Couch to 5K: 2.2

Week Two, Day Two

Date: March282, 2011
Weight:
Weather: overcast, light rain.
Program: Alternate jogging 90-seconds and walking two minutes for 20 minutes, with five minute warm-up and cool down walk.

This wog was originally scheduled for last Thursday morning, unfortunately my roommate and I decided to drink wine. During this time I checked the aero bed for leaks while said roommate laughed at my actions. As it happens, deflating an aero-bed requires more effort than I would like it to. So since I spent my Wednesday doing this, and not packing, I had to forfeit my wog Thursday morning wog. Priorities, no?

Pack for what, you ask? I went for a weekend mini-vacation up to Whistler for some snowboarding, hot tubbing and your typical 20-something party. Here is how I spent my Saturday morning, IF you were curious -->

Yes - I sat in that hot tub, drinking iced coffee and admiring the gorgeous mountain ahead. Ah, the life. Part of my decision to relax hot tub style was inspired by the simple fact that my calves were (and still are) so tight that it makes long spouts of immobility painful. Though Friday on the mountain was a beautiful blue bird day, I rode out about six cat tracks -- for which I paid the toll. Hence, my tight muscles.

I also managed to fall on my bum three plus times, all of which made me wish I was traveling with a donut pillow.

So, today was a mental battle to get out for my wog. By the time I got home it was after six, and the weather was confused - raining then not. The rain stopped, and unsure of how long this would last, since it was sure to start up again, I toyed with postponing. Once again, manfriend comes to the rescue, threatening to pull a silent treatment on me if I skipped. "Stick with your program!!" Sometimes people that go to the gym religiously really bug me.

Regardless, he was right. And out I went. I tried a new route today, going south rather than north. The change in scenery kept me moving, and my route was much flatter this time around, which helped. Not once did I feel the need to fake an asthma attack, catch a bus or hail a cab. Once I got to the halfway point, I was feeling loose and motivated - proud that I was able to come off a three-day vacation strong.

Thursday I leave for another trip, this time to Austin for work, and am planning on packing my LunarGlides...just trying to figure out how early I actually have to get up in order to beat the Texas heat. Grrrr....at least my calves feel like they've loosened up.

Couch to 5K: 2.1

Week Two, Day One 

Date: March 22, 2011
Weight: +/- 0 (we'll call today our starting weight)
Weather: clear, beautiful night.
Program: Alternate jogging 90-seconds and walking two minutes for 20 minutes, with five minute warm-up and cool down walk.

Week Two!! Something about the start of a new program week is a combination of excitement, a little fear and a wee bit of nervousness. Really though, how hard can 90-seconds be? It's only 1.5x of what I was kicking ass at before.

I almost, almost skipped my wog because I had just spent 40+ minutes on the phone with my bestie playing ultimate catch up and was feeling like said wog could be done tomorrow. Tomorrow is where dreams go to die, btw. Manfriend poked me in the side (y'know , the squishy part) and said "change and go for your wog. WOG!" So, I changed.

H'okay, here's the thing. I wasn't paying attention to my route and ended up wogging a hilly neighborhood. I don't mean gentle rolling hills, nor do I mean mountains - but somewhere in the middle. Somewhere a person who previously ran only to secure a cute pair of shoes on sale should probably reconsider before bounding off into the world of unknown inclines. Alas, once I started there was no stopping. And 90-seconds was not killer, though it did get my lungs going. I tried my best to time my running on flat surfaces with my walking on the hilly portions. This worked for my first two sets...of six.

The third set I found myself jogging up a hill, karaoke-ing to Britney's Hit Me Baby, One More Time. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) You would not believe how happy I was to get to the top of that hill, then hear my C25k app ::beep:: and say "walk now." It was a short-lived (try 2 minutes) victory that was soon forgotten as I approached a much steeper hill.

Maybe now would be a good day to fake an asthma attack?

Black Eyed Peas Imma Be came on and I jogged my way to the top. Charlie Sheen would say, "WINNING."

Oh, a bus going the opposite direction...I could flag it down. Out of Service?! Ugh.

I was four sets down when I managed to hit yet another hill on set five. Two tweens passed me on their way down, and I am pretty sure thought, "why is that girl running so slowly and wheezing 'asthma' under her breath?" Pshhh...shortly thereafter my trusty iPhone died leaving me music and instruction-less. I guesstimated my last 2-minute walk, then finally was blessed with a flat stretch of pavement to finish a strong jog on (while singing in my head.) Flat pavement is waaaaaay easier to jog on. Seriously.

