Today was a bit of a weird run. At first, I wasn't even sure that I was going to make my run, but I like blogging. To blog, I must work out. Ohhh, I think this thing is working.
Once I hit the pavement, I knew I wasn't stopping. My legs stretched out nice and wide and away I went across campus. Strangely, even once I hit my nemesis, 3 minute jog after 3 minute run, my breathing was fine. My legs, however, cried mutiny. They worked out yesterday, and boy were they not happy. I think my pace must have been slower than usual, just because my legs were dying and my breathing wasn't, but I don't really care anymore. I'm running longer than ever, at a good pace, and seeing results. As those crazy wise sensei's over at the c25k forums have been chanting "speed will come". Plus, I totes passed a girl way skinnier than me. ;).
This run did confirm my need for a watch though. I like knowing how long I have left, it makes me work harder, and podcasts just leave me guessing at how much longer I have. I want the play-by-play man!
Well, now that that's over, I'm off to enjoy some apple jacks! Hope everyone has good runs!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Inspiration
So, this post is going to be one of those posts-which-is-the-reason-why-Emmz-goes-by-nickname-only-online-and-doesn't-post-an-identifying-picture post. That, and I'm keeping the whole return to competitive tkd hush hush from people I know IRL until I can back up the talk with some solid tournament performances/getting back into my weight category. You people on the internet? You get me, you struggle with me! You find 1 minute runs hard too!
But yes, back to me embarrassing myself online.
I really want to know what other people do to get pumped. For what? Anything. Running, specifically, but if you have some awesome pre-board meeting ritual, share that too. Me? I listen to the same two songs, over and over and over again. At least 5 times each. I wish I was kidding. The sad thing is, I don't even own the two songs (yet...). I listen to them on youtube, until hopefully this weekend where the Easter bunny will give me some iTunes gift cards and running socks in my basket. If not, then the bunny is going to be given a strict talk about listening to me when I drop my signature subtlety like "Hey Mom, this weekend's Easter. By the way, iTunes are awesome, don't you think they're awesome? You know what's really awesome about iTunes? They sell giftcards! Yah, right there, in the store, like where you're going to buy my Easter presents....Mom?" But I digress.
The songs that have me tapping my toes, fingers, keyboard, wall, etc. are:
And...
Yah, yah. Not exactly the classics. But they're amazing work out jams.
Now, if listening to a total of two songs on repeat at least 30 times (more like 50) for the past 3 weeks weren't enough to convince you of my nerd-ocity, I introduce you to Emmz's guaranteed inspiration part two:
I never did gymnastics competitively, never even tried it except for a few misguided months at age 5 which resulted in a broken arm and an introduction to the much safer martial art of taekwondo. But it awes me. Probably due to the fact that I've never tried it. I've ran, thrown dicuses (discii?), rowed, played every sport they offer at the YMCA, took and aced a fencing class, tap danced, ice-skated, kayaked, etc. Basically, I've tried a lot of sports. And I could physically do them all well, albeit no where even near Olympic level. But that? That what she's doing right there on that beam? I could never, ever, ever do that. Gymnastics is one of those sports that is just non-recreational. No one's like, well, guess I'll just hit the ol' balance beam for a quick sweat session! It's total commitment. It's a lifestyle. It's a sport so hard, careers end mid-teens. And that just blows my mind. So, if I'm ever feeling whiney about a run (so, like every run), I watch that. And think, man, if she can go out there and do that, the least I can do is go run. Boom. Guaranteed inspiration.
So what's yours?
But yes, back to me embarrassing myself online.
I really want to know what other people do to get pumped. For what? Anything. Running, specifically, but if you have some awesome pre-board meeting ritual, share that too. Me? I listen to the same two songs, over and over and over again. At least 5 times each. I wish I was kidding. The sad thing is, I don't even own the two songs (yet...). I listen to them on youtube, until hopefully this weekend where the Easter bunny will give me some iTunes gift cards and running socks in my basket. If not, then the bunny is going to be given a strict talk about listening to me when I drop my signature subtlety like "Hey Mom, this weekend's Easter. By the way, iTunes are awesome, don't you think they're awesome? You know what's really awesome about iTunes? They sell giftcards! Yah, right there, in the store, like where you're going to buy my Easter presents....Mom?" But I digress.
