Running Again

I was cleaning out my journal last week to prepare for next year's planner and came across this entry on March 2, 2011:

One of the better runs in a while. warm up 5-5.4 mph first mile then kept at 5.6 the whole way with spurts of 5.8-6. most importantly, did not stop or slow down at all after the warm up! yay! i ran a 10K!

Reading that brought back a flood of wonderful feeling of excitement and joy.  I was so proud of myself.  For the next 2-3 months after that run, I continued to average about 15-18 miles per week, keeping up with 4-5 miles runs.

Then, as usual, work got hectic for the summer months.  My morning runs slowly got shorter and shorter until I skipped them altogether and went straight to work at 5 am.  My evening runs got replaced by my evening naps (I changed my Everyman Sleep Cycle around the same time; 3 hours core sleep with 3-20 min naps).  I was having more time -- but all those time was spent on work.

When I missed the first few runs, I told myself it was ok.  I'm not going to lose any conditioning with a couple missed runs.  Then I learned that it takes about 2 weeks of not running before you feel any impact on your running.  So I told myself I'll focus on work to get through that tough week then resume running.  Bad idea. The 2 weeks became 3 then 4 weeks.  Then it was harder to get myself back into the routine.  And the image of starting over again was daunting.

I see now that I should not have considered it starting over at that time.  Even if it was a month of no running, I am sure I could have picked it up again and returned to where I was within a week or 2.  I think I was just looking for excuses not to run.  I had too much on my plate at the time and it was just easier to let running fall on the wayside.

Hindsight, I can see how ridiculous that was now.  I was so sure that I would be able to resume running when things slow down. At the time, it did not seem possible that I would let my new found joy in running lapse.  But I did.  I have not logged a real run since May. Almost exactly five. whole. months.

Well, I laced up my shoes and started my back-to-running plan yesterday. 

W1D1, run 0:30 / walk 4:30 (x7)

I did the Couch-to-5K in 2009 and really liked it but this time around, I plan to start with longer runs from the beginning (C25K starts with 20-min runs) and have chosen the plan from The Beginning Runner's Handbook.  This plan starts really slow but have me on my feet longer - about 35 minutes, not counting the warm up and cool down.

The first day calls for a 5 minute warm-up walk then run 30 seconds / walk 4 minute, 30 seconds; repeat 7 times.  I found it a little too easy -- and once I started running, it was hard to stop after 30 seconds!  I did stick with it for 3 intervals but then the last 4 intervals were more run 2 min, 30 sec / walk 2 min, 30 sec.

I am a little sore this morning so I may try to stick with the plan and take it slow for now.  An injury during this early stage may derail my comeback effort.

I felt good after Week 1, Day 1.  I dug out my old Tech 4O watch:

Time: 40:11

Distance: 2.6 miles

Speed (ave): 3.88 mph
Pace: 15:28 per mile

The  plan calls for me to repeat this 0:30/4:30 but for 8 intervals, giving me a 40 minutes session, for 2 more times this week.  Not sure but I may change this up to 1:00/4:00 (x8).  

We'll see how it goes :)

Memorial Day 2010

I left for my morning run around the neighborhood as planned this morning. Not long into the run, I wondered how far it was to my grandpa's grave. A quick call to my mom determined that I was on the right track and should make it there and back without any problems. Round trip is less than 7 miles.

Running there was nice as it was still early and barely any traffic. Passed some people waiting for the shuttle to Vegas in the supermarket parking lot.

I walked once I got on the cemetery ground. Just did not seem right to go running around the graves! I quickly found Grandpa and Grandma's place.

Took a quick snap of me at the marker --- surprisingly got it on the second take.
Grandma died in Vietnam in 1989. We were finally able to sponsor Dad and Grandpa over in 1991. Grandma was cremated and the ashes brought over later by relatives.

I am glad we were able to bury her ashes with him. I like to think he is less lonely that way.
The photo is one of my favorite of him. It captured his smile and cheerful look just right.

Across from Gramps' place is the Vietnamese Veteran's Cemetery. I stopped over there and paid my respect.

