Week 6 Day 2

Date: 12/23/09
Time of Day: 9:30 PM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 51 degrees F, windy
Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeve wicking shirt, hockey compression shorts, shorts

Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

 

So, if you're like me, you've noticed that it's taken me forever to get through Weeks 5 and 6. Life's been getting in the way a little. My boss quit, so work is stressing me out. Plus all kinds of hockey games put me home late at night. Then, of course, Christmas.

 

Long story short, I'm getting a little out of my routine. Hopefully I'll get back into it. I've already planned on bringing my running stuff to my mom's to run tomorrow. Christmas Day and W6D3 will be one and the same.

 

Anyway. To the run. As I mentioned on Saturday, I really didn't have any trouble getting through the run, I just ran out of time.

 

It was very windy when I went out last night, though. The first 10 minutes were actually a little harder than I was expecting. Of course, I'm getting out of my routine, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Also, when I was showing the route to a friend the other day, I realized that the entire out portion of the route is uphill. Probably explains why I had so much trouble with the 20. I was trying to do it uphill.

 

Anyway, I knew that if I got through the first 10, the second should be a lot easier since it would be on the downhill.

 

It was hard, but it wasn't the hardest run I've had. I didn't feel like I was going to die or vomit or anything when the first 10 ended, but I did feel the need to make the 3 minute walk a little slower than usual. Considering I had another 10 coming up, I'd be sure to be rested. I'd never run two runs that long back-to-back.

 

The second run, as I mentioned, was mostly on a gradual downhill. Thus, it wasn't that difficult. Again, it wasn't exactly easy. You can't just go get on a 26.2 mile slope and expect to finish a marathon, but it is easier on your legs.

 

When the cooldown chimed, I was in the middle of crossing an intersection. I figured it wasn't safe to just suddenly pull into a walk in the middle of the intersection, so I ran through it. When I hit the sidewalk, I decided to run until the pavement changed. When I got there, I decided to run out the cooldown.

 

Thus, my second interval was 15 minutes. Even on a downhill, I'm surprised that I'm able to push that far when less than 3 months ago I struggled to get a minute. And now I can run 15 minutes after already running for 10 minutes.

 

The worst part of the run, honestly, was the podcast. It was a short story read by this woman with the most grating, nasally voice. And it never seemed to end. I lost the plot because I was so focused on how she overpronounced words that it was about to drive me mad. It was almost like I was trying to run away from her. But it was done. I only have one more podcast left on my New Yorker Fiction. Then we'll have to move into something new.

 

So tomorrow...I try the 25. I'm not that worried. I've done 20. It's just five more minutes...and I've shown that I have no trouble getting just 5 more minutes. I'll probably do a brief warmup run before I go for it...but unlike the 20, I'm not worried about it at all.

 

25 on the 25th! That's the goal!

Week 6 Day 2 Attempt 1

Date: 12/19/09
Time of Day: 7:45 AM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 39 degrees F, sprinkly

Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeve wicking shirt over short sleeve wicking shirt, compression shorts, shorts

Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

Yesterday's run was annoying.

It's one thing to end a run because something is hurting...it's another to end the run because you run out of time.

A couple of weeks ago I started Weight Watchers, and I've been attending the Saturday morning 9 am sessions.

Yesterday, I got out the door at 7:45 am. My theory was that running before my meeting would help me lose weight. Unfortunately, my time math was off.

As per the past few times, I started with a brief warm up run. This one was 7 minutes. After the 7 minute run, I started into my warmup.

W6D2 features two 10 minute runs separated by a 3 minute walk. I started into my first 10 minute run, which was uphill for the most part. It was a little difficult, but I completed it.

However, I actually passed my starting point on the second run and decided to stop the run because I had a feeling I was running late. Sure enough...it was 8:30. I had 30 minutes to shower and get to Weight Watchers.

No time to finish my run, no time to cool down. I had to go inside, shower and get back out the door.

So I'll try again tonight. I know I can do it...and could probably move on to W6D3, considering I was getting along pretty nicely, but I don't want to cheat.

I'm not considering this a failure...because I really didn't. This is an abort.

Week 6 Day 1

Date: 12/14/09
Time of Day: 10:00 PM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 53 degrees F

Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Wicking shirt, compression shorts, shorts

Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

 

For a week and a half before Christmas, the weather was surprisingly comfortable. I mean, I ran in shorts and a highly breathable t-shirt.

 

Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time knows about my struggle with the 20 minute Week 5 run. It took me over 3 weeks to complete it. I've heard Week 6 is actually harder because you go back to intervals.

 

I admit that I haven't looked at what Week 6 entailed at all. I was so focused on finishing W5D3, that I really wasn't sure of what I was getting into last night. Turns out that W6D1 was a 5 minute run-3 minute walk-8 minute run-3 minute walk-5 minute run.

 

I actually started the first run expecting it to be 10 minutes. When the chime came on telling me to walk, I was admittedly a little disappointed. After preparing for a longer run, the first one was already done.

