Couch to 5k, Part Deux

I started the Couch to 5k program on Monday. Again. I should have written about this on Monday, but in all fairness to me, the last time I did a day of the C25k program was ten months ago. Since I did it again today, clearly, this is going to stick. And I shall tell you all about it, lucky reader(s).

Here are some tools that I use to make this more fun.

• The Nike+ website. That’s a link to my history. Don’t worry, it’s not showing off. I don’t even have Lance Armstrong telling me how great I am. Yet. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this site, when you do exceptional things, different runners/athletes whisper sweet nothings in your ear. I’m looking forward to that happening. Soon.
• The Nike+ sensor. I just have the sensor in a pouch attached with velcro around my laces. You don’t need to wear Nike shoes to use the sensor.
• I use this iPhone app, C25K to tell me when to walk, run, walk, run, etc. I got some recommendations from friends, and most said to use this particular app. It’s changed a lot since I first purchased it, all for the better. You can load playlists into it, journal your mood, the weather, etc. I like it.

The way that C25k works is that you start off by walking/warming up. Then you go to 60 seconds of running, 90 seconds of walking, and continue doing that for 31 minutes. Then as you progress through the program the walking gets shorter and the running gets longer. On Monday, my week 1 day 1, I couldn’t even make it through the first 60 seconds of running. After doing about 35 seconds of it, I switched back to walking. I was feeling okay about that, knew that I would just continue to do week 1 day 1 until I could complete it as planned. Then the following song started playing: Click here to see it (edited for audience). Well, that just made me laugh out loud. And I thought, really, what was I thinking? I can do this. It might take me longer than other people, but I can do this.

So I did. Ended up just running two minutes total on Monday, but that’s okay. It’s two minutes more than I ran on Sunday.

Yesterday I could barely walk. My shins were making their presence known, and not in a nice way. Ends up I should have switched to my new sneakers on Monday. I just didn’t want to start using the last pair of sneakers that I had. I fell in love with a particular style/model two summers ago, and have been hoarding a spare pair. Don’t worry, this is my second spare pair. I haven’t been wearing the same sneakers for two years. And when I wear sneakers on the treadmill, I do not ever wear them on the street. So now I will rotate pair number two into street wear and pair number one will be donated.

I’m still in a lot of pain today, but knew that if I didn’t get on the treadmill today, I’d have to do it tomorrow. That’s always great incentive for me. So I laced up the new pair of shoes and did week 1 day 1 all over again. This time, I RAN FOR ALL NINE MINUTES!!! I wasn’t breaking any land speed records, but I ran. I ran, I ran, I ran! I kept thinking “you don’t have to run the first time it tells you to, you can ease into it.” Then I realized that I was talking myself out of it when I should have been talking myself into it; so I did.

I’m very proud of myself. I didn’t run or walk as fast as I did on Monday, but I completed it, as designed, and that means I can move on to day 2 on Friday!

Oh, and just so you know… the incentive for all of this? I start Boot Camp on May 2nd.