Thank you.

A Running Milestone at Mile Square Park

Remember back in October when I first discovered Mile Square Park (MSP)? Of course you don't. It was nothing special, no earth shattering event to make it memorable to you.

Why do I remember that day?
1) My airheadiness for thinking it was one mile around the Mile Square Park. How long have I been around Fountain Valley? But in all those years, I have never really gone to this gem of a park -- until I took up running.
2) October was when I decided to take up running. I think that day was day 2 of my running project.
3) I remember huffing and puffing on those 45 seconds running intervals and wondering if I would ever be able to run a block non-stop, never mind around the park.

Well, I went back to MSP this evening to do my 4 mile run. What a difference 6 months have made. It was a great evening for a run; a little breezy but that just made me feel as though I was running fast with the wind in my face :).

Every time I run in the OC, I feel a little nostalgic and sad about my hometown LB. It would have been perfect if the scene at MSP was in LB.

A lot of people were out and about. All ages. Seniors walking. Mothers and fathers running with the strollers. Families with kids running together. And serious runners passing all of us. Oh, and dogs, quite a few dogs running -- and behaving -- with their running partners. One of these days, I'll have to take Elaine running here.

I ran a little over 4 miles, about 4.2 miles in 46:45, 11:04 pace. I felt great; no pain.

I was able to talk to some of the kids running with their family and dog. The kids and dog were doing one of those run-walk yo-yo. They ran full speed ahead of me then stop when the dog stopped and walked. I would pass them with my slow steady pace. Then later, they would all run full speed and pass me again. Repeat for several times until I finally noticed that the dog was limping on his right rear leg. I told them when I caught up with them. They must have thought I was crazy, breathlessly telling them that their dog is running as though his knee is bothering him. Fortunately, the dog picked that time to start running on 3 legs so they stopped him and waited for their parents. They walked the dog the rest of the way and waved as I continued with my run.

Before long, I made the final turn and completed the run around Mile Square Park. This was not my first 4-miler. I ran the first 4-miler last Monday. But, for some reasons, this 4-miler made a bigger impact on me. Maybe because I feared that last week was a fluke, that no way can I run 4 miles non-stop. Maybe because MSP was where it started and running it today became a milestone, a reflection of how far I've come since October.

What a great way to end the day.
Elaine behaving superbly in Petco. Delicious lunch prepared by my nephew. And a run around Mile Square Park to commemorate my 6th month of running.

Danika - Stretching Her Face

We got out of the clinic early today. I still had quite a few emails and phone calls to make but decided to re-energize with a run before settling in for another couple hours of work tonight. It was a good run. Ran 3.44 miles around the neighborhood -- and no pain! The last 3 runs have been great -- not sure if it's because I'm having at least 2-3 days (sometimes 4) between runs to recuperate or what. Wish I can run 3 times a week but things are so crazy at work that I've been only running twice a week. Oh well. At least they have been nice pain-free runs. Once things calm down, I'll sneak in a third run for the week.

Danika has taken to joining me for my post-run stretches. It is becoming a nice auntie ritual. She counts to 10 four times while we hold each stretch. Today, she recited her ABCs instead of counting; quite a creative kid, eh?

She scraped her knees earlier in the week so could not bend her knees well enough for some of the positions. She got bored counting and watching me so she started doing all these funny faces -- claimed she was stretching the muscles in her face!



Sweet silly kid.

Spring is Coming (& sore knee)

We went for our Mom & Me walk this morning. Love this time of the year when it's still chilly but signs of Spring are emerging. We came upon this front yard with 3 short trees of sort. They had blossoms that reminded me of cherry blossoms. Mom said they're not. She should know as she visited friends in DC and saw lots of cherry blossoms. Dad saw the pictures and said they are some sort of cherry blossoms (at least, that's what I get after I translated it from Vietnamese!). Anyway, they made me think of Spring or at least the passing of time. I walked by this house with Mom weekly and ran by it several times a week. Up until this week, those trees had been bare --- twigs sticking out of trunks. But then the little buds started appearing and this weekend, all the buds seemingly exploded into blooms.

