I was really excited to start the sixth week of the C25K training program. The first two days of the program go back to interval training, then it's just about lengthening the amount of time you can run for until you hit a 5K. The fifth week was such a turning point that I was getting pretty confident in my abilities to complete these workouts.
Perhaps I was getting a bit too confident.
The first workout was three running intervals - 5 minutes, then 8 minutes, then 5 minutes again. I pushed myself on the first five minutes and managed to go a full half mile, maintaining a 10 minute mile pace for the whole thing. That's when I stepped wrong and felt something tweak in my ankle. During the walk I could feel it beginning to swell, so I went home. The good news is that I made it home. One of my biggest fears about running outside was that I would hurt myself in a way that I couldn't get back home. Now that I've actually gone through it, I feel a bit more comfortable about getting home in the event of an injury. The bad news was that I had to walk nearly .75 miles on a twisted ankle. The injury itself wasn't too bad, but I can't imagine that helped.
So I went home and wrapped and iced my ankle in the hopes that I would be recovered enough to try again on Wednesday.
But my confidence wasn't quite there. On Wednesday I skipped my run in favor of getting a beer with Kevin and some of his friends. On Thursday I went to happy hour with my coworkers to celebrate a completed product. And on Friday I was just too exhausted to think about running.
Saturday morning I decided that enough was enough. I put on my running clothes and headed out to retry the first workout of the 6th week. But with four minutes I could feel the blood rushing to my ankle again, trying to protect the injury. I thought I could recover on my walk. But a couple of minutes into the second run, I knew I wouldn't be able to finish.
Now I don't know what I'm going to do. The 5K is in three weeks. I've lost a week of training, and I'll probably lose next week, too. I'm not sure I'm really ready for the 5K, based on where I am now, especially if I can't run for a while. I've also already paid for it, and would still like to say that I did it. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how I feel over the next few days.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
C25K Week Five
I hit a turning point during the fifth week of the C25K program. I think I'm actually turning into a runner.
The first workout this week consisted of three 5-minute run intervals separated by 3-minute walks. This was actually less running than the week before, so it felt almost easy. I was getting tired during the third interval until I got a second wind at the end of it. I felt like I could have run farther, but I'm sticking to the training program so I don't accidentally injure myself.
There were a bunch of other positives about my first run this week, too. Hills didn't seem nearly as hard or terrifying, and I ran up several of them without wanting to die. Recovery after the run was really quick; I was able to shower and run some errands instead of sitting on the couch for an hour. I also spent most of the next day fighting off the desire to go for another run. Like I said, I'm sticking to the training program to avoid injury and exhaustion. But the fact that I wanted to go for a run has me pretty optimisitc about this whole thing.
The second workout consisted of two 8-minute runs separated by a 5-minute walk. This is the same amount of running/walking as week four, but fewer breaks meant that I needed more endurance. And to my surprise, this run was practically easy. I'm not sure if I'm establishing a rhythm or just learning to enjoy myself more, but running for 8 minutes was actually easier than running for 5 minutes. I got a little short of breath towards the end, but I didn't get bored. Which is huge for me. And the 5 minute walk in the middle actually felt a bit long. I was ready to run again after 3 minutes.
My pace was slowed down dramatically on the second 8-minute interval, but I'm just happy that I was able to keep running. And that I actually picked up my pace a bit at the end. A lot of that is directly related to whether I was running uphill or downhill, but needing to slow down is way better than needing to stop altogether.
The third run this week was the real challenge. It was a simple 20 minute run, and from what I've seen around the web it's the hardest part of the entire challenge. As I said in the last post, I went into it mostly curious to see if I could so the entire 20 minute run. And I very nearly did. At about 19 minutes, my body just gave up. But I think it was more of a mental block than anything else. As soon as I was walking instead of running I felt fine. If I hadn't hit a big hill in that final minute, I really think I could have completed that run.
Even though I walked for the final minute, I still maintained an overall 11 minute/mile pace for the twenty minutes. For the part I was actually running, it was closer to a 10:30 minute/mile pace. Which is far better than I ever dreamed I could do. Those 10-minute miles that seemed impossible a year ago are beginning to feel like they're within my reach.
