Fitness On Friday: It was not a fluke! I ran the whole 5K again!

Woo hoo! Wednesday was not a fluke! I ran the entire 5K again this morning. I felt good the whole way through.

I want to thank people for their words of caution, but I really do not think I am moving too fast with this. All along, I have been working out for 45 minutes plus a 5 minute cool down.

I feel like I am looking down the barrel of a shot gun with my first 5K only 2 weeks away. I am going to run outside next week Thursday. If it is a lot harder than the treadmill, all of the rest of my runs will be outside until the race.

16 days until my first 5K!!

I Ran the WHOLE 5K!

Yippee! Yahoo!!

I went to the gym this morning fully expecting to have a difficult time running 25 minutes.

• I walked for 5 minutes,
  
• ran for 20 minutes and thought "Yippee! Only 5 minutes left!",
  
• asked myself why I wanted to stop,
  
• decided that I felt good enough to run 28 minutes,
  
• thought to myself, "I am not hurting so I will just see how far I can go" and
  
• ended up running for 40 minutes (when the treadmill automatically slowed down for the cool down),
  
• and walked for the 5 minute cool down!

I ran for 40 minutes and it did not kill me!!! I went for almost 4 miles. Woo hoo!

I CAN do this thing!

Week 6 - 5K Training - Day 2!

After having skipped Good Friday's workout, I was ready to run again yesterday. Unfortunately, I was asked to babysit Monday morning. I did end up working out at home though. Again, it was tough and I don't think it should have been.

I walked for (5 minutes and ran for 10 minutes) for 45 minutes.

It might have been more difficult because I ran right after supper. Also, my treadmill at home has a built in 1.5% incline.

Any which way, I did it and it is done!

Meme Fun!

Happy Blogger Chick has tagged me for a meme!

The meme asks me to write my six word memoir.

After thinking all day, this is what I have come up with:

She is her own person after-all.

I was born a people pleaser. And in my heart of hearts I am still a people pleaser. I used to think that doing things to make others happy was my calling. However, that does not always lead to my own happiness. Yes, I still take care of my family and friends. But I am starting to take care of myself too.

This whole running thing is a prime example. I have always known that I have it in me to be a runner. Listening to other people has made me stop in the past. But I feel SO good that I have accomplished what I have accomplished so far, as modest as my accomplishments may be.

I am having fun! And I am planning to do more things like this!

I am tagging the following people:

Danielle from Run Dani Run, Natalie from Bye Bye Fat Mom, and Aaron from Aaron Runs Again.

:) DLNY

Week 6 - 5K Training - Day 1!

My sister and I headed to the gym again with the boys this morning. They played nicely in the play room while my sister and I worked out.

Today I walked for 5 minutes (ran for 5 minutes, walked for 3 minutes, ran for 8 minutes, walked for 3 minutes) for 45 minutes!

It actually seemed more difficult that running for 20 minutes straight. But I did it! I feel pretty good about today. We also got a pass to bring everyone back on Friday for some swimming fun. I really do like this gym!

Week 5 - 5K Training Day 3!

I did it!

I actually ran for 20 minutes straight! Woo hoo!!! Best of all, my sister was there with me to witness it. She is in town from Iowa with my nephew so we hauled all three boys to the gym (Princess went back to school today after Spring Break).

I walked for 5 minutes, ran for 20 minutes!!!, walked for 5 minutes, ran for 10 minutes, and walked for 10 minutes for a total of 50 minutes.

I almost skipped straight to week 6 and I am so glad that I didn't. We will go on Wednesday and Friday too. I am going to run 25 minutes on Friday and either Day 1 or Day 2 of Week 6 on Wednesday.

I am seriously just tickled that

A) we went at all because this is vacation for my sister, and
B) I RAN FOR 20 MINUTES WITHOUT STOPPING!!!!!

5K Date: April 13th!

I think it was a mental thing.

People kept asking me when my 5K was and I could not remember. I didn't even dig though my many, many emails to find my registration receipt.

I think I needed to believe that I could do this before I told people.

April 13th is the day! Yikes! That is only 29 days from now!!!!

Panic, panic, panic. My sister and her family are coming into town this week. I have plans to run while they are here though and my sister will support this. She just completed a Boot Camp exercise program. I just need to stick with it!

(Please, everyone stay healthy so Mommy can run!)

Sidebar update!

I have updated my sidebar to include information about how to train for a 10K!

Believe it or not, as I approach the completion of the Couch to 5K program, I am feeling a little sad.

I know, I am only half way through, but still!

So I did a little googling this afternoon and found a couple of sites!

:)

Just Keep Swimming

I could not resist adding this to my blog! I know this will run through my mind on my upcoming 20 minute run!

Week 5 - 5K Training Day 2! (Just keep Swimming!)

Skipping ahead does not to appear to have hurt me! Yippee!!

Today I (walked for 5 minutes/ran for 8 minutes) for 50 minutes!! I ran for 8 minutes without stopping 3 times!

I was really surprised that I was able to do this. I have come a long way from week one when I was out of breath running for even a minute. There were times that I wanted to stop during the 8 minute runs but I did a little self evaluation and asked myself "Why?" Was I hurting somewhere? Nope! Was I breathing too hard? Nope? So I just kept running. (Like in Finding Nemo: Just keep swimming swimming swimming!)