Couch to 5K: 1.3

Date: March 20, 2011
Weight: I'll tell you tomorrow.
Weather: chilly
Program: Alternate walking 90-seconds with jogging 60-seconds for 20 minutes, with five minute warm-up and cool down walk.

My final day of week one, and I must say it was very empowering. Coincidentally, Britney Spear's "Stronger" was the first song on my playlist for my wog today, and it gave me an extra boost of energy. I was a little concerned I would struggle, as I consumed a few adult beverages last night and was not properly hydrated.

However, I wogged my way to the finish - tackling a few slight inclines, pushing my legs to go a little bit faster. My new Nike LunarGlides+ are well broken in now and are deliciously versatile for both running and walking. I have a balanced stance, and I don't over-pronate. The LunarGlides+ are cute, comfortable and great for a girl that isn't covering massive amounts of distance. I don't know tennis shoes on a technical level, however I can tell you with certainty that these are attractive shoes.

I would like to note, that I come from a tight family. We grew up skiing together on Saturdays, arguing over who got to play with the Ninja Turtle action figures and supporting each other through sports. We are not, by any means, a family of runners. (This does not count my aunts and uncles by marriage, they are miraculously avid runners.) However, within the past week I have not only received multiple phone calls to congratulate my decision to run a 5k, but I have also gained the interest of my female family members. My cousin downloaded the Couch to 5K app within minutes of reading my blog, and my aunt (who is dedicated to calling me until I call her back, which I appreciate as I generally act like a chicken with her head cut off - though I don't look it) volunteered to run a 5k with me and send me info on a running group. I can't tell you how amazing it is to have your family stand behind you, and to know that something so small as 3.1 miles and 20 minutes of my life touches them is even better.




I am looking forward to starting week two on Tuesday, and feel like I am sticking with the program. I have listed my upcoming runs on my calendar (which syncs to my iPhone) and this helps keep me dedicated and on track. Many weekend trips and events are coming up (skiing, Texas, birthday!) which require me to plan out my wogging schedule in advance - I don't want it to get swallowed up by my busy schedule. I might even pack my LunarLites for a Texas wog. Gotta stick with it! I am 1/9th of the way there...

PS: I will start tracking my weight, however my body gets all wack-tastic during "that" time of the month, and I felt that a 7 lbs. fluctuation is not truly reflective of the changes I hope to see. Will weight soon. 

Couch to 5K: 1.2

Week One, Day Two

Date: March 17, 2011
Weight: I'll tell you tomorrow.
Weather: clear, brisk morning.
Program: Alternate walking 90-seconds with jogging 60-seconds for 20 minutes, with five minute warm-up and cool down walk.

I think this is supposed to get easier, but I kind of feel like today was harder. Maybe it was because I decided to try a morning wog, maybe it was because my stupid earbuds were being stupid, regardless I completed day two and feel like I am one-step closer to being a full on runner.

Today I took on the persona of cute girl with high pony tail AND baseball cap. Doesn't get much better than that, right? About two years ago my Mom got me a gift certificate to Lululemon for Christmas. She knows my affinity for expensive, high quality work out clothes - yet never dares try to guess what I would like. Although, I am sure that she would be spot on, since we are basically the same person. Moving on, the great thing about work out clothes is that they are comfortable, and Lulu makes them cute. Cute gym clothes mean you go more often, right? Right?! It just makes it more fun. Armed with my gift card, I was on the prowl for the greatest (sale) top and/or booty shorts for hot yoga store credit could buy. It was then that I came across this super cute, light weight jacket intended for running. It wicked rain, had thumb holes and a hood! Of course I had to buy it.

For the past two years, I have referred to it as my "running" jacket, "y'know, because I don't run." HAHA, guess what! Now I do! And I wore my adorable jacket running! (This paragraph needs lots of exclamation points!)

This isn't to say one can't run in any old jacket, but I will say it was fab-u-lous.

Apparently runners like to talk about bodily functions, I don't, so I'll keep those to myself. The wog really woke me up - since I literally rolled out of my warm, cozy bed and painted on my spandex pants upon getting up. And once Britney Spears' "Stronger" came over my headphone (singular, because the other one won't stay in) it was like my legs started moving a little bit faster and I was inspired to kick Workout 1.2's butt. Completed!

