Day 38: Thursday, April 30, 2009

Well, today I ran (more accurately jogged) - and kind of just kept going. I improved over the previous few days workouts, at least on the treadmill.

When I got on the treadmill, I walked for one minute at 4 MPH - this initial walk, I do not think I will be able to do anything about, since during this time I work to get my weight and age entered into the treadmill and to make sure everything is as it should be - at any rate, I walked for the first minute, and then I began at 5.2 MPH. I ran for the next 14 minutes straight before slowing my pace again to 4 MPH to catch my breath. One minute of walking later, I began to run again, and ran for the next 4 minutes, until the total time on the treadmill totaled 20 minutes.

I then slowed again, and began to walk, this time, for two minutes before upping my speed to 5.2 MPH again, which I then ran for 3 minutes before again slowing my speed. I slowed again after 2 minutes and then walked another one, before upping my speed for another 2 minutes - effectively giving me 24 minutes worth of running in 30 minutes.

But I wasn't done. At the 30 minute mark, I walked until 31 minutes into my workout and began to run again. I ran for another 3 minutes, growing weary at this point, before again slowing to a walk. I had to do it though, I had to push myself to get to 30 minutes worth of running in 40 minutes time. I upped my speed after another minute of walking, and ran for 2 minutes, I was almost there, but I had to slow. I walked for 30 seconds before upping my speed to run that final minute needed. I then slowed to a walk to complete my workout and cooled down for a minute at varying slowing speeds.

What I did accomplish, even though my speed was only 5.2 MPH during the times which I ran, was completing 3.1 miles (the distance of a 5k) in about 38 minutes. Something, that a few months ago seemed highly unlikely! And while I was tired, I wasn't THAT exhausted. Yes, I did have to slow my pace at the times that I did, and yes, towards the end of my time tonight, I was worn down - my legs ached slightly, but mostly, my breathing was becoming increasingly intense. I probably could have continued, but I figured, why push myself too far too fast? After all, running for 30 minutes out of 40, even at the pace of 5.2 MPH, is a big deal for me, and I'm happy I was able to complete the task (though, technically, I did not set out for this to be the task, but as time moved forth, I knew I could do it, and began striving for it).

In total, I walked 10 minutes at 4 MPH for a distance of 0.67 miles, I ran at 5.2 MPH for 30 minutes for a distance of 2.60 miles, and complete with cool down, I completed 41 minutes for a distance of 3.30 miles. It was definitely a good workout, and I am certainly moving in the right direction again (after my weeks of falling off, due to circumstances or otherwise). This week has been a good week - and good for motivation.