My 6 1/2 year old is a runner. She LOVES to run. One of the best things about her school in my opinion is that they have a 1/3 mile track that goes around the playground. Before the kids get to play at recess, they have to run the track once, twice, or three times depending on their grade level (and behavior!). It has to help the teachers for the kids to burn some energy, and I know it is good for the kids!

Anyway, Princess was with the boys and me at the gym again because of Spring Break, and I really wanted to tell her that I was able to run for my 8 minutes without stopping. When I told her she ran to me and gave me a big hug.

Maybe someday I will be as good a runner as she is!

Week 5 - 5K Training Day 1!

In an attempt to catch up after missing two workouts last week, I skipped ahead a bit.

Today I did Week 5 Day 1

I walked for 5 minutes (ran for 5 minutes, walked for 3 minutes) for 45 minutes with a 5 minute cool down AND IT DIDN'T KILL ME! I will attempt Week 5 Day 2 on Friday. This one includes 8 minute runs. It seems daunting....

It was good to get to the gym. I took all three of my kiddos again and we went swimming afterwards. It feels really good to get into the cool pool after running! The kids were great!

Week 4 - 5K Training - Day 2 - take 2!

Well last week was a bit of a bust for me as far as running goes. But what can you do?

This is a new week and I am back on track!

This is Spring Break week for us, so I took all three kids to the gym this morning and they were really, really good! We got there around 10:00. I got my run in: walk 5 minutes, (run 3 minutes/walk 1.5 minutes; run 5 minutes/walk 2.5 minutes) twice. Who hoo! It seemed even easier than last Monday when I did this the first time. I am going to do this work out one more time on Wednesday and then on Friday, I am going to go to the next week's workout.

After running, I took the kids to the indoor pool at the gym and they had so much fun. I probably let us stay there a bit too long because we didn't get to eat lunch until 1:30. They are now all napping. Swimming wears them out - so we all got exercise today!

Happy Running!

Week 4 - 5K Training - Day 2!

I have been sidelined by sickness. Not mine, my kids'. I was supposed to run yesterday but I could not get to the gym because my boys were not feeling well. Due to a busy schedule, I could not work out last night. Tonight does not look good either because the kids have their basketball award ceremony tonight. I want them to go if everyone is healthy enough. My poor little 4 1/2 year old (the Prince) had a temperature of 102.7 yesterday. His temperature is better today (100.7) but it is still a temperature so I am not sending him to pre-school. I cannot work out at lunch when DadOf3 is home because I have to run to the church to make copies of the newsletter I write once a month for MOPS.

I re-read this and it all sounds like excuses. Truth be told I am really bummed. I am hoping to get to run on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Maybe I will try running outside after hearing from Pam that running outside is very invigorating and more challenging than on the treadmill.

I really do not want to have to repeat this week. I am going to set a new goal:

Run Friday night at home and run outside (or treadmill) Saturday afternoon.

Week 4 - 5K Training - Day 1! (Plan B - Done!)

Man! This was a tough workout for me. I did it though:

Walk for 5 minutes to warm up.

(Run for 3 minutes/Walk for 1.5 minutes, Run for 5 minutes/Walk for 2.5 minutes) repeat for 45 minutes.

There are too many variables to know exactly why this one was so hard.

1. It was a tough workout. I had to run 5 minutes several times without stopping. It was hard but I did it!
   
2. I worked out on my treadmill at home instead of at the gym.
3. I worked out at night instead of in the morning.
4. I worked out right after supper.
5. I was in a small room with no airflow.
   

Suffice it to say, I like running at the gym better than at home right now. This may change later. I need to practice running outside sometime too. I have heard that it is definitely different than running on the treadmill. Runners: do you think it is harder to run outside?

I am so glad that I got this workout in! DadOf3 helped me so much! He took the Princess, the Prince, and the Knight on an errand. They are looking for a moon bolt to put up the bunk beds we bought at Princess's school's Silent Auction on Saturday. That seems to be the only missing piece. They should be home by now. DadOf3 is a good shopper though. He likes to look and look before he buys. :)

Week 4 - 5K Training - Day 1! (Plan B)

I knew it would happen again, and it did.

Sickness has sidelined my ability to go to the gym.

My 4 1/2 year old and 3 year old boys are both sick. My 3 year old was up all night on Friday coughing, and my 4 1/2 year old got it yesterday. I don't want to spread the germs to the other kids in the gym (although I am quite sure that is where my boys picked this up!) so we are not going to go. Plus, I want a nice, easy day for them to get better.

I do however have a Plan B. It requires DadOf3 to help me though. I have a treadmill upstairs. It is a good one that I bought many years ago (8) when we were still living in Iowa. I have never run on it but I used to walk on it all the time. A few could of weeks ago, I spent several hours cleaning that room and freeing the treadmill. That is paying off today!

So, I will either run when DadOf3 is home for lunch or tonight after supper.

This is a big week. When I get to run, this is what I will be doing:

Walk for 5 minutes to warm up.

(Run for 3 minutes/Walk for 1.5 minutes, Run for 5 minutes/Walk for 2.5 minutes) repeat for 45 minutes.