The songs that have me tapping my toes, fingers, keyboard, wall, etc. are:
And...
Yah, yah. Not exactly the classics. But they're amazing work out jams.
Now, if listening to a total of two songs on repeat at least 30 times (more like 50) for the past 3 weeks weren't enough to convince you of my nerd-ocity, I introduce you to Emmz's guaranteed inspiration part two:
I never did gymnastics competitively, never even tried it except for a few misguided months at age 5 which resulted in a broken arm and an introduction to the much safer martial art of taekwondo. But it awes me. Probably due to the fact that I've never tried it. I've ran, thrown dicuses (discii?), rowed, played every sport they offer at the YMCA, took and aced a fencing class, tap danced, ice-skated, kayaked, etc. Basically, I've tried a lot of sports. And I could physically do them all well, albeit no where even near Olympic level. But that? That what she's doing right there on that beam? I could never, ever, ever do that. Gymnastics is one of those sports that is just non-recreational. No one's like, well, guess I'll just hit the ol' balance beam for a quick sweat session! It's total commitment. It's a lifestyle. It's a sport so hard, careers end mid-teens. And that just blows my mind. So, if I'm ever feeling whiney about a run (so, like every run), I watch that. And think, man, if she can go out there and do that, the least I can do is go run. Boom. Guaranteed inspiration.
So what's yours?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Blistered, but not broken!
So after hunting around for a good secondary cardio workout, I decided today to return to my good friend the erg (indoor rowing machine). I've spent quite some time bonding with that piece of equipment over the last 4 years, and today was a bittersweet reunion. Bitter because that workout kicked my butt. Sweet because that workout kicked my butt.
I couldn't decide on a workout to do, so I mixed it up with 10 minutes of 1 minute hard (under 2 minute split time), 1 minute rest(whatever I could manage). Then I did a solid 20 minutes at my 5K pace, which was pretty darn good cardio. The erg is actually a great workout for taekwondoists. I found this out when I didn't totally suck returning to tkd after my first rowing season in HS, but in a weird way it makes sense. The erg works all muscles in the body, but focuses on the legs, like tkd. It's a mixture of anaerobic and aerobic, like tkd. It often deals with short sprints of all out effort...like tkd. And while the effin' thing gave me blisters since my formerly calloused hands have gone all soft and manicured, I definitely think I'll be adding it back in on my off-running days. Its the only workout I've found that burns more calories than running, and it has a strength training element built in since every stroke is essentially a dead lift on crack. Not sure if I'll do it every off-day, I'm contemplating bike machines too, but its definitely going to get a whirl at least once a week.
Speaking of strength training, I also started my 100/200/200 program today. Ouch. I'm already feeling it in my abs, which might be from the erging too, but it definitely did not help to drop and do like 5033454 crunches. Push-ups wasn't as bad as I thought, but I need to work on form a LOT. Overall, I'm feeling that nice tightness in my legs and back that says, hey, you worked out. I love that feeling.
Who knows, 6 weeks from now I might actually start feeling like an athlete again. For now, I'm beginning to feel like a return to glory might just, maybe be possible. But until I find out, I'm just going to enjoy the ride.
W3D2 tomorrow. So pumped.
I couldn't decide on a workout to do, so I mixed it up with 10 minutes of 1 minute hard (under 2 minute split time), 1 minute rest(whatever I could manage). Then I did a solid 20 minutes at my 5K pace, which was pretty darn good cardio. The erg is actually a great workout for taekwondoists. I found this out when I didn't totally suck returning to tkd after my first rowing season in HS, but in a weird way it makes sense. The erg works all muscles in the body, but focuses on the legs, like tkd. It's a mixture of anaerobic and aerobic, like tkd. It often deals with short sprints of all out effort...like tkd. And while the effin' thing gave me blisters since my formerly calloused hands have gone all soft and manicured, I definitely think I'll be adding it back in on my off-running days. Its the only workout I've found that burns more calories than running, and it has a strength training element built in since every stroke is essentially a dead lift on crack. Not sure if I'll do it every off-day, I'm contemplating bike machines too, but its definitely going to get a whirl at least once a week.
