Couch to JiggleButt 5K

I can now say "Couch to 5K worked for me."  I took a brief stab at the program in 2009, but didn't make it past Week 3.  I'm not sure what possessed me to start up again back in August, but I became determined to make it through.  Ideally with this plan, you should be ready to run a 5K in 9 weeks.  Ahem.  I've done most weeks twice, so it has actually taken me right at 20.  But I had a goal in sight--the Jiggle Butt Run, January 8.

So last night, after "carb-loading" with yummy spaghetti and homemade sauce at Paige's, I hurried home to get a good night's rest.  It felt very much like getting ready for the first day of school.  I laid out my clothes, packed my backpack and even had dreams where I didn't hear the starter's gun so I just stood around and missed the race.
  

The event was a little over an hour's drive from Hometown, so we had to get up extremely early for a Saturday morning.  This was NOT my favorite part of the day...but it got better.

Our team:  Paige, Elizabeth, HannahKate and myself. 

Our cheerleaders (not pictured):  Mr. G, BigJoel and Hallie.

I haven't heard the final count on how many participants there were, but my estimate would be "A LOT".   Joel took this picture at the start of the race.  That's my hand sticking up waving in the middle of the crowd.

The weather was perfect, sunny and not too cold.  The course was beautiful, relatively flat and meandering through a nice residential area. 

I now know that it is much harder to run/concentrate/keep a steady pace when you are trying to maneuver around a bajillion other ladies. 

Also, I kept telling them I was slow, but I don't think anyone believed me.  Even though I had "trained" longer, I was still the last of our group to finish...not by much...and I did FINISH...which was really my ultimate goal.

So my official time was a little slower than I'd hoped and I wound up walking a little more than I'd planned, but all in all it was so much fun that we are already looking forward to our next race.

Here I am about to cross the finish line.  Notice how I've just overtaken a "granny".

After the race--not too much worse for the wear and all feeling extremely accomplished.

We opted not to stay for the awards ceremony since none of us placed. Instead, we "collected" our prize at Fuzzy's Taco Shop.  Chilaquiles with Latin roasted potatoes are way better than a medal, if you ask me.

Add This To The List

Well, here's another thing I never thought I'd be doing...

Elizabeth said, "We should do a 5K."
I said, "No."
Elizabeth said, "C'mon.  It'll be fun."
I said, "Maybe."
Elizabeth said, "Here's one called the Jiggle Butt Run."
I said, "If they'll give me a t-shirt, I'm in."

CP25K--TroyBradford Has a Mean Streak

My "friend" over at troybradfordphotos commented that I have pictures for every blog except this thread of CP25K. He challenged me to post one, so here you go Troy!

(photo courtesy of mrpotatohead.net)

When I started this Couch (Potato) to 5K thing with Elizabeth, I had no intention of blogging about it in such detail. I'm sure as time goes by, either 1) I will become accustomed to exercise and decide it's really not such an accomplishment to exert oneself for 30 minutes 3 times a week; or 2) I will wimp out and quit the program. Then I'll stop boring you with such trivial details. Right now though, everything is a milestone!

Elizabeth is off "frolicking" on the beach, so Nancy and I ran last night. I'm sure she slowed her pace considerably, but I also had a much better workout than when last I whined. I must say though, I'm already beginning to dread next week when we jog for 90 second intervals instead of 60. We still have one more workout in Week 1. I hope it's a good one.

CP25K--The Weakest Link

What's that saying about a chain being only as strong as its weakest link?

Didn't have a good run last night.

Calves were killing me.

Balance was off.

Couldn't keep up with the group...which has grown to include myself, Elizabeth, Nancy, HannahKate and Hallie (on her scooter).

Had to walk some of the jogging rotations.

We're supposed to take today off, but I may try to walk anyway. We'll see.

This is normal, right?

CP25K--Week 1

We finished week one of the Couch to 5K training! Actually, a "week" is only 3 days, which I think is an excellent idea for not only exercise, but work in general. (Who wouldn't love a 3 day week with a four day weekend?) But I digress...

Anyway, the program is designed to last 9 weeks, running 3 times each week. While I'm pleased that I managed to complete the first week, I've been "on the couch" for a reaaaallllly long time, so Elizabeth has agreed to repeat Week 1.

Here is what I've noticed in the first week.

1. I'm drinking/craving more water throughout the day.

2. I find myself looking forward to running each night.

3. The workout is over before I know it and I feel like I've accomplished something.

Our friend Nancy joined us last night and asked, "Is there a particular 5K you're training for?" Pshh! Only if there's one that's run late at night under the cover of darkness...I've had a great first week, but let's not get crazy.

Anyways, thanks so much for the words of encouragement. From my neighbors theMil10s who could look out their window around 10:00 p.m. and get quite a giggle to my uber-healthy, granola-snacking, running-maniac friend Jamie--its nice to know there are people pulling for me at the finish line. =)

Couch (Potato) to 5K

So Elizabeth and I have started a "Couch to 5K" program. This is a plan designed to get non-athletic types such as myself, out the door and running. If you know anything at all about me, you've probably already figured out that this was Elizabeth's idea...not mine. I've always considered running something one does only when being chased by a viscous animal.

This week's workout involves a brisk 5 minute walk, then alternating 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for the next 20 minutes, then cooling down with 5 more minutes of slower walking.

We began yesterday, and right out of the blocks I knew I was in trouble. Elizabeth is "vertically challenged" just like me, however, she can walk faster than a person with legs twice as long. I was already puffing by the time we neared the end of our 5 minute warm-up walk. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by how "easily" (relatively speaking) I made it through the first 60 minute jog. But lest I become overconfident, the second jogging segment was more challenging, and by the third time I was pretty sure that Elizabeth had misread the the stopwatch forcing us to run at least twice as long as we were supposed to ... After that, I think I stopped "jogging" and instead I just leaned forward and walked faster. Probably not the best form, but ya' gotta start somewhere, right?

So, I will try to keep you posted on my progress over the next few weeks. Hopefully there will be lots to report.