My favorite one of Mom after our walk

There were also red and pink ones but not as full as the white ones above. We did a shorter walk this week as my right knee was bothering me a bit. I probably overdid the running this past week. Ran another 3.6 miles late last night and exceeded my week's goal of 9 miles (yeah!). But I may have increased my distance too quickly, going from not running for a couple of weeks to running 3.6 miles every other day. I need to remember to slow own or I'll get hurt again. I was planning to take it to 4 miles this week but it may be more prudent to stay with the 3.6 miles or even less if my knee is still bothering me.

Mom said I was slowing her down on the walk :). We covered 1.5 miles in about 28 minutes; slower than we normally do so she had a point.

Still a gorgeous morning.
And a good harbinger of wonderful things to come the last week of this lunar year. Lunar new year (Tet) this weekend! Year of the Tiger!

Running in Circles

Tonight was my first time back on an indoor track since C25K intervals. It was raining again and I did not want to slowly slack off in my running again. I didn't think I would be able to run for long on a track and was considering the treadmill instead. But something about running for 30+ minutes and not going anywhere does not sit well with me. So around the indoor track I went. Roughly 33 times around the track, to be exact. About 3.6 miles in 39 minutes and 55 seconds at 11:06 pace (5.41 mph)

It was another great run. I feel like I could go longer but did not want to overdo it. Maybe I'll go for 4 miles next week.

The best part was cooling down to Michael Buble ''Haven't Met You Yet." I skipped and (almost) danced around the track. Must have been a sight :)

Some rude comments in the locker room threatened to end my evening on a sour note. But I managed to remember the feeling I had skipping around the track to the catchy tune of "Haven't Met You Yet" and things got better.

So not worth ruining my run and evening.

With tonight's 3.6 miles, I met this week's 9 miles goal! If I can get out again on Sunday, I'll pass 10 miles for this week!

Runner's Buzz

Tonight's run was the best one so far in my young running venture. It was late by the time I got home from work. But I was not tired and the streets beckoned as they have not for a while. I changed shoes and hit the road.

It was a wonderful run. I did not struggle through the first mile like I usually did. Seems I found my stride right away and the rest of the run was effortless (well almost!). I still felt good when I neared the last turn for home. I passed the turn and ran another 1/2 mile --- making this my longest non-stop run, 3.64 miles! And I could have gone more to make it 4 miles if I had any sense of timing and direction. Hoping to get at least another 3.5 miles in later this week to meet my minimum goal of 9 miles this week.

Distance: 3.64 miles
Time: 0:40:19
Pace: 11:05 (5.42 mph)

I hope this feeling and sense of accomplishment will motivate me and keep me on track to the 10K. After slacking off the last few weeks, I was not sure if I can run 3.1 miles non-stop anymore. Tonight's run put that worry to rest. And that, oooh, feels so good. I think the worst part of slacking off was thinking that I wasted all the time and effort that went into getting to the 3.1 miles mark. I did not want to be a C25K alumni who loses motivation and stops running after graduation.

Not quite a runner's high.
Definitely, a runner's buzz.

Re-Focusing on Running

I have not had a chance to blog about my running. To be honest, I have not done that much running since New Year's so there was not much to report. I ran about 5 times after New Year's, most of which were in the second week of January.

I don't know why I suddenly lost the urge to run --- stopped lacing up after work. Runningman was kind enough to check in on me recently. He made me think and I realized that part of the fizzle was because I stopped reading the running blogs. You see, I am a relatively new runner. Running is not second-nature to me (yet). I have to think and focus on it, otherwise, other more pressing things in life will push it aside. Reading about running helped keep it on my mind.

When I temporarily stopped reading blogs as a way to gain more time for work projects, running faded out of sight. I became a Monday runner, running only once a week. I still enjoyed my runs --- when I finally got out there.

So I pruned my reading list and will refrain from reading every blog; maybe just skim the highlights and skip the posts that I don't relate to --- i.e. I don't run with music so why do I still read posts about Music Mondays, etc...?

