Couch to 5K week 3 - DONE!!!

I did it! Outside, on real pavement, with hills, not just on some silly treadmill that was flat and kinda slow.

This was my goal- to be able to say that I was done with Week 3 before the start of Musikfest. Now I can try week 4 once or twice and hopefully when things settle down in two weeks after the show is over I can start back up where I left off on week four without too much trouble.

I started psyching myself up for it last night and I was lucky I got to sleep in the cool air with the window open. I got out of the house about 6 am and it wasn't even 70 degrees out. I think that running in the cool is my best thing. Once it gets warm my lungs have more trouble with the humidity. When the alarm went off at 5, it was so nice in my room, and I knew I was ready and that I could do it this morning.

I shortened my route down by one block to reduce the hills some and took the pace slow and easy, I was finished with the five minute cool down as I came up my stairs into the kitchen. Perfect timing. I felt slow. I think in my mind running should be fast, like we do when we are kids, but I am just not there. I need to go for time, then speed/distance. One step at a time.

I told K the other day, since she is going through a few life changing things all at once, to just pick one thing, do it, and then go on to the next. Well my one thing is running these intervals- the time of these intervals, and not to worry about distance. The distance will come as I build my strength. So slow and steady is the plan.

As for the next few weeks: I hope to run Week 4 on Thursday, and maybe Saturday. Then the rest of the week is freestyle- if I feel good, then do it, if I am wiped out tired, then don't, and if I am somewhere in between go for a walk. I will pick up again on the 15th with Week 4 and I hope to have it down and done by the 26th. Big plan is that week 9 by Thanksgiving if possible. Then work on speed until it gets too cold out for me.