03/24/15

Today our trainer gave us the following to start our running regiment:  “Learning to run – the first 5ks
For a beginner (or lapsed) runner, the prospect of running 5k for fun or fitness can be compared with the idea of conquering Everest…insurmountable! But, the beauty of running is that anyone can learn to do it efficiently, comfortably and well. As with most things fitness, the key to success is consistency. So, if you can create just 20-30 minutes run-time three times a week, you could be running 5k in as little as 8 weeks. Simple, right?
Here’s a snapshot of an interval training plan you can use to reach your goal. If you’re on the treadmill, as opposed to running outside, set the incline at 2% which will be more reflective of outdoor terrain:
Week 1: run 1 minute, walk 90 secs x 8
Week 2: run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute x 7
Week 3: run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute x 6
Week 4: run 5 minutes, walk 90 secs x 5
Week 5: run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes x 3
Week 6: run 10 minutes, walk 90 secs x 2
Week 7: run 13 minutes, walk 2 minutes x 2
Week 8: run 20 minutes without stopping (or walking!)
Walking for 3-5 minutes to cool down after each run, and stretching as soon as you can post-exercise will alleviate the risk of injury and muscle tightness/ soreness.
*Obviously, check with your health-care professional before beginning any exercise program, or with any pre-existing conditions”

Oh Jane! An 8 week program to run a 5K?  At the time of  me typing this, the RAW Challenge site has the count down at 38 days, 12 hours, 22 minutes and 54 seconds.  To my calculation that prescribed  8 week/3 days a week routine has shrunk to 8 sections of around 4 days each.  Especially since I will be on a plane for a day and a half of this.  I am to run/jog every 3 of 4 days for the next month?   I haven’t done that since running track in high school and even then I might have opted to not run every day.

I hope you are channeling some divine intervention as this is going to take something miraculous to wrap my head around.

For grins and giggles (total sarcasm here) I decided to start out this evening and do a start of the first run a minute and walk for 90 seconds just to see how it would go.  I hit the trail in the open space park behind our home jogging downhill and then walking uphill for the rest time and then jogging downhill once again.  I found that I wasn’t going all that much farther each downhill than the time before. After a couple close calls of possibly tripping on uneven terrain, I decided to call it quits.  Maybe going trail running with bifocal glasses on was my first mistake!  I nearly killed myself.

I did the trail running honestly because I thought there would be less people to see me than if I ran on our neighborhood road.  It’s not that I am vain, but I’m not ready to be the lone person that people can pick out as the chick who obviously hasn’t run in an athletic way for years and years and years.

I opted after a couple jog/rest intervals for hiking up to the top of the hill and then down the sledding hill that people come to when it snows and then back up through the park to the house.

I also got a walk in at lunch today and I forgot to say that I have been doing some of the triceps workouts on some of the park benches that I pass.  I’m not doing lots, but tend to do about 10 at a time and it isn’t hurting the shoulder too badly.

We shall see if I can sleep better tonight and maybe, just maybe I can get up while it is dark and jog around the circle before others can see me out there.

Wilma,  I thought you were sending me the link to apply for the visa for my stay? I hope you are feeling better after that crappy sickness last week.  Thank you for getting my ticket to the RAW Challenge – I think.

Love Betty,