Jazz Hands!
I’ve been really jazzed up today for some reason. I was going to run this morning but my legs were feeling stiff and like they wanted to sleep in, so I didn’t. I plan on going later tonight when it cools off. So when it’s like 80, instead of 95…
You guys, I’m almost done with my Ease into 5k program. I’m now into the “run for ** minutes without walking” stages. Tonight, or tomorrow if I don’t get around to it, will be 27 minutes. 27 minutes! I can’t believe that I can run/jog for 27 minutes without stopping. If you had told me a year ago, heck, if you had told me 6 months ago that I would be here today I wouldn’t believe you.
I really thought these injuries would get the better of me. But it turns out that you just need to take a break, stretch, foam roll, and move on. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t adhere to your running plan 100% of the time. This was really hard for me to realize. I felt like if I didn’t complete the days that I had laid out in advance, on the days I had scheduled them, that I would never be able to run a 5k. But I also didn’t realize that some days my body would need two, sometimes three days between runs. Heck, I even took a week off before I got my new shoes because it was just too bad. But now with all of these newbie running mistakes behind me, I hope that there’s no where to go but up.
I know that I’m not always going to have good or easy runs, but to know that I can do it. And knowing that my body can carry me X number of miles is really something.
I was looking at our local race calendar to see if I could sign up for any 5k’s since I’ll be finishing up here soon, but it looks like I won’t be able to do any races until I’m done with school. See, my clinicals are on Tuesdays and Saturdays the first 8 weeks, and almost all of these races are on Saturdays, and the ones that aren’t are like 10 hours away. Then the second 8 weeks we just work when our preceptor works until we get all of our hours in, which I’m assuming could include weekends. So I’ll just keep chugging along at home and hopefully I’ll build up some good mileage and habits to start racing next year.
I’m kind of jealous of people who can start running and have no pain or injuries. I know when Joel started he was having shin splints and calf pain, but with a new pair of shoes and adjusting his gait he has pretty much ameliorated (thanks Mrs. Reid) it. I started out fine but my injuries came with continuing to run in shoes that were not supportive enough for me. Plus when my calf started acting up, I would stretch it, but only when it hurt. I see now that if I had continued stretching, maybe I could have helped myself out a bit down the road.
Joel can also push himself much harder than I can. He has an amazing amount of willpower and inner strength that really can’t be taught. He conditions on his own terms, not using a 5k program or anything, and does very well. I’m pretty jealous of that too!
Since I’m almost done with the Ease into 5k program, I’m trying to find what I can do with myself once I’m done. I’ve been reading some reviews about the Bridge to 10k app, but they go back to interval training after I’ve already worked so hard to get to 25 minutes + without stopping! It seems counterintuitive to me, but I guess it’s just getting you ready for time? Or distance with more walking? I think I’d rather just try to add a minute or two to my run each week and take it from there. Have other people “graduated” and run into this problem? Help! I feel like if I don’t have a “program” I’ll fall off the wagon.
I’ve been debating between the Nike+ Running app or the Adidas MiCoach app for iPhone for the past few weeks for when this graduation actually happens. I decided to test out the Nike+ Running app on my walk to the parking lot from my building and I have a couple of things to say about it:
- I really, really, really like the interface.
- They lied. It’s definitely more than a quarter mile into the building.
Do you use either of these apps? How do you feel about them? Do you use something else?
Well I’m going to go get some dinner ready and then hopefully go for my run. Happy trails!
xoxo
Kash of All Trades 