 

The 3 minute walk came and went and I started my 8 minute run. When I was going through Week 5 the first time, I was practically about to keel over during my 8 minute runs. This time, I started on an uphill. At around the time the C25K app hit the halfway chime, I hit the 1 mile point. That gave me a little pick me up. Then I turned around, ran through the office park parking lot that I had run through the other day (it's really the only flat part of the course), turned back out onto the sidewalk and finished the 8 minutes.

 

Sometimes I admit to wanting to quit. This time, I'll admit that I didn't even feel like I had started yet. The last 5 minutes came and went so quickly that I decided to keep going. At first I was going to push to the end of the street, but I knew I still had energy, so I decided to just run through the cool down. I ended up with a 10 minute run to close out the day, but I probably could have done 20 or even 30 if I had wanted to.

 

It amazes me to say it after how badly W5D3 kicked my ass, but W6D1 was the easiest run so far. By far. It was actually kind of fun once I got going, which is why I pushed the end out. I know W6D2 probably won't be easy, but I can spend the next few days knowing that on at least one day of the C25K, I showed it who was the boss.

 

Week 5 Day 3 - FINALLY!

Date: 12/12/09
Time of Day: 12:00 AM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 25 degrees F

Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeved wicking shirt, compression tights, shorts, fleece pullover, gloves, Under Armour hat
Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

I felt just a wee bit insane.

It was sub-freezing. It was after midnight. But...I needed to get my run in.

I walked out the door with no real plan. I had noticed that during my last run, I actually did better in the middle intervals after a little bit longer walk.

So I started from my usual fire hydrant. After about 7 minutes of running, I decided to pull up. I had decided not to push the first run and just consider it a warmup. Then I walked until my legs felt completely ready. And then a little further just to be safe.

Finally, I hit my turnaround point and started running again.

I took a detour and ran through an office park near the turnaround point and came back out on the main sidewalk...I looked at my watch...I had been running for 4 minutes.

For my next magic trick, I decided that I would at least try to keep running to the stoplight next to the Marriott. My legs really started to feel it, but I did a quick mental rundown of what I was feeling in them and determined that it was effort and not pain or fatigue...so I'd be best to just keep pushing.

I hit the stoplight and kept going. I didn't look at my watch. I decided I wouldn't until it was absolutely necessary, but I did notice that my first podcast had run out. That was a good sign.

The second podcast started and I ran past the entrance to my neighborhood. Since it was well past midnight, the stoplight had gone into blinking mode. I ran looking over my shoulder and headed across the street past the entrance and onto the route that I call "Neighborhood Route". I ran down to the street that I usually turn on and then turned right.

This portion of the route, as I have mentioned, is a gradual uphill. I took it on...When I hit the end of the sidewalk on the uphill, I looked at my watch.

I had run for 22 minutes.

And...it was actually pretty damn easy.

I think I'm going to try it again tomorrow just to be sure. But...WEEK 5 IS FINALLY COMPLETE!

Off-Plan Run 2

Date: 12/8/09
Time of Day: 6:00 AM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 43 degrees F

Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeved wicking shirt, compression shorts, shorts
Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

 

Wow...it's been almost a week since I've run. I was actually extremely worried this morning that my fitness may have significantly deteriorated.

 

For the past week or so, I've used the temperature and the lateness as an excuse not to run. Slowly, the days continued to creep up on me. Finally, I decided to do something about it. I'm never doing anything at 5:30 AM besides sleeping, so why not do it then?

 

Oddly, after years of making plans like that and never sticking to them, it was actually extremely easy for me to get up this morning. It was still dark out...and I felt like Bart Simpson ("There's a 5:30 in the morning?!?!"). My cat, Lexie, is obviously very attuned to my schedule, as I actually woke up before her for once. In fact, once I got out of bed, she went and curled up on one of the blankets and went back to sleep...but I digress...

 

After taking my shower and brushing my teeth (I figured this would save time when I got back), I popped an energy gel (since I was on an empty stomach) and headed out the door.

 

My plan was to do some Gallowalking again and try to at least get to 30 minutes. I did have the slight issue of a time crunch, as I didn't get to my starting point until about 6:10, which means that when I do this Thursday, I'll be waking up about 15 minutes earlier.

 

The first half of the first four minute interval was fairly normal, no pain, a little bit of soreness, but the second half was a lot more difficult than I was expecting. When I hit the end and walked my minute, the soreness actually started to intensify.

 

I pushed my way through 2 minutes of the second interval and began to worry that I had managed to destroy everything I had built up. I could not push further, so I walked after the 2 minutes. Then after the brief walk, I managed another two minute run. This put me at 8 minutes of total running. By now, however, my legs were exploding. There was no way I was going to be able to run again in 1 minute.

 

So I didn't.

 

I walked from there for about 5 minutes. Finally the throbbing in my legs had subsided and I took off again, hoping for at least 2. When I got to around 1:30, I realized I could hit 4 minutes. Again, I walked untimed after this interval. I had run 12 minutes so far. Somehow, someway, I was going to have to fit in 8 more minutes of running. After about another 3 minutes of walking, I started running again.

 

And kept running.

 

And kept running.