Speaking of strength training, I also started my 100/200/200 program today. Ouch. I'm already feeling it in my abs, which might be from the erging too, but it definitely did not help to drop and do like 5033454 crunches. Push-ups wasn't as bad as I thought, but I need to work on form a LOT. Overall, I'm feeling that nice tightness in my legs and back that says, hey, you worked out. I love that feeling.
Who knows, 6 weeks from now I might actually start feeling like an athlete again. For now, I'm beginning to feel like a return to glory might just, maybe be possible. But until I find out, I'm just going to enjoy the ride.
W3D2 tomorrow. So pumped.
Monday, March 29, 2010
More controversial than healthcare...
So, in my research into how people
a) make it through c25k
and
b) manage to get all runner-tastic in the process
I came across several bloggers who went into the treadmill vs. open road debate. Figured since I'm doing this blarg thing, I might as well chime in.
I hate treadmills.
No, not strong enough?
I wouldn't run on a treadmill if David Bowie's career depended on it. And I love me some David Bowie.
Let me take you back a few years.
In preparation for 7th grade cross country, a friend and I had a sleepover 2 days before school. We decided to get on my dad's treadmill to train since we'd been up late eating gushers and giggling over Clay, the jr. high hottie. So I get on, and everything's going so well, I neglect to put on that safety strap/emergency stop thing. You can see where this is going? So, my friend says that I'll never make track (note, we were training for cross country) if I can't go 15 mph. That would be the top setting on my dad's treadmill. Failing to recognize that that meant a 4 minute mile, I go, "Sure, crank it up." Well, all's fine and dandy for about 30 seconds. Then shit hits the fan. Treadmills are slow. Treadmills don't adjust quickly to a new pace. If you can't keep up with your treadmill, and you're a dumb 12 year old who didn't use the safety strap, you're screwed. Not only did I literally get slammed into the opposite wall after tripping at 15 mph, but that wall was literally right next to the treadmill so my whole right side got whammed by the treadmill as it continued to run while my friend freaked out and tried to figure out how to turn the damn thing off. The result? Imagine a scraped knee from your ankle to your training bra. Yah, not fun. And just in times for try-outs.
Now, while that story was completely my fault for being an arrogant 12 year old, it illustrates what I hate most about every treadmill I've ever tried:
They're slow to change. When I run, I go from around 6-7.5mph running to 4.5 jog flat. Try doing that in less than 5 seconds on a treadmill.
Also, I always feel like I'm working so much harder on a treadmill, and going way slower. Maybe it's a mental thing, but it's how I feel.
Plus, even if I make it to ten million miles on a treadmill, no way can I do it outside. It's like indoor rowing, sure I can hit a 1:37 split inside, but in a real boat? Naw.
Note, I'm not putting down treadmill users. If that's what works, do it. I wish I could stand to use one, so I wouldn't have to schedule my runs so diligently, and instead just grab an empty machine in the gym. But I can't.
I hate them.
a) make it through c25k
and
b) manage to get all runner-tastic in the process
I came across several bloggers who went into the treadmill vs. open road debate. Figured since I'm doing this blarg thing, I might as well chime in.
I hate treadmills.
No, not strong enough?
I wouldn't run on a treadmill if David Bowie's career depended on it. And I love me some David Bowie.
Let me take you back a few years.
In preparation for 7th grade cross country, a friend and I had a sleepover 2 days before school. We decided to get on my dad's treadmill to train since we'd been up late eating gushers and giggling over Clay, the jr. high hottie. So I get on, and everything's going so well, I neglect to put on that safety strap/emergency stop thing. You can see where this is going? So, my friend says that I'll never make track (note, we were training for cross country) if I can't go 15 mph. That would be the top setting on my dad's treadmill. Failing to recognize that that meant a 4 minute mile, I go, "Sure, crank it up." Well, all's fine and dandy for about 30 seconds. Then shit hits the fan. Treadmills are slow. Treadmills don't adjust quickly to a new pace. If you can't keep up with your treadmill, and you're a dumb 12 year old who didn't use the safety strap, you're screwed. Not only did I literally get slammed into the opposite wall after tripping at 15 mph, but that wall was literally right next to the treadmill so my whole right side got whammed by the treadmill as it continued to run while my friend freaked out and tried to figure out how to turn the damn thing off. The result? Imagine a scraped knee from your ankle to your training bra. Yah, not fun. And just in times for try-outs.
