Week 1 Day 3: Defeat vs. Determination

I want this blog to be perfectly honest. After all, how are we to know the good without the bad? Day 3 had more downs than ups. I don't know if it was the heat and humidity that did it. It was 93 degrees outside but due to the humidity it felt like 99 degrees.

 The workout started well. I felt like I was covering more distance in the allotted time. Even the first minute run felt good! I remember thinking that if I felt that good that maybe I could do more 60 second runs. The second rep of 60 seconds (approximately 8 minutes into the 30 minute workout) is what kicked down my aspirations. And while my aspirations were down the workout continued to beat them over the head.

 It was a struggle. I felt more out of breath than I had the previous two days. Moving was tough. Sheer determination accompanied by a good soundtrack kept me going. I did, however, turn the 8th rep of jogging into the 60 second run suggested. Let's be honest. The Couch to 5k is meant for people much smaller than me and in overall better physical shape. The method behind it is sound so I just had to take it down a few notches.

 I was right by my van when the workout ended. When I finally stopped moving, all the things I felt the first day seemed to hit my body all at once. I felt a little lightheaded and just worn out. I got into the van and turned on the A/C full blast. By the way, at least getting into the van wasn't as tough as it was the first day. I took a few minutes to cool off before heading home.

 My left hip is sore. I don't know if my struggle led to an imperfect stride and I overdid it. It feels more muscular than joint. Luckily, it doesn't feel serious and the weekend break with ibuprofen and rest should help.

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 As I was walking back to my van, completely spent, out of breath and sweating I was thinking of my 5k in October. How in the world am I going to run even one mile when I can only 5 1/2 minutes out of 30? I hadn't even completed the first week and would have to repeat until I could alternate a minute of running with 90 seconds of walking. The whole thing seemed rather hopeless as I trudged up the hill to the parking lot. But I told myself my inability to run for even a minute at a time wouldn't always be the case. 3 days in and I had already increased my running time. Slowly but surely I would get there.