33 Weeks to Go and Counting: A Run For Your Lives Update

March 7, 2011

I can’t believe how ultimately simple it was for me to enjoy the process of starting to jog. I am not running yet. I am still slow. If today were October 22, 2011, I would be zombie chow. (And to be honest – I think I might even want a zombie medal instead of a survivor medal… still not sure.) But I am in the process of walking and jogging my 5Ks (all on the treadmill). My time is steadily increasing.

My first 5K was 56:47. Then I bumped it up to 53:36. Today?

52:24. I am getting progressively quicker. Okay, still slow. I get that, but you know what? For me, this is EPIC.

And the best part? I’m enjoying it!

Today, I put my DVD player on the elliptical (below is a picture from a workout about a week ago), play Supernatural (just started Season 3), and I walk two minutes at 3.2 and jog one at 4.1. I realize that for a lot of people, 4.1 miles per hour is a fast walk. For me, it’s a jog. I’m in “jogging motion,” so to speak. But I’m finding it gets progressively easier. Today, I did one minute of jogging for every two minutes of walking. Tomorrow, I’m going to bump the jogging time up a bit. I’m concentrating on jogging the ENTIRE 5K at 4.1 miles per hour before I work on my speed.

During today’s 5K, I realized the change that made me enjoy it.

I HATE Couch to 5K! It is too freaking difficult to time and I get bored… I’m either stopping jogging too soon when I want to walk or I feel like I have to jog for too long too early. C25K has done miracles for some people, but I think I am better off just listening to my own body and slowly increasing my jogging time.

And I’ve got another piece of running related news to share. I am signing up for my first 5K. It’s not my first sign up (that honor will always be with Run For Your Lives), but this one is happening first. It’s in my hometown of Munfordville, Kentucky (population 1,700). I’m signing up for this one because it has the benefit of a 5K Walk option. I’m not quite ready to run 3.1 miles, but I fully expect to walk and jog this one. And who knows? Maybe I can even break 45 minutes. It’s on April 2nd, and I can’t wait!

(BTW, if you look at the picture closely, you’ll notice I circled the wrong age division. Wishful thinking, perhaps?)

Don’t worry. I’m not just doing cardio in training. Tina and I continue to lift weights. Even though I’ve already gotten a 5K in today, we’re doing yoga tonight. Run For Your Lives is also an obstacle course, so we’re working on strength and flexibility, too.

Zombie movie of the week?

Zombie 4: After Death.

A friend gave it to me YEARS ago. It’s on VHS. Watching a VHS movie is going to feel like building a fire with flint or something. I’m not even sure if Zombies 1 thru 3 even exist… It’s been eons since I’ve watched this, and I remember it sucked. I’m sure it still does.

Posted in Exercise, Running

Kerri O:

March 7, 2011 at 5:37 pm

I think as runners we always feel ‘slow’. There’s always someone faster to compare ourselves to. It’s silly really.
But hoooray! You are rocking this. Good luck on that 5k, I was hooked on racing after my first.