Now, while that story was completely my fault for being an arrogant 12 year old, it illustrates what I hate most about every treadmill I've ever tried:
They're slow to change. When I run, I go from around 6-7.5mph running to 4.5 jog flat. Try doing that in less than 5 seconds on a treadmill.
Also, I always feel like I'm working so much harder on a treadmill, and going way slower. Maybe it's a mental thing, but it's how I feel.
Plus, even if I make it to ten million miles on a treadmill, no way can I do it outside. It's like indoor rowing, sure I can hit a 1:37 split inside, but in a real boat? Naw.
Note, I'm not putting down treadmill users. If that's what works, do it. I wish I could stand to use one, so I wouldn't have to schedule my runs so diligently, and instead just grab an empty machine in the gym. But I can't.
I hate them.
The Knee goes....Crack!
So, since I'm on a weird schedule due to a few 3 day breaks from running, I've decided to lengthen this week to 4 runs, W3D1 was on Saturday, W3D1.5 today, W3D2 Wednesday, and round it out with W3D3 on Friday. This should hopefully get me on a nice 3 day MWF schedule for next week.
I'd already made this decision once I hit the pavement, and boy did my body know it. It decided to totally wimp out somewhere after my first 3 minute run and went, nope! We don't want to jog the next 3 minutes. Our knee hurts. It's hot. Oh look! A duck! And so, I managed a moderately respectable repeat of W3D1, which was Jog warm up, run 90, jog 90, run 3, walk 3, run 90, walk 90, run 3. Walkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. I threw some 100m stride exercises in there at the end just because I felt a little guilty for not pushing myself through that 3 min jog.
On the subject of my title, this night was a bit of a repeat of W2D2, where my knee went, hey remember me? You sprained me as a child and I've been giving you lip for it ever since? Take this sucker!!!!! And proceeded to whine the whole way uphills. Unfortunately, Austin is very hilly. Time to find some new downhill routes. ;).
After talking to my dear ol' mom today, she made an interesting suggestion for my runs. I'd been whining about not having any rewards for my efforts (aside from, ya know, being able to run) and how it would be nice to have some treat to look forward to at the end of the week. Note, this was mostly just hinting at her to buy me some new running socks, or that chi running book I keep reading about, but she ignored my subtlety. Instead, she suggested I take my last run and go do it on a really nice track. I mostly run on campus since that's where I live and all, but in Austin we have a gorgeous lake about 3 miles away from campus that's bus accessible called Ladybird Lake. I love that lake. As I'm a kayaker and rower, albeit not competitively anymore, I've spent a lot of time on that lake. And the trail around it is pretty amazing. Nice soft crunchy gravel, water stations every mile or so, and a killer view. Since I live the life of Reilly and have no class/responsibilities on Friday, I think that's what I'll do. Gotta say, I'm pretty excited for it.
Tomorrow, the adventure continues with my first day of my 100/200/200 program. I'm super excited. Like, bizarrely excited. It's not normal to be this enthusiastic over push-ups. But I really just can't wait till 6 weeks from now when I say...You know, I can do 100 push-ups. Yah, I'm just that awesome.
Future me has it SO good.
Well, my stomach is demanding reparations for its efforts, so I'm off it hit Subway!
I'd already made this decision once I hit the pavement, and boy did my body know it. It decided to totally wimp out somewhere after my first 3 minute run and went, nope! We don't want to jog the next 3 minutes. Our knee hurts. It's hot. Oh look! A duck! And so, I managed a moderately respectable repeat of W3D1, which was Jog warm up, run 90, jog 90, run 3, walk 3, run 90, walk 90, run 3. Walkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. I threw some 100m stride exercises in there at the end just because I felt a little guilty for not pushing myself through that 3 min jog.
