It’s official, the Bluemont 951′ 5K 2010 is officially over and I finished!! I finished in 41:55 minutes… not bad considering I was shooting for finishing in 40:00 minutes, I only missed my mark by a tiny bit. I’ll say that’s pretty impressive given that I fell behind in my training program 3 entire weeks.

One of my sorority sisters was running as well with her family and she and I did a pretty good job of keeping up with each other. I’d love to say that I ran the entire thing, but unfortunately I just couldn’t stick with it. I did walk some and I definitely walked up the 350′ vertical 1/2 mile at the end, but I didn’t once stop. There were a couple of moments on the hill that I thought I was going to have to pause for a breather, but I pushed through (albeit slow at times) and I made it to the top, jogging across the finish line!!!

I took my Garmin 705 out for its first trial since it was the only piece of equipment that I had (other than my iPhone which from Melissa’s experience dies if you overtax it with music & MapMyRun). I was pleased with it’s overall performance, but it is really a cycling computer. There’s no way to change the activity in the settings to be a run or a hike… you have to just make the adjustments on Garmin Connect once you’ve uploaded.

For those who are interested, here’s the route:

I snapped this shot before starting the race, the view at 951'.

I did complete the entire thing in my Vibram Chili Sprints. I was a little nervous about it remembering that the course was a little “wonky” on the trail portion and a little rocky on the gravel portion. It didn’t really concern me until I talked to another runner before the race began who told me he had a pair of Classics and bruised the bottom of his foot really bad running in Nicaragua. So of course after that I started worrying that I might do something terrible like step on a really sharp rock and end up not making it to the finish line. But my feet were very safe and happy in the Sprints. The only bizarre thing that happened in the V5Fs was that a dandelion got stuck between my toes at one point. A little weird feeling, but not at all a travesty.

Oh! And I settled on my Lululemon Training Pant *Light (I’d just gotten them back from being hemmed and they’re perfect now), Enery SL running tank (except mine is a gorgeous peach color and it says “BREATHE DEEPLY” – because I figure I need all the help I can get), and a light Lululemon running jacket. The jacket definitely ended up being tied around my waist somewhere before 1.6 miles, but I was happy to have it in the beginning. I was perfectly comfortable in this outfit; if I’d worn shorts I probably would have frozen to death. It would have been much more pleasant if it weren’t so windy! But wind goes right through me so I think I dressed as smartly as I could have.

Sadly, I have no pictures from this event. I left the house without a camera… Maybe next time.

We’re headed out tonight to Lowery’s Crab Shack for a celebratory dinner and then to Charles Town Races & Slots for the Stakes Race. Should be fun, relaxing, and all around celebratory!

Related Posts

• March 30, 2010 -- [C25K] Challenges to Overcome
• April 19, 2010 -- Our dog is a Klepto & Other Running News
• May 17, 2010 -- 16.6 and dropping!
• March 19, 2010 -- Can it GET Worse?
• March 18, 2010 -- [C25K] Slight Setback…

At the beginning of week two I posted about how confused I was that the end of Week 1 could be crappy, but the beginning of Week 2 could be awesome. Melissa, my Twitter friend & running mentor, basically told me that running is kind of a game of chance… and the more runs that you do, the more crappy runs that you’ll have. In that same line of thinking, she also reminded me that the more runs you do the more good runs you’ll have too! Basically, the more you do it, the more you will experience the whole gamut of successes and failures.

I am officially stuck on Week 5. In the Couch to 5K program the whole program kind of changes in Week 5. In Weeks 1-4 the program repeats the run/walk schedule for three days. Beginning in Week 5 the program ramps up each day for Weeks 5 & 6. I happily completed Week 5, Day 1, doing my 5 min jog, 3 min walk, 5 min jog, 3 min walk, and 5 min jog. Then I hit a brick wall on Week 5, Day 2.

In Week 5, Day 2 the regimen is to jog 8 minutes, walk 5 minutes, then jog 8 minutes. I have not for the life of me been able to do this. I think that there are several contributing factors for my inability to move on.

Contributing Factor to Brick Wall #1

I have blisters. Maybe that sounds like an incredibly wussy reason to skip a running day, or to bail out early, but my blisters are pretty bad. And they’re on the bottoms of the pad of my big toes.

