Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Day 24...

Well... another day done as far as running is concerned.  I did lengthen my running time to 12 min for the first run.  I followed it by a 2 min walk, 4 min run, 2 min walk.  I am somewhat anxious about the 5k run next week as it has been ever so long since I have done one. 

My legs were a little sore today, but I feel the affects of the blood donation finally wearing off.  I'm not really running that hard anyway.  Although I did notice I made it farther today than I have recently in the same amount of total time.  I must be at least running a little bit faster. 

Can't wait to find out what my time is for a 5k so I can actually know somewhat about what my time is for a mile.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Day 22...just another day

Nothing really to report today.  Was an easier run for sure, but still not the endurance I am hoping for.  Ran 10 min, walk 2 min, ran 6 min, walked 2 min.  Nothing fantastic. 

Today during my run I began to think about the good ol' days when I could run a 5k in Less than 18 min and I began to wonder what it would feel like to do that again.  It's been a long time, and I really don't like not being able to run that far that fast.  Hopefully someday I will run a sub 6 min mile again.  For now...its just a dream.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Day 19: A week of rain

So...it has pretty much been raining all week.  At least in the mornings when I need to run.  Needless to say, I still got up and put in my time.  Today I got up and did a 10 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, 2 min walk.  I consider it a success after I know my body is still dealing with not being able to transport oxygen like it should do to giving blood on Tuesday. 

On another note, I have scheduled my first 5k.  April 4, 2012, my place of employment is hosting a 5k run/walk for all of the employees to try and raise some funds for the Ronald McDonald house.  They are even going to do at the end of the day so we get out of work to do it.  Not a bad trade I guess, plus I get my first 5k out of the way with very little pressure or push for a great time.  Should be a challenging course as the last half mile is up hill.  I guess its a good thing that my morning run consists of several hills.  Hopefully I will up to running 15 min at time by then...I could always push the last little bit and make it I think.

Anyway, I can still feel the effects of the blood donation, but overall it was a great run today and I feel good.  First time going to work all week and not really needing a cup of coffee.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Day 17: Rain and Giving Blood

This morning was an interesting run to say they least.   I set my alarms (yes there are 2 of them) to get up this morning and one of them didn't go off so I woke up late.  I felt good, so I was thinking today was going to be a good run.  Then I stepped outside....it was raining.  Not that big of a deal, I used to run in the rain all the time.  It felt good other than the fact that I gave blood yesterday.  I started thinking in the middle of my run that my HS coach used to tell the runners that were old enough to donate not to because it would affect their workouts and races. 

Needless to say, I found out what she meant.  The run was harder than I expected for sure.  I ended up running for 10 min, walking for 2 min, running for 1 min, and then walking for 5.  Not a huge success in the mental side of things, but after doing some research I learned that it can take you 2 to 4 weeks to recover after giving blood.  I didn't realize it would take that long.

I guess we will see what happens on Friday.  Guess I had better start chugging the water.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Day 15

Will, I decided to change things up a bit today. 10 min run, 2 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk.  I figure it is about time to start grouping the runs together and getting them a little bit longer if I ever want to get to a 5k endurance again. 

The run felt good other than my left foot started hurting.  I'm not real certain as to what it is, but a large portion of the first part of my run was hills so that really shortens the stride out. 

Another thing to note is that my hands seem to hurt after I run. I am going to try and pay attention to if I am keeping them tense the whole time.  If I am that is for sure unneeded tension on my body while I run. 

Well, thanks for reading...feel free to leave any comments if you have any suggestions or thoughts.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Day 12

Well....another week complete with a 7 min run, 2 min walk, 6 min run, 2 min walk, 3 min run, 2 min walk.  Overall a decent run, but boy am I tired from getting up early to run.  Legs still really aren't sore afterwards, but they sure are during the run. Maybe I am ready to start running longer. 