I am slower (if that was even possible!) but am thankful that I can still run a 5K. I can feel the difference (not good) compared to my 5Ks in December. Worried that I will eventually lose all I gained since my C25K days several months ago, I am re-focusing on my running again.

I had modeled my running plan after the One Hour Runner, using distance instead of time. I was on week 2 when I stalled. I am going to restart from the beginning since I want to be "comfortable" with 5Ks again before upping the distance.

So for this week, I plan to run three 5Ks (3.1 miles), or any combination of runs to total at least 9 miles. I was late this morning and only ran 2.2 miles.

7 more miles to go for the week!

Hello, 2010!

Started the year with a run this morning with Priscilla. She is returning to college this Sunday so I will be minus a running partner again. Boo!

We ran a quick 2 miler --- Priscilla is a lot faster than I and was ahead of me most of the run. Still was fast for me -- 10:25 pace. It was great to be out early to greet the new year.

I did a 3 mi run last night to bid 2009 fare thee well. Priscilla was leaving with friends so I ran that one on my own. Wish I can wax poetically about reflecting on the old year as I plan for the new but no such thing. I can't say I think about much during a run --- just on my breathing and strides. Maybe that will change once running become second nature to me.

Running with a Cough (& Christmas Run)

I still have that nasty cough. Interestingly, the cough does not bother me at all during the run. But as soon as I stop, wham! cough my lungs out.

Oddly, tonight's run gave me my fastest pace for a 5K.
Time: 34:38
Distance: 3.11 mi
Steps: 5299 (setting for 37" per stride)
Pace: 5.39 mph (11.09 min / mi)

I also ran Christmas evening (before the nieces and nephews arrive). It was only a short 2 miler but it was nice since I was able to run at a faster pace (for me). I may need to do these shorter runs more often to work on my speed.
Time: 23:29
Distance: 2.16 mi (Tech 4o calculated it to 2.029 miles, w/stride length at 36")
Steps: 3573 (stride length 38" for this run!)
Pace: 5.52 mph (10:53! min / mi)

Rudolph Running

I got home a little later than I had planned -- it being Christmas Eve and all. The family was still chaotic, my youngest brother had not arrived with his family yet. Following the don't think about it plan, I asked Priscilla if she wanted to go for a run.

She was finishing up her presents and cards but she was ready for a break. Lil' Bro arrived as we were about to take off so we stayed a little to greet them. Gosh, how the boys have grown! Then off we went.

Andre, my nephew (Priscilla's younger brother), was cool to lend me his bike light. It clips onto my iFitness belt and is visible through my tank top.It worked quite well; I may look into getting one for these evening runs. Sis wanted me to wear the light on my nose a la Rudolph. I am not that crazy :)

Running Partner

Tonight was a first for me --- running with a partner :)
My niece, Priscilla, is home for the holidays. She runs most mornings at UC, about 2 miles every morning. She was game to come running with me even though she has never ran 3 miles before. We had a good run. She held her pace back a little, I'm sure. We still ran faster than I ever did for this route --- 11:21 min mi :) (did I say I am slow?).

A running partner is nice. I kept going in places where I knew i would have slowed down if I was on my own. I was also glad to see that she had a good work-out also. Part of me thought the run would be too easy for her --- it was easy the first 2 miles then she had to work harder for the last one. I'm glad to see her in such good shape though. No one in the family (other than moi) runs so it was a pleasant surprise to see her running.

Time: 35:30
Distance: 3.13 mi (Tech 4o calculated it to 3.11 miles, not bad)
Steps: 5474 (stride length 36" in setting)
Pace: 5.29 mph (11.21 min / mi)

I thanked my sister for having Priscilla when she was relatively young --- so that my niece is old enough to go running with me (and I'm still young enough to do so!).

Don't Think About It

That was close. For a moment, it looked as though I was not going to get another run in until Saturday or Sunday, one short of my goal of three runs a week. My last real run was on Monday. I ran a 2 miler with my niece on Tuesday as part of the family weekly walk but nothing since then.

