Stephanie's Training - Week 11

Training Day #32 - August 2, 2010

We’re at Tan-Tar-A Resort down at Osage Beach for a couple of days. My husband has his annual Superintendent’s Conference and the girls and I usually tag along for some much needed “away” time.

I’m headed down to the resort’s gym to do my daily run. In all the years we have been coming down here, I’ve never set foot in this place to actually exercise. It’s usually been just a “walk through” to the indoor pool. :)

Anyways, I had the girls and knew they would grow bored quickly, so I had them each bring a book to read. I parked them in a couple of benches near the closest treadmill.
Now these treadmills were state of the art….they had bells and whistles all over them….I like these!

I have to admit I was pretty hesitant today….especially after last Friday’s run. I wasn’t sure if I should just take off and jog until I needed a break or set intervals to walk/run. I decided I’d take the latter. I wanted to survive to run another day, so let’s take things slow and do some intervals.

These treadmills had the “5K loop” option. I started off with a good 5 minute warm-up walk and then took my speed up to 4.8 and jogged for 10 minutes. That was my interval today…..walk 5/jog 10.

That was a good interval and I felt really good today. No weird sensations or dizziness. I completed the 3.1 miles in approx. 41:34 minutes, which is about a minute over last Wednesday’s run. Not too bad. I can handle that. :)

And, can I take one of these machines home with me…….. :)

Training Day #33 - August 4, 2010

We returned home from the Lake yesterday, so it’s back to the rec center I go. I guess I’m going to have to settle for the “plain jane” treadmills. :)

I realized when I got to the rec center that I forgot my MP3 player. I had unpacked it and set it on the counter. Well…..just going to have to find an interesting show to watch, I guess.

I spent about 15 minutes on the weights and then headed to the treadmill. I turned on the TV and found the “Bonnie Hunt Show”. And on after that was “The Price Is Right”. I really don’t know what it is about that show…….maybe since I haven’t seen it in ages…….maybe that is what makes it soooo interesting..

I plugged in the “5K Loop” program and off I went. I warmed up with a 5 minute walk and then set the speed at 5.0 and took off on my jog. I ran for 10 minutes, needed a break, and walked for 2 minutes before jogging again. I ran another 10 minutes and this time took a 3 minute walk break. At this point, I’m getting close to the “down hill slide” and kick up the speed to 5.0 to jog. I got to about 2/10ths of my distance left and kicked up my speed to 5.5.

THAT TOOK EVERY OUNCE OF FOCUS!! AND MUSTERING ENOUGH OXYGEN TO FINISH!

I hit the 3.12 miles and my time………a new goal….40:12! Ten seconds faster!

OK…..time….to……recover……..whew!!!!!!!!!!

Training Day #34 - August 6, 2010

Nervous? Anxious? Not sure what the pit in my stomach represents, but I know it makes me a little nervous to know I’m running with Megan outside today. I’m not nervous about Megan (chuckle)….I’m nervous about the outdoors part. ;) I get a little anxious at the challenge.

I met Megan at her apartment. We stretched and off we went. We decided to set a good walking pace for the first mile or so and then we kicked it in. I let Megan know that if she needed to run on ahead, I’d catch up……..at some point. I wasn’t sure how far I’d be behind her but I didn’t want to stifle her run.

I was gasping at first. Really trying not to hyperventilate. I kept breathing in-and-out so quickly, that I had to focus hard on controlling and taking deep in-and-out breaths.

I also had carried along a water bottle. I knew it would be cumbersome, but that I also wouldn’t be able to make it without it. I switched it from one hand to the other and realized that was jacking with my rhythm. I had pockets today and slid that down into my pocket. Good thing the ‘ol shorts had drawstrings!! It was cumbersome in the pockets, but I could deal………

I didn’t have a way to keep track of distance or minutes between my running and walking intervals. I just ran til I needed to quit and took a short walking break, then was back at it.

It was a nice morning which really helped. The breeze was great to keep somewhat cool.

The last leg of the run was a few blocks away and I was doing pretty well. Megan was about 3 blocks ahead of me. As I rolled to the “finish line”, I was proud of my run today. Not fully where I want to be, but great for the first attempt outdoors.

Megan uses her IPhone and the cool app that goes with it to keep track of her efforts and according to her, we ran in 39:?? (I don’t remember the seconds, but I sure remember the minutes!) I would say that I can consistently run the 5K in approx. 40 minutes. That’s encouraging to me. :)

Let’s see what next week brings!!