I’ve been wearing my Vibram Sprints for every C25K run that I’ve done (well, really every run that I’ve done) and I still stand by my previous assertion that these shoes are the most amazing shoes I’ve ever bought. However, I think my running form is less than ideal and I think it’s started catching up to me.

Ever since about Week 3/4 I’ve been getting these awful blisters (the one on my right foot is a blood blister) right on the pad of my big toes. I give it a rest for a few days and they heal over and I’m just sure that they’re going to build up a nice callus and then this won’t be a problem any more. But it’s close to excruciating to run on them when they’re there. I’ve googled it and I’ve posted about it on Facebook and Twitter. So far the suggestions I’ve gotten are:

• Look in to ChiRunning
• Use moleskin

I’ve taken off since last Thursday, and I’m headed to the gym tonight armed with moleskin on the bottoms of my toes. I’ve also purchased ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running on my Kindle, but I’m not terribly far into the book so it’s going to be a little while before it begins to help me. I’ll report back when I’ve finished the book!

Contributing Factor to Brick Wall #2

I’m going too fast. Or maybe I want to go too fast. I recently posted on the C25K Facebook page a request for suggestions since I felt so stuck on this one particular week/day. First of all, I highly recommend anyone doing C25K with a Facebook account to join this fan page… those people on there are awesome and are an incredible support network! I received near instantaneous feedback from others who had been there before me and they offered great suggestions.

1. Slow down… still run… but if you have to run as slow as possible to get the job done. Slow running is still running. You should be able to talk while you’re jogging, if you can’t you’re pushing yourself too hard!
2. Don’t wait till it’s a complete cake-walk. The program is meant to be challenging!
3. Listen to your body and don’t feel bad about repeating, but don’t be afraid of moving on either.
4. And some people told me that they thought the 20 minute run on W5D3 was easier than the two 8 min runs!!

I’m hitting the gym tonight after yoga, so I should be all limbered and warmed up to do my final take of Week 5, Day 2. I’m really hoping that on Thursday afternoon I’ll be heading on out to Week 5, Day 3… and that will officially be my “Do one thing a day that scares you” for Thursday (join the #LuluRevo and read Lululemon’s Manifesto). Talk with you after I’ve managed to run without walking!

Related Posts

• April 17, 2010 -- Bluemont 5K, Check!
• May 17, 2010 -- 16.6 and dropping!
• March 19, 2010 -- Can it GET Worse?
• March 18, 2010 -- [C25K] Slight Setback…
• February 12, 2010 -- [C25K] Beginning of Week 2

I am currently sitting in a hotel. A hotel that the website made look awesome. And because it is literally within walking distance of our flyball venue for the weekend I was all over it. This place has everything… A restaurant, a fitness center, a pool & spa, and did I mention it is within walking distance of the flyball venue??

Yeah… It’s awesome all right. It’s awesome if your definition of awesome is a retro throw-back decoration style from 1973. And it’s awesome all right if your idea of a “fitness center” is two exercise bikes and a BowFlex. And it’s awesome all right if you only want WiFi to say that you could do work on the weekend… but don’t actually intend to do any. Cause after all, the WiFi doesn’t work (thank God for iPhones so that yours truly can still write a scathing review of the hotel that I’m staying in). And finally, it’s awesome if you don’t really like to eat or if your anorexic… Caude the food at Richard’s Restaurant is really only barely edible. We ate ours, but the couple next to us didn’t. And just walked out because they had no intention of paying for something so inedible as what they were served.

Oh yes… The Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center is awesome, as long as by awesome you mean 2 stars at best!

The worst thing is that I came totally prepared to run – my shoes, my iPhone armband, my water bottle, a towel, my Nike+ sensor… everything. And I get thwarted by the sheer “awesomness” of the Eisenhower Hotel’s fitness center. It’s supposed to be nice outside this weekend, so maybe I can steal 30 minutes in the middle of the day to run outside. Keep your fingers crossed for me, otherwise, I’m going to be TWO weeks behind!!

Related Posts

• February 12, 2010 -- [C25K] Beginning of Week 2
• February 5, 2010 -- [Material Girl] Feet, the way God intended them
• July 24, 2010 -- Flying into Little Rock is always an adventure
• July 8, 2010 -- Report on the “successful” camping trip
• July 2, 2010 -- Race to the ONYX!

