The Couch to 5K Program and me

So, the truth of the matter is that I would really like to be a runner. I've had periods in the past where I ran, and I really liked the way it made me feel, even when I continued to eat way too much of food that was not good (story of my life) and so didn't get all the benefits from it that are available. As my FB and Twitter friends know, I recently treated myself to an iPod touch, for lots of reasons (the main one being that I flat-out wanted one). In the back of my mind was the idea that if I had an iPod, it would be easier to run because I could have something to listen to. I had heard about Robert Ullrey's Couch to 5K podcasts when I first heard about that program a few years ago. The ideas is that it takes an inactive person from the Couch to running a 5K in 9 weeks. Without a podcast, there's a need for a stopwatch and a lot of checking the wrist (which I consider futzing and would make me unhappy). On the podcast, the lovely Mr. Ullrey tells you when to walk and when to run while being very encouraging, and it's all set to music that has a good beat (kind of techno/dance which is not my normal stuff, but it does what it needs to do).

On Sunday while I worked, I had my iPod helper, Amanda, download the (free) podcasts I wanted. Then on Monday, I did nothing. Well, that's not true, I did stuff, went to visit my brother at his new place, did things around the house, knitted a little, and went to the grocery store, etc., but I did not work out. I sort of vaguely thought about it but didn't do it. I did, however, on Monday eat well, tracked points, drank water, and generally did the nutrition part of what I needed to do, so it wasn't a wasted day. And frankly, it's a little trite and cliche to start things on Monday, and I actively avoid starting out fresh on Monday morning most of the time.

But Tuesday I was set. It took me a while to get out of the bed and then subsequently off my ass and in gear, but I did it. I couldn't find, and still can't find, the chest strap for my heart rate monitor but didn't let that slow me down (just for about 10 minutes while I looked around and then gave up and figured I'll find it later), so off I went. Because the idea of walking (mostly) or running in the street with a headset on makes me nervous about hearing the traffic, I decided not to cruise my neighborhood. I got into the car and set out for Yauger Park on the west side of Olympia. There's a running/walking trail there and it's in an area where I felt like I had a good expectation of safety early being out there alone. It's a nice trail, no cement, just a little bit of asphalt at a couple of spots, mostly it's dirt and wood chips.

And when I say dirt, I mean dirt. We haven't had any real rain here for about a month. The dirt on the trails is dry, and the parts where there are no wood chips are dusty. This is how my shoes looked when I came home (they were mostly clean, if not sparking) when I left the house.



(That looked dirtier to me yesterday than it does now.)

When I took off the shoe and the sock, my foot, or at least the big toe area was also pretty filthy, the dirt just seeped through everything.

(That's pretty damn dirty, though. Man, my feet are veiny.)

I ended up, naturally, doing Week 1, day 1 of the program. As I've said, it's a 9-week program (although you can repeat a week if you feel like you need do) and it's designed to be done 3 days a week with rest days between runs. Because I'd like to maintain the muscle mass I have, and because muscle burns more calories than fat, I'm going to work out a schedule for some strength training on at least a couple of my non-running days during each week. The Goddess knows I have enough DVD workouts in my cabinet of shame that I can find something to do.

Anyway, yesterday's workout consisted of a 5 minute brisk walk, then the running/walking intervals, run for 60 seconds and then walk for 90 seconds 8 times, followed by a cool down walk of 5 minutes. All told 30 minutes, at the end of which I was very red faced and quite sweaty. But not in tears, which is quite the accomplishment. I must admit that I was only able to run for the complete 60 seconds on 5 of the intervals; for the other 3, I ran anywhere between 30 and 45 seconds of them (best guess ~ I wasn't wearing a watch). I might have gone out a little too quickly at the beginning, so I reined myself back in so that I could finish the last run at a run.

Note: I use the word run very loosely. It's running for me, but it's slow and there are lots of people on the planet who can walk faster than my run, but this girl is running. Not sprinting, not chasing Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt (or Colin Ferrell) fast, and certainly not running away from a chasing maniac fast; just running at Connie speed.

So that's my story of my first day with Couch to 5K. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.