when you do the math you’ll realize how impressive this really is
I just did the first day of Week 3 of Couch to 5k. Boy that’s an awkward sentence. The first two weeks place upon you very reasonable demands. You start off running 60 second intervals, and during Week 2 you increase that to 90 seconds. Completely fair. Surely then, Week 3 would involve 2 minute intervals? No, the cruel, unfeeling bastards demand a full 3 minute run from you. To assuage the pain a smidgen, they alternate it with a 90 second run, but that is cold comfort for the likes of me.
I am not a runner. I hate running. Always have. I will not invite ridicule by telling you at which point in this exercise plan it officially became the longest I have ever stuck to a running schedule, but let’s just say it was in the first week. The Boyfriend used to run cross country. He no longer can because his knees don’t work (not a hearty recommendation for his lifestyle, by the way) but he still has dreams about running several times a week and relates them to me wistfully in the morning. When I have a dream where I run the entire time, it’s called a nightmare and I awake filled with feelings of dread and horror. So I have to say that having just successfully finished my seventh Couch to 5k run, I am feeling mighty proud of myself.
The key to this weeks’ runs are that there are only 4 runs total. One 90 second run, followed by a walk, then a 3 minute run and then another walk. Then you repeat. The 90 second runs were easy because I had done them last week, so I really just had to concern myself with two runs. Back in Week 1 I realized that in 60 seconds I cover about one block. By the way, the area where I live, a single block runs about a quarter-mile. My mother is a cartographer and my father is a surveyor. I wouldn’t lie about something like that. So during both of my 3 minute runs, I simply counted off the blocks as I waited for my iPod to inform that I could stop running. Since there were only two runs I was worried about, it wasn’t too hard to convince myself to keep running until the end. This plan may actually work.
Congratulations Couch to 5k. I still hate running, but a little bit less now.
Full feed
Congrats! I just finished Week 1 this morning; you were right about it actually being easier the third day, but I think I may wuss out and run Week 1 for one more day before starting Week 2. I don’t want to get out of sick with my 100 pushups though, so in fairness, I will repeat Day 3 again on Thursday as well.
Yeah. That’s the reason. Not that I sucked hardcore this morning and actually let my belly touch the floor for a couple of my pushups…
I didn’t realize you decided to double down as well. Awesome! I feel like the pacing for Couch to 5k is a little more reasonable than the pacing for one hundred pushups. I “finish” the push up program the end of this week but I will definitely not be hitting my goal. It’s not pessimism, it’s just the truth. Maybe 9 weeks for one hundred pushups would have been more realistic.
Yeah, I actually have found that in the morning, running, then coming home and doing the push-ups intermingled with stretching makes me hate going to work a little less (because at least I know I accomplished something, no matter how much doesn’t get done the next 8 hours). Yes, running is more fun than working, even when it hurts.
I’m repeating week 4 of the pushups. Week 5 was too big a jump and I missed a day while I was at my parents’ house.
But rock on, runner lady! I still haven’t found my iPod headphones, so maybe I will just treadmill the first week. Wah.
I miss running so bad it hurts.
One of my recent pleasant, nice running dreams featured my foot giving out in pain partway through. I dislike when my reptile hindbrain gives up on running dreams.
are you actually enjoying running yet? i suspect it will never happen for me =p