Week 3 of 23: Sunday

Max Speed: 4.4 mph
Ave Speed: 2.9 mph
Time: 26.31 minutes
Distance: 1.299 miles.

I haven't been able to post as my schedule has been tossed upside down. I have been running however, so I'm playing catch up with the posts.

So today I ran in my fiance's home town. She lives off of a dirt road with ginormous hills. It was a very challenging run. I did it, but not without dying several small deaths. So as you can see with the bolded number above I didn't get very far.

Oh! did I mention that it was freezing with snow on the ground? I wouldn't want to forget that :).

Week 3 of 23: Friday

Max Speed: 6.2 mph
Ave Speed: 3.7 mph
Time: 26 minutes
Distance: 1.591 miles.

today it snowed again. Michigan... brr. I picked a park near my house I've never visited before and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It was more hilly than I expected, and it killed my knee, but man it was fun. I am really enjoying running.

The bolded items above were things that I improved upon... woot!!

If you are thinking about running, do it! I can't encourage you enough.

Week 3 of 23: Thursday

Max Speed: 4.0 mph
Ave Speed: 3.5 mph
Time: 25 minutes
Distance: 1.48 miles.

So today it was snowing where I am. I didn't have anything warm to wear outside (just t-shirt and shorts) so I ran on the companies treadmill. You will notice two things... first, I managed a slightly higher average speed... and second, I only did 25 minutes.

They are both related I think. Since I didn't run as long I was able to run a bit faster. I could have done more, but I'm trying to be faithful to the program. it asked for 25 minutes, so that's what it got.

Anyway, I feel great and I think my knee has been getting a bit better.

Week 3 of 23: Wednesday

Today is a rest day, woot!

I got access to a trainer on line. It's through POLAR and the site is quite nice. And I also picked a race date to work for. It's nine weeks hence in June. The training software online is nice, and I plan on using it as a loose guide from now on. It expects someone of a slightly better fitness level than I currently am, but it's close enough where I can use it. I will just not run at the pace it dictates and make duration of run my primary goal.

That means I will be working out predetermined times instead of my standard 35 minutes. For example, for the first couple of weeks it wants me to run 25 minutes. I'm worried this is a step backwards, but I'm sure my knees will thank me.

If you've been reading this regularly then you may be picking up on the fact that I am into the technology side of things. It's true, I can't deny it. However you must know that I need all the help I can get in the motivation department, and spending some brain cells on the science behind running keeps me interested in running.

It's almost as if I'm a rat in my own experiment... "can a late 20 something who likes to eat too much change his lifestyle, his habits, and his body to become a runner?"
Well, we will have to see about that. Prognosis looks good.

Week 3 of 23: Tuesday

Max Speed: 8.4 mph
Ave Speed: 3.3 mph
Time: 35 minutes
Distance: 1.92 miles.

Today I succeeded in running for 53 minutes. But I was running SLOW (you will notice the slower ave. speed above). Man I can't believe how slow it was. There was a guy who almost lapped me, while walking. I'm still going to take my little trophies where I can get them though. I have to admit that it feels good to succeed at a goal, even if the goal is minuscule compared to an old guy walking. :)

I love the progress I'm showing, but I'm frustrated by the lack of progress in my muscles... The reason I ran so slow today was because my back/calves/feet hurt. My heart rate was never too high, but my muscles couldn't keep up. I'm hoping that with a bit of diligence my muscles will be able to keep up with the rest of me.

I also tested my resting heart rate today and it was 75. That is way too high I think. I guess my cardiovascular system is just not where I wish it was. But what do you expect with someone who's been overweight for a couple of years?

Keep up the running! It's awesome.

Week 3 of 23: Monday

So today I started with my new workout format. I picked a local park near a river and drove out there at lunch. I was just able to fit a 30 minute workout with 10 minute cool down.
The big news is that I was able to "run" the whole 30 minutes. Now I did slow way down to recoup energy, and in fact most of the time I was going so slow snails could have caught up to me. I did keep up the running form, and I think that is important. The body moves differently when it runs than when it walks.

Max Speed: 8 mph
Ave Speed: 3.7 mph
Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 1.84 miles.

You will notice that my distance went way down. Before I was counting warm up and cool down. Today (and probably in the future) I will only be using the data for the workout portion. I think it's a better reflection of what I'm doing.

I'm proud of what I did today, and the park was really very pretty. It was fun.

Week 3 of 23

You may have noticed a lack of posts the last couple of days. It was my birthday and I was on vacation. I ran during the break, but I did miss Sunday.

I showed steady improvements and for my birthday my loved ones got me a heart rate monitor watch. It's amazing. Using the watch I changed things up (yet again) and started to run outside more.

I'm not planning on keeping my pace the way it was on the treadmill as I don't think I can honestly perform as well. Concrete is so much harder than the treadmill, and I want to do this without injury.

So my goals this week is to improve endurance and work my muscles into getting used to the road.