Heather's Training - Week 7

Training Day # 16 - July 4, 2010

Headed back to the gym today. Had to go early since the gym was closing early for the holiday. I actually chose a treadmill that didn’t squeak and didn’t have a TV on a timer. Score. Of course, I had all of the treadmills to choose from, so that helped. I’m getting pretty good at choosing times when the gym isn’t overly crowded so I have my pick of the machines.

The first 10-15 minutes were kind of tough. I started with the 2/3 interval and I was struggling a bit during the runs. But, halfway through I started to feel stronger and decreased my walk times and increased my run times. By the last 7-8 minutes, I kept the speed at a run and just hopped off for 10 seconds here and there to try to catch my breath. I didn’t do it too often, but it helped me to keep from having to switch back to a walk speed.

Overall, I finished with 2.55 miles. Sweet. I’m slowly getting to my goal. I still wish I was accomplishing more, but I’m happy with how far I’ve come. I need to work on continuing to decrease the total amount of time that I’m walking, so that when I run outside, I can focus entirely on the run times. Because I clearly can’t walk very fast when I’m outside.

I’m happy with the start to this week’s training and I hope I can keep it up.

Side note to the lady on the treadmill wearing white pajama pants and blue underwear: Fail.

Training Day #17 - July 6, 2010

Holy Mind Over Matter, Batman. I decided to kick things up a notch and try to walk for two minutes and then run until I reached the end of a 1/2 mile. That took about 4 minutes, so I was doing a 12-minute mile. Not too bad for this stage in the game. The first mile was pretty solid. Not easy, but solid. The next 18 were a bit of a struggle, but I did manage to continue and finish with this interval.

It was a complete Mind Over Matter kind of day. And if the people next to me could hear what I was screaming inside my head, they would think I was bat-shit-ham-sandwich-butterfinger-crazy. I felt like Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser was standing over my shoulder the entire time, because I was determined to finish strong. “Run, damn you, run!” was going through my head more than once. That and a slew of other things I probably shouldn’t type, because I don’t need any of you thinking I’m any wackier than I already am. I was watching the time like a hawk. 30...29...28...27...26...shit 25 seconds left...23...22...21...20 seconds, really? f*@&%!!!...15...14...13...For. The. Love. Of all things holy in this world, can I just finish running yet?...2....1...About damn time.

Despite the fact that I ran for a total of 20 minutes and only walked for 10 (Yay Me!) I only made it 2.52 miles. WTF? Are ya freakin’ kidding me? I ran my ass off tonight. I sweat in places I didn’t even know had sweat glands. I pushed my sore aching body further than I thought I could. Shit. I guess I wasn’t running quite fast enough or something because my walking speed was off the charts. The guy next to me even looked at me kinda funny during my powerwalk phases. (It was either the way I was walking or the 62 gallons of sweat pouring down my face. It’s a toss up.) I guess I have to push past the 5.3-5.4 running speed in order to make any more progress. Son of a biscuit. This does not make me happy right now. I can go up to 5.7 for a little while, but I’m not sure I can run that fast for 20 minutes. Guess that will have to be the next goal. Joy.

Side note: I know that trainers work with sweaty smelly people all day and they probably get really tired of smelling foul body odor, but that does not give them license to wear an entire bottle of cologne. Hey buddy, here’s a term you should be pretty familiar with: “portion control.”

Training Day #18 - July 8, 2010

Lots of distractions at the gym tonight. Which was good since I needed any distraction I could to take my mind off of running. I know a lot of people enjoy running because it gives them time to clear their head and just decompress, but how does it not get monotonous and boring? I need some kind of stimulation to keep me out of my head.

Fortunately for me, there was an abundance of distractions tonight. First, there was something sharp and pokey in my knee brace that kept jabbing me every 8 or 9 minutes. That was super fun. Especially when I would wince a bit when it would work its way into my skin. I still have no idea what was poking me. Next was the Zumba class going on next to me. That was rife with visual stimulation. (Zumba is a type of aerobics class that mixes latin dance moves, a bit of hip hop and aerobics.) I know I shouldn’t make fun of people since I was gifted with rhythm, but come on. How can I not giggle when I see some of those people attempting to shake their hips and instead shaking their knees? I can’t even begin to describe the half hour of entertainment I got from watching that class.

Then there was the fact that I got a treadmill that felt like it was going to fall apart every time I ran. I was paranoid I was going to break the damn thing. The Cardinal game was also on, so I got to enjoy some closed captioning that described our pitchers as Chris Carbohydrate and Adam Wane Wrat. Brilliant typing skills folks.

Back to the running. I was determined to fare better than Tuesday’s run. I started with a brisk walk for 2 minutes, then ran for 4. I upped my run speed to 5.5 instead of 5.3. Next, I walked for 1 minute, ran for 5. Dear Lord in Heaven, I thought I would never make it. I was heaving and gasping for air. Then two minute walk, 4 minute run, 1 minute walk, 5 minute run and then repeat until the end. I miraculously made it to the end and even got a bit stronger the more I ran. I know I ran on sheer willpower alone, because that’s about all that got me through the run. Oh, that and the guy running next to me, who I wasn’t sure was cute or not. I didn’t want to look over at him while running because a) hello, totally obvious and b) hello, totally not coordinated enough.

I finished with 2.61 miles. Yes!!! I’m getting there baby, I’m getting there. :)

Side note: Guy next to me turned out to be a butter face...bummer.