Running in Life's Slow Lane

Working through the Couch to 5K schedule very slowly.



5 minutes walk, 5 run, 3 walk, 5 run, 3 walk, 5 run, + cool down walk totaled 30'02".
Pace: 13'10"

Wind was stiff from the north at 15-25mph windchill was roughly 37F but sunny with clear skies.

Health status:
Weight: 179.0
BMI: 28.03
Resting Heart Rate: 57bpm
Blood Pressure: 125/84

5 minutes walk-8r-5w-8r-4w for a total of 30:18.
Distance: 2.34 miles Pace: 12:49
Monthly total: 4.62 miles Monthly target: 35 miles (30.38 remaining)
Location: MacArthur Middle School Track
Weather: sunny 49F winds S at 15mph gusting to 25mph, wind chill 43F

I definitely went into today's run with a bit of trepidation as it was my first attempt at jogging for 8 minutes and the wind has been fierce all day. I'm very proud to say that I completed both 8 minute intervals without any pain or undue stress. The wind definitely kicked me in the head when I had to run north-to-south but then it gave me a big boost going south-to-north.

Today was the second time I really experienced being a bit light headed as I bent to get into the car. Perhaps my period of walking towards the end to cool down needs to taper to a slower pace. I wasn't short of breath or anything serious. Just one of those split-second dizzy spells. Still the doctor told me to let my body guide me in how far to push myself so I will pay attention if this continues or worsens.

The pain I have been experiencing in my left calf did not bother me at all during the run. It seems to be a sporadic stab of pain most often occurring when I stand after sitting for some time. I have been doing some light stretches before and after each trip to the track in an attempt to minimize the stress from the exercise. Again, it's troublesome but unless it increases in frequency or intensity I am going to approach it with a "wait and see" attitude.

This evening will be stretching and a few core strengthening exercises after dinner.

Health status:
Weight: 178.2 (-6.8 net)
BMI: 27.91 yea! shaved one more point off. next point comes off at 172.4
Resting Heart Rate: 52bpm
Blood Pressure: 116/82

Off day from running.

25 minutes of stretching and core strengthening exercises.

Figures that today would be an off day on the schedule since the temperatures climbed near 60F. Tomorrow is another off day but I will be crawling around under the offices replacing some very old electricity feeds that the contractor failed to take care of this summer.

On an unrelated note, learned this morning that a coworker has inoperable liver cancer. Makes my decision to start taking better care of my health just a bit more meaningful.

Off day from running.

Light weight training with 8 lbs.

My entire day was consumed with replacing old electric feeds in my office with newer feeds. The contractor had left about 8 old outlets with 2 wire (no ground). I got all of those replaced which involved a great deal of crawling. As a result, I have a greater respect for the work babies do in moving themselves about before they learn to walk.

Getting better at limiting my intake at meals.

5 minutes walk-8r-5w-8r-5w for a total of 31:37.
Distance: 2.47 miles   Avg Pace: 12:48
Monthly total: 7.09 miles Monthly target: 35 miles (27.91 remaining)
Location: MacArthur Middle School Track
Weather: sunny 70F winds S at 10mph gusting to 15mph
Start Time: 1143
 

Today was our second turn at running the 8 minute intervals. In the first 8 minute interval we averaged a 10:50 pace and Teresa (my wife) felt it was a bit too fast. During the second 8 minute interval I let her set the pace and we averaged 11:10. In the last 30 seconds of the jogging I picked up my pace to 9:40 just to get a feel of what it feels like to run close to a 9:00 pace.  

The left calf did not bother me during the exercise. However, after I had rested a few moments I stepped towards the fence to do my stretches and the calf hurt horribly. I did my stretches but it genuinely hurt to put weight on my left leg.

We are considering adding a small run tomorrow (normally an off day) to let Teresa re-calibrate her Nike+ sensor and start us on the path to more runs per week. 

Walked and jogged so that Teresa could get her Nike+ sensor calibrated. Also wanted to start filling in a few smaller runs between the real effort days. We ran a total or 0.5 miles at an 11:00 average pace and walked the rest.

Good luck to all the Buckeye and Tiger fans out there! 

5 minutes walking - 8r-5w-8r + cool down walk for a total of 30:23.
Covered 2.33 miles at an average pace of 13:00/mi.

