Recap: Run for Rescue 5k

Last Saturday was a great morning for the 4th Annual Run for Rescue 5k at First UMC in Colleyville, TX. Considering that North Texas can't decide if it's Winter, Spring, or Summer yet, the weather was quite pleasant.

Rocking out the start . 

(Side Note: Love that this person with Peace on her t-shirt seemed to make it in so many of my pictures from race day)

This was my first 5k in quite a while. I had every intention of training and walking/jogging in at 45 minutes or less, but my health and schedule just didn't seem to cooperate. That's ok, though. 5k is a great distance for me. I enjoy walking it and love the vibe and encouragement I get from going to events. 

The FUMC Bedford Running / Walking Group. Doggies welcome!

It is so wonderful to have friends and teammates to run and walk with. Some are experienced runners. Some aren't. It doesn't matter. It's just encouraging to have someone out there with you. 

 These are my training buddies C and Claire. 

I didn't quite finish in the time I had wanted, but I was definitely proud of my time. While I was on the course, I couldn't help but think how grateful for the ability just to be walking and how blessed I am to have family and friends cheering me on. I couldn't help but be thankful!

And here's what was waiting for me at the Finish Line:

C5's adorable smiling face and...

My first pancake in quite a while (more on that and my 24 Day Challenge in another post)

I was so sad to wake up this morning and hear about the 8 year-old boy who was killed in the explosions at the finish line at yesterday's Boston Marathon. I had my own almost 8 year-old waiting on me at the finish line. It didn't even cross my mind during the race that something so sad and tragic could happen. It just reminds me how precious life is and to treasure every moment spent with the ones we love. Our family's thoughts and prayers are with the people affected by this tragedy. 

Blessings!

M

Weeks 4-6 of Training

A note about blogging:
I'm breaking rule number one of having a successful blog - never apologize for your lack of posting because no one wants to hear it. I find myself apologizing a lot on here, but I'll just go ahead with it. My name is 'Chelle, and I am a slacker blogger. One day, I will be a super blogger, but this just isn't that season of my life yet. If you do still read, despite my lack of regular posting, I appreciate you and thank you for stopping by.

Now on to training!

Six weeks ago, Chas and I began this journey of training for our very first 5k. It has been quite a wild ride (or walk). Our training has coincided with our busiest schedule yet. Concerts, work, C5's homeschooling, holidays, church...my head is spinning just thinking about it. After slacking a couple of weeks in the middle of training, I'm back and focused, and it feels so good!

I am finding that I'm suffering from a problem that I've had in the past, though. When I eat on my plan, I usually am so focused on my eating that I ten to back off working out. When I'm focused on my workouts, I start eating more off my plan. I know I need to balance and focus both of these components because they really are dependent on each other. You gotta have the right fuel to perform at your best! As I realize just how close we're getting to the 5k, I'm realizing just how true this is. Like everything else in my life, I'm a work in progress.

Week 4:
Week 4 (I'm sorry to say) was one of those slacker weeks. I only trained one day, but it was that group training day that really helped to get me focused on training and jump-started the next two weeks of training. I hit a big goal for myself during that training session by finally breaking a 20-minute mile (19:41).

Weekly breakdown: 3 miles in 60 minutes

Week 5:
Week 5 of the Couch to 5k plan called for 130 minutes of training over four days. I was only able to fit in three days of training. I definitely put our treadmill to use, which helped me with evaluating distance and speed.

Weekly breakdown: 4.6 miles in 101 minutes.

Week 6:
Week 6 was my best week of training so far! Pushing myself felt so amazing. I trained 5 days this week, mostly taking advantage of the treadmill in our back room. Some days I worked on speed, and some days I worked on time/distance. My shin splints did act up one day when I started bumping up the speed, but I made sure I listened to my body. When I felt discomfort (past the point of normal working out), I would back off to a more comfortable pace. Once the discomfort subsided, I would start pushing the speed again. I went back and forth like this for a while. Each time I found that I was able to go a little faster for a little longer period of time, and I didn't have to back off as much. At the beginning of the week, my natural walking pace was 2.5 mph. By the end of the week, that pace went to about 3.1 mph.

During today's group training, I actually ran jogged shuffled for a quarter of a mile. I don't know if I'll ever be much of a runner, but it felt pretty darn good.

Weekly breakdown: 8.60 miles in 219 minutes.

