Woo Hoo - the Couch Potato Plan is FINISHED!!

I can officially say that I've finished the couch potato plan.

Yay for me!  

So for anyone who might doubt their own ability to become a runner, it turns out that it IS possible to go from not running at all and HATING running to running three miles, three days a week!  Who knew? It feels like I've been running forever, but really, nine weeks ago, sixty seconds of running exhausted me and I felt like I would never be able to run even a full mile - now I can run three and I'm getting ready for my first 5k!!  I'm even hitting a ten minute pace - yes, I know that's not really THAT fast, but for me, the girl who ran her fastest mile senior year of college at over 12 minutes, it's a miracle.  

Oh, and did I mention that I actually *like* running now?  I might even love it?  I don't even recognize this girl!  Am I the same girl who took a gym sabbatical senior year of high school? (Admittedly, I was sick on and off, but I probably could have gone back sooner than I did).  The same girl who told her gym teacher freshman year of high school that she couldn't run the mile because of her asthma?  And now, not only am I running, but I'm liking it and even running in the rain?  Crazy!

This week was a bit wild, so I got away from my regularly scheduled blogs, but I did run Monday/Wednesday/Friday, doing 30 minutes without taking any breaks - not bad!  In fact, after Wednesday's run, I checked my distance and I thought I might be slightly under three miles.  So on Friday, I made myself run a bit longer just to make sure I was hitting my three-mile goal for the day.  I want to be prepared for my 5k in May!  When I started this program nine weeks ago, who would have guessed that on the last day I'd not only run the 30 minutes without complaining, but push myself further? Not this girl.

So on to the last two runs themselves: Wednesday's run was pretty good.  The first half was tough, but as soon as I turned around to head home at the halfway point, I felt myself settling into the run and feeling good. My goal all week was just to run the full time without having to take a walking break.  So whenever I felt myself getting really tired, I would just slow down and relax and it worked!  By the end of Wednesday's run, I felt great, not too sore, and happy to get two 30-minute runs in back to back.  On Thursday, I had a friend come to stay with me and after a great day of catching up, we headed out for a nice dinner.  I definitely ate WAY too much and when I went to bed, I kept thinking there was no way my poor body was going to want to run in the morning.  But I knew it was the last day of the plan, and I wanted to finish it - I never skipped a planned run the whole nine weeks! Which, by the way, is an accomplishment in and of itself.  I'm a chronic workout skipper - I can find an excuse to blow off any athletic activity.  So not only am I running three miles, but I never skipped a run in the plan - I ran in new places, I switched days and did back to back runs, all just to make sure I would get them all in.  Not bad!

So Friday morning rolled around, and I forced myself to get out of bed and into my running clothes.  It was a clammy morning, not ideal for enjoying running, but definitely good for a run.  I felt itchy during my warmup walk, like I just wanted to get started running and see how my body would feel.  I find more and more lately, I get itchy.  Itchy like I just want to be running. Mostly it happens during my warm up.  But sometimes, it happens on days when I'm running later on.  Or on off days.  I hear that itchiness is normal for runners, so I told myself I needed the warm up and that the running would start soon enough.  However, the minute I started running, my right achilles tendon started to protest.  It's been too tight all week, and Friday it decided to go on strike.  It was yelling at me - "no running, no running, NO RUNNING!"  

But I didn't stop! I figured it just needed a bit of time to warm up, so I kept my pace really slow (hence having to add extra time on to the end) and just kept pushing myself.  I figured that if it snapped, I would stop.  Fortunately, it didn't, and it loosened up enough that I could run without stopping for the entire 30+ minutes.  I'm paying for it now of course, but mostly only when I go up and down the stairs.  My hips on the other hand are feeling pretty good!  Lots of things feel sore when I'm running, but nothing dramatic or longlasting, which I feel is a great improvement!  Plus, I'm still sporting an awesome blister from the rain run, which makes me feel even more like a real runner (as a side note, I want to say how awesome Band-Aids blister bandaids are - they've made all post-blister-forming runs possible and relatively pain free!).

I feel like I should sum up everything I've learned since I started the couch potato program.  And I also suspect I should change my twitter profile from "learning to run" to "runner."  I think it's official now.  So what have I learned in the last nine weeks?

