Week One
Jecia joined me on my first workout with iPhone in hand. Five minute walk to warm up. No problem! Alternate 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes. I thought I was going to die! The first 60 second run was excruciating; the succeeding segments were worse. Jecia kept up a lovely conversation while we ran. I was unable to speak. I learned lots of things on our excursion.
1. Runners are nice people so we greet everyone we pass. Jecia offers a cheery "good morning", I manage a weak wave of the hand.
2. There was a loose brick on the fence by the old junior high bus stop where the wild girls hid their cigarettes. Jecia was glad when they moved the stop across the street, so they could no longer smoke while waiting for the bus.
3. Giving silly names to landmarks helps the time go faster. The out of service black and white police cruiser around the corner is a Po because it is only half a Po Po.
4. I love the 90 seconds of recovery between the run segments!
Week Two
Now I am a veteran runner, I carry my own iPhone and even know how to use the stop watch. I run three minutes (triple the time) and walk 90 seconds, then run 90 seconds and walk 90 seconds and repeat until I arrive back at the house. I can identify every incline, no matter how slight. I try to run the down hills and walk the uphills. It doesn't really work because the beginning and end are uphill.
Week Three
Now I am alternating 5 minute and three minute run segments with recovery walk times of half that. I thought it would get easier, but this is the worst week yet. Even my regular workouts are more difficult. I really don't know why I agreed to do this "fun run". There is nothing fun about this! I could quit now but I already paid the $40. Jecia and I run on the track at the high school on Saturday in a light rain. It is an easier surface to run on and it is flat! I run/walk 3.5 miles instead of the 2 miles I usually do.
Week Four
Something has got to change. I give myself a pep talk. Nothing worth doing is easy. I am not running because I feel good while doing it. I am running so I will feel good when I am not running. I want to be strong and healthy in my retirement years. This week is an eight minute run with three minute walk, then alternate four minutes of running and two minutes of walking. At the end of eight minutes I feel like I can keep running - but I don't. I have to save some energy to run the uphill climb at the end. I finish the run and I can still breathe. This may not be so bad after all! I ran eight minutes! Well in truth it was a slow jog, and it was on the downhill section, but it was eight minutes!
Week Five
I realized this week I will only have 6 weeks of training on a 9 week program. I don't think I will be ready to run the full 5K in a week, but I will run most and walk when I have to. My longest run was 11.5 minutes. Not sure of the distance, but I think it was just more than a mile. Great improvement over my 60 second burst of running on week one! On Friday, Jecia ran with me and showed me how to use the Runkeeper app she put on my iPhone. (I didn't even know it was there.) We ran the first mile in 9:57 minutes; ran/walked the second mile in 13:24, and the last mile in 14:10. My overall average was a 12:23 min mile. That is enough to get an A in PE. It was also my new personal best on Runkeeper!
Week Six
So tomorrow is the Color Run. It was hard to fit in my running this week as I had early morning appointments. I still managed to run Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. This morning Jecia and I decided to alter our route and run in O'Callahan Park. It was a nice run and offers elevation change. I like to call it a run even though I still walk about a third of the time. It sounds better when you say, "I went running this morning." or " I will call you after my run." or "I run three to four days a week." With only four events on the Runkeeper, I set a new personal best. Woo Hoo! I still like to start with a five minute walk. I ran 1.2 miles without stopping and we did 2.85 miles at an average of 11:51 minute mile. (After our 30 minute warm-up, Jecia went to the park to run with friends from the singles ward.) I shaved 31 seconds off of my mile! I still don't like running hills or even gentle inclines - unless I am going down, but it is not quite as tortuous and I am better at it. I am amazed at my body's response to a consistent 20-30 min aerobic activity.
Jecia picked up our race packets last night so I have my cool Color Run shirt, headband, and official race number. I am excited for tomorrow. I think I will buy new running pants for the occasion.
Run Day - February 16, 2013
Darn it! I wrote a post right after the race, but apparently I did not save it, because I came back to add pictures two weeks later and it was gone. I will try to recreate... Yes, I did find new black "slimming design" (that was what the tag said) running pants. I thought I might cut them to make capris, but they are actually long enough so I will leave them that way.
Marshall acted as driver and we met Jecia & her friend Meagan to carpool to the race. Great planing and a driver who dropped us off at the closest intersection got us there an hour before start. It was fun to be right at the beginning of the race with all the energy and excitement. The weather was perfect for running. We ran just over 1.5 miles before I needed to walk. That is a huge improvement over the 60 second bursts I managed six weeks ago! After about two minutes of walking, I was ready to run again. After about two miles, I began to wish I had found a porta potty during the hour before the race began. At about 2.5 miles I had to change to fast walking as the running was too much for my bladder. (I share this to help other over 40 women who have had children learn from my folly.) We ran the last quarter of a mile and I was focused on my goal - porta potties just past the finish line. Whew!
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| Jecia and I just before crossing the finish line |
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| Successful Color Runners! Jecia - Colleen - Meagan |
So my final numbers show remarkable improvement in strength and endurance after six weeks. I ran/walked 3.13 miles in 34.49 minutes. It was an average 11:08 minute mile. (43 second improvement on the average mile - take that Rodger Bannister!) My fasted overall pace to date and my longest run without walking. More important, I felt great and more energized after the run. Jecia thinks she might train for another marathon. I think I will not. Still, I will keep running two or three days a week and I might even decide to do a 10 K or team relay race. It is good to know that it is never too late to improve personal fitness and consistent effort just three days a week makes a big difference in a short time. Thanks Jecia for the invite to run with you.
