C25K Week Six, Redux

It took me three weeks, but I finally completed Week 6, Day 2 of the C25K program.

After I hurt my ankle, didn't really want to stop running. I went and bought an ankle brace and successfully completed the first day's workout for week 6 (run 5 minutes, walk 3, run 8, walk 3, run 5). Then life started getting in the way. Work exploded with deadlines and social gatherings. I have a very hard time saying no to a work happy hour, because they tend to happen rarely and they're good networking opportunities. But we had two in two weeks that coincided with project deliveries. Between this, I also flew out to California for Alumni Weekend. So when all was said and done, I was only managing to run once a week.

The running I was able to do wasn't all that successful, either. One week it was raining, which prevented my GPS from working and I wasn't able to keep track of my pace or distance. The next time I went running, my GPS was working, and I discovered that I ran a full mile in the first of two 10-minute run intervals. Based on distance, I had maintained a similar pace the week before. While I was incredibly happy about this accomplishment, I was also too worn out to complete the workout. I ended up walking home because I simply could not convince my legs to travel any faster.

The next time I went running, I made a conscious effort to slow down. Thankfully, the GPS on my phone was working and I was able to use it to maintain an 11:30 minute/mile pace.

Here's the thing. I felt like I was traveling so slowly for the entire run. I kept wanting to speed up, because I knew I could. But I also knew that if I ran too fast, I'd wear myself out. So I forced myself to stay slow and completed the entire run.

Here's the other thing. Back when I started this training program, I probably couldn't have run a quarter of a mile at that pace, even on a treadmill. To run nearly two miles, including a significant uphill portion and feel like I could go faster? That's a huge accomplishment that I need to acknowledge. And writing about my running is helping me to actually look at that and see it for how cool it really is.

The only problem was that after my most recent run, my ankle was absolutely killing me. I switched to a slow walk for the cool down portion, and it just exploded in pain. I very nearly didn't make it home because I could barely walk on it. But the entire time I had been running, I felt fine. Half an hour after I got home, I felt fine again. It wasn't the part of my ankle that normally hurts after I twist or strain it, so I don't know that it was related to my old injury. I honestly have no idea what happened. And it has me a little scared.

At any rate, the 5K is this Saturday. I don't feel entirely prepared, but I feel a lot better than I did a week ago. I'm not sure if I'll run again before the official race; I'll just have to see how the rest of the week goes. And during the race, I'll have to remind myself to not overdo it.

Wish me luck!