Monday, June 14, 2010

Because I don't have enough to do.

So, in the midst of grading 349,857 research papers (again, slight exaggeration...) and about the same number of exams, packing up my classroom to move down the hall, and getting our affairs in order to leave the country for a month, I have decided to begin the 10K training schedule. Not because I'm looney (although, I might possibly be) but because running has become the thing holding my sanity in place (along with doing laundry and inhaling the fumes of Downy Spice Blossom Dare).

After doing and LOVING the Couch to 5K running plan that I completed in April, I decided to continue on the same path and work on the Bridge to 10K, which is put out by the same people. I cannot say enough how much I love these people for coming up with these training plans. They gradually build up to running the full amount. Though I've now been running 3 miles regularly, I will go back to intervals with some walking in between the running parts so I don't wear out my joints/ankles/back/muscles by trying to run too much too fast.

If you're interested, there are actually two plans shown on the page of this link. The Ease to 10K starts on Week 1 and is for running who are just starting out and haven't yet even completed a 5K (although I would recommend just going with the Couch to 5K if you are a beginner, and I, by the way, still consider myself a beginner). The Bridge to 10K starts on Week 6 on the chart and is for people who have finished the Couch to 5K program and are ready to add on.

There is an app for iphones, but of course I still live in 1998 and do not have an iphone. Therefore, I have just bookmarked this page on my computer and constantly refer back.

Today I completed the first day (Week 6, Day 1) of Bridge to 10K:

Warm-up walk: 5 minutes
Run: 10 minutes
Walk: 1 minute
Run: 10 minutes
Walk: 1 minute
Run: 10 minutes
Walk: 1 minute
Run: 10 minutes
Cool-down walk: 5 minutes

It felt great! And translated to about 3.6-3.8 miles. (I accidentally pulled the stupid emergency stop clip on the treadmill and it restarted the entire thing, so that is why I'm estimating my mileage there.) Having a training plan is really the key for me to keep this up, I have discovered.

I'm supposed to do this 2 more times this week. I don't know if this plan is going to hold up in Australia or not. My brother-in-law is a runner and said that I will have plenty of opportunities to run and even offered to run with me, so we will see! I am not going to stress if I don't get to go as often as I would like and have to pick back up in August.

2 comments:

Shelley said...

I tried couch to 5K but then we got hit with the winter whollop and I got hit with knee problems and had to stop. I'm trying to get started again this summer. For you, how does doing it on the treadmill compare to actually running outside? There's a HUGE difference for me. I feel like I can run a lot longer inside than outside. Do you do your training outside as well? I need all the tips I can get!

Let me know how the bridge to 10K works for you! I'm super impressed!

Emily and Patrick said...

Hey Shelley!

I agree there is a HUGE difference between the treadmill and outside! When I started the couch to 5k I started on the treadmill and got up to running 2 miles on the treadmill then moved outside. I was really intimidated to run outside at first, so I made a deal with myself that if I couldn't run that far, that's ok. I also don't run superfast and I just had to let myself be ok with that. My goal was to run (aka jog) the entire time and not to worry about speed. Now, I would much rather run outside than on the treadmill because I get bored on the treadmill! I do use one of the little GPS wristwatch thingies when I run outside so I know how far I've gone. Hope this helps!! Let me know if you start again!

Emily