Bridge To 10K: W1, D2 -- And My Race Schedule

Little victory: After my original running plans for the day were delayed for another time, I still got my butt off the couch and went for a run. Not an easy feat considering the weather. The temperatures climbed throughout the day from just below freezing to the lower 40s, but the wind and precipitation were pretty unpredictable. But I decided I could handle it, and since I took two days off (and because next week will be a roller coaster of weather and really unreliable), I went big.

Today I returned to the Bridge to 10K program. The app is now my favorite app ever. (Here's the link to its iTunes page.) I've had the app since early last fall but had only used it 1.5 times (one failed attempt, one successful attempt). Within the last month or two, I purchased the GPS add-on for $1. Best dollar ever spent. Like the iMapMyRun app, the app tracks your progress geographically. Here's a shot of my run today.

The purple pins mark the miles, the red and green pins mark my start and finish.

The app also does what the Couch to 5K app did: pipes in and tells you when to warm up, run, walk, and cool down. Like C25K, it beeps at halfway. Unlike C25K, it also chimes in for each running segment to tell you when there are 5, 2, and 1 minute left.

Today I did Week 1, Day 1 -- Warm up for 5 minutes, then run for 10 minutes and walk for 1 minute, repeat the 10:1 intervals 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes. That's 53 minutes. Woohoo!

Now, the app also has a nice journal feature where you can record a general "how do you feel," the weather, the path, and other notes. And, best of all, it keeps your stats straight. iMapMyRun does speed and pace, but this app breaks your pace down into walking segments and running segments. AMAZING!

Here's the journal screen.

Check out my run pace, y'all! I'm thrilled with that!

Okay, enough of my sales pitch. Go get the app if you're shopping. (I think it'd still be a good app for iPod Touch users, just sans GPS.)

It was good run! Gloves, headband, slimeys + running pants, "under armor" shirt + long-sleeved t-shirt (the usual winter wear). Because of the wind, I also wore my windbreaker (doesn't breathe AT ALL), which kept me super toasty. At one point I thought it might be too much, but yeah, no more sweat than in the middle of July. Thrilling, no?

Today I had to do something I haven't done since fall: I yelled at myself to get through my last interval. I think I've been pooping out too early lately because I haven't been yelling at myself enough. Well, let the yelling begin! I'm ready to bring the pain this spring.

Now I just have to wait for this next bout of winter to pass. I'm a pessimistic Cincinnatian, so I'm betting on one more winter storm before we can call this season over. It's okay, I can wait.

20 more days until Daylight-saving Time begins!

Oh, and here's the promised race schedule for this spring:

March 12 - Emerald Miles 5K
Caitlin and I picked this run because it meets a pre-birthday goal for her and because it's cheap. The Hearth Mini Marathon is the following week (which includes a 5K) but is incredibly expensive as far as 5Ks go in my experience. I know it's a good cause, but we have economic concerns to deal with here. Anyway, even though the Emerald Miles run is downtown, it seems like a good path. It stays on the Purple People Bridge and within the boundaries of Sawyer Point. No downtown streets. Blech. Unfortunately for my efforts of not disappointing myself, Caitlin has me wanting to finish this one without walking. Time to work on some hills! (For those of you that don't know, if a race goes across a bridge over the Ohio, those bridges are rather beastly hills, so be prepared.) Oh, and my co-worker's husband, Matt, might be joining in on this one too since he's rocking C25K right now. Fun fun!

The Purple People Bridge. I don't know this person, but I stole this awesome photo from this blog.

May 1 - Cincinnati Flying Pig Half-Marathon
Oh lord, here it is. I'm still completely petrified to do this but I still strongly feel like I need to do it. I'm guessing I'll be doing it alone too, which is sad. It'd be nice to have company the whole time ... it would probably make the 13.1 miles go much quicker. But it's expensive and it's long, so I can't really force anyone to join me. And I don't need anyone, right? Right? Psshhh... I do expect a cheering section of at least 1 somewhere along the course, hopefully at the end (cough, MOM, cough). If anyone wants to stand with her, I'm sure she'd appreciate the company. =)

May 21 - Forest Hills 5K
This one holds a special place for me for more than one reason. First, it's in my hometown. Not just Cincinnati, but in the neighborhood I grew up in. It supports the schools I went to. Alumni get a discount. WOOT! Second, last year was the first year for this race and I was too scared to do it. It would have been my first. Well, I'm not too scared this year. I'm all over it!