The only hard part about running in the morning is that if you are still tired its easier to convince yourself it is ok to walk.  I am really working on not giving in, but it ever so tempting to just walk earlier and not push myself to make the times I set to run. 

Anyway, I am excited to have made it two weeks.  Lets see what next week holds.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Saw this and Had to Share

Just wanted to share what looks to be one of most fun races you could be apart of.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Day 10 - Little Reminders

Well...its still hard adjusting to the time change, but I made it out of bed.  I ran 6 min, walked 2 min, ran 6 min, walked 2 min, ran 3 min, walked 2 min.  Blah..I know its boring, but it will be a reminder for me when I come back to read this and see where I've come.

My coach in High School always taught me to write down my training and information so that I would have it to reflect on.  Every day after cross country we did this and stored them in a folder.  At the end of High School she gave them to us so that we could remember where had come from.

A couple other little reminders came to me this morning as I was running and feeling the tension in my legs.  Back in the day (lol) I was always one to remind people to drop their shoulders when they run and let your arms relax.  Carrying your shoulders high just adds to more work the body has to do.

The other key that I always have to remind myself is that I need to lengthen my stride.  I remember actively working on this in the early days of running and how much easier it is to run with you can go farther forward with each step and being able to take fewer steps to cover the distance.  It also aids in the impact you have on the ground, which in the long run will save your legs and back from pain and destruction that could occur from running on harder surfaces like asphalt or concrete.

Overall, my legs don't really hurt after the runs anymore, just during.  Being able to stretch and walk around really has helped the overall pain.  Now to just build up the endurance again.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Day 8

Well...time changed this weekend so it made getting up ever so much harder. The run went really well.  I tried an alternative route and to push my self to run a little longer.  I ran 6 min, walked 2 min, ran 6 min, walked 3 min, ran 3 min, walked 2 min.  I am still trying to decide if I like this method or not.  It feels like I am constantly trying to talk myself out of wanting to walk earlier or feeling like I need the walk.  In the past I have been able to just take the focus off of that, but simply telling myself I wont walk.

I certainly feel like the running is beginning to help somewhat with clearing my head and helping me be able to focus more...no if I could only get it to help me lose weight.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Day 5 - Almost Kicked my butt

So...today almost kicked my butt.  Two nights ago my daughter decided not to sleep more than an hour at a time all night.  I think I finally was able to squeeze in a total of three hours before having to work a 14 hour day at work.  Which made sleeping last night ever so more enjoyable and harder to get up this morning to actually do it.  I turned my alarm of, and "forgot" to get up.  30 min after I planned to get up one of my boys woke me and I struggled with wanting to say forget the run today. 

After a couple minutes I decide I had better go ahead and do it.  If I start to use excuses now, it will only make things harder later.  It was a very cold 32°, but I was able to make it through.  I ran 6 min, walked 2 min, ran 5 min, walked 2 min, ran 3 min, walked 3 min. 

Overall, felt good.  I'm tired, but know that in the long run its a little pain here for a lot of gain later. 

Oh how I miss the days of being able to run for 45 min and it not feel like a stretch at all.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Day 4

Quick and easy post today. Another day of stretching and walking some stairs at work. My legs feel a lot better today. Lets see if they stay that way throughout the day.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Day 3 - Feel the burn

Alright, so its day 3.  Today I varied a little from the chart and ran a series consistent of 6 min run, 3 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk, 2 min run.  The only catch would be that I set my timer for the first 6 min and began my run.  After it had been a while since I started my run I looked down and it had reset it self after going off.  I really have no clue how long I ran the first short run.

I made a decision before beginning the timed workouts that I wouldn't try to run or walk any certain part of the streets I was running.  In other words, I wouldn't try to slow down so I could just walk the hills.  This morning my second run consisted
mostly of a couple up hills and boy did my legs feel it. 

The nice part about where I work and what I do is that we have stairs that I have to walk every day.  This makes it very easy to stretch out those muscles frequently throughout the day so we will see how they feel tomorrow.