Coming home from work today, I thought about doing an evening run but I did not get home until after 7:30 pm. I considered not running and just doing it tomorrow instead. I wavered back and forth during the walk in from the car. The sky was clear. The air was cool and crisp. Holiday lights were up. Got into the house and decided to go for the run. Not slowing down to give myself a chance to change my mind again, I changed and laced up my shoes and head out the door. It was a beautiful run.

Time: 35:50
Distance: 3.13 mi
Steps: 5503 *** stride length 36" in setting
Pace: 5.24 mph (11.27 min / mi)

My legs tired soon after mile 1. Not sure if it's due to low energy since I had not eaten much the whole day. But my breathing was great, nice and easy.

I love my Tech 4o watch. It was right on with the mileage. I'm going to keep the setting at 36" for the running stride for now. It's good to see my time improving even though my legs were tired.

So looks like I'll meet my goal of 3 runs this week (4 if counting the 2 miler). We have a family gathering on Sunday but I should be able to get a run in late at night. The trick is not to think about it. If I wavered back and forth then the reasons for NOT running were probably not that important. Don't dwell on whether it's a good idea or not to run. Don't give yourself a chance to talk yourself out of a run.

Don't think about it. Just run.

Miko Beanie Kept Me Warm for Post-C25K Run

Did my first post-C25K run this morning. Feels kinda weird running without a real plan. I need to work on a schedule soon to keep up with the running. I can feel the temptation to slack off now that there's no timeline. I want to continue with the 3 runs a week. Actually, I would like to run more often but it seems I'm still too sore to run every other day. Plus, I learned from today's run that I need to work on my legs; maybe some cross-training. Cardio-wise, the run was easy --- was not out of breath; breathing was nice and steady. But my legs were tired after 2 miles. Think I'll hit the gym for some weight work-out.

Time: 34:28
Distance: 3.1 mi
Steps: 5380 *** stride length was 37" this run; not very consistent, considering increase to 36" in setting
Pace: 5.4 mph (11.08 min / mi) --- my fastest pace for 5K thus far!

Stopped twice: once to re-tie shoelaces and once about 20 sec at stoplight.

Was cold this morning. Ran with my Miko Beanie (got on clearance at Sport Authority); kept me warm. Love the beanie. It has an opening at the top for my ponytail.

Overall, it was a good run. I like running early in the morning but it does put me behind schedule for everything else. Didn't get to the clinic until almost 9 am.

Will try to do 2 more runs this week. Fingers crossed.

C25K Graduation!

Yeah! Today's run was the graduation run for C25K. I finished the 9-weeks program and can now run 5K (3.1 miles) non-stop. I'm still slow; takes me about 37 minutes to run the 3.1 miles (about 11.5 min mile). But just think, 2 months ago, I couldn't even run 2 minutes without huffing-n-puffing.

I wish the week has been good and the run was filled with happy thoughts. Unfortunately, this week was a continuation of last week with some more losses to cancer. It's always difficult for the families but it must be more so during the holidays. At times, my hugs at the end feel so inadequate. Some have families to share the sorrow; some are by themselves. The elderly clients living alone are the ones who get to me the most. Sigh.

I ran after work. It was around dinner time. The local market must have had a fish special or something --- fried fish was the predominant smell tonight. Not nice at all. The run did not feel as good as the last one. My right knee felt too loose most of the run; did not settle into a stride. Oh well, guess some runs will be eh.
Time: 37.0
Distance: 3.13 mi
Steps: 5617 *** stride length was 35" this run; will leave the setting at 35" for now.
Pace: 5.08 mph (11.50 min / mi)

My right knee is still a little sore. First time that I have problem with it since I overdid things in October. To make matter worse, my form was all off because I was trying to compensate for the right knee. I'll take it easy and see how it feels this weekend; sort of want to start my post-C25K run this Saturday but will postpone if the knee does not feel right.