On the subject of my title, this night was a bit of a repeat of W2D2, where my knee went, hey remember me? You sprained me as a child and I've been giving you lip for it ever since? Take this sucker!!!!! And proceeded to whine the whole way uphills. Unfortunately, Austin is very hilly. Time to find some new downhill routes. ;).
After talking to my dear ol' mom today, she made an interesting suggestion for my runs. I'd been whining about not having any rewards for my efforts (aside from, ya know, being able to run) and how it would be nice to have some treat to look forward to at the end of the week. Note, this was mostly just hinting at her to buy me some new running socks, or that chi running book I keep reading about, but she ignored my subtlety. Instead, she suggested I take my last run and go do it on a really nice track. I mostly run on campus since that's where I live and all, but in Austin we have a gorgeous lake about 3 miles away from campus that's bus accessible called Ladybird Lake. I love that lake. As I'm a kayaker and rower, albeit not competitively anymore, I've spent a lot of time on that lake. And the trail around it is pretty amazing. Nice soft crunchy gravel, water stations every mile or so, and a killer view. Since I live the life of Reilly and have no class/responsibilities on Friday, I think that's what I'll do. Gotta say, I'm pretty excited for it.
Tomorrow, the adventure continues with my first day of my 100/200/200 program. I'm super excited. Like, bizarrely excited. It's not normal to be this enthusiastic over push-ups. But I really just can't wait till 6 weeks from now when I say...You know, I can do 100 push-ups. Yah, I'm just that awesome.
Future me has it SO good.
Well, my stomach is demanding reparations for its efforts, so I'm off it hit Subway!
Some time tested running wisdom...
That I am learning is completely bogus.
Since I ran as competitively as someone as slow as me could in HS, I thought I had the skinny on the right way to attack long distance running. Head up. Shoulders back. Loose arms. And after checking all that, it seems to still be true.
The big debate is on stride. How long? Heel striker? Toe striker? Knee raised? Knee bent/straight/loop-de-looped? I'm confused people.
I was taught straight up run with as long of stride as you can, lift your knees, strike with your heel, dig in, and let that propel into your next stride. Now I'm reading that over reaching your stride leads to leg pain, heel striking leads to (gasp!) leg pain, and lifting your knees too much can lead to...leg pain.
Which might be why I'm feeling some leg pain.
Help?
Since I ran as competitively as someone as slow as me could in HS, I thought I had the skinny on the right way to attack long distance running. Head up. Shoulders back. Loose arms. And after checking all that, it seems to still be true.
The big debate is on stride. How long? Heel striker? Toe striker? Knee raised? Knee bent/straight/loop-de-looped? I'm confused people.
I was taught straight up run with as long of stride as you can, lift your knees, strike with your heel, dig in, and let that propel into your next stride. Now I'm reading that over reaching your stride leads to leg pain, heel striking leads to (gasp!) leg pain, and lifting your knees too much can lead to...leg pain.
Which might be why I'm feeling some leg pain.
Help?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The Plan Part Deaux
Part 2-
So in my goal to find where my fit went, I've come to the realization (3 weeks into c25k) that strength training is just as important cardio. This came after reading a long article about how muscle burns more than fat just laying around. Think about it. In building muscle, you burn calories, and in turn get muscle, which burns more calories. Good deal right?
Since I'm a huge fan of plans (let's face it, the only way I get anything done is by having a plan), I found these great sites that detail 6 weeks plans that get anybody to doing
1) 100 push-ups - http://www.hundredpushups.com/index.html
2) 200 sit-ups - http://www.twohundredsitups.com/index.html
3)200 squats - http://www.twohundredsquats.com/index.html
in just 6 weeks. Wow! That means I'll be finishing up these programs as I finish up c25k. So, theoretically (finals, injury and life hopefully not getting in the way too much), in 6 weeks I will be a running, pushing, sitting up squatting machine. Day-um. Why didn't I do this before?! (because it's not easy that's why...)