- Running isn't half bad!  Just kidding - actually it's great!  I think it might even be more great for me, because it's something that I had kind of always wanted to do but I faced this obstacle of really hating to run.  Starting slow, taking other people's advice, and focusing on the journey took me from struggling with 60 seconds of running to enjoying 3 miles of running.  It's one of the most tangible accomplishments in my life, and I am actually pretty proud of myself.  I can't wait to finish my first 5k.  The other day, I found a list I'd started of life goals.  On it was "Run a 5k." I'm so excited that soon I can cross that off my list and maybe add some new, tougher goals!

- I'm stronger than I thought I was.  I really, really, REALLY didn't think I'd be able to run without taking walking breaks.  I just didn't think I could manage it.  I'd never run the mile in school (from grade school all the way through college), without having to walk some of it.  I've never been particularly athletic.  I love yoga, but even that falls to the wayside in favor of things like sleeping or tv watching (yes, I really am a couch potato).  I do like to joke that I'm freakishly strong, because I can lift very heavy things despite the fact that I don't do any weight training.  But I wasn't so sure I could finish this program.  Which is why after I programmed all the workouts into my Outlook calendar, I never looked ahead more than the week in front of me.  I didn't want to psych myself out.  And here I am, nine weeks later, and I finished it!  It was just like Liz Waterstraat said - "Do the work. It will pay off."  It turns out that stubbornness and a plan works.

- Motivation is key.  For me, it wouldn't have been enough to say, I want to "lose weight" or "get healthy."  I needed to have specific goals along with my plan in order to give me a reason to get up and run.  Otherwise, I would have given up a long time ago.  I had a few goals, which I could rotate on any given day to dig deep and find the motivation I needed.  My first was training for the LBI 18-mile race in October.  I knew that if I couldn't finish the couch potato plan and regularly run three miles, I'd never stand a chance of running 18.  So somedays, my motivation was that I needed to move forward in my running so I wouldn't be falling behind in my training.  Then, I added in the goal of running in a 5k.  Because that fit in with the couch potato plan so nicely, and it was a much more manageable chunk of distance, it was easier to consider that I would actually make it to a 5k and finish it.  Especially once I signed up to do the Island Heights 5k, I knew I needed to make sure I stuck to my training!  I was also motivated to run after telling everyone on Facebook, Twitter and through this blog what I was up to and what the plan was.  Knowing that people would be watching and cheering me on made me feel accountable. A couple of days, I really didn't want to run, but I knew somebody would ask me how it had gone, so I knew I had to find it in myself to do it.  And of course, one of my main motivations has been my own innate stubbornness.  I don't like to fail.  This plan looked manageable to me, I had said I was doing it, and so gosh darnit, I was going to do it!  I was not going to let running beat me!! Plus, turning thirty next year reminds me that there were things I wanted to accomplish in my twenties, so I'd better get about doing them.  

- Get a coach.  Seriously.  Coach J has been a HUGE help to me throughout the whole process, and if it wasn't for his prodding, suggestions, nudging, cheerleading and expertise, I might have quit pretty early on.  It helped to feel accountable to a particular person, somebody who knew what the plan was and would know if I was skipping workouts.  Plus, whenever something wasn't going well, like my early trouble with feeling tired too quickly, the increase in migraines, my general aches and pains, he had suggestions and solutions that he knew worked from experience.  And his crazy workouts in preparation for various triathlons made my little runs seem clearly manageable (did I mention that he came in 140th out of 3000 in the Ochsner Ironman in New Orleans?!?!).  So if you're looking to run, find somebody who runs already and can pass along their experiences to you - it's made a big difference to me!

- Diet makes a huge difference.  No, I haven't given up brownies - though, come to think of it, I haven't had any in a while...don't worry, I've been supplementing with Ben & Jerry's and Hostess cupcakes.  But making sure I get enough protein is a big deal.  A big enough deal that now that I've focused on getting more into my diet, on days when I don't have enough protein, I can actually feel a difference.  I try to keep protein bars on hand for those days.  But in general, increasing the protein in my diet hasn't been a huge struggle, and in addition to helping my running (since protein fuels you for longer), it keeps my head clearer.  Plus, I actually enjoy finding ways to eat enough of it!  

- Running is a mood elevator.  On days when I wake up crabby, running works better than a cup of coffee.  Overall, it's boosted my mood in a big way - I feel like I'm doing something good for my body, so that helps my self-esteem and of course, new leg muscles are exciting!  I'm getting fresh air and sun (sometimes) for thirty minutes three days a week, which can help to get rid of the winter blahs that are rampant for me around March/April.  Plus, I get to see the ocean every time I run, and the ocean is the reason I moved here in the first place!  Running has given me a community of running friends online, who I feel like I've really bonded with and connection is always a good thing.  Setting out to achieve a goal and achieving it is very satisfying.  And the endorphins can't be beat!

