The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week eight, day two.

Program: 28 minute run.

Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 156 bpm and peaked at 170 bpm. I did 2.10 miles in 28:40 for an average speed of 4.4 mph (13:39 minute/mile).

This was another difficult run.  My legs started aching right away again.  I also pushed just a little harder and increased my average speed just a little bit.  I did the first mile at 4.6 mph (12:55 minute/mile) and the second at 4.2 mph (14:15 minute/mile).  But, I also paid for the extra effort.  A little ways into the second mile, I began to deal with side stitches.  I kept going, pushing through it.  My heart rate was only 160 and I only had three quarters of a mile left.  That is something I never would have thought before.  The distance remaining was almost as long as my entire first workout.  Incredible!

It was nice to hear my watch beep at the first mile and see that I still had not reached the half way point in time.  I needed to go a little further before I could turn around.  I still need to increase me speed some more.  I hope to run a full 5K for my graduation run.  I would like the time to be a little closer to thirty minutes than my current pace allows.  There are just three more workouts to get ready.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week eight, day one.

Program: 28 minute run.

Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 150 bpm and peaked at 165 bpm. I did 2.00 miles in 28:14 for an average speed of 4.3 mph (14:06 minute/mile).

The workout went well.  I was quite tired at the end, but it was a good tired.  Though the humidity was over ninety percent, the temperature was nice, a little below 60F.  My calves and achilles did not ache this time like they did on the last workout.  They got tired, but didn’t hurt.  My arms got real tired also.  A few times, I had to remember to pick them up and not let them hang.  On reviewing the workout data, it was good to see the average speed go up.  I hope I can keep increasing it.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week seven, day three.

Program: 25 minute run.

Result: I completed the workout a little better than planned. My heart rate averaged 152 bpm and peaked at 168 bpm. I did 2.03 miles in 30:12 for an average speed of 4.0 mph (14:54 minute/mile).

When I woke up today, I was still running a slight fever.  But, I wanted to run anyway.  Right away, I knew it would be difficult.  With the first steps, the muscles beside my shins were aching.  I kept going just to see how far I could go.  When I reached the half-way point in time, I did a U turn and then took another look at my watch.  I had going 0.9 miles, only 0.1 short of a full mile.  I did another U turn and kept going.  When the watch beeped at 1.0 miles, I did another U turn and headed back.  To add just a bit more distance to make up for the prior U turn, I crossed the street and came back.

The run back was just a little slower than the outbound run.  Outbound, I ran at a 14:26 pace (4.2mph).  Inbound, I ran at a 15:19 pace (3.9mph).  As I neared my  house, I was expecting the watch to beep again at 2.0 miles.  I didn’t hear the beep and went past my house.  When I looked at the watch, I saw that it had already gone past 2.0 miles.  The run was over.  It is hard to believe that I ran for two miles.  Though my speed is still slow, it is also hard to believe that I ran for thirty minutes.  I wasn’t supposed to do that until week nine.  Now, I know I am capable of running the time.  I need to work on getting my speed up.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week seven, day two, third attempt.

Program: 25 minute run.

Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 149 bpm and peaked at 167 bpm. I did 1.69 miles in 25:20 for an average speed of 4.0 mph (15:00 minute/mile).

I was still running a couple degree fever, but needed to run anyway.  It had been too long since I ran last and the urge to run again was strong.  I also didn’t want to wait too long as I might lose some conditioning and would then have to restart at a lower level.  I definitely did not want to regress.  So, I ran.  But, this time, I had some pointers to follow.

I had been doing some research on various running techniques such as POSE and ChiRunning.  I liked the gradual progress of the ChiRunning and finally decided to try it.  I picked up Danny Dreyer’s ChiRunning book and have started to read it.  This provided many things I could think about while running.  For this run, I tried to focus mostly on BodySensing.  Am I landing with even pressure on my feet, left/right and front/back?  Am I maintaining my column, keeping my dots, head, hip, and ankles, in a line when landing?  When I first started, I could feel tension starting in my shins; time to lessen my lean.  About a third of the way into the run, I could feel tension starting in my achilles.  I tried to keep the foot relaxed, though I wasn’t too successful at it.  Later, I practiced focusing on a point of the sidewalk and keeping my eyes on it while running towards it.  Some time after that, I noticed the calf and achilles tension had reduced.  Perhaps focusing on the point released tension in my legs and let them do what they needed to.  I also did a rough check of my cadence, though I don’t have a metronome yet.  I kept an eye on my watch for when the seconds hit zero and started counting the landings of my right foot.  In one minute, it landed 82 times.  This is fairly close to the optimum cadence range of 85-90 strides per minute.

In addition to the above checking, for this run in my slightly degraded condition, I also needed an edge.  I needed to make sure I started slow so I would not burn out too quickly.  Something else must have clicked because this worked out also.  For the first mile, I averaged a nice, slow 3.9mph.  I ran out for 13:00 minutes before my turn around and increased my speed a little on the way back.  The 0.69 miles was done at an average of 4.2mph.  I am surprised I was able to keep it relatively steady.  But, it worked.  I made it through the workout and am back on track.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week seven, day two, second attempt.

Program: 25 minute run.

Result: I did not complete the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 145 bpm and peaked at 160 bpm. I did 1.49 miles in 22:37 for an average speed of 3.9 mph (15:12 minute/mile).

I woke up this morning, debated going, and went.  I’m only a few days into my antibiotics, but decided to see what would happen.  The run started out well enough.  I did the first mile in 13:48 (4.3 mph).  Then, at 18:01, the boiler went dry, I ran out of steam, and began to walk.  I knew the run was over.  Though I did not complete the workout, my goal was still a success.  My goal today was to not wait too long before running again.  Though I am not feeling well, I am afraid that if I keep not running, I’ll stay not running.  I definitely do not want that to happen.  So, I ran anyway just to be running and doing something, anything, other than nothing.  I knew I probably wouldn’t complete it, but I wanted to go as far as I could.  I did just that.  Goal achieved.  I’ll keep repeating W7D2 until it is successful and then move on.  For now, I’m going back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep.