C25K - W7D3 - He's going for distance, not going for speed

About 20 minutes ago, I completed my first set of 25 minute runs! While I say that with a great sense of accomplishment, I did manage to hurt myself a little bit in the process.

The run started out with the normal 5 minute walk and some stretching, but I decided to push the pace up a notch to try and increase my time. While my heart was in the right place, my body was not willing to let me go all out on this run. About 12 minutes in, I felt a little pain in my left shoulder. Not sure what it was, but I decided to calm it down for the rest of the run. I ended up jogging the rest of the way and did not do my 5 minute cool down walk. I hope I am not sore tomorrow because of that.

What I learned today:
I think I increased my distance a little bit, at the expense of my shoulder.
Slow and steady does win the race, and it doesn't hurt as much.
I need to find better ways to increase my speed and/or distance.



Slow and steady does not hurt as much

C25K - W7D2 - Baby it's cold outside

Today was a great day for a run... if I were not wearing shorts. This is the second time I have made the mistake of not checking the temperature before going out for my run. One of these days I will learn my lesson and check out weather.com before I get out of the house.

I usually have a lot of thoughts that get into my head when I am running, but the one that stood out today was "I wonder how far I ran today?". I decided that I would drive around the block and check my odometer and my calculations say that I did 2 miles in 25 minutes. I think that it is a little slow, but I am not about to fartlek training just yet. I just want to get through being able to run a 5K without walking, which I believe I will be able to do by the end of March.

If you are looking for a free way to see how far you are running, try the Google Map Pedometer.
The utility is free and was pretty close to my manual calculations from the car.

What I learned today:
I need to work hard to run a 5K, and even harder to get a better 5K time.
Need to check out the weather before I go for my run.
When it comes down to race day, I need to concentrate on the race and not whatever else is going on in my head.

C25K - W7D1 - I ran so far away

Week 7 on the C25K program is the first week where there are no walks in between each run. This is the first Monday that I have ever ran for 25 minutes straight, and it was a strenous beginning to the work week.

As a night-owl by nature, I got my 6 hours of sleep after numerous snooze bar smacks. There are clocks that do weird thing in order to disable the ability of the snooze bar, but I can't help myself. Someday I might learn how to stop hitting that snooze bar.

After getting dressed, my scale and I had a meeting of the minds. I willed it to show a number that was lower than the previous week and my mental acuity won! I think I lost 2 lbs this week, so I will do my best impression of shampoo instructions: Run, Lose Weight, Repeat.

My pre-run regimine of water and a bananna was fine and I started to stretch before my run. I don't think I stretch enough before my run, but I have not seen any bad effects of not doing this just yet.

Nothing to impressive happened in the run itself, but I did get the attention of a few dogs along the way. I did about 4 1/2 laps around the block in my 25 minutes, so I will go around tonight in my car and find out how many miles I ran today. I wish I had a Nike+ system so I could put all of this online, but I don't see a spare $300 hanging around. Maybe I should use that economic stimlus rebate from the government on that...

That's all I have for everyone today, but tomorrow I will be exploring the question: "What should I eat before my 5K?".

C25K - W6D3 - Another one bites the dust

Today was my first 25 minute run, and boy are my legs tired (Insert laugh track here).

The run
But seriously folks, today was a bit rough when it comes to my C25K session. I woke up at 6:00 am and hit the snooze button till 7:00 am. After I came to my senses, I got on my running gear and had some water and Fiber One Oats and Chocolate bar (the best snack in the world IMHO), and went out to run.

Nothing to exciting about the run today... no dogs or other major distractions. I noticed that the same 2 cars that block the sidewalk every time I run, but it's not so bad since I live in a neighborhood which is a huge cul-de-sac. There are a few tree branches that I need to duck under, but otherwise it was a good run. The one thing that I enjoyed most about the 25 minute run was that I was not tired. I wasn't sucking wind at any point in the run and I wasn't too sore throughout the run. I can't imagine what it will be like when I am back to my weight goal.

The weight
Speaking of my weight goal, I stepped on the scale today and it was kind to me. I usually only weigh-in once a week, but I was a bit curious. Hopefully I can lose my 5 lbs by April 1st!

Things I learned today

1. I have to get a good nights rest before I run, otherwise the snooze bar becomes more inviting.
2. I am almost a runner... I will proclaim myself as a runner after my first 5K.
3. When I don't think about breathing, I tend not to breathe on the 3:2 rhythm.
   
4. The best time to think wildly about any topic or aspiration is when you are running.
   

BTW: I like the song lyric titles... I think I will stick with them for a while :)

C25K - W6D2 - 20 is the new 50!

The C25K program is now a part of my daily routine, but the exercise itself is still hard to do. I woke up this morning, got my water and bananna, and went of for 30 minutes of walking and running.



After a quick warmup, I started on my first 10 minute run... and almost tripped in the process. I never knew that sticks and small branches on a side walk would be so menacing. After the 3 minute cool down walk, there was another 10 mintue run in my future. Two laps around the block and one barking dog later, I was done. I can say for certain that my 20 minutes of running felt like 50 minutes of exercise.

Food is still an issue for me right now, but I have taken the first step to help me get back on track. I took my left over "The Big Game" snacks and threw them out, and I will start to throw out or donate any trigger foods that cause me to eat more than I should. It's ironic that I lost so much weight with a controled calorie count and little exercise, and now I can exercise 3 days a week and I can't control my caloric intake without a fight. I need to put these two together to get back down to my weight goal!

C25K - W6D1 - Take it to the limit one more time

I don't look ahead at the C25K schedule, so I was not sure what I was going to run this morning. After starting the podcast, I come to realize that this is the "25 minute week" where we come very close to running a 5K on Day 3. I'm pretty excited about it, but I learned a few things from my 1st run this morning:

1. Do not run on an empty tank. Although I ran for a longer distance today than normal, I was physically drained very early into the run.
2. Get a good night of sleep before a long run. I'm not sure what I will do on the day of my first 5k, but I do know that 5 hours of sleep will not cut it.
3. I have to have a headband on my runs :)

It was a good overall run minus those issues, so I feel I am ready for the two 10 minute runs on Wednesday.

On the weight side of life, I am satisfied with my calorie intake this week with all of the events that I attended (Two fancy event dinners and Valentine's Day). Since the exercise part of JalopyJosh is doing well, I need to have a renewed vision to lower my current weight. I think I would be a MUCH better runner when I am back at my weight goal, so here's my personal plan to get back on track:

1. Revisit the habits that I learned during my previous weight loss efforts.
2. Plan a goal of 5 lbs. weight loss per month over the next 6 months.
3. If I am not close to reaching these goals within the first few months, I will pay the money and go back to my previous weight loss method until I am where I need to be.

Since everything within the exercise and diet part of my life will be publicly available, I'll start blogging about the C25K as well as the weight loss progress starting on March 1st. In the next few weeks, I will test out some food plans and methods that will help me get the weight down and we'll see how this works!

C25K - W5D3 - I'm pretty proud of myself!

This is what I did when I hit the 20 minute mark of Week 5 . This run was exciting and exhausting at the same time, and I am very proud that I was able to do it. I still feel like I am a lazy person, but at least I am a lazy person that does at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 days a a week!

The run was amazing, with perfect weather and no dogs in sight! I was pretty tired after the first 5 minutes, but I was somehow able to drive through the next 15 with relative ease. I have to start bring my heart rate monitor with me so I can figure out how many calories I am burning amongst other interesting data.

I have to admit, I tried the C25K about 20 pounds ago and I didn't make it past Week 1. After completing Week 5 of the C25K today, I am a little upset with myself for quitting so soon. C25K is a great program for anyone to get off of their butt and get into exercise. With a little help from some MP3's, an MP3 player, and some good running shoes, I ran for 20 minutes today without a break. I didn't pay a dime for anything that I did not already own to do this exercise routine, so that makes me feel that almost anyone can do this. If you are just waiting for an opportunity to exercise, get off of your butt and do it yourself. You only have you to blame for being lazy... and I blame myself for that over the past few years.

Valentine's Day - Another tough day with food

There are many times when it becomes hard to stick to any diet or weight loss plan, and Valentine's Day is no exception. Whether you have a loved one or not, food and drinking seem to be a staple of the occasion.

While I had a reasonable breakfast and lunch to start the day right, my picnic with my loved one was a little rough. The truffles, wine, cheese and crackers, as well as subs were alright, but it was the ice cream shop afterwards that did us in. Ice cream is such a great treat in moderation, but it was probably overkill for the evening. It is hard to say no to something that tastes so good, even thought it gives you that "I am way too full and a little sick" feeling. Guess I am done eating for the rest of the day!

Tomorrow is the first 20 minute run of my life. I'm actually pretty excited to see if I can accomplish this run, so stay tuned for the results tomorrow!

C25K - W5D2 - It's a Beautiful Day

After completing day 2 of Week 5, I can hear U2 singing "It's a Beautiful Day" in the back of my mind. I ran in some great weather today and I loved it. I think morning runs will end up being like some people's coffee... it's a quick but natural pick me up that gets my day started right.

Other than 1 barking dog (at least it wasn't chasing me), it was a great run. The two 8 minute runs did not feel that hard, so I am ready for Friday! It took me a long time, but I am starting to enjoy running rather than dreading it. Let's see how I feel after my first 20 minute run!

C25K - Week 5 - Day 1 - Some ups and downs

Monday morning is my one time a week that I get on the scale and I did not like what I saw. This week will be rough with a lot of events that include eating, but I am going to do my best to eat well and still lose weight. I also want to start measuring myself to see if my measurements change with my new exercise plan. I'll have to start that soon as well.

The morning run was great, but I should have looked at the weather before I put on some new gear. It was so cold outside that I could barely feel my hand during my warm up. The good news is that I got through the routine without a hitch and I feel great this morning. Maybe my brief research on morning running was right!

I also encountered a first this morning, a loose dog on my route. It was during my third 5 minute run, but I was still able to out run the dog before the owner wrangled it in. It wasn't a big dog, but it sure was fast. Good to know I can still do a flat out run after a few miles of exercise.

When should you run?

I did a little research on this and the majority of my findings say that the morning is the best time to run. A lot of Yahoo! Answers information on the topic as well as doctors seem to agree. I'll look into this more as I get to bed to run in the morning.

C25K - W4D3 - 4 Weeks Complete!

When I started the C25K plan a month ago, I really did not think I could do it. I have tried it once before with a heart rate monitor and knowing when I should and should not run, but that was not working out for me. It wasn't until I found the C25K Podcasts that I was able to start running the C25K.

Today was the first day since Week 1 that I ran after work and I liked it. I had a lot more energy and stamina today as compared to my morning and lunch time runs. Whether my body is getting used to the routine or it is a better time of day to do the run is yet to be determined. I will do some research on this and post it during the weekend of downtime.

Mindless Eating... it's not just me!

One of my major issues with my weight is what I called mindless eating. After doing a Google search for the term, I found out that there is a book dedicated to this entire process. Mindless eating "shows how food psychology and the food environment influence what, how much, and when people eat." The NY Times chimed in 5 tips from "Mindless Eating" that is an interesting read as well.


I have my lunch break reading for the day!

C25K - W4D2 - This is just rough!

I did my run this morning and I was just not into it. I did my 2nd Week 4 run like I am supposed to, but it might be one of the first times I was not looking forward to it. They say that you should only move ahead in the program if you are comfortable with the schedule of that week, and this might be the first time I might not go onto the next week. I'll see what happens after my Friday run.

Breathe in, Breathe out
In the first few weeks of the C25K, I was out of breath very quickly, so I turned to the Internet for some advice. After going through a few websites, I found the 3:2 Breathing Technique that I use today. There are supposed to be some great advantages to it, but it does take my mind off of the running since I have to think about how I am going to breathe. To quote a great runner
"Breathe through your mouth. Breathe through your nose. Suck the air in through your ears, if you can." Arthur Lydiard.

C25K - W4D1 - A sweaty pace while stuffing my face

In the process of losing 85 pounds, I didn't do any type of major exercise. I walked a mile every so often, but it was a careful counting of calories from a well known program that helped me lose the weight. Now that I need to lose my 30, I'm trying to fix that.

Sweaty Pace
I started the C25K program 4 weeks ago and it's been amazing. I can now run at 3 minute increments without too much of an issue... I was sucking wind at 60 second runs only a few weeks ago. I run this Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so you will get updates after my runs so you can follow along if you wish.

Stuffing my face
So I get out of work eating my typical amount of food, and I come home to a great salad with tomatoes and a little blue cheese. I wasn't hungry, but these Honey Wheat Braided Pretzel Twist pretzels that were left over from the big game were sitting on the counter. I should have just returned them or thrown them out but I didn't. The bag met a slow death by being inhaled into my stomach.

After working my tail off and eating so well... why do I sabotage myself? This is a running theme with me, so knowing that this blog is out there might help me out in the future

C25K - The beginning

I lost 85 pounds in a year. I got married and went on 16 days of cruises. Ever since, I've gained about 30 of it back. Two years of ups and downs in 3 sentences... not too bad!

Whether you have been down this path before or you need to lose weight yourself, follow me on my journey as I fight my way back down to my weight goal. Along the way, I'll post some great links that might be useful to you if you want to join me in this trek.