It has officially been forever since I posted. I apologize… life kind of got in the way. But you’ll be happy to know that I’ve been making sure that all those hours that I’ve been away from my computer and away from MyNeChimKi have been spent hitting the treadmill at the gym… well at least some of them!

I am happy to report that I have officially signed up for the 3rd Annual Bluemont Vineyard 5K. You can sign up too if you’re in the Loudoun County area… the more the merrier! And I was jogging along in my training program pretty pleased with myself. The race is April 17th and I would have been scheduled to finish the training program right on time to go out and hit the trail running.

But then something happened…

Number 1: I got sick. My dear dear hubby shared his evil cold germs with me. But honestly, I didn’t let that get me down… I ran anyway. And I learned important lesson #1: if you have a head cold, running can make it better.

Number 2: Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution State Conference happened. If you’ll recall, when I announced that I would be attempting this training program the #2 thing that I thought might trip me up was this conference. In fact, I was so worried about how it would impact my running that I decided to start the whole program a month early. I figured that if I was farther into it, I would less likely (tempted) to quit if I got off schedule. I am officially glad that I did this. I shouldn’t have had any excuse not to run since we were staying at a Marriott conference center and they have a state of the art fitness center. However, yours truly is terribly stupid. I left my Vibram Sprints sitting at home.

I am very embarrassed that I left my shoes behind, especially since I told myself twice not to forget them! I will now blame my momentary lapse of memory on #1 (see above).

Well, I made a valiant effort to keep up the program despite my harrowing schedule as a page at the VADAR state conference. I carved out little snippets of time, scoped out the fitness room, and the very first night I decided there was only one thing to do… do my “barefoot run” barefoot. That’s right, if Vibrams are barefoot running shoes, how different could it possibly be actually running barefoot??

This is where I learned important lesson #2. Barefoot running is very different than running in Vibrams!! Well, I take that back. The motion of barefoot running without shoes is the same as barefoot running with Vibrams. It still felt great. Well, it still felt great for about 15 minutes. But then something happened that I hadn’t counted on, my feet started getting really really hot. And not a good kind of hot. And then I realized that I was only just over halfway through my run (which I was doing poorly at because I had eaten a healthy portion of lobster mac and cheese and had not waited an hour before hitting the gym) that the treadmill belt was really doing a number on my poor unshod feet. I bailed at just over 20 minutes and ran to the locker room where I found that I was beginning to get some pretty significant blisters on the balls of my feet. So apparently true barefoot running requires a bit more hardiness in your sole… something that I had not acquired before trying it. I suffered through the rest of the weekend and decided that I just needed to pick up the pieces the following week.

So here I am today… I should be doing Week 5 – Day 2 (Warmup, Jog 8 min, Walk 5 min, Jog 8 min, Cooldown). I have to say, the 8 minutes scares me. Any words of encouragement are welcome! I’m a little disappointed that I’m now an entire week behind, and I won’t be finishing the program before the race… but I can work with it. And in case your’e following it, my C25K Log is all updated!

Related Posts

• February 12, 2010 -- [C25K] Beginning of Week 2
• February 3, 2010 -- [C25K] I Ran TWO Miles!!!!!
• February 5, 2010 -- Couch to 5K
• February 5, 2010 -- [Material Girl] Feet, the way God intended them
• April 19, 2010 -- Our dog is a Klepto & Other Running News

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]) it wasn’t damaged, but when I plugged the headphones back in my running music never came back on. I also didn’t think to pause my #c25k app so I was all off on the run/walk schedule. And then the worst thing happened, about 20 minutes in my chest got really tight and I was afraid I was going to have an asthma attack so I had to take a couple of puffs on my inhaler. Oh the defeat.

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 to ensure that I didn’t get myself tangled in my own headphones again.

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…

Related Posts

• March 18, 2010 -- [C25K] Slight Setback…
• May 12, 2010 -- I have joined the club…
• March 19, 2010 -- Can it GET Worse?
• February 5, 2010 -- Couch to 5K
• February 5, 2010 -- [Material Girl] Feet, the way God intended them

I feel…. FANTASTIC!

