Week 1, Day 1

Saturday, November 21st, 2009 - Hot Springs/Spa City 5K

That's the goal... 15 weeks away.

This morning I started on the 9-week "Couch to 5K" (C25K) running program. I've decided to start doing this early to really try to get myself in shape and allow for healing time if I suffer any setbacks/injuries during training or need to repeat a week if I'm not progressing as I would like.

I'm really out of shape as I start this. Yesterday I decided to go to the gym for a little bit just to get a feel for the treadmill and get a little activity under my belt. I ended up doing 30 minutes on the treadmill (mostly walking and a light jog at the end) and then doing some weightlifting.

I was pleasantly surprised not to be terribly sore when I woke up this morning considering I had worked out pretty decently. Might be the potassium I've increased in my diet in the last few days to help prepare for this.

Today I started Week 1 of C25K and let me tell you... my cardio is terrible. The Week 1 workout is 3 days of this:

Stretch
5 minute warm-up walk
Alternate 60 seconds of running/90 seconds of walking for 30 minutes
Stretch

I had to fluctuate mine a little bit to make sure my heart rate didn't get out of control... I've decided to slightly alter my week 1 routine and next week I'll "repeat" week 1 and try to stick to the guidelines of the C25K program. The 3 days I do my routine this week should start to get my body into a little better shape and increase my cardio so I can do the actual designed training. I'm really focusing on controlling my breathing while I run and walk to help control my heart rate.

My workout this week is as follows:

Stretch
5 minute warm-up walk
Alternate 60 seconds of running/90 seconds of walking for 10 minutes
Brisk walk for 10 minutes
Alternate 60 seconds of running/90 seconds of walking for 10 minutes
Stretch

We'll call it C25K Week 1a. :-)