That's What Jenni Said

As a reminder, W6D3 of the couch to 5k training plan is a 2.25 mile run. I successfully completed W6D2 (1mile run; 3 min walk; 1 mile run) on Friday 8/27. I was scheduled to run next on Tues Aug 31st to attempt day 3, but I let packing for the trip and other last minute errands that day get in my way. Wed was out for running b/c we were traveling all day to Sydney, AU. Thurs disappeared into the vortex of time zone differences, never to be seen again. So I finally ran again a week later in Sydney on 9/3 and only managed to squeeze out 1 mile of running before I had to switch over to walking the rest of the session (did 2.92 miles total). The rest of the days in Sydney  were jam packed with very little sleep and sightseeing and at least 4-6 miles of walking per day (seriously!). Although Jon had the self-discipline to get out and run every morning I did not. I was too busy trying to manage metric to standard conversions, walking on the left instead of right, adjusting to the 14 h...

Went out to run at 5am this morning to attempt W6D2 again. It took a little bit to find my groove during the first mile even though I had my standard stretching and warm-up, probably b/c it was early in the morning and I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. This time when I started the second mile I was sure I was going to be able to finish. My confidence and the ‘fun’ of the run persisted until a half mile into the second run and then it was getting hard and I wasn’t sure I could make it, although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. My heart rate stayed below 175 except for the last couple of minutes [which is fabulous, I’ve made more consistent gains in cardiovascular conditioning then any other part of my progress], so it’s not that I was running out of breath. And my legs were not aching or anything. I just felt tired-like my energy battery was drained. Still, I pushed through and I made it. I felt so good about the accomplishment that after I walked for a few minutes at the end ...

Went out to tackle day 2 of week 6 today. I made it 1.5 miles total. The first mile was cake and I ran it on average faster than I ever averaged a mile before- 5mph. (I’ve run faster than that plenty of times  but not sustained for a full mile).  I felt great during that mile, spring in my step and very happy. I could do anything! The second mile was harder, and I only made it halfway before I needed to stop. My abs were screaming at me a lot during the second run b/c they are sore from swimming yesterday (I did 10 single laps x 25meter pool=250meters). Here’s the conversations I had with the two me’s: critical me: Wow you are pathetic. People are out there running marathons everyday and you can’t even do two miles with a 3 min break in between.  You are never going to be able to run a 5k! Loser! caring me: Hey you know what Jenni, you are now following distance instead of time, which explains why it seems so much harder. Instead of just running 20 minutes total (whic...

The first weekend in May I fulfilled a longstanding desire to watch the Kentucky Derby in person, taking a few members of the NoVA Travelers group with me. It had been a while since I’d put together a road trip and it seemed silly to do a simple out and back just for the Derby, so I created a three day tour itinerary featuring highlights of the state. Four of us made our way around the state via car, sharing meals, a hotel room and a lot of laughs along the trip. Thursday evening we tackled the long (long!) drive to Kentucky and checked into our hotel. Friday we visited the horse park in Lexington (which brought back a lot of memories for Literary Elly May since she used to frequent the park for to compete in horse shows when she was younger) in the morning and then spent the afternoon at the slugger factory in Louisville. I’m not a big sports fan but participating in the tour and listening to stories about baseball woven into American history made me feel a little more patriotic a...

This morning I woke up and felt the push to move even though it’s my running rest day. Not to meet any deadlines or tackle another running goal or anything, but just because my body wanted to be active. I didn’t really feel like biking and I don’t have a pool membership so I did what I’ve come to know lately- run. I figured perhaps I am at the point in my fitness regimen where I don’t have to take a rest day from running every other day anymore. After all, Jon runs 3 days in a row before he takes a rest day. So I ran. My first mile was moderately easy- I really enjoyed the run and my heart rate was in a good place. Since I ran a mile I thought why not take the 3 min walk break and then try to run another. Then I could actually cross W6d2 off my list a day early. My mind was all “yes!” but my body (especially my right knee) was like “um, no thank you, not today”. When I realized it wasn’t going to happen (another mile I mean) I finished up with a 45 second all out sprint (6 min pace w...

Today was the first day I began following the distance goals for the program instead of the time goals. The goals only overlap perfectly if you run at a 6mph pace, which is not feasible for me at this time (I’m running anywhere from 4.7mph to 5.7mph depending on whether I’m running without walking breaks or with them). I’d been following the time goals (run 20 minutes for example) this whole program but hubby pointed out I would not actually be running a full 5k upon graduation unless I started following the distance goals instead. So I’ve switched over. Today’s session consisted of 1/2 mile run, 3 min walk, 3/4 mile run, 3 min walk, 1/2 mile run. So 1.75 miles of running total and I had no problem completing it. As expected, I ran faster than when running without breaks between the intervals. I think also paying attention to the distance instead of time pushes me to run faster b/c I realize on some level that the faster I run the sooner I am finished. Also the distance represented a...

In mid-march NoVA Travelers descended on New Orleans. It was the first time I had visited the city and I arrived with great prejudice. For me, New Orleans represented a city chock full of stubborn or possibly ignorant residents who put themselves in grave danger by opting to live in a demonstrated flood basin. I’m a big believer in relocating geographically to better one’s life. If you’re not finding the resources you need to build a successful life in a community; if you’re not able to find work; you move to greener pastures. I did this (twice) in my own life and have little tolerance for folks that complain about their circumstances but refuse to move. How much more important to be mobile minded when your life is at risk in a deadly flood plain! Still, New Orleans is the enclave of historic grand buildings and famed French culture, and as such demands at least one visit. After our flight, we transferred to our hotel: Le Pavillon. Beautiful decor, friendly staff and a rooftop pool p...