Category Archives: C25K

C25K update

Couch to 5K update:

I finished week 5 of the program today. I actually didn’t check to see what was coming up, so I was a little surprised. I hadn’t done the program in years, so I forgot this week had 3 different days. Last Thursday was:

5 minute warm up/ 5 minute jog/3 minute walk/5 minute jog/3 minute walk/ minute jog/ cool down.

Day 2 (Sunday) was: 

5 minute walk/8 minute jog/5 minute walk/8 minute jog/ cool down.

Then I checked before I went this morning and saw it was a 20 minute straight jog. Eeeep!  That made me a little nervous. I haven’t run that long in years. I was able to do it outside, which was great. When the jog started, it didn’t feel really great (but it never does) and I wondered if I would get all the way through. I toughed it out and did it all. 

My leg felt about like I expected, which is the same as when I bike for a long ride. So, I will keep on going!

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Thursday this and that

Exciting blog title, eh? But that was the type of day it was.

Today was C25K day. Week 7 day 2.  I can’t believe how far into the program I am already.  This week is all the same. A 5 minute warm up, then 25 minutes of running, then cool down.  It was cool and windy and very cloudy when I started.  I got just about finished and was half a block from home when the sky opened up and it started pouring on me!  I had to finish with a bit of running LOL.  Like it really mattered me getting wet since I was already soaked in sweat…

Now it is like this outside:

A little running update.  It is going pretty well, but I think I have to face the fact that there is a new normal for me, and that is leg weakness.  After almost a year and a half, I doubt that will ever get any better.  That means I can’t run as fast as I used to because when I do, that is what really causes me problems the next day. So, I keep it slower.

I came in from the run and wanted something warm for breakfast, so I made up some coconut flour waffles:

It was hard to get natural light with how dark the skies were.

I rocked out on work today. I was very productive.  Yay! Today is the end of the pay period, too – which means paycheck next week  :mrgreen:  Something to look forward to on an abysmal weather day.

Pixie has been wanting a lap all day.  She was snoring away on me while I was working today.

Lunch break and I realized I had a Fage I needed to eat up.  Good thing I caught that.  It’s too precious to waste.

Topped with strawberries and some Love Grown Granola I won from Biz.

Today was hot latte day, which I had this along with some free  chocolate that I got for being a FoodBuzz publisher.

This chocolate has one of my favorite combos. Sweet, salty, and crunchy! I had 2 of these during a break from work.

I am excited thinking about my volunteer tutoring! One thing about the job I do is that I have a flexible schedule.  While I do normally like to work set hours and try to stick to those, I need to take advantage of that flexibility at times.  It allows me to do things that other people might not be able to do, like the orientation and training for the tutoring. I am very lucky.

I also am lucky because I finished up early from work with being productive  🙂  We cooked up some shrimp for dinner:

Then after practicing our respective instruments, John and I went out for some couple time at Starbies ( I snuck in my GF banana bread):

And while we were out, we scored a couple of discount tickets for Irish Fest tomorrow!

Gaelic Storm is in the lineup!  I can’t wait!

Now for Project Runway and relaxing.

On pumpkin and C25K week 5!

Okay – I guess I am not alone leaving my nails buff nekkid!  It just seemed like I read a lot about manicures, but then after thinking about it, why would one announce that they were *not* doing their nails? (lightbulb moment).

Today was the start of week 5 for Couch to 5K.  I can’t believe it is week 5 of that already!  This week has 3 different workouts.  Today was a 5 minute warm up, then 5 minute run/3 minute walk with 3 repetitions.  Sometimes the walking irritates me because I am one of those persons who will plow through something until it is done and hates to stop.

I came in and started a banana bread breakfast pudding and got a pot of coffee brewing.  It was 50 degrees out for my run today!  I love the mornings at this time of year here in the Adirondacks 😀

Also a note on my pumpkin.  I stash pumpkin.  After the shortage a couple years ago, I totally learned my lesson.  I can’t believe I am going to share a secret, but check the little mom and pop grocery stores for pumpkin.  That is where I get a majority of my pumpkin stash from when the big stores are out.

My grain for the day was included in lunch.  I got this box at Aldi’s and it was only $2.

I forgot this stuff is cracknola.  I think it might have been a mistake to buy it as I forgot how much I loooooooove this stuff.

I had half a serving with some Fage 2% and strawberries.  Yummers.

I was having a hard time focusing on work today.  You know the kind of day I mean.  A little work… a little email… a little work… a little facebook.

Then it was latte time!

The rest of the afternoon crept by.  I just was not motivated to work, but I pressed on and finally finished.  Just in time for dinner!

The big BBQ chicken salad with feta cheese.  Nom, nom.

