Couch To 5K

Hello, friends.  Hope your Monday hasn't been too terrible.  It's always a struggle for me to get going again.  Nevertheless, it hasn't been terrible. 

I've decided to go through a program called Couch to 5K, again.  Yes, I'm no stranger to this program.  This is probably my 5th time attempting it.  I completed it about 5 years ago.  Since then, I've played around with it on and off.  The last couple of times I tried it, my knee started giving me problems so I quit.  I'm hoping this time will be better. 

I thought I'd journal my progress as I go.  For those that aren't familiar with the program, here's a link to it.  http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

There's also a free app for it.  I downloaded it to my iPhone and that's what I am using. 

I've made myself a few promises this time. 

1.)  I will take it slow.  My lovely "all or nothing" mentality comes into play here.  I usually dive in full force.  To the point of over-doing it, injuring myself, and burning out too quickly.  If I need to, I'll repeat weeks.  Actually, I'm sure I'll need to.  If it takes me 6 months or a year, that's fine.  I'm sure my pace will be laughable to some, but that's okay.  I don't care.  I'm not doing this to win an award. 

2.)  I will listen to my body.  In the past, I've tried to do too much "extra" stuff and I end up paying for it.  Not this time.  I won't do any running on my off days.  I'll probably do some weight lifting on those days.  Or maybe just walk.

3.)  I will not obsess over the scale.  Anytime I start something new, I always weigh myself.  And when I don't live up to my expectations, I get super frustrated with myself and I let it get me down.  I started the program today and I didn't weigh.  In fact, I'm not going to weigh.  I won't obsess over the numbers this time.  This is about SO much more than a freaking number!

4.)  I will not obsess over food, either.  I will do my best to make better choices, but I'm not going to count calories.  My plan is to eat fewer carbs on my off-workout days and eat more carbs on my workout days.  I guess it's kind of like carb cycling, just not sticking to an exact number. 

I have accepted the fact that the weight will probably come off slow.  I'm okay with that.  I'm not going to let my world revolve my weight, for once.  That stops now. 

So, today I completed Day 1 of Week 1.  It wasn't terrible, but it was clearly evident that I've let myself go.  WAY too much.  Here's what today's workout consisted of:

5 minute warm up walk
1 minute jog followed by 1.5 minutes walking (repeat this 7 more times)
5 minute cool down walk
Total of 30 minutes

I did this on my treadmill.  It is cushioned and until I find out how my knee is going to do, I think I'll stick to the treadmill.  My pace was super slow.  My jogging pace was at level 3.5 and my walking pace was at level 2.8.  I should probably be ashamed of that pace, but it is what it is.  I finished the workout and that's what is important.  My legs and ankles were on fire when I finished.  My back was killing me.  I felt terrible and yet awesome at the same time.  Yay for me!

I am going to try my best to update after each workout.  So, until next time...