Nice and sunny but the temps were down in the 50s with a stiff 10-15mph wind from the south. I wore shorts and long sleeves which kept me warm enough but needed a stocking cap as my ears were numbed in the wind.

The most important thing was my calf pain. Doing stretches afterwards I found a stretch that seemed to land right where I was feeling the pain and eased it a bit. Coming home and looking through the exercise sites as well as staring at a few anatomical diagrams leads me to believe the pain is originating near where the soleus joins to become the calcaneous. In the days ahead I am going to focus on stretching the calves.

So who are you rooting for in this weekend's NFL playoffs?

5 minutes walk - ran until tired - cool down walk resulting in total time of 19:16.
Covered 1.46 miles at an average pace of 13:12.

Nice temperature - 54F - but the wind was 15 mph gusting to 20mph from the south. Learning my lesson from yesterday I wore my stocking cap and felt comfortable throughout the run.

This is part of my ongoing effort to sneak light mileage in between the regularly scheduled run days. There were no mileage or time goals and I ran "around the block" here in the neighborhood rather than bother with driving to the track. There is a nice gentle elevation splitting the circuit so I got to run a bit uphill on one side of the loop and back down on the other.

Did plenty of stretches before and afterward to try to work out the issues with the calf muscle but it is still plenty tender.

Didn't sleep at all last night. For some reason the body refused to shutdown even when my mind was completely wiped out. Finally drifted off on the couch around 0230 and was not ready for the alarm at 0630. I crawled off of the couch enough to get the family out the door and take care of a few email chores before napping a bit. 

5 minutes walk - 10r-5w-10r + cool down walk for a total time of 34:35.
Covered a distance of 2.64 miles for an average pace of 13:11.

 Woot! I actually managed to run two 10 minute intervals. Since this was my first time to try for that length of time I was a bit restrained in my pace dropping as far as 12+ during the runs. When I try this interval next (on Sunday) I will be more confident that I can survive and try to move closer to my 10:50ish pace.

The calf was still a nuisance. I have been stretching the calf muscles and the quadriceps 3-4 times per day including once about 15 minutes before I start the warm up 5 minute walk. Today I paid more attention as to when the pain showed up and it was after the first 10 minute run interval. Is the muscle tightening up while I am doing the 5 minutes of walking? Maybe I should walk a couple of minutes to let my heart come down a bit, pause to stretch a bit and then continue walking until it's time for the next run interval.

In addition to having sleep issues again last night, it now seems as though Dale has somehow infected me with his cold via Internet. Scratchy throat, stuff head, etc. The upper half of my body feels like I've fallen down some stairs. I will push liquids, try to rest and hope the cold front passes.


 

Today was a fun run in the sense that I had no overall time or distance objective.
Ran/walked a total of 2.01 miles in 25:20 for an average pace of 12:33.

Weather was nice: about 60F with winds 0-5mph. I worked up an appreciable sweat but was comfortable throughout the run.

This marks my 6th consecutive day of putting in miles so I consider that an important accomplishment. Tomorrow is a definite off day and then I'll be back to it on Sunday.

Yay! An off day with some excellent sleep. The head cold is still kicking my tail though.

5w-10r-3w-10r+cool down walk for a total time of 33:05.
Covered a distance of 2.6 miles for an average pace of 12:42.

 Toughest challenge today was running through a head full of phlegm. The head cold has not really changed for the better or worse but just seems to be lingering in a steady state.

 Temp 49F sunny wind from NW 0-5 mph.


 

Today was a fun run: no distance or time objectives.
1.59 miles in 20:50 (avg 13:06/mi).

Okay, it started out as a fun run but really turned into an effort as the left calf that has been bothering me really became painful. For lack of a better description it felt like someone had "frogged" me on the inside edge of the left calf about midway between the heel and the knee. I did notice that for some reason I had taken off at a much faster pace than my usual so the calf may have been reacting to my hubris. In any case, I forced myself to intermix short jogs and walks to get at least 1.5 miles in before calling it a day.

 60F, sunny, wind NW 5-10mph gusting 15mph, 18% humidity - gorgeous day

On a note that some will appreciate -
Got definite proof that running is good for us computer programmers. I had spent most of the day trying to find a problem reported by a user, but after being unable to find anything I gave up and went for the run. As I came back into the house the phone was ringing: the same user telling me it was not my software but another program causing the problem. Hence, my new running schedule will now include impromptu runs whenever I get bug reports in hopes that running solves my lack of programming skills.