I spent the better part of the evening after dinner making up some orange marmalade.  I hope this comes out as it is for my jam exchange.  Damn this was a lot of work!

I thought peach jam was a lot of work, but this was definitely more.  That’s why I like making the berry jams.  Much easier 😀

If this cools down and sets up enough, I might be having some on top of ricotta cheese for a snack! It’s either that or ice cream down the street :mrgreen:

Tomorrow is bagel day!  Bagel day!  I haven’t had a bagel in over 3 weeks.

My running progression

Woke up to a cloudy and rainy morning. Think it was the remnants of Hurricane Bill bands going by.  Still kind of humid!  We went for bagels and I forgot my camera!  Probably a good thing because we had some difficulties with service and ended up leaving where we went to go to Panera Bread.  Not a good start to the day.

I just thought I would give a history of my starting to run to getting to 8 miles for those that weren’t with me a year ago.  I have always loved biking, but jogging was one of those things that I thought I hated because I had tried it in the past and just didn’t enjoy it *at all*.

I was also scared of running a little bit and had the dislike for it from past experience.  Way back in high school (20+ years ago :O ), the very first thing we did each fall in PE was to run 3/4 miles one day, and the next gym class was running 1.5 miles.  Well, you can imagine how horrible that was to an overweight child and of course I tried to run fast, hyperventilated and was made fun of by other kids.  The gym teacher made everyone wait until the last person finished (usually me), so you can imagine how that did not make me very popular with those kids.  It was the most miserable thing to start each year with.

Fast forward to adulthood. Well, it turns out that the all-or-nothing mentality I had at one time gave me problems.  When I tried running a few years ago, I tried the couch to 5K program, but ran too hard and too fast during the running segments and quit after a couple weeks because it was too intense for me and I hated it.  This reminds me of Diane’s post on exercise the other day.

I am one of those people who doesn’t like to admit defeat, so the idea kind of nibbled around in my mind to try again in April 2008.

With some wisdom about how to train, I realized that I didn’t have to sprint during the running segments (seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?).  That was the biggest revelation to me.  I did the C25K program again, this time with this mindset:

1.  I would just jog a comfortable pace during the running sections. Being slow is okay.

2.  I would repeat weeks if necessary and it was okay.

3. It would be okay if I could not run 3 miles in 30 minutes after 9 weeks.

Finally, I got somewhere.  I did not need to repeat weeks, but I think that was because of #1 and #3 above.  I gave myself realistic goals.  <—— key point there, people.

Here are a couple of the posts I made during the training last year:

  • Started Week 3 of C25K today. I had no problem doing the 3 minute jogs. Maybe I don’t give myself enough credit for all the work I have been doing to get into shape. Curious as to how far I could actually go, but I want to make sure I train properly.
  • Today was Week 5 Day 3 of C25K. That means 20 minutes non stop of jogging. I did it!! And I wasn’t even out of breath. I went 1 3/8 miles, so that is about a 16 minute mile or so. I will take it!! I really, really think I can do the whole 5K.
  • Started Week 7 of C25K. That was a 25 minute jog. I am getting used to it. I still think the first 1/4 mile is the hardest part. I did 1.5 miles in the 25 minutes.
  • Started Week 8 of C25K. Was supposed to jog for 28 minutes. My Mp3 player ran out of juice about 3/4 of the way, so I didn’t know exactly how long it took – but I went jogging for a full 2 miles!
    I really never imagined myself doing that. It’s crazy!

I was able to run 5K after the C25K program, but it took me almost 50   minutes to do it.  Now I can run a 5K in under 30 minutes.  I owe it all to small, incremental goals.

I started thinking of longer distances  around June of this year, I think.  That was when I tried 4 miles.  I think I may have figured out how to push myself just enough, but not too much to progress without failing.  I also wanted to make sure I didn’t get injured.  I am very lucky that I have not suffered any serious injury over the years, which I owe to cross training.  You will almost never see me do the same thing 2 days in a row, except maybe for biking.

I have now done 8 miles twice, and could likely go farther.  Yep, it is slow, but the feet keep moving and I am not hating every minute of it!

I don’t think I will do the 1/2 marathon this year.  Part of that is because my niece wants to run the 5K portion of the same race and wants to run with me as my sister can’t do it, so that race  is out.  I am happy that she wants to run with me!  Maybe I will set my goal to do one next year, as I already did my big fitness goal this year of the triathlon.

So that’s my running story.  From nothing to 8 miles at a time, all with slow, patient steps.  I may not be the fastest runner on the block, but I am the one with a smile on my face 😀

C25K Week 9 Day 2

There was a break in the weather, so I decided to do a C25K workout. Again a 30 minute jog. It was really, really humid. Yuck! I was sweating like crazy. The humidity makes it difficult to breathe. Wasn’t sure I was gong to make it, but I did. I can see jogging in the evenings later this summer won’t be as enjoyable as it has been during the spring!

