Life in the Cheese Drawer

dear jane, who is contemplating doing couch to 5k,
i hate running. i really do.
when i started c25k, i thought, hey, it’ll be easy. they’ve set up the program to make it easy, so it will be easy. what on earth could possibly go wrong, right?
right…
when i started, it wasn’t that bad. i think i started at the third week because i knew i could do the first two easily. so off i went in my old new balance sneakers, trotting away for an eighth mile walk, run, walk, run, walk. not too bad.
oh, but it got worse. my knees started wigging out on me. my left thigh muscles spasmed occasionally. my hip muscle was pulled at one point. i wrapped my knees, bought better shoes, and kept plugging away. thankfully, shin splints never set in and my ankles were fine (i sprained one in high school).
at about week 5, I was gasping for breath after my run/walks and ready to pass out on the cool-down mat. i redid weeks 5 and 6. i ended up doing week 6.1 and 6.2 because i couldn’t quite do week 7 (2.5 miles nonstop). i was doing a mile, walk 1/8, a mile, walk 1/8, a mile for a couple weeks. i thought i would be doing that forever.

how i felt at week 5
then one day, i just did it. ran the whole shebang and didn’t even think about it beforehand. and it wasn’t bad. but i didn’t enjoy it. i was still gasping and wheezing for breath at the end, but i had done it, and that was my goal.
but i kept doing it. about a month ago, i started running outside all the time, and maybe 2 weeks ago, i enjoyed a run for the very first time. 3.5 miles, very little wind, maybe 68 degrees outside, 8 p.m. perfect. but the perfect run isn’t what really kept me going. it was the new calf muscles that popped when i flexed. the trim(mer) ankles. my thinner, toned thighs, not to mention some overall weight loss, that was really what motivated me to keep running. walking would not do this for me.
so i guess i’ll keep going. when it’s gross out, i don’t really enjoy running. when it’s nice out, it’s tolerable to enjoyable. but it took a while to get here.
and that, jane, is how you do c25k. it’s hard, but you just power through and do it because, well, you can.

OMG it is so windy!!! i wish it would stop so i can run once in a while. when i start running in the evenings again (woohoo!) it should be less windy then. until then, running in the wind is it. boo.

when my hours changed from a lovely noon-8pm to a gawdawful 3-11 pm shift, i had to adjust my c25k schedule. actually, at that point, i was already to the 5k, but still i had to make a shift so i could get a run in since st. ben’s (where i run on the track) closes at midnight. i shifted to running in my mornings (early afternoon to y’all).
the first day i ran in the morning, i didn’t eat breakfast, and i barely made it a mile. the first time i ran outside in the morning, i once again barely made it a mile. ugh. i chalked it up to the elements and make sure i eat breakfast.
but every morning i tie on my runnin’ shoes, i dread it. i’m huffing and puffing after one block and sweat drips down my forehead in torrents after a mile and a half. by the time i roll around to my driveway, i’m tripping over my shoes and ready to fall flat on the lawn.
meanwhile, every sunday night i go to st ben’s to run on the track and lift weights, and it is the most enjoyable thing ever to run. tonight i ran about 4 miles and could have gone more if i hadn’t gotten a stitch in my side. i can truly say when i run in the evening/night, i kind of enjoy running.
so i did a little research.
turns out, eveningtime is the time when your body is at its physical best (of course). your lung capacity is at its peak, you’ve got a day’s worth of fuel in you, your muscles have been warmed up, etc. etc. evenings are the best time for optimal performance when running.
which brings up two things, one general and one personal:
general: why are marathons held at the buttcrack of dawn? shouldn’t they be held at the buttcrack of evening if they want the best performance from people?
personal: do i quit running in my mornings and start running when i get home? that means running at midnight. can of mace in one hand, knife in the other? personal safety versus an enjoyable run? hmmm.

i’m doing couch to 5k, and i’m on week five:
warmup
run 1/2 mile
walk 1/4 mile
run 1/2 mile
walk 1/4 mile
run 1/2 mile
i did this last week, and this week i’m doing it again since i’m not quite ready to leave it. so i sped it up and shaved 2 minutes off my half mile run (going from a 16-minute mile to a 12-minute mile).
so far, c25k has been relatively good at the intervals you change your running time. but i’m not looking forward to week seven. week six is this:
run 1/2 mile
walk 1/4 mile
run 3/4 mile
walk 1/4 mile
run 1/2 mile
a reasonable interval after what i’m doing. but the week after that?  RUN 2.5 MILES. WHAT??? how do we go from 1.75 miles with walking intervals to 2.5 miles nonstop??  i think i might need to stick in a 6.3 and 6.7 in there.