after two day break going into Week 5 of C25k my shins and calves were still sore from the run 3 days ago! I'd gotten a massage yesterday and the massage therapist commented on how tight my left leg was and he worked to fix it. I'm going to try to go back again tomorrow. I think it helps and it's certainly relaxing. Highly recommend massages to anybody with tension. (The real kind, not the "with happy ending" kind.) So, sore, I ran today, intent on not pushing too hard. Don't want to over-train and cripple myself out of running so soon. I ran gentle with short steps and high turnover and did OK. I felt fine even at the end of the run. It was more running than last week, and the next day of running is even longer, 3 8 minute sections I think it is!!! Maybe just two. I have to look. I wasn't any more or less sore after I ran so the running wasn't a mistake. That's where I was going with that. I got side-tracked. Continuing to run, not looking forward to winter and the treadmill, but looking forward to continued running. I said to my roommate today that I put the elite in athelite (sic). He laughed and politely disagreed. He's seen my running form. :) Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1055 ft Location: Fort Dodge, IA, Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 10/27/09 Up/Downhill: [+167/-170] Time: 10:25 AM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Weather: Sunny 45 F temp; 69% humidity 45 F heat index; winds S 12 mph Performance Distance: 2.66 miles Time: 0:36:08 Speed: 4.4 mph Pace: 13' 34 /mi Calories: 374 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 12' 37 -0' 57 4.8 +0.3 +36 ft 2 12' 19 -1' 15 4.9 +0.4 -20 ft end 16' 56 +3' 22 3.5 -0.9 -19 ft Versus average of 13' 34 min/mile

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