Day 8 - Trekkin' along

Week 3 Day 12

Goal: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Music: WOW 1996 CD 1

Today was the second day of week 3. I felt pretty good today. My knee is still hurting and I can't decide what it is that's causing the pain. Anyone have any good ideas on how to strengthen my knees?

Weather was nice today and should be getting nicer the rest of the week! I'm trying not to look ahead to next week, which of course gets even harder... Anyway, one more day of this week and feelin' good!

Day 7 - Woomph

Week 3 Day 1

Goal: Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Music: True Vibe (Bad Christian boy bands anyone? anyone?)

The title is my attempt to describe my feeling right now after completing the first day of week three. WOOMPH! It was tough..... BUT I DID IT! The three minutes was killer (all of you who are runners already can just contain your laughter).

While I did note that in my last blog I might repeat last week, the fact that I made it through today makes me want to keep pushing forward. So Sunday we will try this all again and see how it goes.

No injuries so far. I do have a knee that is a little sore, but not so bad that I can't do any running. What I really probably need is a new pair of tennis shoes (the ones I have are pretty old), but money is just too tight right now to spend money on a new pair. For now I'll just have to keep pounding the pavement with the old guys. Maybe someday we'll have enough money for me to get a pair of real running shoes, maybe even some where they look at how you run and stuff. That would be neat!

Anyway, enough dreaming. Onward to the weekend!

Day 6 - Snow? What snow?

Today was Day 3 of Week 2

Goal for today: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Music on my Ipod: Nicole C. Mullen - Talk About It

Finally! A day that was a little easier! I went a different route to see if maybe I was running up hill a little too much these last two days, and whatever is different did the trick. While it was still definitely a workout, I actually felt like I could finish and I didn't feel like I was going to fall down on the pavement and die.

I will say though that I am still worried about week 3! The goals require a lot more running, but I'm going to give it a chance. If this blog suddenly stops, you'll know I didn't make it. =) If it is total chaos, I will go back and repeat this week again for some more endurance. I'll let you know!

P.S. Andy hasn't run at all with me this week. Feel free to give him a little bit of a hard time! =)

P.P.S. The title is reflecting the fact that we were supposed to get snow today and instead it was sunny and 41 degrees. Nice! Snow is supposed to come tonight and tomorrow.

Day 5 - A few doubts

Today was Day 2 of Week 2

Goal for Today: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Today's Music - Point of Grace (mixture)

I thought that today would be a little easier after last time was so tough. Frankly, it was even harder than last time. This, honestly, made me a little disappointed. I was really hoping that I would be starting to feel a little stronger and like this goal was achievable. I am having more doubts now. I'm not saying I'm quitting, just saying I'm a little worried. But I'm going to keep on trucking.

Andy hasn't joined me the last two days, mostly because of the cold. He doesn't really have appropriate running clothes and so he has been wearing shorts. Therefore, when it becomes windy and in the 30s he has a hard time getting out. Hopefully, we'll be able to work something out so he can get back on track. I really could use his motivation on the runs!

As of this week's goal of writing down food, I didn't realize how hard that would be. I just don't think about it when I grab a quick snack or grab a few chocolate chips, which is probably why I need to do this more than I thought.

Anyway, I am hoping that Wednesday will be a little better. If not, we'll just have to hold our breath for week 3!

Day 4 - It's Cold in Colorado

Week 2 Day 1

Today's goal: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Music: DC Talk - Free At Last

Beginning of week 4. Wow. Today was hard. I can't decide it it was because it was so cold or if I was just tired. Either way, I had a tough time, but I made it through. Andy didn't join me today outside because it was so cold, but he did say he wanted to go run on the treadmill at our apartment complex later. I'll update you next time if he has kept up.

I'm impressed that I have made it this far. I know. That is not saying much, but any previous exercise I have tried I have quit almost as soon as I've started. I think that having a goal that is (mostly) realistic and having some people to keep me accountable via this blog has really helped. Hopefully Monday will be a little easier and I'll feel like this goal is accomplishable.