To do these programs you take an initial test to find out which track you should follow (Easy, Medium, Hard). For push-ups, I managed to squeak out a hugely disappointing 5 good form push-ups. I can drop and do 20 crappy ones, but really digging deep and keeping good form is HARD. Sit-ups was easier, since if I really try I can do 200 at any given moment (rowing gives great ab strength). But afterward, I'm spent. Can't move my abs for days. I'm hoping this program will get me doing 200 as a part of a workout, not an all out. I gave 30 for that test since I felt it was better to do what I felt I could do without intense ab pain that would make me sore. For squats, I also gave 30 with the same, do it till it starts to hurt philosophy. So that puts me at Easy for Push-ups and Hard for abs and squats week 1. Not bad. I'm really excited for this. Especially the push-ups. I've never been good at them. Ever. The idea of me possibly being able to drop and give 100? Amazing.
Now if only I could find a program to get my splits back. Any ideas?
So in my goal to find where my fit went, I've come to the realization (3 weeks into c25k) that strength training is just as important cardio. This came after reading a long article about how muscle burns more than fat just laying around. Think about it. In building muscle, you burn calories, and in turn get muscle, which burns more calories. Good deal right?
Since I'm a huge fan of plans (let's face it, the only way I get anything done is by having a plan), I found these great sites that detail 6 weeks plans that get anybody to doing
1) 100 push-ups - http://www.hundredpushups.com/index.html
2) 200 sit-ups - http://www.twohundredsitups.com/index.html
3)200 squats - http://www.twohundredsquats.com/index.html
in just 6 weeks. Wow! That means I'll be finishing up these programs as I finish up c25k. So, theoretically (finals, injury and life hopefully not getting in the way too much), in 6 weeks I will be a running, pushing, sitting up squatting machine. Day-um. Why didn't I do this before?! (because it's not easy that's why...)
To do these programs you take an initial test to find out which track you should follow (Easy, Medium, Hard). For push-ups, I managed to squeak out a hugely disappointing 5 good form push-ups. I can drop and do 20 crappy ones, but really digging deep and keeping good form is HARD. Sit-ups was easier, since if I really try I can do 200 at any given moment (rowing gives great ab strength). But afterward, I'm spent. Can't move my abs for days. I'm hoping this program will get me doing 200 as a part of a workout, not an all out. I gave 30 for that test since I felt it was better to do what I felt I could do without intense ab pain that would make me sore. For squats, I also gave 30 with the same, do it till it starts to hurt philosophy. So that puts me at Easy for Push-ups and Hard for abs and squats week 1. Not bad. I'm really excited for this. Especially the push-ups. I've never been good at them. Ever. The idea of me possibly being able to drop and give 100? Amazing.
Now if only I could find a program to get my splits back. Any ideas?
The Plan
So to get my butt moving, I've started on the following plan:
1) C25K from www.coolrunning.com, or www.c25k.com
This plan is great! Even while doing cross country, I was never a great runner. I ran because I liked the workout and it drops pounds like nobody's business. There's also just a great meditative aspect about running. Something about hitting the pavement and just feeling the earth fly by and losing myself in the run. That said, since I'm on the fast track to getting my athlete back, I've modified my C25k to a harder cardio level. The original plan calls for 3 workouts a week, leaving a day in-between and 2 days between each week. The system builds you up to 30 minutes of running by the end of 9 weeks, or 5k, depending on if you follow the time or distance model. An example of the program is week 1:
Walk 5 min. warm-up
Run 1 minute, walk 90 seconds for 8 intervals
Walk 5 min. cool-down
I've changed it so I:
Day 1- Jog 5 min warm-up
4 intervals of 1 min run, jog 90 seconds
4 intervals of 1 min run, walk 90 seconds
Walk 5 min cool down
Day 2- Jog 5 min warm-up
6 intervals of 1 min run, jog 90 seconds
2 intervals 1 min run, walk 90 seconds
Walk 5 min cool down
Day 3- Jog 5 min warm-up
8 intervals of 1 min run, jog 90 seconds
Walk 5 min cool down
Voila! Within week 1, you are moving at a pace above 4.0mph for 30 so minutes. Nice! Finishing Week 1 on this plan kind of made my life. It was nice to remind myself what my body can do when I push it and don't take no for an answer. Note: To do this plan, I'd recommend knowing your running body. If you've never run seriously before, it might be hard to distinguish between jogging speeds and long distance running speeds, and you might over exert and injure yourself. A jog is something anyone can do, at any age. It is just above walking, and walking can even be faster than jogging, the difference is in the cardio workout you will receive. I always remind myself that it is my rest period, and therefore my prerogative to go as slow of a jog as I need.