I didn't finish that 20 minute run, but I'm still going to move on to week 6 next week. The first two workouts go back to intervals, and I'm positive I can do it now. Then it's just about lengthening the amount of time I can consistently run for. 5K, here I come!
The first workout this week consisted of three 5-minute run intervals separated by 3-minute walks. This was actually less running than the week before, so it felt almost easy. I was getting tired during the third interval until I got a second wind at the end of it. I felt like I could have run farther, but I'm sticking to the training program so I don't accidentally injure myself.
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| c25k week5, day 1 |
There were a bunch of other positives about my first run this week, too. Hills didn't seem nearly as hard or terrifying, and I ran up several of them without wanting to die. Recovery after the run was really quick; I was able to shower and run some errands instead of sitting on the couch for an hour. I also spent most of the next day fighting off the desire to go for another run. Like I said, I'm sticking to the training program to avoid injury and exhaustion. But the fact that I wanted to go for a run has me pretty optimisitc about this whole thing.
The second workout consisted of two 8-minute runs separated by a 5-minute walk. This is the same amount of running/walking as week four, but fewer breaks meant that I needed more endurance. And to my surprise, this run was practically easy. I'm not sure if I'm establishing a rhythm or just learning to enjoy myself more, but running for 8 minutes was actually easier than running for 5 minutes. I got a little short of breath towards the end, but I didn't get bored. Which is huge for me. And the 5 minute walk in the middle actually felt a bit long. I was ready to run again after 3 minutes.
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| c25k week 5, day 2. I think I'm getting better at maintaining a consistent pace |
My pace was slowed down dramatically on the second 8-minute interval, but I'm just happy that I was able to keep running. And that I actually picked up my pace a bit at the end. A lot of that is directly related to whether I was running uphill or downhill, but needing to slow down is way better than needing to stop altogether.
The third run this week was the real challenge. It was a simple 20 minute run, and from what I've seen around the web it's the hardest part of the entire challenge. As I said in the last post, I went into it mostly curious to see if I could so the entire 20 minute run. And I very nearly did. At about 19 minutes, my body just gave up. But I think it was more of a mental block than anything else. As soon as I was walking instead of running I felt fine. If I hadn't hit a big hill in that final minute, I really think I could have completed that run.
Even though I walked for the final minute, I still maintained an overall 11 minute/mile pace for the twenty minutes. For the part I was actually running, it was closer to a 10:30 minute/mile pace. Which is far better than I ever dreamed I could do. Those 10-minute miles that seemed impossible a year ago are beginning to feel like they're within my reach.
I didn't finish that 20 minute run, but I'm still going to move on to week 6 next week. The first two workouts go back to intervals, and I'm positive I can do it now. Then it's just about lengthening the amount of time I can consistently run for. 5K, here I come!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
C25K Week Four, Take Two
Because I wasn't able to do the entire workout at the end of last week, I decided to redo the fourth week of workouts in the C25K program. But I also decided to make an important change. Instead of splitting my workouts between the treadmill and the park, I wanted to do all three of the runs outside in the park this week.
I decided to do this because running outside has been so much more difficult than running inside on a treadmill. It turns out that there are a lot of reasons for this, from hills requiring more work to get up to gravel, asphalt, and concrete being harder than treadmills. Since the 5K I'm preparing for is going to be outside, I should probably get better at running outside.
As expected, the first run of the week was really hard. Almost impossible. But I finished it! I even kept up a decent pace through the whole run. My calves hurt more than they've ever hurt, but I keep telling myself that the pain will eventually go away. It means I'm developing muscles, which is a good thing.
I ended up skipping my Wednesday run. We hired a cleaning service that was supposed to come by the house between 2:30 and 5:30, but they didn't show up until almost 6:30. I didn't want to go for a run while they were there and by the time they had finished the sun was almost down. We had company on both Thursday and Friday that also made it difficult to schedule a run.
I was able to go for a run on Saturday, with Sarah. Having someone to run with made the whole thing a lot easier. I mean, the run was still hard, but I was also maintaining a faster pace than I had been. And while I was tired and sore following the run, I didn't feel like death. It seems to be taking me less time to recover, too.
