I'm currently resting and recovering for a few days, so I won't be blogging much about my fitness progress. For the time being I'm going to be a couch potato and enjoy it for a little bit.
I should be back up and running by the first week of October.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The final week!
It really doesn't feel like it's been 9 weeks since I started this whole running thing, but I'm already on the last week of C25k. Of course, there had to be a hurdle in the way - I'm going to have to take a break from exercise starting in a few days (medical reasons) but I'm hoping to be back up and running (literally) within about 10 days or so.
In the meantime my exercise will consist of sitting on the couch, watching movies, reading books, and playing video games. Given the choice, I actually would prefer heading outside and running!
In the meantime my exercise will consist of sitting on the couch, watching movies, reading books, and playing video games. Given the choice, I actually would prefer heading outside and running!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
I've hit 6k, week 8 complete!
As of my run today, I managed a distance of 6k. About 1k of this run was the warmup/cooldown, but I still think it's pretty impressive! I'll start week 9 on Tuesday, which consists of a 30-minute run of about 5k in distance.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Week 8 day 2
I'm on to week 8, day 2 of Couch-to-5k tonight, with a 5.91k run. The weather has been unseasonably warm around here. Normally we'd have daytime highs of around 17C in mid-September, and it was 24C for my run tonight!
Now that the run is out of the way, I'm going to have a delicious Friday Night Feast from a local market, along with some excellent red wine! Good times!
Now that the run is out of the way, I'm going to have a delicious Friday Night Feast from a local market, along with some excellent red wine! Good times!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Week 7 complete, Week 8 underway
Monday night this week I completed Week 7, day 3 of Couch-to-5k (running for 25mins straight), and last night I did day 1 of week 8. For week 8 of the C25k program I'll be running for 28 minutes with a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down - my distance in total for last night's run was 5.86k, which is amazing to me.
Only a couple of months ago I was out of breath if I ran for more than a couple of minutes, and here I am running for nearly a half-hour straight without much trouble. Running has become a pleasant activity for me rather than an exhausting one!
A colleague of mine mentioned something called the Cooper Fitness Test, which involves running for 12 minutes straight and measuring the distance. I think I might give this "test" a shot after completing C25k and see how I do. I'm using Runkeeper to track my runs now, which provides a very accurate measurement of distance, so it'll be pretty easy to use the Cooper test as a gauge of my overall fitness level over time.
Only a couple of months ago I was out of breath if I ran for more than a couple of minutes, and here I am running for nearly a half-hour straight without much trouble. Running has become a pleasant activity for me rather than an exhausting one!
A colleague of mine mentioned something called the Cooper Fitness Test, which involves running for 12 minutes straight and measuring the distance. I think I might give this "test" a shot after completing C25k and see how I do. I'm using Runkeeper to track my runs now, which provides a very accurate measurement of distance, so it'll be pretty easy to use the Cooper test as a gauge of my overall fitness level over time.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Week 7 day 2
I completed Week 7, Day 2 of C25K tonight. I made the switch from distance to time to add a bit of challenge to the workout. Instead of running for 4k, I ran for 25 minutes (or about 4.5k). The extra distance was a bit of a challenge, but surprisingly was quite doable. I adjusted my running route a bit to give me a bit more "room" for running and seemed to do quite well.
At the request of my wife, I went to Mucho Burrito after the run and picked up some burritos for dinner. My wife had a "smothered" burrito with pork and assorted veggies. I opted for a small vegan "fajita" burrito - lotsa veggies, black beans, and hot salsa. The hot salsa was truly hot - not sure if I'd try it again. We'll see if it causes indigestion in the morning.
Personal fitness really is about balance in your life. If I can get some takeout burritos and enjoy them with some delicious red wine (classy I know), while still being fit and in shape, then why not? Enjoying the ride is 99% of the fun - I'll worry about getting off the ride (the other 1%) some time many years down the road.
At the request of my wife, I went to Mucho Burrito after the run and picked up some burritos for dinner. My wife had a "smothered" burrito with pork and assorted veggies. I opted for a small vegan "fajita" burrito - lotsa veggies, black beans, and hot salsa. The hot salsa was truly hot - not sure if I'd try it again. We'll see if it causes indigestion in the morning.
Personal fitness really is about balance in your life. If I can get some takeout burritos and enjoy them with some delicious red wine (classy I know), while still being fit and in shape, then why not? Enjoying the ride is 99% of the fun - I'll worry about getting off the ride (the other 1%) some time many years down the road.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Week 7 begins
The time has flown by, and I'm now starting week 7 of the Couch-to-5k program. From this point forward, I'll be running for at least 25 minutes at a time, three times per week. My endurance has been slowly increasing to the point where I'm able to do the runs without a huge amount of difficulty. They're a challenge, but they don't feel impossible and I get home refreshed and "pumped" rather than exhausted and drained.
There's something calming, even meditative, about being outside and running.
I'm also still completing rung 36 of the Lifetime Fitness Ladder every day, which takes about 15 minutes each morning. All told I'm doing about 3.5 hours of exercise each week, or an average of about 30 minutes a day. On the one hand this seems like far more than most people do, but on the other hand it feels like the "right" amount to keep me healthy.
My weight has been bouncing around for the past week, but I'm still aiming to hit a rolling average of 150 on an ongoing basis, and hopefully I'll hit that point by the end of September. If not, that's fine too - part of learning to enjoy exercising is allowing myself a bit of wiggle room when it comes to weight-related issues. For my height, I'm well within the range of a "normal", "healthy" weight, so worrying about a pound here or there doesn't make much sense.
There's something calming, even meditative, about being outside and running.
I'm also still completing rung 36 of the Lifetime Fitness Ladder every day, which takes about 15 minutes each morning. All told I'm doing about 3.5 hours of exercise each week, or an average of about 30 minutes a day. On the one hand this seems like far more than most people do, but on the other hand it feels like the "right" amount to keep me healthy.
My weight has been bouncing around for the past week, but I'm still aiming to hit a rolling average of 150 on an ongoing basis, and hopefully I'll hit that point by the end of September. If not, that's fine too - part of learning to enjoy exercising is allowing myself a bit of wiggle room when it comes to weight-related issues. For my height, I'm well within the range of a "normal", "healthy" weight, so worrying about a pound here or there doesn't make much sense.
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