A Huge Step Up

Yay!

Yay!

Yay!

I just got back from my evening run--which happens to mark my third day in a row of running--and it was HUGE!

I just completed Week 5, Day 2 of Couch to 5K! (And I finished it without dying. That's important.)

Week 5, Day 2:
5-minute warm-up
Run for 8 minutes
Walk for 5 minutes
Run for 8 minutes
Cool down for 5 minutes

I ran for 8 minutes. Twice. Wheee! I knew I could do it after last Tuesday's "test" at the end of my 5-minute run. I went for a total of 8 minutes then and I knew I could do more.

I'm starting to understand why Week 5 makes such huge step-ups (from 5-minute runs to 8 minutes to 20 minutes). It's like once you've hit a certain number of minutes running, a little (or a lot) more doesn't really matter all that much. Nothing is going to hurt worse, your breathing isn't going to get more strained ... you're just going to get tired. Frankly, I can stay un-tired for 30 minutes and I think anyone can, really. (Assuming you're on a flat running path, at least.)

I still can't fathom being able to run for 20 or 30 minutes straight, though. I know I said it about Week 5, Day 1, but I think I'll be sitting on this Day for a long time before I get brave enough to try 20-minute intervals. I so wish there was an in-between. I'm afraid that I'll get impatient and wander off the plan again. Maybe I'll sit on this day until the Thanksgiving Day race and see what I want to do next.

Meh, too far in the future.

So, a quick review of this weekend ...

As I said, today was my third day in a row of running. I skipped a weekday workout last week to celebrate my "first 29th birthday," as my mother calls it. I figure it was a valid reason. Anyway, this weekend's weather was so nice and I had a big fat nothing planned, so I ran.

I joined Caitlin for another run at Miami Meadows on Saturday afternoon. This time, Caitlin brought her 11-month-old daughter and a side-by-side running stroller with her. This was Caitlin's first time out with the stroller and certainly my first encounter with trying to run with one. I volunteered to share the burden and we stuck with a Week 4 workout, considering the extra weight of the stroller and the horror stories I've heard about running with those things.

That was a smart move.

Those things are heavy! I can't even begin to imagine how people manage with two toddlers and/or young children strapped in. Whoa. Props to you who do it (John), you crazy people! Needless to say, we both got a good workout.

Sunday I tried a new running path at a park from my childhood. Short Park in Newtown (second one on the website) used to be a lot smaller than it is now. I played there when I was little, as did my mom and her friends. Now it's about twice the size and includes a 0.55-mile walk/run path.

The pictures on the website don't do it justice ... and I mean that in a bad way. It looks like a sad little abandoned park. Not the scary inner-city ones--just a sad one. There's a broken slide with caution tape wrapped around it, a sand volleyball court with no net and waist-high weeds, holey soccer nets, playground equipment from when I was little (or older), and a pretty nice set of basketball courts. Just sad.

I tried to take pictures, and totally thought I was, until I got home and realized that I forgot to take the running armband off my iPhone before snapping away. 1) It was really bright outside and you can't really see the screen that well anyway (since my brightness is turned down) and 2) I forgot the armband doesn't have a hole for the camera. I ended up with 6 pictures of blackness. Yeah. I'd promise some from next time I run there, but I don't think it will happen.

I ran well there, though. The path is flat with one short, steep uphill and a countering short, steep downhill to account for the elevation change.

So that's all for now. Super excited about my Week 5, Day 2 accomplishment. Wheee! Now it's time for dinner. Goodnight!

By the way, the front of my hips (hip flexors?) hurt. What's with that?