Now that I’m over half-way into this walk/run program, I thought I would reflect a moment on where I am right now with running.

It’s unbelievable, in some ways, that I’m going out of the house, four times a week, and instead of hiding on an eliptical trainer in the corner of a gym, jiggling and jogging past neighborhood people for thirty minutes. Even better, I’m doing this with shorts that show my flabby thighs and shirts that expose my flabby arms. This, I’m finding, is the side-effect of weight loss. Much as with my venture into scuba and the wetsuit, I respond to my fears of judgment from others with a, “Well, I don’t see YOU daring to do what I’m daring to do.” What I’m choosing to do isn’t easy – either diving or running. People much thinner than me can be just as unable or fearful to be out in the world and do what I’m doing.

I’m finding that sometimes, on my “off days” from running, I really just want to go out there anyway. I jogged yesterday, and I try not to run two days in a row except on Saturday and Sunday just to give myself a rest. The thing is, though, is that I enjoy going out and going around the neighborhood. Yesterday I tried a new route. It’s tricky to find a mostly flat route in Seattle, but luckily where I’m at there are a few north/south streets that run parallel, and aside from *getting* to those streets, they stay fairly flat.

This past Saturday, Jon and I went to Green Lake Park, an Olmstead designed park about 5 miles from where we live. The trail around the lake is about 2.8 miles around, and features a gravel and asphalt path for both walking/running and wheeled bipeds. Jon and I just walked about a third of the path to check it out. Driving to a park to run seems wasteful to me, but the was something just absolutely lovely about the area that may make the trek worth it.

Continue reading “Reflection: Road to Running” →

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Frustrating week for jogging. I only did 3 of my usual 4 days this week because I spent one day this week diving, and was in a fair amount of pain the next few days afterwards, so I gave myself a break. Diving, it turns out, works out most of my backside, whereas running seems to do more to my front. At least, this is where I experienced the muscle pain.

Yesterday’s run (above) was disappointing distance-wise. I’m not seeing much improvement in speed or endurance, but yesterday was also a day where I was really stressed mentally, and had about 5 hrs sleep the night before (new noisy neighbors!) I’ve mostly switched to the heart rate monitor letting me know when I need to slow or speed up. A good chunk of the time, I’m wanting to go faster than it says I should. I know from the book that my muscles will be able to do more than the rest of me, so I have to have patience with the cardio-training.

I’m realizing that I really want to not just run a 5k, but also do really well when I do it. If we’re in town Thanksgiving weekend, I’m thinking of doing the 5k that accompanies the Seattle Marathon. It’s also the weekend of my birthday, and I think that a good way to celebrate one step further into my third decade is to do something fitness oriented. Next year, I’m thinking 10k, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.

This week, I’m just going to keep on paying attention to my heart rate monitor, and hope that by keeping mindful of not over-exerting myself, I may just get where I need to go faster. 🙂

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From Runner’s World Complete Book of Women’s Running by Dagny Scott Barrios:

page 46
Week 5. Walk 3 minutes, then run 12 minutes, then repeat. By the end of the week, walk 3 minutes, run 15 minutes, walk until rested, then run the rest of the session.
Goal by week’s end: a 15 minute running segment.

page 45
By the Numbers
If you decide to run with a heart-rate monitor, you can use it to determine when to walk and run during your 30-minute sessions…The method is simple: Just jog until the monitor registers your 75 percent limit, then walk until your heart rate drops to the 60 percent rate. At that point, begin jogging again until you hit 75 percent, and so on.

Continue reading “End of Week 5 – When will I learn to listen?” →

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I continued doing the “Week 2” program for “Week 3” because my endurance just hasn’t built up yet. It’s been rough, too, in the Chicago heat. I played with the time of day that I did my program, as well as what I ate, and where I went. The lakeshore offered very little protection from direct sunlight, but offered gravel and asphalt. The streets going up to Rogers Park from Edgewater offered shade, but concrete sidewalks and street traffic. Trying to do the program after a late night of beers and friends was near disastrous. Even worse was going along the lakeshore at high noon.

I ended the week with two programs solidly over 2 miles in 30 min. My endurance got a bit better, as did my breathing and posture. I’m probably going to continue at my current plan, but try to expand it a little so I can do the Week 3 properly around actual Week 5. I think I’ll do better in the cooler mornings of Seattle, and I also think that doing some strength training or stretching (yoga?) on my off days will be beneficial. I’m not sure how this will work with diving, which is also pretty intense at times, but I’ll find out, I’m sure.

Tomorrow I pack up and do my last little things and then on Tuesday I head back to Seattle. It’s been a fun trip – very tiring, though. I think another thing that’s kicked my butt has been the walking around the city when I wasn’t intending to exercise. I failed at having a bunch of time to myself during my trip, however I find that the wealth of friends I have here have given me more than enough things to chew on in my brain to set me up for some good thinking when I get home.