I plan to continue running 2-3 times a week (3 is ideal but some weeks are crazy) and want to improve my speed so I can then increase distance. With a current pace of 11.5, I have plenty of room to improve :)

C25K W9D2

I thought of taking Kobi with me but he had other ideas :)

It was freezing this morning; temperature must have been under 40F, which is cold for us. I had wanted to do W9D2 today. Felt a little bad that I chose to do the run instead of the walk with Mom & Sis --- that walk was scheduled for yesterday but we got rained out. I think Mom was hoping we do the walk today. I was up early and just could not wait for Sis to get up. OK, that's just an excuse. I wanted to do the run.

I head out without the heart monitor again. I liked the non-restricted feeling and think I finally can judge my effort now. I tried leaning forward a little more from the ankle; faster pace without much extra effort. I think I've been off on my running form. I was so focused on the tilting-pelvis-upward --- leveling the pelvis --- that I think I was actually leaning or holding myself back a little. I must be tilting it wrong or something. Anyway, I relaxed the tilting a little and things felt more natural. Must have helped since I finished the 3.14 miles in less time than before.

Time: 35.37
Distance: 3.14 mi
Steps: 5493 *** seems I maintained the increased stride from 35" to 36"; will adjust my setting.
Pace: 5.29 mph (11.21 min / mi)

Felt good. I think I could have gone longer. Which lead me to think about what I want to do after the graduation run later this week. At first, I was going to do the One Hour Runner or Gateway to 8K. But both are based on time. I prefer planning & mapping my runs by distance. So I may make my own schedule based on the One Hour Runner (i.e. instead of 30 min 3 times a week, I would do 3.1 miles 3 times a week, etc...). I'm thinking of keeping the first 2 runs of the week at about 3.1 to 3.5 miles and work on improving my speed and increase the distance gradually as my speed improves. The third run of the week will be the longer distance one where I gradually increase from 3.1 to 6.2 miles (10K). At this time, I don't plan to go past 10K as I can't realistically set aside over 75 minutes of running time a day. I'll just work on improving speed. Once I can run faster, I can add more distance.

Exciting that I'm about done with C25K!

W9D1 Run. Finally.

5K of silence but for the passing cars & my breathing.Alone w/the sounds of my footfalls & thoughts for a woman missing sweet baby tonight.

I finally managed to get the W9D1 run done tonight. I was not sure what to expect since I had not ran since Tuesday morning. I know, that's not even 4 full days between runs but, hey, I'm a baby runner. I've been following the C25K plan with 3 running days a week (except when I was injured / sick). Maybe I thought I would backslide running just 2 days this week.

What a feeling to learn that's not so. Tonight's 5K was even easier than my accidental one last week. I ran the same route and did not have the problem on the upslope. Tonight was also the first time I ran without the heart monitor -- it was great not having that restrictive band across my chest. I confess, the heart monitor was my security blanket in many ways. I was never good at judging pain and listening to my body so I was worried about overdoing it in the beginning. The heart monitor was a way for me to gauge my effort so I don't keel over dead on the street :)

Without the distraction of checking my heart rate, I must have fallen into an easy pace and kept it up the whole run. I finished the 3.13 miles almost 30 seconds faster tonight!
Time: 36.43
Distance: 3.13 mi
Steps: 5505 *** seems I increased my stride from 35" to 36" for this run; progress!
Pace: 5.11 mph (11.44 min / mi)

It was a quiet, cool night for the run. I hit a nice pace and was able to think about the day. It was a busy day --- make that a crazy week. Ended the day with humane euthanasia of a dog with an inoperable tumor that had finally compromised her quality of life. We knew the day was coming; actually thought it would come sooner than today. The diagnosis was made over a year ago but we were able to maintain good quality of life for her with pain management. In many ways, she lived as though nothing was wrong --- "ignorance" is a blessing for our patients --- until the tumor got too big and impaired her bodily function. Much as it saddened us and pained her human companion, it was time for farewell.