All in all, I feel a lot more confident about moving on to the fifth week. It will be an interesting week as the first workout actually has less running than the fourth week (3 5-minute intervals, compared with 2 5-minute and 2 3-minute intervals). But the third workout is just a 20 minute run. A week ago that terrified me. Now I'm actually interested in whether or not I'll be able to do it.
I'm feeling more confident in general about the upcoming 5K. Even if I can't run the entire thing, know that at this point I'll be able to finish it.
I decided to do this because running outside has been so much more difficult than running inside on a treadmill. It turns out that there are a lot of reasons for this, from hills requiring more work to get up to gravel, asphalt, and concrete being harder than treadmills. Since the 5K I'm preparing for is going to be outside, I should probably get better at running outside.
As expected, the first run of the week was really hard. Almost impossible. But I finished it! I even kept up a decent pace through the whole run. My calves hurt more than they've ever hurt, but I keep telling myself that the pain will eventually go away. It means I'm developing muscles, which is a good thing.
 |
| Pace from the week's first run. I'm not sure what that spike at the end is from, I was probably running down a hill. |
I was able to go for a run on Saturday, with Sarah. Having someone to run with made the whole thing a lot easier. I mean, the run was still hard, but I was also maintaining a faster pace than I had been. And while I was tired and sore following the run, I didn't feel like death. It seems to be taking me less time to recover, too.
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| Pace from the run on Saturday. We started pretty fast, and while we did slow down, we still kept up a pretty good pace. |
I'm feeling more confident in general about the upcoming 5K. Even if I can't run the entire thing, know that at this point I'll be able to finish it.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
That Dove Video
Dove recently released a video called "Real Beauty Sketches" that a lot of people are talking about. It's been all over my Facebook feed. So many of my friends are inspired and believe that every woman needs to see this video. It's great if you feel like that, but this video has really been getting under my skin. I'm going to try and gather my thoughts in a coherent way. Just in case you haven't seen it, here's the video in question:
I have a lot of issues with this video. I think the best place to start is my problem with Dove as a company. Over the past few years, they've been striking me as a bit hypocritical. They release videos like this every so often to remind girls that they're more beautiful than they think they are. This one came out in college, and it made a real impression on me.
I knew models were heavily made-up before this. I suspected they were airbrushed. I hadn't realized just how extreme the photoshopping is. Now one of my hobbies is to spot this on magazine covers in the checkout lane at the grocery store. Sometimes the photoshopper didn't do a great job and you can see where the background doesn't quite match up. Other times it's a bit more subtle. Women appear skinnier than they do on TV. Their limbs don't look quite right. They're always a little whiter, especially if they aren't Caucasian.
Dove followed up that video with this one.
Again, I like the message. The beauty industry (and society in general) is trying to sell us on the idea that we need their help to be more attractive. It's great that Dove is pointing a finger at this.
The problem is that Dove is in the same business. They want you to feel bad about yourself so that you'll spend more money on their products. That hasn't changed in the past seven years, and I'd be really surprised if it changed now. As much as Dove wants me to understand that I'm prettier than I think, they also want me to buy an antiperspirant that gives me softer skin when all I actually need is something that will prevent me from sweating.
Maybe I'm jaded, but the entire thing feels like one more marketing scheme. Dove cares more about your self-esteem than all those other beauty companies, so you should give them your money. They actually have you best interests at heart when they're making your skin smoother, your hair bouncier, your armpits prettier (I have serious issues with that campaign).
But the other, deeper, issue I have with all of this is that it continues to play into the idea that the most important thing a woman can be is beautiful. This is everywhere in our society and it's reinforced by these videos. The women in the latest video are reassured when they learn that strangers find them more attractive than they find themselves - though I actually thought that some of the initial sketches showed the more attractive women. The second video reassures us that even models aren't that pretty, so it's okay for us to be slightly less than perfect, too. But only slightly. Notice that the "ugly" pictures are still considered less worthy.
