Week 5 run 2

I am saying it for the first time today, I am a runner, I managed to run for 8 minutes 2 times today and have completed my 2 run of week 5 and I am so shocked and proud of myself.

It is a really snowy day today and I really did and did not want to run, once again I said it to David that I would run today, after skipping Christmas Eve run and Christmas day make up run, we got it done.

It was so cold and just starting to snow but became very heavy by the time we were coming home.

I can not believe that I have run for 8 minutes straight at the point in time and had a little cry once we got home just because who would of thought that I could do it, not me for sure 6 weeks ago but as of today I can and I have.

Right when we started the run section I did say it out loud for the first time, "I can not do this", but David just kept on going and so did I. Half way through the first 8 minutes I did think to myself the only reason your getting this done is because you are so stubborn and thank goodness for that since it really is what keeps me going. We made it to the end got it done and now I can move on to longer periods of running and I know I am up for the challenge.

So there you have it today I can say I AM A RUNNER!

My magnet from David for my car this Christmas!

Week 4 Run 3

I spent all of last week being totally unmotivated  finding reasons to not run, kids are sick, presents need to be wrapped and so on. I actually even admitted to David that I was unmotivated to get out and run. I avoided reading my blog, which does have some messages just to motivate me because I really did not want to continue.

I ran on Tuesday and got the run done and then I did nothing until Sunday morning. David asked if I was going to get it done today, to which I replied "What" knowing full well what it was that he was talking about, he just said, "you know what I am talking about". So at that time I did answer yes that I was planning on doing it and that I would start to get ready in about a half an hour.

I really did not want to do my run at all today, I had started to think the program sucked because I always had to do what it told me to do. I am not good at being told to do things, this I know about myself, even though I am the first to also admit that this is a wonderful programme, but this week was just tough.

I read some of the blogs that I belong to on Saturday night written by other people who are doing the C25K programme and felt even less motivated going to bed thinking that I was done and was not going to be running in the morning. On Sunday morning I read the new one for the day, I noticed there were a lot that talked about dropping out of the program, or being on the third time trying the program, or just generally have a tough time with motivation, these actually did help me a bit, I started to think that I did not want to be someone who was on my second or even third time trying to complete this programme, I also was pleased to see that I was not the only person who had trouble with motivation. I remembered David telling me that he had read that most people who drop this programme do so at the end of the forth week and I really did not want to be one of them.

 So we went running, and  I did it, I have now finished week 4 of the programme and I feel more motivated to continue now. A couple of things I was able to notice today that shows me how well this actually works that I am getting fitter they were that I was actually able to relax a little more and talk a little to David on the warm up, also that  I was able to say a few words to him while running which one of the sentences I remember was can you at least pretend to be out of breath, to which David did some over the top breathing that made me laugh a little during my run, I also was able to talk in a sentence during the walking part in between the running cycles.I also have worked out that I freak myself out between run cycles without even knowing it, I do this really strange thing where I almost puke, it starts with coughing and ends up with me almost puking, but I did note today that I do not do this during the cool down walk, so I think I am getting myself so worked up that it is causing this, just another thing to try and control. So week 5 will start tomorrow and that puts one step closer to getting through this programme.

David did tell me he was not going to just walk away and let me quit, I am still not sure what he would of done to  make me continue, but that will be something that he may need to pull out at a later date. When he asked me how I would of felt if I quit I was able to tell him it would of been shitty, I would have to live with feeling that I had let so  many people down, this is something that I know David thinks is great and he looks forward to us having a chance to really run together. Really though most of all I know the person who I would of let down the most is myself. I want to have that feeling of achievement when I finish the programme, when I run my very first 5K and having the chance to create a awful lot of wonderful memories of running for myself and running with my husband and today I am not prepared to give that all up because I feel tired or unmotivated not  to say at all that this feeling will not come up again, who knows when it will but I am sure that it will happen, but lucky me I hate letting anyone down and I have a husband who seems to of worked out how to get though my hard skull.

Week 3 run 1 with kids

Stalling stalling stalling is what I felt like I was doing on this morning.

David and I had talked during the week about this run and the fact that I would need to run for 3 minutes two times and David had let me know if we needed to we could adjust the run to suit me, but I wanted to do this the way it was set out.

During the week I  had asked the kids if they wanted to join us, which made this run something that I could not back down on, they all had said that they wanted to come with David and I so I was locked in for the run.

This ended up being my best and worst run rolled into one.

I had the normal nerves on the drive and also the added extra of the kids chit chat of how far is the run, how long do we run for and how many times around the track will we be doing, thankfully though David dealt with the kids and kept it so I did not have to deal with their added stressing.

We started the 5 minute walk and I was able to hear, when are we going to run and can we run now, again David did all the talking for me and then we were able to start the actual run, cycle one went so well, I can notice the difference in my fitness and was able to finish this leg again at the top of the first rise and not be dying anywhere near where I have in previous run/jogs. Cycle two here we go with my first ever 3 minute run and got it done with plenty of David telling me that I was doing great which really keeps me moving along, cycle three another 1.5 minute run and back to that dreaded rise again which I thought that I was not going to make it to the top of so pushed a little harder to get to the top before the end of the cycle and I made it, awesome feeling. Onto my next three minute run and really having a tough time, the second rise hits within the first minute of this run, I really do not want to quit, I so want to show David and our kids that I can get this done, so with a slow gait and lots of David helping me along we get it done, thankfully it is over and bring on my elation!

This was the worst because of cycle four but the best because of the feeling during cycle one, I am able to see that I am gaining fitness and that I can force myself along to get this done.

Post run I went onto our deck and had a moment to think about how wonderful and amazing it is that three weeks ago no way could I even contemplate that I would run for three minutes and the tears start, but they are tears of pride within myself, I know I want to do this and now starting my fourth week of running I know that with help from David and online websites with all the support I am getting I can do this and I will do this for me. A bonus side note I have now lost 3 1/2 pounds this week as well, I did not have any weight loss during the first two weeks I think because my body did not know what to do when I started something as simple as eating breakfast and running but now I hope that the weight loss will continue.

David and I went out yesterday, the day of the run and I am proud to say that I am now committed to running as David signed me up for my first official 5k race in March, so now I have a huge goal for myself and I am looking forward to that moment. There will be tears, more than usual I am thinking, but that will be a moment that I will never forget.