Last Couch to 5k Update (#5)

This will be the last post of the Couch to 5k series until…I run my 5k! I can’t wait! I’m really looking forward to it and while I’m a bit nervous about it because my training is going so slowly, I’m excited to be part of a race again.

Week 7

Reflecting back on my progress I am a little discouraged at how slow I was with the training. Having to do multiple weeks over again slowed me down and made it hard to progress. I think I was being over-cautious. I wrote about the huge jump in the Couch to 5k app before. I really didn’t like how much of a jump it was. It went from running around 8 or 10 minutes at a time to 22 minutes! Basically just a 5 minute warm-up, the run, then a 5 minute cool down.  I disliked this because it made me feel inadequate and I knew I wasn’t really for a big jump like that. As a result I haven’t been using the app much now.

Week 8

This is the time I started to freak out. I looked at the calender and realized the 5k was only a few short weeks away. I started to panic. I over-analyzed the entire training program, I criticized my progress and was kicking myself or not forcing myself to do 3 runs each week no matter what. Had I done that, I think my training would have been a lot further along. But at the same time, it also could have lead to injury. So who knows.

Week 9

This week was hard. My knee had a flare up that last about 5 days and really depressed me. I took a break from running and did other things. I was glad I could go back to weight lifting. My hope is that all the cross training I did with the Warrior Room helped prepare me even though I couldn’t fit in 3 runs a week on a consistent basis. Here was the final week before the race:

Week 10

The run I did on Tuesday -3.49 miles was great! I was unsure about knees because I was coming back from that really bad week. I told myself I’d go slow and just see what happens. I went to the neighborhood track early in the morning and had a lovely run as the sun was coming up.

I ran for 1 mile and then walked one time around the track. Then I ran 3/4 of a mile without a walk break. My knees were doing okay and that was encouraging. I walked the long way back to the house and ended up getting in almost 3.5 miles in.

Lots of stretching and preventative icing of the knees. I felt really good all day long, too. After that week I had about 5 days before the race. I took it fairly easy. I went to the Warrior Room, I did some yoga and swimming. I skipped doing any gardening the day before the race because I’ve made THAT mistake before!!! I wasn’t feeling confident going into this and knew I would have to walk some of it. I hoped that it wouldn’t be too much…

Stay tuned for the race recap!