Now there's nothing wrong with wanting to be attractive. Especially since our society makes that such a huge priority. I consider myself a fairly confident person, but I still have issues with how I look. I wish I weighed about thirty pounds less. Strapless tops always make me feel fat because I inevitably spill out of them. I despise my chin. I have a hard time looking at photos of myself. No matter how many times I tell myself that other people don't see what I see I can never seem to see anything else.
All this and I'm actually a pretty conventionally attractive person. I mean, I'm not a super-model, but nor am I a hag.
And for all that my female friends are intelligent, passionate, kind, creative, and all around wonderful human beings, for all the time they spend cooking delicious food, traveling to new places, reading interesting books, and engaging in thought-provoking conversations, I have no doubt many of them suffer from the same insecurities.
The problem, of course, is how much time society spends obsessing about how women look. Never mind that I have a degree in physics, that I have a difficult and interesting job that I'm really good at, that I'm well-read, or that I'm actually pretty good at taking care of my home, my pets, and my finances. I still occasionally feel like a complete failure because I can't seem to lose even five pounds.
Hell. For the past two years I've just been happy if I can get through a month without gaining weight. But I'd be a whole lot happier if I could lose some, too.
Except that, of course, I wouldn't be. It wouldn't fundamentally change who I am or anything about my life if I managed to get back down to a size 6. Society would still be there to tell me that I should lose more weight, dress more stylishly, put on some makeup, and take preemptive action against crow's feet and grey hairs. I'd still know, at least intellectually, that I'm a fairly successful person with a pretty excellent life.
Ninety-five percent of the time I'm happy in my own skin. I remember that other things are more important than my appearance and that the opinions of strangers have no real effect on my life. I focus on my career, I paint my nails bright pink, I get lost in a good book, and I don't think about my chin, or my belly or my thighs. Then something like this comes along and, even though it's telling me that I'm prettier than I think I am, it also reminds me how important it is to be pretty.
I have a lot of issues with this video. I think the best place to start is my problem with Dove as a company. Over the past few years, they've been striking me as a bit hypocritical. They release videos like this every so often to remind girls that they're more beautiful than they think they are. This one came out in college, and it made a real impression on me.
I knew models were heavily made-up before this. I suspected they were airbrushed. I hadn't realized just how extreme the photoshopping is. Now one of my hobbies is to spot this on magazine covers in the checkout lane at the grocery store. Sometimes the photoshopper didn't do a great job and you can see where the background doesn't quite match up. Other times it's a bit more subtle. Women appear skinnier than they do on TV. Their limbs don't look quite right. They're always a little whiter, especially if they aren't Caucasian.
Dove followed up that video with this one.
Again, I like the message. The beauty industry (and society in general) is trying to sell us on the idea that we need their help to be more attractive. It's great that Dove is pointing a finger at this.
The problem is that Dove is in the same business. They want you to feel bad about yourself so that you'll spend more money on their products. That hasn't changed in the past seven years, and I'd be really surprised if it changed now. As much as Dove wants me to understand that I'm prettier than I think, they also want me to buy an antiperspirant that gives me softer skin when all I actually need is something that will prevent me from sweating.
Maybe I'm jaded, but the entire thing feels like one more marketing scheme. Dove cares more about your self-esteem than all those other beauty companies, so you should give them your money. They actually have you best interests at heart when they're making your skin smoother, your hair bouncier, your armpits prettier (I have serious issues with that campaign).
But the other, deeper, issue I have with all of this is that it continues to play into the idea that the most important thing a woman can be is beautiful. This is everywhere in our society and it's reinforced by these videos. The women in the latest video are reassured when they learn that strangers find them more attractive than they find themselves - though I actually thought that some of the initial sketches showed the more attractive women. The second video reassures us that even models aren't that pretty, so it's okay for us to be slightly less than perfect, too. But only slightly. Notice that the "ugly" pictures are still considered less worthy.
Now there's nothing wrong with wanting to be attractive. Especially since our society makes that such a huge priority. I consider myself a fairly confident person, but I still have issues with how I look. I wish I weighed about thirty pounds less. Strapless tops always make me feel fat because I inevitably spill out of them. I despise my chin. I have a hard time looking at photos of myself. No matter how many times I tell myself that other people don't see what I see I can never seem to see anything else.
