10K Complete!

Well, despite not keeping with my training program, we successfully finished the 10K this past Saturday! I owe nearly all of my success to my great friends, Lisa and Jenny, who kept me going when I wanted to walk a few paces. But...I managed to not only finish the entire race, but ran the entire way. 1 hour and 20 minutes, to complete. It gave me a huge boost of confidence and inspires me to continue running. Next year, we'll planning to run the half marathon as a relay team! Wish us luck!

Training update

I've been slacking with the posts about my 10K training. I haven't stuck to the program 100%, but I'm doing well. And, I feel myself getting stronger. Today's run was actually enjoyable! Usually, I'm dying by minute 7. I even wanted to go longer, but had to get Spike home, as we was being a total ruckus. I'm looking forward to my long run on Sunday, sans Spike. There's a high school close to our apartment, with a track, so I'm going to try to get the full 6 miles in. With about 4 weeks left until the race, I want to be prepared for the distance. I won't be able to run the entire time, but even to walk/run the 6 miles will be a good start. Below is my progress:

Week 3:

Monday - Rest - Check. Always one of my favorite days of training ;-)

Tuesday - Walk (1 min.) / Run (5 min.) - continue for 25-35 minutes - Missed. Was traveling home that day, and didn't feel like running after the drive.

Wednesday - Rest or cross-train. I chose to rest...hehe. Check

Thursday - Walk (1 min.) / Run (10 min.) - continue for 20-30 minutes. Didn't follow this but did run on Thursday. Ran for 15 minutes straight, then walked a bit, then ran another 5 minutes. So...Check.

Friday - Rest. Check

Saturday - cross-train. Check. My sister has a crazy collection of cardio equipment...it's like a small gym in their living room... so thanks, sister!

Sunday - Long run. Missed. Traveling back to Iowa and didn't feel like running. Anyone seeing a pattern?

Week 4:

Monday - Rest. Yep. Check.

Tuesday - Walk (1 min.) / Run (5 min.) - continue for 25-35 minutes. Check

Wednesday - Cross-train. Check

Thursday -Walk (1 min.) / Run (10 min.) - continue for 20-30 minutes. Check. I might have been a minute or two short, because Spike was a ruckus, but I got nearly every minute in. And, it felt good!

Friday - Rest. Yep, that won't be a problem. I'll consider it...Check.

Saturday - Cross train. Planning to take Spike for a long, brisk walk

Sunday - Long run. Walk (2 min.) / Run (7 min.) for 30-40 minutes. Planning to do this at the high school track up the road.

Getting anxious about the race. But, also enjoying the progress I'm making. Here's to four more weeks of training and a successful finish!

10K Progress

Well, I kinda fell off the wagon last week, but am back on this week.

End of week 2:
Thursday: Walk (1 min.)/Run (10 min.) - continue for 15-20 minutes. Missed this work-out
Friday: Rest. Check.
Saturday: Cross-train - Check. I did a cardio DVD...couldn't move for 2.5 days.
Sunday: Long run. Missed this work-out

I'm going to attempt Week 3, instead of going back to complete week 2 again. Might be hard, but I'll push through.

Week 2 Progress

Monday - REST - uh, check!
Tuesday - walk (2 min.)/run (2 min.) Continue for 15-20 min. Check. This, I REALLY didn't want to do. I don't know why my tendency is to resist, but it is. However, I made myself go out and do Tuesday's workout. Throughout the process, I kept feeling genuinely surprised with myself. It was nice to get it finished.
Wednesday - REST or cross-train - Check. I made this a rest day because it was too impossible to do something outside, (with the heat index, it was over 100 degrees) and I was tired and think I'm fighting off a cold. Not the best excuse, but it's what happened.

Thursday Walk (1 min.)/run (10 min.) Continue for 15-20 min. - I woke up not wanting to do this. I have to go to CR this afternoon for some job interviews, which means I won't get back into town until later in the evening. It will take a lot of motivation to get me out there. But, I've surprised myself before; I can do it again!

Week 1 - CHECK

Monday - REST - check

Tuesday - walk (2 minutes)/run (2 minutes). Continue for 15-20 minutes - check

Wednesday - REST or cross-train - check

Thursday - Walk (1 minute)/run (10 minutes). Continue for 15-20 minutes - check

Friday - REST - check

Saturday - Cross-train - check

Sunday - Long run. Walk (2 minutes)/run (5 minutes). Continue for 30-40 minutes - check

It feels great to have week 1 accomplished! I don't know if I've ever made it this far in a training program ;-). I was looking forward to the long run on Sunday. Once I was in it, I wanted to quit a few times (min. 16, 23, 28) but stuck it out for the full 40 minutes.

Week 2 is exactly the same as week one:
Monday - REST - uh, check!
Tuesday - walk (2 min.)/run (2 min.) Continue for 15-20 min.
Wednesday - REST or cross-train
Thursday Walk (1 min.)/run (10 min.) Continue for 15-20 min.
Friday - REST
Saturday - Cross-train
Sunday - Long run. Walk (2 min)/run (5 min). Continue for 30-40 min

Here's to week 2!

Lord, give me the strength to continue on; give me endurance, patience, acceptance of my abilities, and the willingness to challenge myself. Let everything I do be a reflection of your glory. Amen.

10k progress

Week 1, Friday - Rest day. Beautiful. Check

Week 1, Saturday - Cross train. Check. I took it easy and just went for a long walk with Spike this evening. I'm excited about tomorrow; it's the first "long run" of the program, and I'm looking forward to it!

Week 1, Thursday - Walk (1 minute)/run (10 minutes) - continue for 15-20 minutes. Check.

Today was really difficult. It was a big jump to go from 2 minutes continuous running to 10 minutes running. However, I got it done. In minute 15, I did take a 10 second walk, but made it up at the end ;-). Also, despite still being in the first week, I am REALLY proud of myself! I have to admit...usually it's around this time that I give up. But, I'm stickin' it out. Thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day :-).

Day 3 of training

Week 1, Wednesday - cross training. Check. Went just fine; did the elliptical machine at the gym. Anxious for tomorrow's run.

10k

Spike and I are training for my first 10k. Spike won't be joining me on race day, but he gets to come along for the companionship. My friend, Lisa and I recently signed up for our first (I think it's her first too) 10k, which will happen in early September. To be honest, I've been dreading it; and, worse yet, I've been avoiding the training part. The last time I ran a race was two years ago, and it was just a 5k. The last time I trained for a race was about six years ago...I can never find the discipline. Then, I haphazardly came across a training program in Fitness Magazine. It's the first downloadable link that pops up. Yes, it's a beginner's plan, but, I guess it's time to consider myself a beginner...again. And yes, it's a walk/run program, but you know what - I've resigned myself to the idea that finishing a 10k will be very rewarding...even if I have to walk a few minutes. So, in order to keep myself a bit more accountable, I'm going to blog about the training program, as I go through it.

Week 1

Monday - REST - check (how convenient that I came across this training program on a Monday evening ;-) )

Tuesday - walk (2 minutes)/run (2 minutes). Continue for 15-20 minutes - check

Wednesday - REST or cross-train

Thursday - Walk (1 minute)/run (10 minutes). Continue for 15-20 minutes

Friday - REST

Saturday - Cross-train

Sunday - Long run. Walk (2 minutes)/run (5 minutes). Continue for 30-40 minutes

Since I still have a gym membership on campus, I'm going to use that to my advantage over the next few weeks, while I'm still here. I'll cross-train over there, either swimming or cycling. Once I move to CR full time, I'll cross-train with some aerobics...in my living room...watch out, neighbors!