[C25K] Beginning of Week 2
I considered posting at the end of Week 1, but to be perfectly honest I was embarrassed… disappointed in myself even. With the impending 2nd dose of the region’s “snowpocalpyse” I hurried off to the gym the eve before we were supposed to get dumped on by snow. I was excited. I felt awesome after the first two days of Week 1. But something terrible happened. It sucked.
For some reason I really felt off my game through the whole run. In the middle of run three I got caught up in my headphone cables and my iPhone went flying. I tried to catch it, but no dice. I ended up hitting the stop button because I didn’t know what else to do (silly me, didn’t think to just step on the side rails). When I retrieved my iPhone from the floor (thank goodness I’ve been encasing it in the OtterBox iPhone 3G, 3GS Commuter Cases [3 Pack]
So the worst of the worst could happen. I’ve been going great guns and and feeling awesome and then BAM I felt like crap… just like I did when I was younger and trying to run the mile. The only thing that would have made it worse would have been a scary gym teacher barking at me.
Week 2 – Overcoming the Odds
With that awful run closing my Week 1 I was a little more than nervous about Week 2. After all, Week 2 ramps up the running just a tiny bit.
Week 2, Day 1
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Five-minute cooldown walk.
I knew that when the going gets tough I have a tendency to tense up and get scared – especially when it comes to exercise. But not today… today I had to triumph. Or at least I had to try.
But I didn’t just try… I made it. And I made it with EASE! The running part was awesome. I’ve been listening to an iTunes genius mix of Nickelback’s “Burn it to the Ground” but I thought for today’s run I needed a change of pace… something inspirational. The only thing it could be today was Black Violin. I had also armed myself with a Belkin Sport Armband Plus
I’d like to say that everything went smoothly, but I wasn’t completely thrilled with the armband (more to come on that later) and my Nike+ sensor essentially crapped out on me. I was hoping that this wasn’t a sign of things to come. And it certainly wasn’t. Black Violin didn’t fail me. I get absolutely consumed by their music. Brandenburg came on in the middle of my first run and I just giggled… out loud! It was so much fun!! And then before I knew it, the voice prompts were telling me that I was halfway finished. And then almost right after the app was telling me that I was about to start my last run… I was heartbroken! I wanted to go longer!! But I stuck to the program because I didn’t want to kill myself just when I was starting to feel great again.
Continuum Transfunctioner of Running?
I’m just totally confused how I could feel so crappy at the end of Week 1 and then feel so fantastic after the first day of Week 2. Kind of feel like Jesse and Chester from Dude Where’s My Car? and my running is the Continuum Transfunctioner – whose mystery is only exceeded by its power.
If anyone has any suggestions about why this anomaly occurs, please feel free to post a comment! I know that to really figure it out I’d have to probably track my sleep, my meals, and all kinds of other factors to determine why I felt crappy one day and not another. But it seems contrary that when you ramp up in your training program that you’d feel better and it would be easier than the level before it…
Bad runs exist to help us appreciate the good ones.
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There are so many factors that can make a run good or bad. If you’re hungover, it could be the best or worst run of your life. If you’re tired, it could be the best or worst run of your life. If you ate cheese last night, it could be the best or worst …
You get the point. Sometimes, things affect us. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes we have off days. The more you run, the more you’ll have bad days – simple math. But, the more you’ll have good days.
The great thing I’ve noticed? Things that used to affect me don’t anymore. I used to hate it when I was running in the workout room at my work and someone would walk in. It would distract me. I hated it. Now I could care less if someone’s around me or not.
I used to be really particular about my food before a run. If I was too hungry, I couldn’t run. If I was too full, I couldn’t run. Now? Who cares? I can eat a huge meal and then 20 minutes later be out the door for a run. I can be ravished and still manage to squeeze in a few miles.
All the bad factors will seem less bad with time. And you’ll still have bad runs, but more of them will be good.
And GREAT JOB! I am so proud of you!
Melissa´s last blog ..The one where snow ruins everything