 

5w-10r-3w-10r + lots of cool down walking for a total of 43:30.
Covered a total of 3.24 miles for an average pace of  13:25/mi.

The wind blowing from the south really seemed to upset my running today. During the first 10 minute cycle I felt like I was breathing all wrong which is a first for me. Generally I just jog along and let the breathing take care of itself. Today I felt like I couldn't get the air all the way into my lungs or something. I kept trying to breathe deep to 'reset' things but basically just plowed through the 10 minutes. The breathing was not a problem during the second 10 minute cycle though I was definitely wore out and my pace really slowed down.

I was feeling a twinge from the lowest right hand part of my back. A little to the top of my tailbone but nearly in line with my spine of the right side. This I attribute to the fact that today was the first in several days during which I tried to sit upright while working. My recent cold had kept me reclined on the couch near tissues and such for a long while.

My left calf was still bothering me so I decided that tomorrow is an off day and I would baby the leg a bit. Having made that decision I went ahead and walked a bit extra at the end of the workout to get a little more distance done. Tonight and tomorrow will see me taking my anti-inflammatory pills and elevating the leg as much as I can.

Sunny, 59F, winds S 15-20 gusting to 25

Oh, and I made it under 175lbs today!

5 minutes walk + 20 minutes jogging + walking for a total of time of 45:31.
Covered 3.32 miles for an average pace of  13:42/mil (dragged down by the long cool down)

The big news here is that I survived jogging for 20 minutes without a break! In October 2007 when I started on this program 20 minutes seemed an impossible goal. Even as recently as yesterday I was expecting that I would have to walk at least a bit of today's 20 minute goal. But I made it. Only in the last 2 or 3 minutes did I really begin feeling it. I covered a distance just shy of 1.75 miles in the 20 miles so my next goal will be to jog for 2 miles.

Of course, my success did meet with a bit of disappointment. My iPod nano lost my workout information. It would have been enough to push me over the 20 mile goal in a challenge with the coworkers as well as possibly contained my best time over a 2 mile distance. I guess that will have to wait for another day.

On to farther and faster goals!

Fun run with no objectives.
Covered 1.21 miles in 15:39 for an average pace of 12:54/mi.

After spending several hours trying to help a friend replace the floor in her bathroom (some people have no business doing basic carpentry) I escaped to run at sundown. Not having time to get into my full cold weather outfit I was limited more by cold as the sun set than my desire. I got about 0.45 miles of walking and the rest was jogging at a nice pace.

I still cannot get my iPod Nano to update the Nike+ website as it did earlier this week. There are two runs totalling 4.53 miles on my iPod but iTunes is not updating the website when it Syncs. Visiting the Nike+ site I have tried a few suggestions from there without success. Guess I will work on it more tomorrow.

So who is everyone picking in Sunday's NFL playoff games?


 

5 minutes walking + 10 minutes running + cool down walk for a total time of 23:00.
Covered 1.74 miles for an average pace of 13:13/mile.

I was definitely feeling the lack of real sleep as it seemed nothing was in synch today. Plowed through it enough to get the 10 minutes done.

Really starting to hate the Nike+ thing. Today I started it up to go on my run only to have it refuse to find the foot sensor. Went with my trusty handheld GPS unit to measure my distance and time. The only measurement I miss in using the GPS is a "current" pace as it only gives me the moving average. But I admit that I really like being able to upload my mileage into the Nike+ site and setting my goals as well as sharing challenges with my coworkers.

 

5 minutes walk + 1 mile run + 0.25 walk + 0.25 run + cool down walk
Total time: 39:37     Total distance: 2.90     Avg pace: 13:37/mi

Here's hoping that today was just a case of poor sleep and a busy Saturday catching up to me. The 20-30mph wind from the SSE was not helping me at all and after pushing myself through the first mile of jogging I had to take a break. My psyche had started asking what in the world I thought I was doing thinking I could run when I was 41, out of shape, my body hurt, my legs were tired, my calf hurt and I was fighting to breathe through so much drainage in my head. Taking 0.25 mile to walk at a quick pace, get some water and get myself I settled I ran the last 0.25 with no major issues. I had intended to walk enough to get 3 miles but somehow came up short.

For some reason the Nike+ found my foot sensor late last night so I was finally able to upload today's run. Unfortunately it appears the prior 3 or 4 days are gone as far as Nike+ is concerned. I'm so glad I got them logged here and in my own records.

