Walk, Jog, Walk, Jog....Sweat!

In a recent post, I mentioned that I was doing a couch to 5K program.
In the comments, Lisa asked me a number of questions and said she
wanted to know all about it.  So Lisa, this one's for you.

I've been a regular exerciser for years.  Mostly, I'm a walker and that
seems to work pretty well.  I live in a beautiful place where walking
is a treat.  I am however a fair weather walker, so in the winter I use
my treadmill, which isn't as much fun, but works. Even though I
exercise regularly, you must understand I am not one of "those"
people who love to exercise.  I've never been athletic.  I hated PE
in school. I was always the last one chosen for the team.  I never earned
the President's Physical Fitness award.  You get the picture?
I exercise for three reasons, period...

1- It helps keep my blood sugar levels where they need to be.  It's
     part of the diabetic prescription.
2- It's therapeutic.  It helps clear out my head, gives me quiet time to
     think through problems and pray.  It makes me feel better and
     sleep better.
3- It allows me to eat more.  And eating is important to me :)

That's it.  That's why I exercise at least five days a week.  I've often
thought I would like to run a 5K, but, I don't like to exercise and in
my mind that's only for "those" people who do.  But lately, I've
been encouraged by Facebook friends who have been training and
succeeding in running 5K and even 10K.  Sheri told me where to
find the app and encouraged me by saying she couldn't run for more
than three minutes when she started and now she's training for a
10 K!   I decided it was time to give it a try, I mean, I'm not getting
any younger you know.  It's probably now or never.  I was ready for
the challenge.

Since I've been a walker for a long time, I probably should call it a
"walk to 5K program", but that doesn't sound nearly as cool.
These were the ground rules I set up for myself.
* I would take it slowly and wouldn't feel rushed to have to be
   ready to run a 5K at a certain time.  Working the training schedule
   is the main objective.  Running the 5K will come later.
* If I start having problems with my knees, ankles or lower back, I'm
   going straight back to walking.
* I need to find someone to do this with me.  I think it would be a lot
   more fun and I think I will need the motivation as time goes on.

Three days a week, I get on my treadmill with my iphone and headphones.
I'm using an app called Couch to 5K that I downloaded on my phone and
it tells me exactly when to walk and when to jog.  Lisa asked if I listened to
music when I worked out.   I could listen to music if I had taken the time
to figure out how to put some on my phone.  But I haven't, so I've been
reading on my Kindle.

This week I've been into the Hunger Games and haven't wanted to stop

when my time was up.  That's a sign of a really good book.

Next question was what kind of shoes do I wear.  So far, I haven't bought

running shoes and I'm still wearing my New Balance walking shoes. My

jogging isn't but a few clicks above a fast walk, so I figure I'm ok for now.

I would like recommendations on good running shoes though, since I've 

never bought any before.

So here's what the app looks like on my phone.

The program lasts for nine weeks and you are supposed to work out

three days a week for 20-25 minutes.  I usually walk an extra ten minutes

or so at the end, so I'm getting in at least 30 minutes in each workout. 

 I expect it will take me a good bit longer than nine weeks and I'm ok with

that.  On the off days, when I'm not doing this, I just walk and lift weights.

Week one of the program had me walking, with short amounts of 

jogging.  Piece of cake.

Week two, was still mostly walking, but I was adding more jogging.

I was feeling pretty good about things, because so far this wasn't

pushing me too far out of my comfort level.

Week three, was when I started noticing they were upping my 

jog time and I was walking less. This is when I started paying

close attention to my knees and listening for them to tell me it

was okay that I was doing this to them.  

Each day when I make it to the end of the workout, I hear, "Well done." 

and I get my little medal lit up on the phone.  You wouldn't believe how

happy I am to hear those silly computerized words.

Week four has been a turning point for me.  Now, I'm jogging more

than I'm walking.  Just when I think I can't do it anymore, I get to walk

for a few minutes.  That is the shortest two minutes ever, and then I'm

back to jogging again.  Because this week has been so much harder, I 

decided to do it twice instead of moving on.  

Now I'm a Chief!  And I'm feeling pretty good about it.  It's getting

hard and I'm surprised how good it feels to do something hard.  I dread

 it when I start, but I feel so empowered when I hear those words,

"well done."

And I think, oh, my gosh,  I made it through another workout.  My face 

is bright red, the sweat is dripping off the end of my nose and I can

hardly breath....but I did it!

Lisa asks, "do you hate it as much as I do, and then love it when it's over?"

I'm beginning to understand what she means by that.  Somedays I can think

of a million excuses not to get on that treadmill, but when I'm finished, it

feels good! My body feels good.  I hope I can stick with it and make it to the 

end of the program. It would be such an accomplishment to actually run

 in a 5K.  Understand, I use the word "run" very loosely, because I'm not 

sure I will ever do more than a slow jog.

So, who wants to do this with me?

*MYOF Goal #16 - Exercise 5 days a week for 50 minutes.