Week Three is Over!

Week three of the couch potato to 5K plan is over, and the main thing it taught me is that I prefer running in nicer weather!  This morning, I opened one eye when my alarm went off and peeked at the thermometer on my phone.  When it said 45 degrees, I knew it would be a good run, especially after making sure to switch out my insoles.  And mostly it was - I felt less tired after the three minute intervals than I did at the beginning of the week and worked up a great sweat.  But my body was struggling today a bit, so I'm definitely glad to have the weekend to recover, stretch and relax.  Plus, I'm ramping up to five minute and three minute intervals on Monday, so I definitely need to psych myself up for that!

So what did I learn this week besides that I like nicer weather (and who doesn't?!?)?  Let's see:

- I'm actually a morning runner - who would have guessed?  Running first thing in the morning is a great way to start the day, and keeps me from making excuses not to run.  I've actually stuck to the plan as it's laid out, without skipping days or postponing them and that's something I can really be proud of!

- Although running seems easy (just throw on some sneakers and do it, right?), it's actually more complicated than that.  I've had to learn about how to better hydrate myself, run slower and more relaxed, run in the cold and the wind, and now I'm learning how to better heal my body when I recover from the runs.  My next step is learning about shin splints and working on strengthening my hips.  I'm glad I didn't know about all of this when I started, because I might have quit before my first steps!  But now, I have to admit...

- That I actually like running!  I'm definitely not loving it yet, but it's been a great mood elevator and I can really see progress already, in just three weeks.  I'm still not jumping out of bed to get out there, but the running has become very satisfying.

So I'm curious to see what week four will bring and what else I'll learn!