All this and I'm actually a pretty conventionally attractive person. I mean, I'm not a super-model, but nor am I a hag.
And for all that my female friends are intelligent, passionate, kind, creative, and all around wonderful human beings, for all the time they spend cooking delicious food, traveling to new places, reading interesting books, and engaging in thought-provoking conversations, I have no doubt many of them suffer from the same insecurities.
The problem, of course, is how much time society spends obsessing about how women look. Never mind that I have a degree in physics, that I have a difficult and interesting job that I'm really good at, that I'm well-read, or that I'm actually pretty good at taking care of my home, my pets, and my finances. I still occasionally feel like a complete failure because I can't seem to lose even five pounds.
Hell. For the past two years I've just been happy if I can get through a month without gaining weight. But I'd be a whole lot happier if I could lose some, too.
Except that, of course, I wouldn't be. It wouldn't fundamentally change who I am or anything about my life if I managed to get back down to a size 6. Society would still be there to tell me that I should lose more weight, dress more stylishly, put on some makeup, and take preemptive action against crow's feet and grey hairs. I'd still know, at least intellectually, that I'm a fairly successful person with a pretty excellent life.
Ninety-five percent of the time I'm happy in my own skin. I remember that other things are more important than my appearance and that the opinions of strangers have no real effect on my life. I focus on my career, I paint my nails bright pink, I get lost in a good book, and I don't think about my chin, or my belly or my thighs. Then something like this comes along and, even though it's telling me that I'm prettier than I think I am, it also reminds me how important it is to be pretty.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
C25K Week Four
The fourth week of the C25K training program marks a serious jump in the intensity of the workouts. The week three workout took about 15 minutes (plus 10 minutes to warm up and cool down). The week four workout lasts 21.5 minutes (plus the warming up and cooling down). Since endurance has always been my biggest problem, the sudden lengthening was a bit of a shock to my system. This week also nearly doubles the amount of time spent running which, interestingly, put a strain on my calf muscles.
I think that it's an overall good thing that the strain was on my calf muscles rather than my ankle. I've actually been pleased that my ankle has barely been bothering me. I had some issues with it early on, but running on the treadmill in front of a mirror has actually helped me improve my running posture, which in turn has put less stress on m ankles and shins. Actually posture may not be the right word. My problem - a side effect of years of ballet training - was that I was always keeping my feet exactly under me, almost like I was running on a balance beam. It's been difficult to retrain myself to keep my feet in their own lanes, so to speak, but when I can keep that up the overall running is much easier and less painful.
My problem with the first run this week (and my problem with running in general) was how bored I was getting. Running for five minutes is a long time, and I wasn't exactly feeling the song that came on my playlist for that section (Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA). I like the song fine, but it's simple and repetitive in a way that left me bored rather than engaged. I felt a lot better when The Dixie Chicks' Sin Wagon came on. I guess it's time to update my playlist.
The second run was easier. I made more liberal use of the skip button on my current playlist and stuck to songs that kept me motivated. I was able to maintain a 5.6 mph speed through all of my runs, which is a record best for me.
The third run was an entirely different story, though. I don't know why running outside is ten times harder than running on a treadmill, but it is. I wasn't able to finish this run, and after the first interval I wasn't even coming close to my treadmill pace. I think it's all the hills around my house that trip me up. Logically I know that I run downhill as much as I run uphill, since I start and stop in the same place and don't live in an Escher painting. But this entire run felt uphill. I was really struggling to breathe by the end and could barely even walk by the time I got back to my house.
Iit looks like I'll be re-doing the fourth week of training. I have a buffer week in my schedule, so I'll still be on track for the 5K in May. And even if I do fall behind, the final three weeks are just about increasing total time running. I can run for part of the 5K and still finish it.
I think that it's an overall good thing that the strain was on my calf muscles rather than my ankle. I've actually been pleased that my ankle has barely been bothering me. I had some issues with it early on, but running on the treadmill in front of a mirror has actually helped me improve my running posture, which in turn has put less stress on m ankles and shins. Actually posture may not be the right word. My problem - a side effect of years of ballet training - was that I was always keeping my feet exactly under me, almost like I was running on a balance beam. It's been difficult to retrain myself to keep my feet in their own lanes, so to speak, but when I can keep that up the overall running is much easier and less painful.