- Like in life, there are good runs and bad runs.  I always thought that if I stuck to the plan, each run would just get progressively better.  Um, not so much.  While overall, I do feel stronger and have greater endurance, each run for me was different.  I've learned that that's true for all runners, and that a bad day has it's purpose, just like a good day.  The important thing is always that I've gotten out there and given it my best shot.  

So those are the couch potato to 5k lessons that I've learned.  I'm really looking forward to actually running in a 5k, and working towards my 18-mile LBI run.  But for right now, today, I'm just enjoying the fact that I'm really a runner.  And that surprises nobody more than me!

Too much thinking?

Week 7 is over, and it took me two days to get up the energy to write my post-run blog!  After Wednesday's run, Coach J told me I was thinking too much and that's what was causing all my running issues.  I'm more inclined to think it was injury, but he's the coach, so I decided to listen to him.  So when my alarm went off bright and early Friday morning, I put on my running clothes, pulled on my sneakers, grabbed my music and headed out.  I figured after my five minute warm up, I would put the timer on 25 minutes and just focus on running.  

That would have worked perfectly except for the pain in my foot, which slowed me down again and meant a couple of short walking breaks in the middle.  But I must admit that overall, the run was better than Wednesday's run - the weather was gorgeous, already 43 degrees when my alarm went off.  The sun was shining, and its warmth definitely made me happy to get out there and stretch my legs.  I could tell that despite the pain in my foot, the rest of my body was feeling good and getting stronger. So I was more frustrated about my foot than anything, and hoping that two recovery days would make the difference.  

I think my body knew that I was taking Saturday and Sunday off, because although I was hobbling around most of Friday and icing my foot, when I woke up Saturday morning, I was pain free!  Since then, I've felt a few twinges every once in a while, but I've taken a few walks with the puppy and run around doing errands, and it's felt pretty good.  So I'm hoping that when I head out tomorrow morning for my first 28-minute run that I'll be able to just run and enjoy it! 

So since this is supposed to be my "end of the week" post (even though it's really the beginning of week 8), let's take a look at what I've learned this week:

- A bad day running is better than a good day not running: It's official, I love running.  I never thought I'd say it, but there it is.  I'm thinking like a runner; I look at warm spring days as days I could be enjoying the weather by running; I'm even dreaming about running; I get excited about other runners' races and am focused on finding my first 5k, which I'm sure won't be my last.  I'm definitely hooked.  As one runner told me last week "I crave it." Despite my best efforts to have a lifelong hatred of running, I now understand what she means.

- I've actually inspired someone else to start running! A college friend started running on Sundays after reading my blogs and is now up to running 30 minutes at a time.  She's now fitting in runs during the week and thinking about a 5k in May.  I think she might be hooked too!  It's very cool to have motivated someone else to start running and it keeps me pushing myself further each time too.

- There's no better feeling than pushing your limits and surpassing them.  When I first started this journey from couch potato to 5k seven weeks ago, I wasn't looking past the first 60 seconds of running.  I suppose a part of me thought that I could run longer or I never would have tried the plan, but I've given up pretty easily a number of times before, so I didn't think far ahead enough to see myself running 25 minutes at a time (without a lot of breaks anyway).  Getting up to running 25 minutes, and tomorrow, 28 minutes, shows me that I can do more than I thought was possible.  I read a number of runners/triathletes' blogs and I talk to Coach J (I've linked to his twitter page so that I can help him build his "empire" of twitter followers) a lot and sometimes their level of training seems so intense and well beyond what I am possibly capable of.  But I used to think that 25 minutes of running was well beyond my capability too.  So I just keep going back to what Liz Waterstraat said "Do the work. It will pay off."  With that attitude, I know I'll be ready for the 18-mile LBI race in October!  And it looks like they've finally posted the 2009 race information. I'll let you know when I officially start panicking.

So tomorrow, it's on to 28 minute runs.  I've found a 5k in May that I'm looking at as my first race, since it looks like the Giants Draft Day 5k was cancelled for this year.  With a definite goal in mind, I'm starting to get excited and nervous about competing.  I've got another five weeks of training before I get there, so I know I'll be ready!  

Today, I am a runner!

I AM A RUNNER!

