C25K: Week 4 & 5

I can officially call myself a "runner," or at least that's what my C25K app tells me ;)

I finished my longest run I've had to date on Saturday, wrapping up C25K Weeks 4 & 5, and I can also say that I've ran my first solid mile, one thing I've never done in my life (and I went a mile and a half to boot)!

Looking back, I still can't believe I've made it this far, honestly. You can read previous blog entries, however I can seriously say that I've never been able to call myself a runner. It's fun (and it still doesn't suck)! It's given me a HUGE confidence boost, even if the dreaded number on the scale isn't budging. Stupid plateaus. (I can, however, see my legs leaning out, and my size 12 pants are barely held up by my hips. Clearly something is progressing, even if the number isn't.)

Week 4 really wasn't too bad, but it did bring me longer runs that I've had before. Week 4 consisted of warming up and cooling down with a 5 minute brisk walk, running for 3 minutes, walking for 1.5 minutes, running for 5 minutes (my longest at the time), and then walking for 2.5 minutes, repeating the cycle once more after.

My Week 4 times stayed average, with the following per-minute mile times below:
Run 1: 13:39 min/mi, average speed 4.40 mph; total distance 2.49 miles
Run 2: 13:04 min/mi, average speed 4.59 mph; total distance 2.66 miles
Run 3: 13:19 min/mi, average speed 4.50 mph; total distance 2.53 miles

Considering I started Week1, run 1 at 15:06 min/mi, average speed 3.97, with a total distance of 2.18 miles, I'll take it.

Week 5 started my "diverse" runs, as I had a different interval rates walking and running for each separate run.

Week 5, run 1 consisted of warming up, running for 5 minutes, and walking for 3 minutes between each 5 minute run, repeated 3 times, then cooling down. I was able to keep an average pace of 13:00 min/mi, improving upon previous times by a few seconds, and also going further at a total covered distance of 3.09 miles (due to an app pause, but hey, I still felt great, and it was my first 5k distance-wise)!

Week 5, run 2 consisted of warming up, running 8 minutes, walking 5 minutes, then running another 8 minutes, before cooling down. For me, this had been a difficult run, I think mostly because I had psyched myself out before it, but when the heat tends to kick on in Indiana for the summer, so does humidity. It really challenged my muscles and breathing, but I was able to complete it without stopping. The first 8 minute segment actually wasn't too bad, and I remember thinking, "Wow! Really? That's all?" The second 8 minute segment I wasn't as lucky, as with 4 minutes left I remember yelling a choice curse word or two... ;) Week 5, run 2 was completed with an average pace of 13:09 min/mi, average speed 4.57 mph, and I covered 2.40 miles.

Week 5, run 3 brought about the, "Aw, hell naw," type comment the day before, as I slightly freaked.

"You want me to do WHAT?! Run for 20 minutes? In this heat?! Ha, yeeeeeeaaaahhhhh.... Not happening, sister."

Well, guess what? I pretty much went beast-mode, running early in the morning before it got too hot and after hydrating some, completing not only 1, but 2 sub-12 minute miles! Saturday's run consisted of warming up for 5 minutes, running for 20, then cooling down for another 5. I was able to complete the run with an average pace of 12:07 (that's not a typo, folks) min/mi, average speed 4.95 mph, and covering a distance of 2.48 miles.

Here's my proof:

I can honestly say I am looking forward to running Week 6, as now I start to shift my focus on distance covered, building up to 3.1 miles/5k. Week 6 runs are diverse, just like week 5, with tomorrow night's run consisting of warming up, running for 5 minutes, walking for 3, running for 8, walking for 3, then running for 5 before cooling down.

I will also be completing my first-ever "official" timed 5k this Saturday. It's a scheduled run, as per my previous blog of jumping the gun a bit, and I plan to just run my run like normal, with warming up for 5 minutes, running for 25, and cooling down for 5. I will run more if I feel like it, but we will see how it goes. It is supposed to be hot, but also first thing in the morning in a shaded park, so I should be good (minus the hills). I will have a race recap later this weekend!

I can definitely say after Saturday's run: A) it's starting to actually click, and B) I can take on almost anything I set my mind to!

Happy running, folks! :)