My problem with the first run this week (and my problem with running in general) was how bored I was getting. Running for five minutes is a long time, and I wasn't exactly feeling the song that came on my playlist for that section (Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA). I like the song fine, but it's simple and repetitive in a way that left me bored rather than engaged. I felt a lot better when The Dixie Chicks' Sin Wagon came on. I guess it's time to update my playlist.
The second run was easier. I made more liberal use of the skip button on my current playlist and stuck to songs that kept me motivated. I was able to maintain a 5.6 mph speed through all of my runs, which is a record best for me.
The third run was an entirely different story, though. I don't know why running outside is ten times harder than running on a treadmill, but it is. I wasn't able to finish this run, and after the first interval I wasn't even coming close to my treadmill pace. I think it's all the hills around my house that trip me up. Logically I know that I run downhill as much as I run uphill, since I start and stop in the same place and don't live in an Escher painting. But this entire run felt uphill. I was really struggling to breathe by the end and could barely even walk by the time I got back to my house.
 |
| See Caitlin Fail |
Monday, April 1, 2013
C25K Week Three
The third week of my C25K training was an exercise in flexibility. I didn't even come close to sticking to my schedule. But I did get in all three of my workouts. I'm calling this one a win.
On Monday, I went down to the fitness center to discover that a small flood had closed it down for the day. It sucks when you're actually motivated to do something, but external forces make it impossible. I ended up going to a bar with Kevin instead where I had one of the best stouts of my life (Starr Hill Little Red Roostarr - it tasted like a cup of coffee). So the day wasn't a total loss.
On Tuesday I got my workout in, but I discovered too late that I'd forgotten to bring a towel to the gym. That meant no shower and made for a slightly awkward metro ride home. I can only hope I didn't smell too bad to the people around me.
On Thursday I triple-checked that I had my towel so that I could shower before getting on the metro. Instead I forgot my shoes, which made running out of the question, so my schedule got pushed back another day.
I did get my workout in on Friday, thankfully, but running both Friday night and Saturday morning seemed like a bad idea. So my weekend workout got pushed to Sunday. Kevin came on the run with me, since it was a little too cold for him to go on his bike ride. Having someone along helped me keep my pace down, which prevented me from exhausting myself before the end of the run. I felt like I was traveling really slowly, but my app informed me that I was actually going faster than I typically do on a treadmill. The steady pace thing is definitely something I have to work on when I'm running outdoors.
The runs this week were all pretty easy - I ended up increasing my pace a lot to feel like I was working. Next week adds a lot more running and cuts down the walking intervals significantly. Here's hoping I survive. And that I have an easier time sticking to my schedule.
On Monday, I went down to the fitness center to discover that a small flood had closed it down for the day. It sucks when you're actually motivated to do something, but external forces make it impossible. I ended up going to a bar with Kevin instead where I had one of the best stouts of my life (Starr Hill Little Red Roostarr - it tasted like a cup of coffee). So the day wasn't a total loss.
On Tuesday I got my workout in, but I discovered too late that I'd forgotten to bring a towel to the gym. That meant no shower and made for a slightly awkward metro ride home. I can only hope I didn't smell too bad to the people around me.
On Thursday I triple-checked that I had my towel so that I could shower before getting on the metro. Instead I forgot my shoes, which made running out of the question, so my schedule got pushed back another day.
I did get my workout in on Friday, thankfully, but running both Friday night and Saturday morning seemed like a bad idea. So my weekend workout got pushed to Sunday. Kevin came on the run with me, since it was a little too cold for him to go on his bike ride. Having someone along helped me keep my pace down, which prevented me from exhausting myself before the end of the run. I felt like I was traveling really slowly, but my app informed me that I was actually going faster than I typically do on a treadmill. The steady pace thing is definitely something I have to work on when I'm running outdoors.
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| Pace changes on my outdoor run |
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