Day two: slayed. Day three to come this weekend, with a review of my freshly broken in Nike LunarLites!

Couch to 5K: 1.1

Week One, Day One 

Date: March 15, 2011
Weight: I'll tell you tomorrow.
Weather: cold, light rain.
Program: Alternate walking 90-seconds with jogging 60-seconds for 20 minutes, with five minute warm-up and cool down walk.

To be honest, I thought it would be worse, which is not to say that it was easy. Within minutes of leaving the house, I realized that my (stupid) earbuds sucked and needed to be either replaced or better understood before tackling Day 2 of this project. Being that I have my tragus (google/bing it) proves to be a little bit of a struggle with all earbuds and yesterday was not any different. I finally gave up on trying to adjust it, and went with one earbud only. It seemed to be enough volume to rock my Couch to 5K mix, so on I went.

The iPhone C25K (Couch to 5k) app has a nice little function that will voice over your playlist, so no need to remember which stint of the workout you are on because it will update you. Simply: "run now" or "walk now." I happened to be running with a dog who loves to go fast, which was either encouraging or annoying for day one. I worked my way through the neighborhood, spanning an area no further than 20 blocks North and 10 blocks East of my place.

I will say, my legs were definitely feeling it by the time I got home. I wasn't sweating profusely, or dying from lack of breath. There was significantly less wheezing and claims of an asthma attack than my previous attempts at jogging. Evidently this alternating with walking thing really helps work up to the running bit, eh? Sixty seconds of jogging isn't as daunting as it sounds, since you can really set your own pace. Plus, I was running outside so it's not like I was going to see anyone I knew. And all those cute guys I ran by? Yup, joggin' girl with a dog COMIN' THROUGH. I only get to accessorize with the dog until tomorrow, when she will be returned to her owner and I will no longer be dog sitting, so I plan on capitalizing on being the dog-jogger by sneaking day two in tomorrow morning.

Also, the C25K app allows you to "post" that you completed a wog on Facebook or Twitter. Maybe if I get Tweeting this will be a possibility, however until then I will solely be posting updates here. Something about splashing my accomplishments all over Facebook seems weird. Not narcissistic, because in case you didn't know, I am hugely obsessed with myself, but just a weird way to brag "hey, look at me, I wogged!" So instead, I will dedicate this entire blog to it. Go me!

Pretense: Couch to 5K

Let's start here: I am not a runner. Or, I should say I was not a runner until yesterday - when I downloaded the "Couch to 5K" app on my iPhone. After said purchase, I proudly declared myself "a runner!" a title I previously had not only sworn off, but also swore at and bitched about. I am the athletic sort, maybe in a more posh way than the iron, pumping gym rats. I take hot yoga and pilates followed by a brisk walk over free weights any day. Until yesterday, it was more likely if you saw me running, you would actually see me holding my side and wheezing "asthma...it's my asthma" rather than actually moving, which is more of a ploy to look uber athletic while actually being out of cardio shape.
 
After one of my co-workers mentioned he was doing the Couch to 5K running program, I stewed on it. Thoughts like, "but, I hate running" followed by, "like, a lot." flew through my head. My friends are runners. I am not. I don't like running. I wish I did, but I don't. I'd say things like, "it'd be great if we could run together, high pony-tails and all, but I hate running. So, let's go for a walk." Simply put: running (and cute girls that do it) suck.
 
Light bulb moment: I could be a cute girl that runs. What is stopping me, other than me? Nothing. Last time I checked, Rome wasn't built in a day, right? Maybe I can teach myself to like it. I don't really like standing next to sweaty, skinnier people that are less flexible than me in hot yoga - but it feels so darn good, I do it anyway. Could running be my new hot yoga?

And with that, I am doing it to prove that I can. I downloaded the Couch to 5K app on my iPhone (the brown, FeltTip version, for those of you interested...) and calendar'ed the first three weeks of the program. I figure if it's on my calendar, I can mentally prep myself for it and say snobby things like "Sorry, I can't, I have a run scheduled." In all fairness, I am not actually at the "running" stage. The program starts you out with a combination of jogging and walking (wogging) with a 5 minute warm up and cool down. This is not the point, the point is that this self-declared non-runner is on track to being a runner. A high pony-tailed, skinner version of myself, that will run with my girlfriends for -- wait for it -- FUN because we can. I know, it makes me want to puke also, but baby steps.

Follow me through 9-weeks of training, that will culminate by running a 5K that is TBD.