Another week...

I ran twice this week. On Tuesday, I ran the first run for week five (five/three/five/three/five). Today, I ran eight minutes, walked for five, and ran eight more. It felt surprisingly good.

I'm torn between sticking with the C25K program or adapting it (the way I did toward the end of the training last fall). One reason I'm considering making up my own version is because the long, break-free runs that the program introduces starting already in week five (the last run of this week, for example, is supposed to be 20 minutes straight) are particularly intimidating to me. I don't know if I actually find them more difficult physically--I'd like to say so, but it could all be mental. But I find it easier, either physically or mentally or both, to do runs with breaks for walking, even if the end result is a longer run total. So I'm tempted to just keep running like I did today, but add a minute onto each leg each time. So the next run will be nine minutes, walk for five, run for nine more. Then ten, etc. When I can get up to running two fifteen minute stretches, I'll work on taking away the break.

I don't know...I'll have to think about it.

The other thing is that my weight is back up. Like, all the way back up. I got on the scale today and was at 139. I know some of it might be bloating due to my very special lady time (sorry guys), but I don't know about seven pounds of water retention. That seems a little steep. I think several Christmas cookies were lurking in the wings somewhere (maybe in my spleen? Or my appendix?) waiting to be metabolized when I least expected them. I don't know a lot about human anatomy, but that's my guess. :)

I'm going to try to stick with a Tuesday/Thursday or Friday/Sunday running schedule. The downside of my schedule this quarter is that the track is much busier at 5 p.m. than it ever was at 2 p.m. (when I usually ran last quarter). And every time I've run this quarter one of my former or current students is on the track, too. Gross. "Make fun of the way I run and I'll fail you," I think. Probably they're totally impressed with my Renaissance-man style skills. "Wow, a master of English literature AND a running enthusiast! I'm going to read all the assignments now due to my increased level of respect!" Um, maybe not.

Starting again.

I'm not starting over entirely, but it's become obvious that I'm not ready to just pick back up where I left off in November. I tried to run yesterday and only managed a mile; I went again today and did the first run of week five (five minutes running, three walking, five running, three walking, five running) and felt better...winded, heart pounding, but good.

So I guess I'll continue with week five next week (probably repeating this first run). It seems like I'm setting myself back so far, but it's not really that bad. Really.

So! I'm back! It's been...more than a month. Well. Here's what I've been up to, exercise-wise.

I think I ran three times in the month of December. Maybe four. Before I went to Ping yesterday, I hadn't run since December 20.

But! I went to Ping yesterday! I got my membership for this quarter! I donned my running attire! I turned on my iTunes! I stretched out and hit the track! And I sucked!

It was bad. I had lost my form, my momentum. I felt like I did midway through my training last quarter. I managed to run a mile, then walk for a few laps, then run another half-mile. I guess I have some reconditioning to do if I want to run in an actual 5k by Valentine's Day (my new goal).

I also got on the scale. Fortunately, despite the many-cookied feasting I indulged in over break, I hadn't gained as much as I feared. 137 even.