Made a yummy dinner:
Egyptian rice and lentils
* 1 cup brown lentils
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 cup brown rice
* 5-6 cups water or homemade vegetable stock or chicken stock

Cooked in a crock pot all day. Really good stats – a serving is a generous cup.
Calories 211 Calories from Fat 36
Total Fat 4g 6%
Sodium 681mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 14%
Dietary Fiber 11g 44%
Protein 12g

Today’s stats:
Calorie goal: 1,350 • Consumed: 1,396 • Burned: 323
Net calories: 1,073

C/P/F ratio: 53/24/23

C25K Week 9

Week 9 – week freaking 9!!!!!!! That’s 30 minutes of jogging. Okay, I can’t do a 5K in 30 minutes yet, but I can do 2 miles! That is an improvement on my time of a 17 minute mile.
Funny how I see the progression of adding distance. I remember being nervous about jogging 1/2 mile. Now today, I was futzing around with my HRM (never did get it recording right), and had done 1/2 a mile without even noticing it! 1 mile goes pretty quick. With the new pace I set, I think I could do 3K at that speed, but will just work up to it. My goal for the July 26th 5K is to finish in 45 minutes. That was my original goal – to at least jog the whole thing.

I want that 100 pound mark so bad. Only 4 pounds away!

Today’s stats:
Calorie goal: 1,350 • Consumed: 1,352 • Burned: 375
Net calories: 977

C/P/F ratio: 45/27/28 Yay me!!!

Just feeling blah today.

Ever have those days? Nothing in particular wrong, just feeling blah. Normally I am pretty cheery (annoyingly so, according to DH LOL), but feel off. Part of it is the meeting with the tax assessor tonight. I feel like this meeting is an exercise in futility, but I truly hope it isn’t.

My food is spot on today. No extra nibbles of anything. Had the iron fist of control going today!

Did Day 3 of Week 8 C25K. That was 28 minutes of jogging. I pushed it today, keeping my heart rate around 150 the whole time. I did almost 2 miles in that 28 minutes. So probably a 15 minute mile. I don’t know if I could keep that pace up for one more mile, but I will find out over the next few weeks!

Weigh in day is tomorrow. I don’t even know what to expect.

Today’s Stats:
Calorie goal: 1,350 • Consumed: 1,348 • Burned: 362
Net calories: 986
C/P/F ratio: 54/22/24 Gotta work on getting the protein up.

Jogged 2 miles!

Started Week 8 of C25K. Was supposed to jog for 28 minutes. My Mp3 player ran out of juice about 3/4 of the way, so I didn’t know exactly how long it took – but I went jogging for a full 2 miles!
I really never imagined myself doing that. It’s crazy!

Struggled a bit with food today. That has been an issue as of late. Seems every few days I have a real fight with myself to eat on plan. Sometimes I win the battle, sometimes I don’t.

Happy Monday!

Ah, the start of a new week. I really want to make sure I stay focused for the rest of the month. My birthday is June 5th, and I do plan on allowing myself some treats that weekend when we go away.

I did C25K today. Another 25 minute jog. Felt like I was pushing it, but still ended up at about the same pace as Saturday. Going to take a while to get the pace up more, I guess. But – I still jogged 1 3/4 miles without stopping!

Today’s food:
Calorie goal: 1,350 • Consumed: 1,343 • Burned: 381
Net calories: 962
C/P/F ratio: 50/21/29

I was a little high on fat today. I ate some of that yummy, yummy greek yogurt I got at the farmers market on Saturday. Full fat stuff, of course. I only had half cup – it was really good. Added chopped strawberries and a tsp of honey to it. Can’t have this too often, but what a nice treat!

Farmer's Market

Gosh I love this time of year when the Farmer’s market is open! I don’t know why it feels so healthy and refreshing to walk around the market, even when there are all those baked goods for sale! LOL!

Someone there is now selling Greek yogurt. Yum! My favorite. Not low fat, but I only eat 1/2 cup at a time, and fat is okay 🙂

Got some apples, fresh rhubarb, greek yogurt and farm fresh eggs. Great deal on eggs, too – since there are at least 4 vendors selling eggs – they keep their prices competitive.

Today I did C25K Week 7 Day 2. Another 25 minute jog. I am now trying to increase the distance I jog in that time. On Thursday I did 1.5 miles. Today I did 1.5 miles and got in an extra 1/8 mile before the time was up. Yay! I really, really think I can do this. Take that highschool jerks who made fun of me when I ran!! Haha!