Yeah, so I had to put that all in capitals and big letters, because I'm VERY excited that I did it! Where better to yell that out than on the internet? Especially since most of my neighbors don't know about my journey to "runner," so they might just think I'm a little weird.

As you may know, the couch potato plan called for me to run 20 minutes without stopping today. Until today, my longest running interval had been eight minutes (on Wednesday), which felt like a lot to me. So I'd been dreading the 20 minutes since I found out on Monday. Both my coach and another triathlete told me that I could do it, and should think about it as four five-minute intervals. But still. I was freaking out.

So I stretched extra. A lot, in fact. And I took Advil in the morning and before I went to bed to ease any soreness. I drank lots of water. I ate protein. I thought about downloading the Chariots of Fire theme, as suggested by my best friend, but thought it might encourage me to run in slow motion (not that you'd know the difference). I tried not to think about it.

I tried not to think about it all day yesterday. I tried not to think about it during yoga. I tried not to think about it while watching Grey's Anatomy. I tried not to think about it while trying to fall asleep. I wasn't that successful.

So this morning when my alarm went off, I pretended it was like all my other workouts. I put on my running clothes and put in my contacts. I laced up my sneaks and put on my headphones. I got out my gloves, because my dad had texted me to say it was cold and windy. Yes, that's right. Not only did I have to battle my own fear of failure and of running, but I had to deal with the cold and wind again. I figured I might as well get it over with! Plus, at 30 degrees, I figured it was alerady ten degrees warmer than some of my other runs.

I started out with my five minute warm-up and told myself that I'd do it five minutes at a time. It definitely was chilly out, but I'd dressed appropriately, so I knew I was ready. Then, it was time to run.

The first five minutes were tough. My knee always starts to hurt as soon as I pick up the pace, and my mind tells me "Ah, see, you can't do it!" But I yelled at myself (not out loud) and kept going. I told myself it was only for five minutes, while the little voice in the back of my head said "No, it's 20 you fool." But I knew that if I ever wanted to run in a 5k, I had to be able to run this 20 minutes. And if Coach J, my twitter friend, and the Couch Potato Plan thought I could do it, it probably was possible. Probably.

The next five minutes were okay. I'd run eight minutes on Wednesday, so I just kept telling myself that it was only a little bit more than that, and I would soon be turning around to head back. The wind started to pick up, which was not fun, so I turned around with about 45 seconds left to go, thinking that the wind would be at my back.

Not so much.

It was even worse heading the other way and that felt defeating. But I kept slogging along at my slow pace because I really wanted to run 20 minutes without stopping or walking. I prayed that the wind would die down and it did! So then it was just me against myself.

The third five minutes were good. I was more than halfway through, and although I was tired, I hung in there. The wind eventually died down and I was thinking about finishing strong.

But I still had to get through the last five minutes. And those were tough! I had a bit of a stitch in my side, though my knee seemed to feel fine again (thank you Advil!), and I was just tired. But so many people knew about my quest for 20 minutes that I could not picture coming back home and saying that I hadn't made it. I had to at least try.

When I hit the 2:30 mark, I knew I would make it. Only 1/8th the way to go? No problem! Short of getting hit by a car, I was going to finish running. And I'm sure the determined look on my face kept all of the cars far, far away. I even forced myself to run as hard as I could for the last ten seconds, which by that time, was not very fast. But I was so proud of myself - I did it!

I did it!

So I guess that makes me a runner now. I know a few people have said it to me already, but today, I really feel like a runner. I ran about two miles without stopping for the first time in my life! I am so excited! I am so proud! I am so...tired!

But I can't rest on my laurels, since I still have that pesky 5k to worry about at the end of April and the 18-mile LBI run in October. Now, I can't wait until I think of 20 minutes as a quick easy run instead of the hurdle of a lifetime!

Next week, I am changing up my schedule again, starting on Sunday instead of Monday because I am going to the premiere of "Brothers at War" on Monday. And Gary Sinise will be there. Seriously. Lindsay Gump and Lt. Dan in the same place - excellent!

And yes, I know I won't be at the premiere the whole day, but I like running at the beach, so I'd rather stick to my familiar place right now and switch up my days. So it's Sunday/Wednesday/Friday next week and I'm back to intervals. Sunday will be 5/8/5 running, Wednesday is two 10-minute intervals, and then Friday I have to run for 25 minutes without walking. One of my twitter friends told me that now that I know I can do it, I'll be able to do it all the time, since it's all mental. Now that I've done the 20 minutes, I think that might just be right!

So, one more time...

