Making progress!

Happy weekend! I woke up early on this 'going to be a scorcher' Saturday and thought I'd do an actual blog entry as opposed to just type up a recipe. It will be short and sweet because I want to hit up the gym before it gets horrible outside but I just wanted to share my C25k progress with you.

When I first told you about this program I made mention to the fact that there was a really good chance I'd probably end up repeating days, maybe even weeks. I especially had my eye on the W5D3 workout which jumped up to 20 minutes. I don't think I have ever run 20 minutes consecutively, not even as a child. Anyway, this past Monday I started week 5. I did good with the shorter runs earlier in the week which ranged anywhere from three to eight minutes. I was, however, very apprehensive as I started my workout yesterday morning knowing it was going to, in theory culminate with a 20 minute run. I wasn't sure if I should start my slower than I normally pace myself but I figured start strong and if I needed to slow down as I got into the run I could. So, after my five-minute warm-up, I cranked the iPod and started my run (which is clearly more of a jog).


Like with all of my runs: short, mid distance or long, the first few minutes sort of sucked. I hate that the human body takes so long to get into aerobic burning zone, there is a design flaw here! However, after my energy system caught up to my workout things started to go well. I got past the first 8 minutes, the longest consecutive run length that I had had up until that point and felt great. At 10 minutes I was in a really good place. I wasn't tired, I was breathing easily and I just felt great. By 13 minutes I was starting to get a little tired, however, I turned the iPod up higher and just drowned myself in some good old rock music. I felt very proud of myself at 15 minutes and knew that the finish line was in sight! All was going well right up until 17 minutes when disaster struck! There I was, with three minutes left to go. I was definitely feeling some fatigue at this point and kept thinking to myself, just get through this song and your run is over. However, just as I thought that, my iPod died. I was devastated. I checked the battery the night before and it was over half full. Well half full my ass. Can I just say that making myself continue without music was not the easiest thing in the world. Shinedown makes everything, especially exercise, better.

I was so close, there was no way I was going to let myself stop, music or no. So, I sucked it up and finished my last 3 minutes in silence. I have never been so happy complete a workout, ever. I can't remember a single time in all my 28, almost 29, years of existence when I felt so proud of myself. I have tried these walk to run programs before and I never made it past the short intervals so getting to 20 minutes is a really big deal for me. Plus, this 20 minute run was a mental barrier for me. I kept thinking to myself that there is no way I can go from 8 minute runs to a 20 minute run. Well clearly I can. I know now, barring injury or illness, that I will be able to finish this program in the original 9 weeks intended! I am so excited to get to that point I can't even begin to describe it.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling about my yesterday morning exercise so I can get to this mornings workout. I hope you all have a great weekend and stay cool...it's gonna be a hot one!