Regressing?

Phew, my dinner plans were canceled so I was able to run today and I can "finish" this week on Saturday like I really wanted. Still can't run for 25 minutes! I had to walk three times during this run. I ran for about six minutes and then walked for a minute or so. Ran for another two songs, maybe, then walked again. Finally I ran for the last six minutes and added another minute on the end. It's a little frustrating that I ran for twenty minutes already, not to mention the eight minute runs and the ten minute runs, and I can only make six or so right now before interrupting the run.

I'm still just out of breath, I think, which leads to stomach and chest cramps. Boo. I really don't think I'll be moving on to week 8. I'm gonna keep trying week 7 until I can do two 25 minute runs in a row, I think. If possible, I am just going to run every other day until this happens.

I also made two of my own playlists today. I just made sure the first and last songs were ~5 minutes long, and the middle songs added up to about 25 minutes (plus or minus a few seconds). So I listened to one of those during my run, because honestly I kind of hate the week 7 podcast. In the end, after I finish this program, I plan to just make mixes of a certain length (most likely 30 minutes plus a warm up and cool down song) and running to those. I don't want to get bored, so I started making lists of songs and coming up with theme ideas. I can get obsessive and crazy over playlists so I foresee a fun and involved project here.

My shins are hurting again, btw! This time it's kind of my inner shins and I think it might have to do with a pair of boots I wore out last night. By the end of my run I was a wincing, achy, huffy puffy mess. It was exceptionally attractive. I'm not kidding, I think another runner gave me a "what the fuck is up with you?" look. Ah well. Hopefully Saturday will be better!

Second Run, Week Two, Amanda style

Wouldn't it be funny if I was not, in fact, actually running, but was instead listening to the podcast while eating Christmas cookies and playing around on the internets, and then coming here to write and discuss and pretend like I'm accomplishing something? No? Probably not, but that's almost what I did today. I had errands to run that went later than expected (Target is a hot mess right now!), and I'm supposed to go to a friend's house in... ten minutes. But I'm sitting here post-run and sweaty. I've been running late since birth (when I was actually a week early), though, so whatever.

Today I concentrated on my breathing to avoid cramping, and it worked pretty well. I only had one mild cramp during the fourth or fifth run. I can do the breathe in the nose/out through the mouth thing for roughly 50 to 60 seconds each running interval, but then it just feels like I'm not getting enough air and I revert back to mouth-breathing. But, it's a start. Now I'm gonna be a real loser/smug jerk and tell you that, right before the lady told me to stop running, I decided to run faster for a final little sprint. And I ran like an extra 30 seconds after she told me to stop. And I'm unreasonably proud of myself for this.

In other news, my shins have been achy. I'm really hoping my new shoes take care of this, but my sister suggested I strengthen my shins, and I found this video to start with. Let's duck walk, ladies (p.s. that woman is my new girlfriend).

Oh also, I got two hot new sports bras at Target, since I only owned two to begin with and I don't feel like doing extra laundry constantly. Also, I have to buy myself pretty running gear to keep myself motivated. One has polka dots!

Addendum: Today was the PERFECT temperature for running. Local news says it's 36 F and feels like 36. I had to pull up my sleeves after the fourth run, and take my gloves off. I figure since I bitch about the cold all the time, I should also express my gratitude when god or mother nature decides to give me a lovely day for a run.