I AM A RUNNER!!!!!

Now I might just have to make some brownies to reward myself...

Day 2 - A Cheering Section is Necessary

The biggest obstacle I've faced in the past is a lack of motivation. I get pumped up to be a runner, but don't picture the interim goals. So when I fail to turn into Steve Prefontaine the first time I head outside, I give up pretty quickly. That's where three things have been a huge help to me. The first is having a plan - by starting with my couch potato to 5K plan, instead of having the general "I want to run" thought, I can tell myself "Today, I will alternate 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking and it will only take me 20 minutes plus my warm up." That's more manageable to me, and I can't find as many excuses not to do it.

The second is having goals - I know that I want to run in the LBI 18-mile race in October, and if I don't start running now, I won't be in good enough shape to do that. In talking with a friend who's been coaching me, he also suggested that I pick a 5K to do at the end of my couch potato plan. That's a short-term goal that's helping to motivate me too. I've decided to do the 5K at the Giants Draft Day party, which my brother-in-law will be joining me for too. Knowing that I have to run 5K in 2 1/2 months is a good reason to get up in the morning and get moving!!

The third thing is the most important for me, and that's having a cheering section. If I'd kept my plans to run to myself, I would be able to find excuses not to get up and run pretty quickly, and no one would be the wiser. I'd be letting myself down, but no one else would know. So I posted about my running on Facebook and Twitter, and emailed my brother-in-law to commit to the 18-mile run in October. Doing that has given me a pretty great cheering section.

After day two of running, I had comments on my Facebook page like "Keep it up - you are doing great - all progress is made one step at a time!" and "nice. stick with it." My best friend told me "I am proud of you for doing it." My brother-in-law sends me funny and motivational emails. And my "coach" has been checking in daily to give me tips and encouragement - "Keep with the program. You are doing great!" When you know someone is going to be asking you if you ran that morning, it really makes you want to get up and do it, no matter how sore you are! Having both a cheering section and accountability has helped me to stick with the plan (yes, even though it's only day 2 - my lack of motivation can be THAT strong!).

For the actual run/walk of day 2, it was both better and worse. I felt less tired when I was running than I had on Monday, but since my muscles were so sore, it was a little bit more painful. But the weather was beautiful, and once I was warmed up, I felt pretty strong and proud of myself. My muscles actually felt less sore by the end of the day! Now I've only got one more day of running in week one, before I ramp it up in week two.

Couch Potato to Runner? Can I do this?

I've never been a runner. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I hate running. In high school, whenever we would have our physical fitness tests in gym class, I would try telling the teacher that I had to skip the mile because I had asthma. Unfortunately, so did she and she could run it, so there went my excuse. I managed to take a gym sabbatical my senior year, but somehow ended up at a college with a gym class requirement. This requirement didn't involve running the mile, but I after exhausting all possible avenues for getting around the gym class and having to drop a step aerobics class after I had a fencing injury, I found myself in a true, team-picking, middle school nightmare, gym class.

So there I was, senior year of college, in a class full of almost all athletic popular girls, with the threat over my head of having to run the dreaded mile again. Huffing and puffing (and sometimes walking), I managed to squeak out my fastest time yet - 12 minutes. I swore I could taste blood when I finished. And I was still the last one in the class to finish. I think it was only the conditioning runs I'd done as a member of the fencing team that saved me from the 16-minute mile I was known for in high school.

I'm simply not a good runner. Some people I know can head outside when the weather is nice and just run for a three, ten, fifteen miles. I can barely run for sixty seconds without wanting to keel over. Yoga is more my speed when it comes to a workout - low impact, and I can do it in the privacy of my own home. I've always wanted to love running, but I simply don't.

"So what's changed?" you might ask. What could be motivating me to run now, when I was previously so content to let running be something that other people do? It started when I moved down to the beach, close to Long Beach Island, where every October, those crazy runners get together to participate in the annual 18-mile LBI Run, which takes them from one tip of the island to the other. My brother-in-law started kidding me that we would be signing up to do this year's run. My immediate response was "Ha ha, NO!"

But then I got to thinking about it - why couldn't I run 18 miles in October? I've heard stories of people training for runs who've never run in their lives. Maybe I didn't need some innate running talent, just stubbornness and a plan. So I decided to do it. I went to Cool Running to get their "Couch Potato to 5K" plan, put it into my Outlook calendar, along with their marathon training plan (yikes!), and got out my running shoes - don't worry, I know they're called sneakers. So now, I'm off!