There they are, the next three races! Eeek! Should be fun!

So, that short post turned into a novel, and not a very exciting one. Sorry about that. Thanks for reading!

Me? Running Expert? HA!

I cannot believe it. Someone has asked me for running advice. Shut the front door. Do you have any idea how strange that is for me? If you've known me for a long while, I bet you have some clue.

Well, I responded to my friend's request for advice and I thought some of it might be valid enough to post here for the world (aka my 8 followers) to see. So, brace yourself for the sage advice of an experienced (2 months experience) runner.

***The Request***

How do you like C25K? I've been thinking about giving it a try. I actually tried it last winter and gave up after a week and a half. It was around the holidays and I didn't have enough time to really give it a fair shot. And I'm not a big fan of running on a treadmill. Now that the weather is nice and I can run outside, I'd like to try it again. Any advice?

***My Advice***

First of all, you have no idea how strange it is to me that someone's asking my advice about running. Bizarre-o! =)

Second of all, yay for trying it again! I totally tried Week 1 at some point and quit after my second run. I actually think it's a requirement of the program that you poop out at least once.

Let's see, my advice...

First of all, don't plan on sticking to the timeline of the program. The only people who can pull that off are already runners. Even my BFF Jeff, who is a friggin dancer, had to repeat a week or two. Let your body decide when it's time to move on. If at the end of Week 1, you find that you're still dying at the end of the 60-second run, do it again ... and again, and again. I think I did it 3 or 4 times before I bumped up. I'm on my 3rd or 4th go-round with Week 2 right now

If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, get the app. It's AMAZING. You can play your music while the app is running and Mr. C25K (or Ms if you prefer) gently interrupts to say "Walk now" or "Run now." The first time I tried (and I've heard this from other friends too) I used a timer and it was a bitch. It's so nice to be able to jog along and not worry about what the clock says.

Which brings me to my next point: keep your head up. No, not like "Cheer up Charlie," but literally keep your head up. I tell myself "Look at me, I'm just running along, no big deal." That way I'm not staring at the ground. That makes your shoulders slump and cramps your windpipe (I think). Also, you can't feel the breeze or look at your surroundings if you're staring at the ground. Plus, keeping your head up is just good for morale. =)

Next point: run somewhere pretty and flat. If you can trust that the ground under your feet is flat, you don't have to look down. If the surroundings are pretty, you can enjoy them while you're wheezing.

Ignore distance for now. I didn't start paying attention to my distance until I knew I was comfortable running. Paying attention to distance made me get frustrated if I wasn't hitting my mark every run. And that's discouraging. Just run to run. Who cares where you end up or how far you go? That's not the point.

Next, don't stop running until your time is up. Seriously. Don't do it. Who cares if you're tired or if your legs hurt; it's nothing you can't recover from, right? Don't be a wuss. (That's what I tell myself when I want to stop.)

Be careful with your "brisk" opening walk. If your prone to shin splints like I am, you'll shoot yourself in the foot by warming up too vigorously and then being in pain for the rest of the workout. I didn't pick up my warm-up pace for quite a while. Oh, and don't get too excited and start running fast. Take little bitty steps and run slow.

Don't worry about what you look like. I was worried for a while that I didn't LOOK like a runner running. I thought I just looked like I was blobbing along clumsily (and I was). So instead of concentrating on looking like a runner, I concentrated on keeping a strong core and paying attention to which muscles were working. Not only was this distracting, but it helped me figure out how to use a bunch of muscles to do the hard work.

Oh, and I'm always super stressed about how loud I'm breathing. I solved that problem by turning my headphones up so I couldn't hear myself. HUGE HELP!

Finally, try some sort of accountability system. That's what my blog is for. It's really helping to know that there are at least a few people who wait to read what I have to say.

As far as running in the summer, I don't have much advice. I'm kind of worried about it myself. The one run I've done so far in humidity didn't go well so I'm not encouraged. I may try a treadmill, I may try morning runs...who knows.

Okay, I think that's all I've got for now. If I think of anything else, I'll pass it along. Oh, and if you're up for a buddy run for encouragement, let me know. I'm happy to meet you somewhere.

GOOD LUCK!!!!