Friday, May 2, 2008

Holy crap! 20 minutes straight!

Weight: 317.4
Total Weight loss: 32.6
YES!!!

Once again I was feeling antsy at work and couldn't stop thinking about running. I had come prepared in case I wanted to take a walk or even a short run or something, but once I got out of the office on my lunch break, I thought to myself, "Well, why not see if you can do the 20-minute run and get it out of the way?" So, I did.

It wasn't easy, and it could have been due to a number of factors. The negatives were:
• It's a very unappealing area to run in, a busy industrial office park where there are the teeniest sidewalks and everyone thinks it's hot to speed
• It started to drizzle slightly (not really a big deal, but different than any of my other runs)
• I was running in the middle of the day, not first thing in the morning like I usually do
• My belly was full of lunch, instead of empty after sleeping all night
• I didn't leave a day's rest in between runs, as is recommended by C25K

It felt like my feet were made of lead, but after mapping the run, I was going at about the same pace I have been lately. I had all sorts of complaints throughout the run, and really didn't think I'd make it past 5 minutes. The whole time, I just kept saying, "OK make it to x point, you can do it!" and pick a nearby landmark. It was just that sort of thing, over and over. I resisted looking at the time, too, which helped. I even waved to a truck driver passing by, and he waved back! Ha ha. It's the little things.

But yeah, I had a mantra going there toward the end: "Make it to the tree (or whatever landmark). You can do it. (when I made it to the tree) All right." ad infinitum. It was pretty cool, keeping myself going like that; eventually I did find a groove, but it was never easy. I would say that the traffic issue and no sidewalk made it really difficult to focus and was the single biggest obstacle.

I finished, I finished. I ran about 1-1/3 miles, which included my 5-minute warmup walk, so yes, I am still going spectacularly slow. But I am happy. Plus, I am still losing! I'm getting my period soon, so we'll see what that does to my efforts, but whatever. I'm on a cloud.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hooray! Congratulations!

One fabulous bitch said...

I've been lurking on your blog for a few days but I had to come out and say, "CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!" I am so impressed by your mental and physical strength. I'm fighting my way back to being a runner and when I read your strategy about just making it to that tree, telephone pole, etc, it reminded me of my first 5K and that's exactly how I did it! I never thought I'd run the whole thing and I just kept telling myself "to that bench, to that bush" and before I knew it the finish line was in sight! You'll rock this 5K!

I'm even more impressed that you did it in the middle of a workday. THAT is dedication!

Bravo!

Michelle said...

Yes! That's how I've been making it on my bike lately. 10 feet at a time. Reminds us how much of this is mental sometimes. 20 minutes is just incredible. You're so on your way now!!

Doesn't it feel good to know you can get yourself around with your own two feet?

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! Slow and steady wins the race is really really true here. It totally doesn't matter what speed. The cool thing is that you are getting it done. I'm nervous about the 20 min non-stop but it will sure feel good to give it a go.

Anonymous said...

Oh, something else I thought of. That legs like lead thing, is probably from eating lunch right before the run. I've noticed that when hiking. Stopping for a full on lunch break is usually a bad idea so I just nibble here and there as I go. Seems like too much food in there digesting diverts blood flow from your limbs etc. and makes it all a whole lot more work. Good on ya for getting out there and getting it done.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I just stumbled across your blog, fantastic effort on the 20mins - 30mins should be a breeze....

I have just started C25k this week so I read your posts with interest to see what I can expect