stats: time 1:45:25; distance 6.56 miles; calories 1046; pace 16:04 (max of 7:57); heartrate average 145, max 181

thoughts: hallelujah! i completed couch to 5K! it wasn’t easy for this super out of shape kid, but i did it! super pumped, as clipart so obviously conveys. when i started the program, i was definitely emphasizing the couch portion of the title. and now, though i’m not fast or a super awesome runner, i am running 5k distances! i am so incredibly excited.

thoughts on today’s run: today wasn’t an easy run. apparently my body quite likes the (at least) one day rest between runs, but if i wanted to finish this week, it had to happen this morning because of the impending storm. so i was pretty pokey. don’t care though–no cheating, no worries.

as for the future: i don’t know yet. i know i’ll be working on my speed in the upcoming weeks. i’m looking forward to being off a training plan as i can then do what i feel i need to do. after i feel comfortable with my speed, i think i’ll do the bridge to 10K program. lots to think about, so we’ll see. i’ll definitely keep you updated.

stats: time 58:37; distance 4.18 miles; calories 667; pace 14:01 (max of 9:50); heartrate average 155, max 180

thoughts: not a bad run, but suuuuper hot (okay it was 60*, but i have lots of built-in insulation and it wasn’t comfortable). we’re expecting up to 14″ of snow tomorrow night so i shifted my running plan this week. if we actually get 14″, i’m not going to be able to run for quite a few days. so, i’m going to finish c25k tomorrow morning, barring the storm’s early arrival. i normally have at least one day off between my runs, so i thought it best to keep this run shorter so i don’t die tomorrow.

almost there!

oh, and for another gratuitous photo of my beautiful running route:

miles: 58.89 miles–the equivalent of going from my last place in DC to the battle of spotsylvania court house just outside of fredericksburg, virginia.

total time: 14 hours, 5 minutes, 42 seconds–the length of time it would take to watch titanic 4 and 1/3 times.

average pace: 15:44–a little more than the length of fame for talentless nobodies.

total calories: 8,349–a little more than the quadruple bypass burger at the heart attack grill in chandler, arizona.

the miles/time/pace/calories are just for january whereas the weight/inches differences below are from when i started couch to 5k all the way back on november 22nd. i haven’t been good about taking measurements, but wanted to document the difference from the beginning to the (almost) end of c25k. i’ll try to document measurements once per month from here on out to make sure i’m staying on track.

weight difference: zero. nada. zip. zilch. this is really disheartening, but my goal in starting all of this wasn’t just to lose weight, but to become healthier. and the fact that i can run for 45 minutes without stopping makes me happy. while this number may not reflect it, i feel so much better already.

inches difference: waist: -4.5 inches; hips -2 inches; thighs: -1.5 inches; calves: ±0 inches; upper arm:-0.5 inches. woo hoo! this all is very exciting for me and shows that while i’m not losing pounds, there are definitely changes occurring.

so there we have it. january, it’s been real. on to february!

stats: time 1:46:52; distance 7.09 miles; calories 1051 (hot damn!); pace 15:04 (max of 7:51); heartrate average 144, max 182

thoughts: all right! today was definitely a good run–consistently faster than my long runs have been, the longest yet, and it just felt good (except for the nasty first 10 minutes, but those are always awful). i’m finally starting to feel like a runner! hopefully i can continue to speed up and go longer distances! super pumped.

hot damn, indeed!

stats: time 1:01:17; distance 3.99 miles; calories 666 (eek!); pace 15:58 (max of 6:46); heartrate average 151, max 181

thoughts: holy moly it was cold! they had predicted snow for today, but i went out anyway as it wasn’t supposed to be hard. halfway through it turned into a blizzard with maybe 30 feet visibility and lots of sideways snow. so i turned up the dial and ran home quickly. the run didn’t feel quite as awesome as monday, but certainly better than wednesday.

next week is the last week! so excited.

