Couch to 5K – Week 5, Day 1 (mileage workout)

As I posted on Wednesday, September 4^th, I’m trying something different with week five.

Breakfast: Greek yogurt and homemade trail mix, water with acai berry flavor EmergenC.

Brisk five minute warm up walk

Brief stretching routine

Jog half mile/walk quarter mile; Jog half mile/walk quarter mile; jog half mile.

Longer stretch routine and hydration

Okay…this was harder. This…THIS is what I remember running feeling like, lo those many years ago when I was nineteen and thinking about joining the army for the language school.

I was tired pre-run today. Despite two rest days and a good breakfast and hydration and enough sleep.  Still tired. It’s just me, something I deal with sometimes. Okay, lots of times. Most of the time. It’s a physical side effect from combination of physical and mental…things.

Do my ellipses bother you? GOOD!

Sorry, not sure where that bitchiness came from.

I was tired in a way which makes me feel weak and scared and I did not want to go out. But I went out anyway. The first half mile I ran in 7:45. Just before the first walk segment the sombrero-clad Random Town Lady made a brief appearance but she turned off my road again before I got near her.  Honestly I prefer it that way.

During the second half mile jog segment it started to rain! So that was fun! Ran that in 8:23.

Third half mile jog segment I didn’t time because by then I’d stuck my chronograph under my shirt to keep the rain off of it. I really liked running in the rain, it was very refreshing. I was really starting to feel like I was doing a workout this segment. Like I was really pushing myself in a good way. Breathing fairly elevated but not gasping, not struggling. Muscles working hard, pushing to get to the end but not feeling weak anymore. Tired, but not weak. Tired from hard work, which is much preferable to tired from feeling weak.  As I was almost home, I had the feeling I might need to throw up, but it passed within a minute and by the time I reached the driveway I felt really, really happy and good.

Not quite this happy, but happy.
Photo credit: Kerim Okten / EPA
Story: Blind runner's despair turns to joy at Paralympics- This is a thing. Check it out.

 

Then I was home! I did my stretching, took a shower, and DB and I made hash for breakfast.  I taught him the easy way to chop an onion and the secrets to the tastiest hash.

Now we have to get ready for driving practice.  We’re going to drive to the grocery store to buy more ingredients for cooking lessons.