After some serious thinking about this C25K program I got really scared that if I started on March 1st I was nearly positive that I’d fail… quit… or otherwise completely flop. So, I decided the best thing to do is start early; it’s now or never. So, if not March 1st I wanted to start on February 1st. The only problem was, by the time I got to the gym it was closed.

So I got more and more anxious. I’ve never really run a day in my life. I was always the last kid on the track when we had to do the mile for the Presidential Fitness Test. And by last kid on the track, I don’t mean that I got to watch the other kids play Four Square… I mean that I was the last kid on the track and everyone else had already gone back in to class and it was just me and the gym teacher telling me to pick it up. But my exercise-induced asthma always flared up when I tried to run. Running a mile has always seemed like an incredible feat.

Tonight I ran TWO miles

Yes folks, that’s right… yours truly ran not one, but two miles! And I feel fantastic. After 17 minutes one mile had passed and then before I knew it, two miles… TWO miles!

I am so psyched after Week 1, Day 1 that I cannot wait until my next run. I cannot believe that I feel so free. I completed tonight’s workout in my Vibram Five Finger Sprints, and my feet felt fantastic. However, the Vibrams are so awesome that they really require a whole post all to themselves, so watch for that soon!!

Related Posts

• March 18, 2010 -- [C25K] Slight Setback…
• February 12, 2010 -- [C25K] Beginning of Week 2
• February 5, 2010 -- Couch to 5K
• April 19, 2010 -- Our dog is a Klepto & Other Running News
• April 17, 2010 -- Bluemont 5K, Check!

Last year, Christina and I developed a blog meme that we called “Individually Collective Blogging” or ICB. We originally developed it in preparation for writing our Collective NaNovel for NaNoWriMo. And while collective noveling didn’t go as swimmingly as we had thought it would, collective blogging is still fantastic.

2010 should be a fun year of collective blogging. If you’re a new reader you can check out last year’s posts in the my ICB Archives and Christina’s ICB Archives.

Visit Christina’s blog to read about her take on C25K: here.

I can’t exactly remember when it was that I heard about #C25K, but I’m pretty sure it had to have been from Melissa. She is my hero. Just recently, she finished her very first marathon. I cried when I read her post. I don’t know why… other than that you could just feel the sense of accomplishment that she felt. Part of me wants to experience that too… that feeling that against any odds you did it!

I should take a moment to mention here that I have exercise induced asthma. I should also mention that I have never been able to run a day in my life. In school I was always the kid that was still on the track long after everyone else had finished their mile run. I repeat… I am not a runner. However… I want to be a runner. Maybe it’s just the fact that I can’t do something that makes me want it even more, or maybe it’s just that I love the idea of getting out there all by yourself and it’s just you and the road, but whatever it is, I want to run… like the wind.

So I’m pretty sure that on Melissa’s journey to becoming a marathoner I may have mentioned my desire to become a runner. And I’m pretty sure that she’s the person who first put the bug in my ear about Couch to 5K. But it wasn’t until Melissa’s friend Amy started posting some tweets about #C25K that I really got jazzed about the program. I was just about to resign myself to just take the plunge and do it when I saw this post from Christina:

I was thrilled to see that my best buddy (and best blogging buddy) was interested in the same training program that I was! What an opportunity this could be!!! Of course, there’s a bit of a distance issue in training together, seeing that we live nearly 300 miles apart. We certainly won’t actually be able to train together, but we can keep ourselves honest with our blogging updates!

Official Start Date = March 1

About the Training Program

The C25K is designed for non-runners to make it to their first 5K race safely and successfully. The program is broken down across 9 weeks, training three days a week. What’s three days? It’s not even the majority of the week! Directly from their site they say:

C25K, is a fantastic program that’s been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks….Its secret is that it’s a gentle introduction to getting the body moving, starting off alternating between walking and running small distances, and slowly building up until after 8 weeks, you’re ready to run 5 kilometers or 30 minutes non stop.

It sounds easy. Although, I’m sure it’s not quite that easy. I expect to have challenging days and I expect that more than once I’m going to want to quit. But I’m not going to. And I challenge you, my faithful readers, to keep me motivated! Please feel free to post comments on my #C25K updates and keep me going. I’m going to shoot for weekly updates on my progress. Please, cheer me along, jeer me along (maybe), offer advice if you think I could do something better… anything. I welcome it all! Whenever you see the little “anti-couch potato” icon next to a post, you’ll know it’s a #C25K update.

