'08 Ass Project Update

Where the hell did Wednesday go? Okay, so I'm two days late with the update, but today was a running day - so here goes.

Today was the last day of the 6th week of training. My instructions were to run for 25 minutes (or 2 1/4 miles) with no walking. This is my first day of no walking for that long of a run, so I was already laying the ground work of self-doubt.

But without trying to think about it too much, I went through the morning routine - wait, did I tell my morning routine? Not that any one will be interested in the details, but you never know. You see, I'm a big routine person. If I have a routine, it makes exercising much easier for me - who knows why.

My routine is: waking up somewhere around 7:00 a.m., depending on how late I stayed up watching the Olympics or reading my book.

Start the tea water, let the dogs out, turn on CNN, make my tea, check my email, then start yoga. I do my yoga while catching up on the latest depressing news that CNN has to offer.

**Warning - too much information coming your way, skip ahead if you would rather not know about my bathroom habits**

The reason the tea is so important here is, it helps me take care of my morning business, if you will. I've had to turn around many times from my walk/run b/c the morning ritual did not happen and the exercise effects my body in that way. Okay, moving on.

After yoga, I get my running clothes/shoes on, find my iPod and hope it's charged, fill my small water bottle, call the dogs back into the house (they will follow me, if I leave them out), and head down the driveway and on to my walk/run.

After I return from my run, I take my shoes off on the front porch, let the dogs back out and then come in and do yoga again. This much yoga might seem excessive, but it has done wonders for me as far as not getting sore, not having trouble with my knees and a general cool-down.

Literally, I have not been sore to the point of discomfort one day of this training. This is crazy to me as usually any exercise I would do in the past would render me useless for at least 2 days - a lot of hobbling around, moaning and groaning. Not one day have I been sore. The only reason I can think of is the yoga.

For the rest of this Couch to 5K training, which is 2 more weeks, I will have no more walking. This intimidates me a little and believe me when I say, I cannot believe what I've accomplished so far. Truly, as I said before, I am not and have never been a runner, so the fact that I am running for 25 minutes straight (2 miles) without stopping is simply amazing to me. But remember, my pace is sloooooooow. In the end, you are supposed to be able to run a 5K in 30 minutes. Not me. Mine will be more like 40-45 minutes. I'm doing this for accomplishment, not speed.

One thing I'm realizing is how mental, running is. There are so many times when my self-talk or how I look at that day mentally effects the run. Small things like, not looking up at how far I have to go, just keeping my head down. Concentrating on my iPod music or what I need to do that day and basically 'ignoring' the fact that I'm running - seems insane, I know, but it's true.

Either way, I've managed to accomplish 6 weeks and we will see how the next goes - one week at a time - with no expectations.

I hope the training is going well for the rest of you. If any of you ever have any questions about a certain part of the training that I have already finished, don't hesitate to comment or email me - not that I'm an expert - but sometimes any little suggestion can help.

How is it going for you?