Week Six, Day One

Done!  Today’s workout was not the best.  I updated my playlist last night and it malfunctioned two minutes into my warm up. Ugh!  I’m not sure if it was the new playlist or the app.  I really don’t like working out without music but I didn’t want to stop to fiddling with it.  I didn’t wear my HRM so I didn’t have my watch so I moved my iTouch to a position where I could look at the time.  Luckily the voice prompts were still working so all I had to do is focus on my workout.  Ugh! Listening to myself huff and puff was not a good thing for me mentally.  I did my best to take my mind off my breathing and say mantras and affirmations to get me through.  I also thought about that first Saturday when I could barely make it through those 60-seconds runs and here I was running for nine minutes.  It worked!  I completed both 9-minute runs feeling like I could go a bit longer!  Monday I will be running for 20 minutes straight.  I really need to work on making sure my music plays correctly. 

C25K Training: Week Four, Day Three: Push It

Oops! I forgot to blog about my training yesterday.  I guess I was so happy and excited I completed Week Four that writing about it escaped me.  So yesterday morning I was anxious to get Week Four, Day 3 over and done with.  I was feeling very confident about the workout so I decided I’d push myself a bit during the runs.  Lol!  Big mistake!  After my first run, I was so winded I could barely breathe.  I was so worried I would have the stamina to complete the 6-min run but I was able to get it done.  I was still feeling a bit good when I heard my 2-min prompt that I pushed it a little bit.  I did the same during my last run.

Well, today my legs are a little sore.  I’m stretching, icing, and hydrating.  I’m so happy that I’ve made it this far and looking forward to Week Five!  I’m doing my best to prepare myself mentally because I’m learning that as long as I eat right, stretch, ice my knee, and get some rest, I am able to complete the runs.  I am very grateful to Spirit for this!

C25K Training: Week Two, Day Three

I did it!  My goal today was to finish all the runs strong and to have fun.  I did both!  I even picked up my pace a bit on the last run.  I'm gaining confidence and stamina.

The biggest lesson I learned this week is not being afraid to push myself.  I start to panic when my breathing gets too heavy.  I'm reminding myself that as long as I'm still breathing I'm fine.  I also make sure I'm not getting too tense in my shoulders.  I have a tendency to do this and start holding my head down.  I make sure I'm maintaining correct form and think of a mantra, quote, or scripture to get me through.  It worked.  Before I knew it my workout was complete.

Oh, and I found out I'm actually completing about 3.4 miles these mornings.  I continue walking after my cool down. My guessimate was 2 miles.  So, my goal will be running the entire course, nonstop, once I complete the Couch to 5K. 

I really nervous about starting Week Three on Saturday.

C25K: Week One, Day Three

Yay! Completed all my runs today! I made it up that little incline today! Praise God! Now, I’m tired. Lol! I still think it’s best for me to do my C25K training in the mornings.  It’s barely 7 am and it’s starting to warm up.  It’s nice and cool at 5:30 am.  Today, there was also a nice breeze…probably due to a tropical storm in Florida.  Also, the traffic in my neighborhood starts up about 6:15 just when I’m wrapping up so I need to make sure I’m out of that mess.  I’m sticking with my plan to complete the C25K workout and then walk.  So my C25K workout lasts about an hour.  I also need to remember to wear my HRM so I know how many calories I'm burning. This evening I’ll do 30 minutes cycling to keep my knee nice and strong.

Today I really paid attention to my breathing and form.  I need to remember to breathe from my belly and keep my head up. 

Tomorrow it’s back on the Elliptical.  I decided that instead of increasing the time I’m going to increase the resistance.

Week Two, Day Three

I feel good! I can’t believe I just finished Week Two, Day Three.


I just kept telling myself that I had done it two times before and that I could do it again. Today’s workout certainly wasn’t like I experienced during the last workout of Week One. Today’s workout was just as hard as it was the previous time. It did help knowing that I was capable of finishing.

I did my best to focus on my breathing. I know I need a lot of work in this area. I have a tendency to either hold my breath or breathe too shallow when I push myself. I need to learn how to relax and know that I can (and will) get through any workout.

Week Two Wrap Up

Today was I scheduled to walk 30 mins. I was so nervous about it. Again, I was allowing my mind to get me so worked up about it. Am I going to be able to walk that long? Why did you start this crazy venture?

It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning. I have to walk 30 minutes today. I had to yell at myself to quit worrying about it Are you ready to go out walking now? No! Then, shut up about it, I told my mind.

After a very cold week, the weather was beautiful. I decided to go walking along "the professional path" as I call it. It's a path where people walk, jog, and cycle. I like it because there are quarter mile markers along the way. I was nervous. 30 minutes is the longest duration I've had to walk since beginning my training. I had a little trouble during the last 10 minutes. My hands starting getting cold, and my lower back started to spasm a bit. I was so tempted to stop. I refused to let my mind tell me my body couldn't to it. I ignored all that fear and kept on walking. I focused on my breathing and my stride and completed my session like a champ. I walked a little over 1.25 miles! I couldn't believe it.

I stood along the river for a while and stretched and gave thanks. Then, I went to my favorite little spot, meditated and watched the ducks for a while. It was a beautiful ending to a rather stressful week.

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I attended a nutrition class this morning. A lot of the stuff I already knew. For the most part, I am disappointed in the class. I like what she said about being in tune with your body, listening to your body, and asking it what it needs.

Too Blessed to be Stressed

What a day, what a day, what a day! I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I'm doing well, keep up the weight loss, reduced dosage on one of my meds (yippee!), see you in four months instead of three (yippee!). I shared my 5k goal. She was impressed and said it's ambitious. I left her office with the Compliant Patient of the Month Award. Well, see what my blood work looks like in a couple of days.

Today's walk was the most challenging so far. 24 minutes. It was cold. I really didn't eat right today. For breakfast I had oatmeal and grapes. For lunch I had popcorn and a Full Throttle. I just have a ton of things on my mind. Excuses, excuses, excuses. It really doesn't matter what's going on. I need to take care of myself. I will take care of myself. How many times do I have to say this??? I'm annoyed that I'm annoyed. Lol! No matter what, I am determined to stick with my training plan. Period.

So, I went out about 6:00 pm. I walked farther than I've ever walked. Again, my mind started playing tricks on me. I felt like I was walking too far. Even though I set my timer to go off at the halfway mark, I looked at it to make sure it was working. This is when I started to falter. My legs started getting heavy, my back a little stiff, my face cold, my nose started running, and my breathing was erratic. I was doing fine until then. I focused on my feet, started swinging my arms, and listened to the lyrics blasting from my headphones--Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back. There you go, Sheila! I got my breathing under control and finished my walk triumph. I'm so proud of myself! I came in the house and did a little victory dance.