magicicada

One day, I no longer remember when or how, I decided that I was going to start running. I know that it was in April, because I wrote a cinquain about it as my Poem of the Day for Napowrimo. I found an 8 week running program and decided to give it a go. I had to repeat a few weeks, and life happened here and there. Somehow, I reached the beginning of Fall Semester and there was no chance of me being able to run. This was also when I was still working full-time. Spring semester was also a no-go. However, when that semester was over, I restarted it from the beginning as it had been 8 months. This was also in order to help get myself in shape for a 2 week trip to France. I guess it helped, or I would have had an even tougher time. However, as it happened, I was reduced to hobbling by the time I got back home. After a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis and a few months of taking it easy, I started up again. This was probably early October, although I am not entirely sure. Because I was repeating my second start on the program, I just used checkmarks until I passed where I had started again. The program calls for running on 5 out of 7 days and I rarely was able to do that because of scheduling. However, I only had to repeat a few days. I may not have been able to skip ahead, but the prior times doing the program had obviously helped with my conditioning.

Yesterday, I finished. The final days instructions look like this:

Sunday - Extend your run again today if you are feeling up to it. Warm up for 10 minutes. Jog for 2.25 miles. Cool down with 10 minutes of walking. If you are feeling fatigued from yesterday's run, just run 1 mile today.

I took the mile option. This past week, I started getting the first warnings of knee pain. Wednesday's 2 mile run was followed by weights and I was aching until Friday. As a heavier runner, shin splints and knee problems really scare me. I may run slowly, but I do not want to wash out of the sport entirely. Saturday, I was feeling fine, but conflicted about which length run to do. My 2 mile run had been indoors (track, not treadmill) and I was afraid of increasing with hills and pushing it too far. I decided to compromise. I took the 1 mile option - up and down the ohmigod hill. I am not sure how this falls on the scale of things, but the total elevation change was 80 feet. Since this was an out and back route, the increase/decrease actually occurred over the course of a half-mile. And (because I have not complained enough) the uphill portion was at the end. There were many points when I regretted my choice. Those would be all of the points up to about the last 20 sidewalk squares, but I survived. My times have been slowing lately (wah?) and it took me slightly over 20 minutes to do the mile.

Tomorrow, I will jump into the next running program "Your First 5K Race" on Week 2. It seems to be the right point as it begins:

Run 2.25 miles easy. You add a quarter mile to your previous longest run. You will make gradual increases in mileage throughout the program.

Actually, you could say that I started today because the Monday/First day in this program is also a rest day :). I am trying to decide if my first 5K will be in the middle of March, the end of March or the beginning of April. Right now, it will take me an hour at best and I'm not sure I want to come in last on another race.

8 week running program

actually, i've heard a few people mention this as a fairly sane and logical program. again, with my theoretical new schedule this should be possible. it looks like many of the workouts are in 30 minute intervals which is fairly doable.

so, who's with me? and for that matter, who is thoroughly beyond me? this is to work up to running 2 miles solid which is a fairly feeble goal in the cosmic scheme of things.