Week two redeux.

Today was interesting. My goal today was to complete a 30 minute “easy” walk. That didn’t happen. What was supposed to be a half hour was more like ten minutes. I was not feeling it today. This is only the second week of training for the Couch to 5k program and it felt more like week 20, or something similar. What a difference a day makes!

My first week was fine, by most standards. I accomplished the full week as it was designed in the program, and felt pretty good about myself. The second week has proven that I am still as arrogant as I was in my younger days. I have concluded, based on the condition of my body, that I totally suck at this (for now) and need more than the nine weeks allocated in this program. Week two will be a redo.

The addition of a mere 30 seconds to the running portion of this program has been a struggle for me. And a revelation of how much I let myself go over the past several years. Nearly thirty-two weeks remain until the MCM takes place. At this point in my training I can allow for an extra week or more of regrouping and readjustment until the big day arrives to run the 26.2 miles I am striving for. However, I am thankful I decided to begin this program, and training, early enough to allow room for extra conditioning.

I ran the three days required for the second week of my training program. Each day I found that I was struggling to complete the final 20 seconds of the run portion, and found the 2-minute walk/recovery portion much to brief. My legs ached. My breathing was labored the first two segments of the six total repetitions of this week’s walk/run series.

That I was out of town this weekend did not deter from my training. Even if I was still in my section of Virginia I would have had the same result. My body is the issue here. It is woefully under conditioned for anything other than work and sex. (Ok…I admit it’s TMI, but truthful nonetheless.)

The first day of week two was on Tuesday (previously blogged.) Day two of week two was Thursday. Ouch. I felt like crap when that session was done. That day was sh**ty by anyone’s standards. Work was a drag (sorry BBss), I went out much later than planned, and was at a place located too close to evening traffic where I breathed in exhaust fumes from passing motor vehicles. Not a good day at all. Day three placed me in Pennsylvania with cool, fresh air at a good spot to complete the last day of the week. After the first of the six running segments, my legs were very tight and my left knee felt like Jell-O.

I’ve concluded I have to include tow more conditioning methods into my program. I need to get back to the hot (Birkram) yoga I once practiced, and add more fluids into my day. I adore red wine and coffee. However, both seem to leave me a bit dehydrated and that had made a huge difference in my recovery from the walk/run seesions. It took this week with the longer runs for me to realize the difference.

Happy Valentine’s Day to me.