I'm currently on W3D2 of the program (to be run on Monday!), and I'll post on how it goes! But I'm already seeing progress, those 5 minute warm-up jogs are nothing now, my first one was hell. And huffing up those longgggggg hills on campus? Gone.
1) C25K from www.coolrunning.com, or www.c25k.com
This plan is great! Even while doing cross country, I was never a great runner. I ran because I liked the workout and it drops pounds like nobody's business. There's also just a great meditative aspect about running. Something about hitting the pavement and just feeling the earth fly by and losing myself in the run. That said, since I'm on the fast track to getting my athlete back, I've modified my C25k to a harder cardio level. The original plan calls for 3 workouts a week, leaving a day in-between and 2 days between each week. The system builds you up to 30 minutes of running by the end of 9 weeks, or 5k, depending on if you follow the time or distance model. An example of the program is week 1:
Walk 5 min. warm-up
Run 1 minute, walk 90 seconds for 8 intervals
Walk 5 min. cool-down
I've changed it so I:
Day 1- Jog 5 min warm-up
4 intervals of 1 min run, jog 90 seconds
4 intervals of 1 min run, walk 90 seconds
Walk 5 min cool down
Day 2- Jog 5 min warm-up
6 intervals of 1 min run, jog 90 seconds
2 intervals 1 min run, walk 90 seconds
Walk 5 min cool down
Day 3- Jog 5 min warm-up
8 intervals of 1 min run, jog 90 seconds
Walk 5 min cool down
Voila! Within week 1, you are moving at a pace above 4.0mph for 30 so minutes. Nice! Finishing Week 1 on this plan kind of made my life. It was nice to remind myself what my body can do when I push it and don't take no for an answer. Note: To do this plan, I'd recommend knowing your running body. If you've never run seriously before, it might be hard to distinguish between jogging speeds and long distance running speeds, and you might over exert and injure yourself. A jog is something anyone can do, at any age. It is just above walking, and walking can even be faster than jogging, the difference is in the cardio workout you will receive. I always remind myself that it is my rest period, and therefore my prerogative to go as slow of a jog as I need.
I'm currently on W3D2 of the program (to be run on Monday!), and I'll post on how it goes! But I'm already seeing progress, those 5 minute warm-up jogs are nothing now, my first one was hell. And huffing up those longgggggg hills on campus? Gone.
The Sitch
So I feel I should give some sort of introduction here.
Hi, my name is Emmz. I'm a college sophomore.
I'm a former athlete (cross country, track, rowing, kayaking, taekwondo). I stopped because of graduating high school, and some severe spine problems (sciatica + spinal degeneration)
I'm sick of not living up to what I know I can do, sick of being out of shape, and sick of being overweight.
So, to end this, I'm re-focusing on my goal of being a competitive taekwondoist and finding my athletic groove back.
Next post, the plan to do this!
Hi, my name is Emmz. I'm a college sophomore.
I'm a former athlete (cross country, track, rowing, kayaking, taekwondo). I stopped because of graduating high school, and some severe spine problems (sciatica + spinal degeneration)
I'm sick of not living up to what I know I can do, sick of being out of shape, and sick of being overweight.
So, to end this, I'm re-focusing on my goal of being a competitive taekwondoist and finding my athletic groove back.
Next post, the plan to do this!
The Beginning of the End
The end of what?
Being un-fit that's what.
It starts here with a blog, and some accountability. Now, to find my programs, map it out, and DO it.
Wish me luck.
Being un-fit that's what.
It starts here with a blog, and some accountability. Now, to find my programs, map it out, and DO it.
Wish me luck.
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