We can prepare all we want, make our checklist of things to monitor, etc... but I've come to believe that it's almost impossible to ever be ready for that moment. And that there's never a right time. Just because it was time does not necessarily mean it was the right time. How could there ever be a right time for something like that?

No Running :(

My last run was on Tuesday (sounds like a confession, eh?). I had planned to run last night and when that didn't pan out, I thought I'd try this morning. But no luck there. It has been 14+ hour days this week at work and am having problems fitting in my runs. I was looking forward to starting Week 9. I am still slow so a 3.1 mile run takes at least 35 minutes; add the stretching and showers (my co-workers would appreciate that, I'm sure) and I need to budget 90 minutes to do the run in the morning and get to work on time. So far, it's not happening :(

I was doing the runs in the evening last week but has not finished with work until after 10 pm this week. By then, safety concerns kept me inside. So I thought of getting up early for pre-work runs. Well, I didn't wake up until 5 this morning; not enough time to do the run and get to work by 6 am. It's a catch-22. I need to go to bed earlier to get up in time for the morning runs. But I can't get to bed early because of work. Besides, if I get done with work early, I would just do my runs in the evenings then, not go to bed so I can get up early :)! Maybe I should reconsider the treadmill at night. Sigh.

C25K W8D3

I really like my Tech 4o watch. It took some fine tuning but after the second adjustment to the stride length, I think it's pretty accurate for a non-GPS device. Tech 4o got the mileage at 2.83 miles, compared to the 2.82 miles from the map.

I head out early this morning for the 2.8 mile W8D3 run. It's a route around my parent's home in OC. It was cold this morning (for me) so breathing hurts a little at first. It wasn't until mile 2 that breathing was easier and the legs were moving smoothly. I found myself leaning forward at the waist and had to make a conscious effort to tilt my pelvis and lean from the ankles.

If only I can start feeling how I feel at the last quarter of the run earlier in the run, that would be great! I was worried about running this morning since it was the shortest time between runs since recovering from my knee pain. I ran the 5K the night before last so was worried it was too soon. But it was the few chance I have to run in the morning so I took it and hoped for the best. It worked out well.

Time: 33.41
Distance: 2.82 mi
Steps: 5127
Pace: 5.02 mph (11.57 min / mi)
Min HR: 80 bpm
Ave HR: 161 bpm (89% MHR)
Max HR: 168 bpm (93% MHR)

The wiring in my reflective armband got too bent (stuffed in my gym bag) so the blinking red lights are malfunctioning. May have to get a new night light for the late night runs. At least the armband is still reflective.

I felt good at the end of the run and know I can do the 3 miles in week 9. I plan to make it 3.1 miles because I like the way 5K sounds :) The trick is getting through the first 1.75 miles --- everything is so difficult those first 20 minutes; breathing and strides are labored. Then, as if a switch is thrown at 2 miles, everything comes together and the rest of the run is almost effortless.

Hopefully, those struggling 20 minutes dwindle with time and training.

Found another newbie runner to follow for inspiration (and sympathy!). In addition to marshmallowrunner and runningman, there's now runnoobrun. I still check in the C25K forum but try not to so often because it tends to eat up the time and I don't get any work done. Selecting some blogs to follow helps cut down the web-surfing procrastinating time.

Weekly Walk with Mom and Sis

Sis joined Mom and I for our morning walk this morning. She did very well for the 2 miles around the neighborhood. We may have to pick up the pace or risk boring her. I have to think of something to keep her motivated but at the same time, not be too much for Mom. Maybe have them do walks a couple times a week together then the one day I join them, I can do the run/walk with Sis. I can consider that my "off" day. I just don't think she would do it on her own.

She was barely out of breath during the walk. She can so easily do the C25K plan. I've read on the forum people who are more overweight than she and able to do the program. Hopefully, I can convince her to try.

The nice plus is she wears shoe size 8.5 --- the exact size of the practically-new Brooks Adrenaline GTS6 I have from last year (when I was going to start running). When I tried it on a couple months ago, it's gotten too small for me and I had to get a size 9. I was going to give it to another runner --- who knew it was going to be my own sister! :)