C25K Week 4 - Complete

"That's not sweat. It's your fat cells crying".

I read that statement today and loved it! I thought I'd share it with you all out in Blog World. My fat cells must've really been sad yesterday. I decided to do my full hour of cardio on the treadmill. Aside from the fact that I got there in time for the start of Law & Order, I ended up on a treadmill next to a really nice and inspirational couple that lost 160lbs between the two of them in the last 3 months. Needless to say, I was very interested in what they had to share. They both brought pictures of their "fat selves" with them and placed them over top of the display as they walked. I think that's a cool reminder of why they should continue walking. I may have to borrow that idea. LOL

Back to the run... Week 4 was tough but well worth it. I grew confidence being able to run the 3 and 5 min. sprints without stopping. I also noticed that the 30 min. goes a lot quicker when you're running intervals are longer. I'm still finishing up at just around 2 miles in 30 min but I know that will improve once time goes on. I could probably do a lot better if I'd completely quit smoking. I'm down to 2-3 cigarettes per day now so that's a start. (Hey, don't judge me. LOL).

After the run I decided to do the "Hills" program on the treadmill. I finished up in just under 4 miles in 60min. Not too bad but I hope to do more tomorrow. I decided to take a day off today to get some rest, sleep and relaxation done. I've been feeling really disappointed lately as I don't see how I'm going to be able to loose much weight before October 16th but reason with myself that at least I'm becoming more fit so it's worth it and every little bit counts.

I'm still in the race hanging in there. I'm working hard and doing my best to make my "fat cells cry" every chance I get.

C25K - Week 4, Day 1

Hi Everyone... I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been really busy. I'm still going to the gym and trying my best to get a handle on my eating habits. I've been doing pretty well with that lately too. In fact, I'm probably going to have a pre-wiegh-in this weekend before we take my mother out to dinner for her birthday and then again on Monday to see if my one meal of bliss negatively affects me.

The Couch to 5K program starts out pretty slowly and progressively builds your stamina and confidence. I think that's why this program is so successful. I believe that a person could definitely go from being a couch potato to running a 5K (or 30 min. non-stop) if they follow the program.  And if the program advances too fast for you, you could always repeat a week until you're ready to move on.

Week 4, Day 1 - was the first day that I had to literally force myself to keep going. The recovery periods are short and the running periods are much longer than the 1min spurts in the beginning. This week, we have to run in 3 and 5 min. intervals with very short recovery periods. I generally try to get on a treadmill near a runner in hopes that their energy will be contagious. LOL

The program also encourages trainees not to skip ahead or run everyday. You know me... I'm hard headed so I like to knock out my 3 workouts back to back. I would love to finish this 5K in 30-40 min. So I'm trying to build the stamina now and then spend the rest of my time working on speed. I'm up to jogging at a 4.0 on the treadmill but see I need to go a lot faster than that to run a 10min mile. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. By this time next week, I'd like to at least run a 14min mile which would be a huge improvement from my 16 minute "molasses mile" I run now.

I typically spend an hour per day in the gym 4 days per week. I do the run and then walk on high incline as fast as I can (without holding) on for 15 min. The other 15 minutes are usually spent on the random treadmill cycle, the arc machine or the elliptical. It really all depends on what's still hurting when I finish the run. SMH...

Oh yeah, I made huge progress on Wednesday. I did 2 miles on the treadmill and then did 6 miles on the bike - all within 60 minutes. I couldn't believe my eyes. So yall know my new found goal is 10 miles now, right? LOL