As promised... this weeks goal

Goal: Write down everything I eat for one week (starting tomorrow). While I am not making this whole experience about dieting (lets take one battle at a time), I figure it can't hurt to figure out if there are ways to trim out some extra calories.

Day 3 - I'm tired....

Today was Day 3 of Week 1

Here was the goal for today: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Music for Today: Eclectic Justin Timberlake

So today was day 3. I was not feeling fully motivated to run today, but I thought about you all reading (or theoretically reading) this blog and I knew I couldn't quit in week 1! So, Andy and I went out running this afternoon. It was pretty cold again and I really felt like I was more tired than the other two days. However, I'm pretty sure that we were running a little faster today than the other two days, which is good. Andy was feeling pretty good and even suggested we should start running EVERY DAY (I decided we should stick with the plan for now).

Saturday begins week 2. This will involve a little more running, and hopefully we will be ready to step up to the new challenge!

Update on the goal that I mentioned at the beginning of the week: Battery in the watch has been changed. We ordered a watch band and it should be here soon! I think it would be good to set a goal for each week, so goal 2 will be set on Saturday!

Day 2 - Andy Joins In!

Day 2 of Week 1

Here was the goal for today: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Music for Today: Shuffle (including but not limited to Third Day, Jingle Bell Rock, Phil Wickham)

So, as evidenced by the title, Andy has joined in on the challenge! Since he wasn't in on Day 1, he ran the day 1 challenge yesterday and joined me today! It was really pretty cold today, but we went out anyway. We figured out that Andy ran A LOT faster than I did on my day 1, so he slowed it down a little today. It was nice to have a running buddy and I really enjoyed spending some uninterrupted time together. We were both a little sore, but we made it through. Hopefully, the weather will hold out for a our run on Thursday!

Day 1 - Toby's Back!

So, today was Day 1 of week 1.

Here was the goal for today: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Music for Today: Toby Mac - Diverse City

It felt good to get outside. The weather was perfect for sweat pants and a light long sleeved shirt. I will admit that starting out I didn't think I would be able to finish. I started the 5 minute walk and I could already tell I was out of shape, but I kept going. I began the running portion and before I knew it I was half way through and still had the energy to finish! It felt SO good to finally accomplish 1 workout and I kinda actually enjoyed it, and that was weird.

I did find that sometimes I was pushing myself a little too much and I often had to remind myself to SLOW DOWN. Once I did, I was able to find a better rhythm and felt more in control. I think sometimes I need to remember that in my own life. I feel like I am always running a mile a minute with stress and what needs to be done RIGHT NOW. I think if I took a little time to slow down and collect my thoughts, I might find myself more in control.

Goal before next run: Get a new battery and watch band for my sport watch. Borrowing Andy's watch might get a little old (for me and for him).

From Starchy Vegetable to Runner Extraordinaire

So, I've finally put my foot down. It is time to get in shape. This is not a New Years resolution (it's 17 days too late for that). This is also (hopefully) not a fad, which is the reason I've started this blog. I need some encouragement and some accountability, and that's where you come in!

What are you encouraging me to do, you ask? It's quite simple. I'm starting a plan that promises to turn me from a couch potato into a 5K runner in 9 weeks. (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml).

When I found this plan I thought, this is perfect! I am about as couch potato as they come. While I was a tad skeptical, I hoped that with this one-step-at-a-time program that I might actually be able to get through Day 1 and move on to Day 2. I also hoped that they would understand that I am not going to be able to walk out my front door and run 5 miles today, or tomorrow.

So, let's see if this program really works, and if I have the gusto to get it done. What do you think? Are you in with me? If so, you can keep reading and see how I do, or if you find yourself a couch potato in need of a run or two, you can join me and try to become a runner extraordinaire yourself!