Why #C25K?

So if I’m not a runner and have never been a runner why do I all of a sudden want to embark on a running training program? I have major reasons. In no particular order they are:

1. Christina’s getting married this year and I’m a bridesmaid. I’m so excited to be able to stand up for her at her wedding like she did for me at mine! But (or should I say BUTT?) I’m a perfect size 10 for the dress she picked out except for my hips. The top is already going to have to be altered a bit and I’ll be damned if I’m going to have to have it let out around the hips! So I’m about to say good-bye to at least 10 pounds!!
2. I already mentioned that I was so moved by Melissa’s marathon run that I want to experience even just a little bit of that… even if it is just a 5K. That will be so much more than I’ve ever accomplished before in my life.
3. I have a New Year’s Resolution to become in the best shape possible. After all, I’m at some point going to be biking 30 miles a day on that awesome trip I won from Ciclismo Classico! I figure a little running to strengthen my cardio routine can’t hurt.
4. The next time Bluemont Vineyards has their 951 5K & Uphill Time Trial I want the hardest part to be the uphill time trial. The last time I participated (back in 2008) I walked the entire thing. And to be quite honest I thought it might kill me; especially the uphill time trial. I’d love to not be the last person in the pack the next time I do it. I was so sad about my inability to really give it a good effort that I didn’t even do it last year. Now, the last two years they’ve had it in April so that will kind of be in the middle of my whole training program. It’s likely I won’t be up for making a real “go” of it this year. But if they have it I’ll enter and use it as part of my training. And then 2011… baby here we come!

The Tools

Since running has never been a top priority for me I know that I’ll only stay motivated if I have some great gadgets and gizmos to keep me interested. I think that these terrific tools, paired with your support, I’ll do just fine. So what am I using?

MapMyFitness.com

I’m going to start utilizing MapMyFitness.com more. They’ve got a ton of great tools available to members and I think they will help keep me on track. I really like the mapping feature that their iPhone app has, and I’ll likely use this app for my outdoor training sessions. Their training calendar integrates with lots of other systems, like Nike+, Garmin and others.

In addition to the regular training calendar, I created a C25K group to track our progress. You can follow along with our training progress on our MapMyFitness C25K training group. If you’re not already a member of MapMyFitness.com, you should join!! It’s awesome… and they have iPhone apps! Don’t get lost in your training, become a MapMyRun.com member and get access to free training plans and printed run routes.

Nike+

I’ve been a member of Nike+ for several years now. I originally joined to track my milage for my dog’s distance logging program (long story, maybe another blog post). It’s been a laughable adventure since I don’t run. Also there was a period of time that I completely boycotted Nike+ because they weren’t offering support for the iPhone. That has all changed now with the release of the iPhone 3GS and built in Nike+ support!! I’m so excited!! I’ll be using Nike+ for all my indoor runs.

C25K app

The C25K people have create an actual iPhone app to track your training. It looks pretty cool, but I’m kind of afraid to really play with it until our training session starts. So I’ll let you know more later how that interface is working for me.

Challenges I anticipate

I said that I thought I’d probably want to quit more than once… and that’s no lie. Here are a few of the challenges that I think I’ll have:

1. I hate to pay to sweat. However, our start date is going to be in the middle of what can potentially be our rainiest season in Virginia. So I’m going to buy a gym membership so that I have no excuse to skip a training session
2. I’m going to the Virginia DAR State Conference again this year. And it just happens to be March 11 – March 14, smack dab in the middle of Week 2. This is probably when I’ll want to quit the most. The Richmond Marriott and I have confirmed that they do have a fitness center. The question is whether or not I’ll be able to drag myself in there to do my training session after I’ve done a full day of paging duties.
3. My asthma and my feet are not my friends. I’m going to be trying to do the whole training program in my Vibrams and I will refill my prescription for my inhaler… just in case.

Related Posts

• April 17, 2010 -- Bluemont 5K, Check!
• March 30, 2010 -- [C25K] Challenges to Overcome
• March 19, 2010 -- Can it GET Worse?
• March 18, 2010 -- [C25K] Slight Setback…
• February 12, 2010 -- [C25K] Beginning of Week 2