 

And finally when I realized I was going to reach the end of my route before I ran out of gas, I turned around and ran the other way. Finally, I maxed out at 12 minutes...the longest I've ever run in one stint. It wasn't the 20 minutes that I'm trying to attain, but it was definitely uncharted waters. Part of it made me realize the benefit of the warm up. The other part made me realize that I'm probably a lot closer to that 20 than I thought. With a week off, I managed to put in my longest interval to date. I don't know the science behind that...but I like it.

 

Thursday morning, it's supposed to be in the low 20's...which means I will finally break out the tights.

Off-Plan Run 1

Date: 12/2/09
Time of Day: 10:00 PM
Location: Marriott Route

Conditions: 43-45 degrees F, windy, light rain (35-38 degree wind chill)
Music: New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Clothing: Long sleeved wicking shirt, compression shorts, shorts (note that I am eschewing brand names from here on out, as it's hard to keep up with)
Shoes: Nike Air Pegasus 26+

Last week I had a bad bad week. We all knew it.

This week so far hadn't started out too great either. The Predators played on Monday night, which again put my arrival home at too late to do anything worthwhile. Then Tuesday night, I just felt plain crappy. I don't know if I was sick or just exhausted, but I didn't feel like all the Patten I could be.

Finally, last night...I was able to get started with my Off-Plan runs.

Needless to say, I had no idea how it was going to go. Essentially, I haven't run in a week...and haven't run significantly in almost a week-and-a-half. While I really wanted to Gallowalk enough intervals to at least get 20 minutes total running time, I was just going to go as far as I could and re-establish my fitness base. I knew that while taking a week off doesn't help...it also probably didn't totally wreck what I had built up.

So...I hit the door. First thing's first...it was chilly. It was raining and the wind was blowing heavily. As I walked to my starting point, all I could think was, "I should have worn gloves." But, since I was already out the door, that wasn't an option. Next time.

I reached my starting point - a fire hydrant - ran through some quick stretches, made sure my shoes were tied appropriately and took off.

Since I don't have an iPod app to help me here, I had to improvise. I pulled out my Timex IronMan watch, set the timer to 1 minute and started the stopwatch function. The alarm went off at every one minute interval and I would check the stopwatch. If the minute portion of the stopwatch ended with a 4 or a 9, I would walk. If not, I ran. It actually sounds more convoluted than it was...it was really quite simple.

My first 4 minute run was easy. Almost too easy. When I say it was easy, I mean...it was easy. There was no struggle, there was no push, there were no mind games. That was a good sign. Two months ago...4 minutes was unheard of, yet during this run, it was absolutely nothing. I knew it wouldn't stay that way, but it was good to know.

The first 1 minute walking portion flew by...before I knew it, I was running again. The second 4 were not so easy, partially because it was a hill...and partially because I discovered quickly that the 1 minute walks were so short that they were not breaks so much as brief bits of recharging. At this point, I wasn't to the 1 mile point...I thought to myself, "I can probably get one more interval in." I figured 12 minutes of running would be a good start. Plus, I'd have time to walk back and listen to the rest of my short story.

After the second run, though, the 1 minute flew by and I was off to the races again. As I mentioned, I was planning on the third run being my last and I finished it just as I hit the one mile point. The third run was the hardest yet. However, I still had some juice left.

Now, in my head, I determined that I could get to 15 minutes. I'd run a minute and walk a minute for the next 3. So, when the 1 minute walk ended, I kicked into gear...but after the first minute of running ended, I decided...may as well try for 2. When I hit 2, I was like...hey, we'll just finish this one out.

With 16 minutes of running in the bag, I had 1 minute to figure out what to do. I didn't know how much I had left in the tank, so when my alarm beeped at me, I just kicked into a run to see what would happen. Before I knew it...I was done. 20 minutes of running in the bag. Frankly, I didn't see that coming.

What I really didn't see coming, was what came next. My timer went off again and I thought, "What the hell?"

I ran again. Minutes 20-24 of running...probably the hardest of the day, but I didn't have a doubt in my mind. I devised my new plan.

Instead of turning back home when I hit my usual turn, I crossed the crosswalk. My minute walk ended in the middle of the crosswalk and I high-tailed it again. Again, this 4 minutes wasn't easy, but it was extremely doable. I don't really remember anything aching.

28 minutes done. By now you should know what I was shooting for. Last one should be easy. If not easy, at least not impossible. After all, I was only running 2 minutes. The goal was 30 minutes. More importantly, the max was 30 minutes. In the back of my mind, that was my pre-established maximum...but I never thought I'd actually be here.

Yet...over 2 miles down the path (as I've mentioned before...I'm not fast...yet), the timer beeped. 30 minutes of running done...in 37 minutes.

Without a doubt, this was the best run I've had so far on the plan. To be honest, I probably could have finished the 20 last night, but I've decided that until I can do it every time, I probably shouldn't attempt it.

I think I'll repeat the exact same exercise at least one more time before I start increasing the length of the runs. I'm also considering adding a 4th day of running to each week. I was thinking of alternating running and walking every 30 seconds for as long as I could do it on Saturday.

The best part is that my confidence is back and I feel like I'm doing something again.