stats: time 51:02; distance 3.42 miles; calories 549; pace 14:57 (max of 9:44); heartrate average 153, max 182

thoughts: not good. my calves still had a good amount of residual soreness from monday that i just couldn’t shake. it’s also quite warm so i was sore, hot, and generally uncomfortable the whole time. also, i cheated for the first time. i only walked a total of maybe 20 seconds, but the damage is done. i am a cheater.

can’t do anything about it now but plan for friday to be better. oof.

hope y’all had a better workout today than i did.

stats: time 1:42:14; distance 6.65 miles; calories 1002; pace 15:24 (max of 9:17); heartrate average 145, max 191 (oops).

thoughts: as awful as saturday was, today was awesome. every time i run, the first 10 minutes is an absolutely miserable experience that, if it were to always be like that, i would not run. but once i push through it, i find that i can deal with it and running becomes fun. i’m not sure exactly what a running high is, but maybe that’s it. i definitely pushed myself more today–my heartrate was higher that it has been (not necessarily a positive) and my overall pace was much faster than it has been on the long runs (15:24 today whereas 16:18 was my fastest last week, which was a shorter distance). and i’m super excited to break the 1000 calorie barrier! not by much, but i’ll take what i can get!

photographic evidence:

happy monday!

stats: time 1:11:18; distance 4.23 miles; calories 728; pace 16:49 (max of 10:12); heartrate average 149, max 180

thoughts: today sucked. i have been going one of three general areas for my runs–the path that i drive to that takes me to our lake, the streets around my house, and the dirt trail system, which splits into three separate paths. early in the c25k program, i had been doing the dirt trails. i loved them and they gave me several different routes of varying difficulty. i stopped using them, however, because they don’t do well in the snow. this morning i thought i’d try them again since we haven’t had much snow this week and it’s been quite sunny and warm. big mistake. it was covered in ice and where it wasn’t, the trail had frozen and was really rutted. i had to stare at the ground for most of my run to watch for ice and had to slow to a walk several times because it was just too icy. i could never really get into my running groove because i had to keep walking and because it was just uncomfortable on my joints. not every day can be as awesome as monday was, but i just hope not too many days are like today. definitely going to stay off this path for the foreseeable future. yuck.

next week: start of 2.8 mile runs.

ice hill of doom.

stats: time 1:41:04; distance 6.10 miles; calories 968; pace 16:40 (max of 6:29); heartrate average 143, max 182

thoughts: definitely didn’t feel as good or as easy as monday, but i was able to do it again, so i’m happy! my running pace was around 13/mile. still slow as a snail, but i’ll start working on speeding up post-c25k. i’m definitely loving these huge calorie-burners, though!

additionally, i’ve still not lost any weight. inches yes, pounds no. my friend MEB (who is a super runner and fit girl extraordinaire) told me that it’s not about the weight but how you feel. i certainly feel better, but i absolutely need to lose some significant weight. since running isn’t helping in that regard, it’s time to buckle down and eat better. i’m searching for a good methodology to do that (more complex than “eat less than you burn”) and am open to suggestions. reading dukan’s book right now and it seems promising. anyone have any suggestions? i’m sure as shit not doing any cleanses. this isn’t a diet but a lifestyle change, so no gimmicks please.

thankee!

stats: time 1:43:00; distance 6.32 miles; calories 971; pace 16:18 (max of 6:38!!!); heartrate average 142, max 183

thoughts: WOO HOO! today was a huge triumph for me! now that i’m in the homestretch i have to focus on distance more than time. c25k bases their times on a 10 minute pace, which i’m not at yet. so while today was scheduled to be a 25 minute run, i ended up running about 35 minutes at an average of a 13 minute pace. at the end, i felt great and that i could keep going forever, so i sped up my last half mile and had a blistering max pace!

i drove to my favorite path and ended up running to the state park where we sail. i just didn’t feel like turning around, hence the much longer distance (that’s a touch more than a 10K!). this was my longest run yet, the prettiest (see below), and i couldn’t be more excited (and tired) right now. while i’m on the program i feel the need to stay on-program and do the exact workouts called for. i’m really looking forward to finishing so that on days like today when i feel like i can run forever, i can just keep going.

why i hate the treadmill:

what met me at the end:

hope yall are doing well!