Couch to 5K....Complete!

It's official - I've finished the C25K running plan!  Now, of course it hasn't been 8 weeks - but I've made it through the run/walk parts, to Week 6 Day 3, which calls for running 25 minutes straight.  After that, it's just a matter of slowly increasing the amount of minutes to run - 25, to 28, to 30, etc.  Last week I made it through the 20-minute run, so I think I can take it from here! 

It was much, MUCH easier this time around - but it was also my second (or third?) time trying to complete the program.  For anyone stuck in the middle of the C25K plan and getting frustrated, I would say to repeat weeks often - like, maybe for three weeks instead of one.  If you're starting completely from scratch with running, even if you're fit in other ways, it can be a slow beginning as you get your muscles and your lungs ready to run.  Sure, it's frustrating, but if you throw in a few races in there - just as a way to test yourself and see what a 5K is like, before trying to run the whole thing - it'll be a lot more interesting and motivating.

Last week, I was at Disney, and I only sort of met my running goals.  I did manage to do one early-morning run, on Monday morning - 1.63 miles instead of 2, since I got tired pretty quickly.  I didn't do another run later in the week, though - we were walking 5-7 miles a day, and my feet were EXHAUSTED by the end of the week.  Even though I didn't get in two runs, I think I got enough of a workout - and my runs when I came back were certainly not sluggish!  In addition to the workout(s), there was plenty of this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It really was an amazing week, and we had a lot of fun.  It was the first time Brendan and I have gotten to spend a full week together (even though we've been together 6 years, we've always lived apart).  It was nice to be together, and even though the long days were a bit stressful we had a great time.

In the week I've been back, I've caught up on running - 9 miles last week, and I'm feeling good.  The schedule is going to increase by a few miles a week now, so it's good that I still feel ok!

With vacation over, I need to buckle down at work - I've got a pretty aggressive goal for when to start writing my next paper, and I'm not exactly sure how it will all get done.  And on top of that, I've got TA-ing through May, and my running schedule is going to keep getting tougher too.  It will be a busy spring - but I'm ready to be busy for a while!