Okay, I want to run the Tough Enough 5K on 08 March. When I can run 20 minutes I am covering just short of 1.75 miles. So my first goal is stretch my endurance so that I can cover the 5K distance without regard for my pace. To achieve that my plan is to add 0.25 miles to my range each week. If I can keep that schedule I should be at 5K distance just in time for 08 March.
 

5 minutes walking + 20 minutes running + cool down = 37 minutes
Total Distance: 2.87 miles    Avg Pace: 12:52/mi

This is only the second time I have been able to achieve the full 20 minutes of jogging. While pace is not a critical part of my workout I did pay attention during the first few laps to make sure I was not starting too quick. Right now might comfortable jog pace seems to be about 11:30/mi.

Today should have been a "fun run" but I have to fly tomorrow and do not know that I will have time at my destination to get a full run finished. Also, since I wasn't able to get the 20 minutes done yesterday I needed a bit of a morale booster to tell me that I could get the time done.

Honestly, I was shocked that it didn't kill me to finish this run. I spent about 5 hours working at the theatre today so my shoulders, elbows and wrists were very sore from doing construction work that long.

Look forward to seeing folks in Virginia on Wednesday.

Goal: fun run with no objectives
Achieved: 0.32 miles walk + 1.3 miles running + 0.81 miles walk in 32:44.
Average pace: 13:27/mi

This was the "rush to the hotel and run" workout. After flying most of the day I reached Norfolk and left the airport around 6pm. When I got to the hotel and checked in it was definitely dark along with being a bit misty. I refused to be deterred, dressed for the weather (including my snazzy reflector vest) and covered ground on the roads nearby. My pace during the running distance was a bit slow but I am not going to complain since I sat in airplane seats all day. It felt good to be outdoors and I enjoyed the exercise.

This gives me 3 consecutive days with over 2 miles covered on each which is a first. I'm not sure what my goal will be tomorrow, whether I will do another run without goals or make sure I get another 20 minutes of jogging done.
 

Objective: 5 minutes walk, 20 minutes run, cool down walk
Actual: 5 minutes walk, 2 miles run, cool down walk

Distance: 3.14 mi

Time: 40:13

Avg Pace: 12:48

You read that right, blog fans! I knocked out 2 full miles today.

I really didn't know how far I would go today since my head cold was bothering me most of the day and left me feeling really tired. Since I was going to run I just committed to trying for a 20 minute jog at whatever pace felt good. Once I had made the first mile though I decided to shoot for 2 knowing that if I gave up I could just blame it on the not feeling well. While my pace slowed a bit as I went , I could tell the exercise was clearing my head and I felt stronger so I switched my goal to trying to get 2 full miles. And I did it! Barely. Once I hit the 2 miles I put on the brakes but continued to walk to get the nice 5K distance work. If I had to do the 5K today and I got a 40 minute time I would be happy. Still have over a month to go though before I run the race so plenty of time for improvement.

I chose to celebrate with a small steak dinner from The Outback. While I am sure dinner was more calories than I needed a little morale boost is always a good thing.

Weather
Temp: 42F	Humidity: 95%	Wind: SW 0-5mph

Goal: Run at least a mile and add enough walking to get 3.1 miles total
Achieved: 5 minutes walk, 15 minutes running, walking remainder of my time
Time: 56'08"     Distance: 4.16 mi     Avg Pace: 13'29"/mi

Apparently I needed some quality time in the refrigerator that is Chesapeake, Virginia because I just could not stop myself at 3.1 miles. Instead I got crazy and picked up the pace after my jog to the point where I was walking at a 14'15"/mi pace at the end of the workout. While I'm not sure exactly how far I jogged I maintained a sub 11'00'/mi pace throughout the 15 minutes so that would put in the neighborhood of 1.36 miles. Definitely a decent distance for my off day.

On the weird misery note, an hour or so after I ran as I sat in a restaurant having dinner, I was struck by how cold my hands felt. Looking at my hands, my fingers were that yellow/white color that comes on when they get very cold, were a bit tingly and stiff. I was clearly in a warm place indoors with my coat off but  my fingers seemed to believe otherwise. I don't know if that was some delayed reaction to the chilly temps during my run or what. It took me about 15 minutes to get color back into my fingers.

