gretchen says

I got a late start to week 3 because of work and weather, but tonight, after dinner, the rain stopped and I decided to go for it. I can’t believe how much I ran! The first set (run 90, walk 90, run 3, walk 3) was not even really… hard. I mean it was challenging, but I didn’t need to stop, and I didn’t want to die. The second set, the 90 second intervals were also fine, but the last 3 minute run was a little tough, and I had to walk for maybe 45 seconds in the middle. Then it was walk 3, and I was stealing myself up for another run (previous weeks you run right before the cool down) so when it went “ding!” and I started to run, I could’ve, but I was shocked to hear “cool down.” I altered my route a bit because the rain rolled back in, and I ended up being about 2 minutes shy of the full 30, so I did some Ingrid-led yoga to finish that out. Mostly, I can’t believe I ran three minutes in a row! 

Distance: 1.71 miles (one app said 1.8?)
Average: 16:18 /mile
Fastest Pace: 10:57 /mile
Ahead of Best Walk: 1:01

Walk pace: 17:13

 Run Pace 12:39

Distance: 1.85 miles
Average: 15:37 /mile
Fastest Pace: 10:21 /mile

… is in the bag. This was one I wasn't quite feeling, before I got out there, but I went anyway and managed to do allll of the running. I also mapped out a route that should work next time, so I can 'race' myself. I love my app(s) because I'm not watching the time count down, so I find myself saying "okay, if he doesn't say 'walk' by the time I get to that pole,  I will stop walking, anyway. " And then I totally don't, so I find myself going pole to pole to stop sign to whatever landmark and then the guy says walk and I am so proud of surviving!!

Walk Time: 32:11
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 1.93 miles
Average: 16:38 /mile
Fastest Pace: 10:52 /mile

I finished week 1!

It took a few days to get to day 2, because it was COLD here, so cold it was hailing and snowing on the two days I could've gone, and, well. I'm not that hardcore yet.

I redid the first day today. It was milder, I had my inhaler in my pocket (and I didn’t need it, but I felt much better just having it) and the girls had been home with their dad because of the holiday, and Ingrid really wanted to run with me, so she came for the first part. It was great, actually, having her with me meant that I didn’t go too fast, and it was fun to have her along. We did a little loop to start, and she was exhausted when I dropped her off at home before zooming out to finish my part. Instead of headphones I just put my iPhone on load and she responded to the commands like a well-trained show horse. “We gotta run, mama!” And so we did.

Day 1 was yesterday, 4/16/2011. It… was.

After investing about $100 into this fitness plan, I absolutely HAD to start on the day I said I would, no excuses. So I laced up my new shoes ($80), put on my new shirt ($10) and my new headphones ($5 — they were on clearance!) and stepped outside, and hit Go on my new app ($4.) I decided to head across Hammond, to a neighborhood that is still pretty flat, but familiar. I walked when the app told me, and at the first run cue, I did. But it was cold. And windy. People I saw out were walking dogs, and wearing hats and mittens, and I was running into the wind and my lungs started to tighten and I remembered I’d forgotten my inhaler, which is rarely needed, but allergies, cold, and exercise are all triggers. Crap. Not having it made me nervous, so I decided to take every cue as a separate one, and decided to do what I could. I looped back at Webster, after doing the first two running segments, and walked for the middle running segments. When I got back onto my side of Hammond, I did the last 3 running segments, because it was less windy (I was perpendicular to the wind over here) and I felt better about being so close to home. (Not that I was FAR from home, but I walk these streets all the time.) 

I came home after the 30 minutes, red faced and definitely feeling like I’d exercised, but really only did half of the 1st day of the C25K program, so I think I’ll redo it tomorrow. One step at a time.

Edited to add data:

1.8mi, 16:48 walk pace, 14:10/mi run pace. (30 min.)