5K-W5-D3, RACE DAY!!!

Today was race day. Today I finished my first virtual 5K(3.1mile) race. I made it! I completed the training and I am amazed at how far I have come in 5 weeks.

The first week's goal was to jog for 1 minute and then walk for 4 minutes(repeat 5 times). JOG FOR 1 MINUTE! That just about killed me. Sad, I know. Each week I would jog for 30 seconds more and walked less. Each week I thought I'd never make it to the next week. But at the beginning of each week I was surprised to see that I could indeed run for the required amount of time. Day 3 was always the toughest, and I was sure that I'd never be able to add 30 seconds for the next week. But I continued to surprise myself and now I can pretty easily jog for a full 3 minutes.

This past week the muscles in my calves and shins were so tight and sore. I was starting to think that I wasn't going to be able to race today. Wednesday I wasn't able to finish the last interval of running because the pain was so bad. Thursday I woke up with a wicked sinus cold. The fates seemed to be aligned against me. But I pushed forward. I wont lie. It was hard work this morning. My muscles in my calves hurt...a lot. But I was determined to do this. And do it I did! I wasn't fast. 41:30. But I did it. And I noticed that after I had jogged for 3 minutes, I still had more left in me and I could jog for even longer. This gives me great courage for when I start training to run the full 5K. I'm taking a week or two off of jogging to let my muscles heal. I'll keep up walking and riding my bike in place of my regular walk/jog in the mornings. Hopefully after a week or two my legs will feel better and I'll be ready to start in on the next level.

The only frustration I have in the whole thing is that over the past 5 weeks, I haven't lost a single pound. Not ONE! It makes me angry to think about it. So I try not to. I just keep focusing on the goal at hand, to run a full 5k, and I now know I can do it!

5K-W5-D1

Another fabulous morning. Today I was able to jog for 3 minutes!! This is really impressive. I can't believe that I have come as far as I have. This Friday is supposed to be race day, but I am feeling hesitant about doing it that day because day 3 of every week is always a killer. So I was thinking that I would do it on the Monday instead. However, I have learned a few tricks that might help me get through the sluggish Friday training, so we'll see what happens. Not much else to report today. I'm feeling good and ready for the week to come.