 WEATHER
Temp: 36F   Humidity: 89%    Wind: NNW 5-10mph    Wind Chill: 30F

Goal: 5 minutes walk, 20 minutes run, and cool down walk
Achieved: 5 minutes walk, 3.14 miles ran, + cool down walk
Distance: 4.12 mi     Time: 52'11"    Avg Pace: 12'39"/mi

I'll just admit that I have no idea how I ran 3.14 miles. I know I ran for 25 minutes and decided to keep going but couldn't believe it myself when I finally punched the button on the iPod to hear that I had gone that far. Coming back to the hotel room and plotting my course on www.mapmywalk.com seems to verify that I should have been a smidge over 3 miles. Holy Cow! Needless to say I freaked. That is almost exactly 5K.

Tomorrow is definitely an off day as I am less than 0.5 mile from getting 20 for the week. I am planning on getting maybe a mile of just moderate pace walking done.

Sunday is back to work as I will be shooting for 2 miles again.

Today was just a nice but chilly stroll along the Virginia Beach Boardwalk - site of the Shamrock Marathon (www.shamrockmarathon.com). Though the wind coming off the water and the cold temps were daunting I was tempted to walk the full 3 mile length of the boardwalk until I reminded myself that today was my off day. No stress on the legs today. I passed 9 joggers and at least that many bicycle riders all braving the weather. If I can ever get the IDSI running crew together in Virginia at one time we may have to consider a group trip to the boardwalk for a nice run together.

Oh, I officially registered for the Tough Enough 5K to be ran on 08 March 2008 in Weatherford, Oklahoma. It's a done deal. Now I have to get my workouts in to be prepared.

Also have to get my FRB shirt ordered so I can show it off during the run. 

Goal:
5 minutes of walking, 2 miles running at less than 11'30"/mi pace, cool down walk

Actual:
5 minutes of walking, 2 miles at approx 10'28" pace, cool down walk

Summary:
Today was a nice change from last week's evening run where everything was done after sunset. Since I was going on a shorter distance for today's workout I set the goal of keeping everything under my customary 11'30"/mi pace. Of course, as always, I way over did things and started off at 10'30" pace and though I tried to tell myself to pull back I don't think I have done enough jogging to really have that level of control. It seems that once I settle into a pace I can only get out of it when fatigue hits at which point the pace falls off drastically. I did remember the Chapstick before I ran today so my lips were happier.

Goal:
5 minutes walking, 2 mi jogging, cool down walk to total 3.1 miles.

Achieved:
5 minutes walking, 2 .16 mi jogging, cool down walk

Goal:
5 minute walk, 2.5 mi jogging < 12'00"/mi pace, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 minute walk, 2.78 mi jogging @ 11'26"/mi pace, cool down walk

Goal:
5 min walk, 2 mi, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 min walk, 2.17 mi at 10'51"/mi pace, cool down walk

Summary:
Following silentDave's reasoning that I should go hard tonight knowing that I have to run tomorrow morning before a day of flying, I decided to run my hardest for 2 miles. I did not try to use the pace feedback from the Nike+ but instead just kept telling myself to keep running as hard as I could. It paid off in Nike+ recording a new PR in the mile at 10'36", reducing my old time by a massive 6 seconds. At least Tiger Woods was nice enough to congratulate me.

After coming back to the hotel and resting a bit my hamstring seemed a bit sore. First time I have had any complaints from there. Probably because of my pushing for the pace. I am doing stretches before and after the run but I have just picked what seemed like a good selection of what I found online to cover most of the major leg muscle groups. Is there anything like a "recommended" or "standard" beginner's set of stretches? Maybe that would be a good post for the forums.

Had more issues with the iTunes/Nike+ not wanting to update the website. I think it may have issues synchronizing with the site if you are already logged in there. For about 30 minutes I was convinced I had lost another workout yet I saw that it eventually appeared at the Nike+ site.

Big car wreck on Portsmouth Blvd at the stoplight where you turn to the hotel. A pair of cars apparently had differing opinions on how to interpret the stop light. Traffic was blocked in all four directions for several minutes. It happened just as I got back to the hotel from running and 30 minutes later when I left for dinner the ambulance, fire trucks and police were still there. Makes me nervous about being so far from home and traveling alone.

Goal:
5 min walk, run, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 min walk, 1.02 mi jogged at 12'02"/mi pace, walk