3 minutes - DONE

I didn't run Saturday or Sunday. I was busy, but mostly, I just didn't want to face the 3 minute run that has vexed me for almost 4 weeks now. I also ate pizza and gained a pound and a half this week. In all, a great week to throw in the towel. I don't think I have been more discouraged in a looooooooong time. I did do something usefully this weekend and that is I read a lot on the C25K boards - specifically looking for "Why am I stuck at Week 3?". I did find some posts (although more about getting stuck at Week 4) and the answer was always the same: SLOW DOWN.

Dude, if I was going slower, I'd be standing still.

So, I don't know what made me put on the shoes and go today, but I did. And I slowed down to 17.38 minutes per mile. Guess what? I did it! THREE LONG MINUTES - TWICE! Plus the two 90 second runs (which I did 4 of because I keep going to 2 miles). So, I did the day exactly as it is supposed to be done, plus some. And for this, I deserve a charm for my goals bracelet!
I picked a little girl charm to represent my most precious angel daughter, Zaine. Of everyone in my life, she has been the most supportive of me going on this journey. Of course, she doesn't understand how much that means to me, but it really really does.
She inspires me and I love her more than words can say. Now I can look at my bracelet and I have one more thing to remind me why I need to keep moving forward!

I think I will finish out Week 3 this week so I have a good base of the 3 minutes. They also say on the boards that speed comes later, so I will not stress on that part, I guess. It's more important to have the longer times and work on speeding up later. I do still have a year and two months, so there is no need to stress!
But YAY! I did it! I really didn't think I could, but I did and that mental hurdle was a huge one for me. Whoopee!!

I made it to 2 minutes!

I was crazy busy yesterday and didn't get a chance to work in a run. Today I did W3D2 over and did the full 90 seconds both times, then for the 3 minutes, I did 2 minutes the first time and 90 seconds the second. A definite improvement!

After much thought, I have decided to let go of my grand plans to bust through C25K as it is laid out and instead, do it at my own pace. This means repeating weeks until I can do the run as it is supposed to be done. Of course, this ruins my plans to run the Raleigh Rocks 1/2 Marathon in April... well, I think so anyway. Maybe at some point, it will get easier? I've read that once you start running any distance, you can zone out and it isn't as hard. Right now, 2 minutes is all I can do.

I will repeat Week 3 again next week and hopefully, I'll nail the 3 minute run by then.

I really don't get how anyone could literally be a couch potato and start C25K and run it exactly as laid out in the 9 weeks. It makes me feel crappy that I can not, but I can't compare myself to others, I guess. I can only go at my own pace and that's what will work for me. Slow but steady wins the race...

Zaine has not been training with me since I have been doing my runs during the day. I need to get back out of the road with her. It's so fun to spend that time with her and it makes the runs go faster.

Oh, almost forgot - today's stats:
I walked 2 miles in 37 minutes
Walk Pace - 20.00/mile (slowed it down to hopefully help on the longer run)
Run Pace - 15.00/mile

I have to fight this discouraged feeling and just accept that it is going to take a loooooooooong time to get into the kind of shape I want to be in. SIGH.

I got shoes!

I went to iHop with my mom and Zaine this morning since school was out. In the same shopping center is the Raleigh Running Outfitters (which I had been wanting to visit for shoe advice, but was waiting until I lost 10 lbs before buying them). Well, we stopped in and my credit card came out. I was recommended the Saucony ProGrid Ride 4 shoes and they are a comfy fit. I also bought Zaine a pair of running shoes. She got the Saucony ProGrid Guide 4 which look similar to mine but have a touch more pink. They were on sale. I got a SweatyBand too. I am such a sucker when I want to spend money!

Can you feel wonderful and like you're agonna die at the same time?
This is how I feel right now.

So, I ran Week 1, Day 1 of C25K and for the first 10 minutes I was wondering if I needed something more remedial... say "Couch 2 Driveway" maybe. For those of you unfamiliar, you walk 2 minutes and then run for a minute. This seems easy, right? IT IS NOT. AT ALL. Especially if you are as out of shape as I appear to be. However, I ran most of the one minutes and when I couldn't do 1 minute, I did 45 seconds at least. This was not full on running, mind you. Just light jogging. But it felt like torture. If zombies were chasing me and I had to maintain that run, I would have just stopped and offered them my brains willingly. (That's a little tip of the hat to today's Halloween celebration. Normally, I will not be discussing zombies in great depth).

So... how did I do?
I covered 1.63 miles in 30 minutes.
My run pace was a 16.02 minute mile.
My walk space was a 19.13 minute mile.
My average pace was a 18.59 minute mile.

This is TOO SLOW for the Princess 1/2. They require a 16 minute mile. But for day one, I am closer to the 16 minutes than I thought. So, that is not all bad. And hey, my run speed was a slow jog and that was in the 16 range. I am not too displeased and more than anything, I am thrilled I got off my butt to DO SOMETHING.

Here's the best part, my darling daughter Zaine, age 9, went with me! She thinks it would be fun to train with me and I am so excited!! She has off school today so we went running in the AM, but for the future, we will go after she gets home from school. She has musical theater on Tuesdays and Fridays, so we will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I think I will repeat days in between. Like tomorrow, I am going to try W1D1 again to see if I can do all the minute runs without stopping at 45 seconds.

Supposedly, it gets easier. That was what I read on the interwebs and you know what you read online is always the truth. Actually, Jeff Galloway, the coach type person for RunDisney, says this - so I really do believe it. I think showing up is more than half the battle, so if I just keep getting out there I'll have to make progress.

So yay me! And yay Zaine! We are moving in the right direction!!