So here's my final thoughts on training...
Looking back over training, I'm really pretty pleased with my progress. I wish that I hadn't slacked on training or eaten junk that made me feel lousy, because if I hadn't I feel like I would be a little farther along toward my goal. I don't want to sit here and woulda, coulda, shoulda...I want to look forward and realize that with eating better and training consistently, I will be able to do so much more. I will be able to push myself just that must farther. I can't wait! As I was huffing and puffing while I was shuffling around the track in the freezing cold (yes temperatures in the 40's is freezing cold to this Texas gal), the thought popped in my head: I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

Weeks 2 and 3 of 5k Training

What an adventure 5k training has been. Mostly the adventure has been finding the time to fit it in, but I will say I have been walking in some fun places too. Week 2 training was slow and steady. Week 3 training was a big fat flop. Oh well. We have to have those to make us stronger and better competitors, right?

So here's the breakdown for Week 2:
Week 2 started off our busy fall schedule with the TTM TX Throwdown for Haiti concert. At the beginning of the week, I was focused and determined on my training plan. By the end of the week, not so focused. While I managed to train for more time than the training plan called for, I could definitely see how I let my schedule and my lack of planning impact my training and eating. By mid-week my food intake was less on the healthy side, more on the 'do you want fries with that?' side. My sleep patterns were totally off (if you stay up til 4am, you are going to have to eat a midnight snack).

Here's where I really felt the slippery slope of not planning hit me the worst. On my second training walk at the track with our church group, I was running late so I didn't have my typical walking fuel-up: a rice cake with a tbsp of peanut butter and a tbsp of dark Karo syrup (hey it's my one and only way to enjoy this Southern goodness). Because I was running late, I ran out the door without taking a bottle of water. The night before the walk, I was running around and didn't eat dinner or drink anything (no water, no nothin'). By the time I got to the track, I wasn't feeling so hot. I started up my walk, and suddenly felt like I had a massive hangover from hades. My muscles felt like mush. My mind felt foggy. Everything felt awful. Then the words went through my mind, 'I should have listened to Caitlin's wonderful post on Healthy Tipping Point about cures for sluggish runs'.

I did manage to get in a great training walk with my walking buddy and a nice hike with my guys on my days off. We all have those weeks right?

And here's the breakdown for Week 3:
BIG FAT FAIL! I trained one day, and that wasn't even very good. I did a mile in 25 minutes, and I walked a quarter of that mile backward to take the pressure off my shin splints. For some reason, my shin splints do not like walking on the high school track. I can handle walking on concrete at the park just fine. I do great walking trails, but walking on the track is down right painful. Most of the time I end up walking the grass in the middle of the track or walking backward. I can't figure it out. Why don't my shins like the cushy track? I'm rebellious by nature, perhaps my shins are too...

Have a great day!

Week One of 5k Training

Week one of 5k training is in the books. Last week Chas and I decided to start training for the YMCA Turkey Trot 5k. Chas and I have talked about doing this 5k for the past couple of years, but since it's on Thanksgiving morning, it has been difficult to make the time. This year we decided was the year to tackle this challenge. Having a group of friends from church training for the same event really helps. We're generally following your basic couch to 5k plan. Because of back and health issues, I'm going to be walking. I'm really happy with this choice.

Overall, the week of training went well. I approached the training enthusiastically. I know that I'm able to walk a long distance at a rather leisurely pace without being in too much pain, but I really have wanted to kick it up a notch by training for speed. The 5k training called for 3 days of walking 20 minutes. I knew that a 20 minute walk wouldn't be overly challenging for me, but I decided that I wanted to train for speed. The first two training days, I met a friend at the park to walk, and we maintained a 20 minute mile pace. I was happy to have this as a starting point. Today, we met with friends at the local high school track for an early morning training session. Instead of sticking to the 20 minute training walk my plan called for, I decided to take a 2-mile walk instead. I walked at an 18 minute mile pace, with a few stops in there for stretching and water. I was happy with my progress and can't wait to see how the next 7 weeks of training go.

This week of training gave me a good baseline to set my goals from. My goal is to finish the 5k in 1 hour, but I would like to finish in 45 minutes. Truthfully, anything under an hour will make me happy. This morning I learned that the route for the 5k has a lot of hills. I don't know how that will affect my time, but I know now that I am going to have to train at least once a week on hills to get my back and legs acclimated to the incline. Luckily, my folks live in a neighborhood with some major hills. I'm kind of wondering how pushing C5 in the stroller is going to go on the hills. We'll see.

In addition to walking, I've also been adding some yoga to my workout routine. Four mornings this week I did yoga (either for back or abs), and I can definitely see what a difference it has made. It helps keep me loose and relaxed, and also helps me recover more quickly from walks (especially that 2 mile nature hike we did the other day).

I'm excited about training for this 5k. I've had a lot going on with me health-wise, and having this training to focus on has really kept me grounded and cut down on the number of freak outs I know I would have had (so far only numbered at 1). I'll keep you updated on my training.

Have a great weekend!

Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty. Proverbs 21:5

Do you have any training suggestions about training for my first 5k?