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.