C25K Week 1 Day 2

 Booyah!  2 miles. 15:57 min per mile pace.   Was a LOT easier than Friday’s intervals.  That is not to say it was EASY. Because it wasn’t.  It still SUCKED.  But sucked substantially less.

Temperature was a bit cooler, but the humidity was still high.  The hubs ensures me that once it cools off, my heart rate/cardio will be handling this better.  I have a serious amount of respect for my friends down south. I don’t know how they do it…how they do ANYTHING with the humidity.  Yes, Indiana and Ohio are both damn humid at times, but at least we get a break.  Florida, Alabama, Louisiana?  How the hell do you do it?

No pain or twinges from the abdominal area. Not even from where the appendix had been.  Did get a cramp in the right calf, though.  But that cleared up after I started walking towards the center of the trail rather than off to the side.  The very slight slope towards the grass seems to bug me more than I think it should.

Heart rate recovered much faster than it did on Friday.  Body seemed to do fine both days, other than the calf cramp, which is fine now. And I did NOT feel like puking.  WooHoo! 

Feeling really pleased with the progress.  OK. That’s a lie.  I’m feeling elated.  I KNOW it’s not about the time, it’s the fact that I am getting OFF my very large ass and MOVING.  But, I’m a numbers gal. (Despite my hatred of math)  I love competing with MYSELF. And I am doing MUCH better and going faster than I thought I would be at this point.  Seeing my times improve, going further distances without dying, it gets me going.  It’s a rush. It feels good!  So I have high hopes that in 2014 I will be able to hit the 30 minute 5K mark.  That is my goal. Might take me until September of next year, but I think I will be able to do it. Especially as the weight comes off.  

It’s really hard to estimate how much your time will improve as weight comes off. I have heard anywhere from a minute per mile for every 10 pounds lost to 10 seconds per mile per pound. I am not sure how they figure that.  Regardless, I do know as the weight drops, the time WILL improve.  Found this calculator that estimates your current time/weight vs. time as weight drops or increases. Not sure how accurate it is, but still fun to play with.

First post-surgery 5K (and first 5K since last November) will be in less than 3 weeks.  This one is really a “just to finish” race.  But I know myself. I will get a time in my head and I will shoot for that.  The trick is for me is to wait another 2 weeks before I let myself come up with a number. At this point, LOGICALLY, I’d really like to come in under an hour without feeling like I am going to die.  That would be good. But really, the competitive little (LOUD) voice in the back of my head wants that number to be under 45 minutes.  Really gotta beat that voice back.

Regardless, I am feeling very confident that I WILL finish it and it will feel so good to walk, waddle, run across that finish line.