Week 2's Run #2

Go me! I just completed my second run of week 2. This will probably be the last one of this week because I check out of the hotel tomorrow morning and won't have access to a gym till next Monday (no, I don't want to run on the streets of Taipei).

This second run was done correctly. I put my math skills to use and calculated according to the "plan" I am to walk/run 0.8km, run 0.4km and walk 90 seconds (repeat 7 times), then finish with a walk/run of 0.8km. This time around, I was about done during my first 0.4km run but it became a game of mind vs. body. I convinced myself to keep going by shifiting my focus away from what I was doing. Instead of my usual "what am I doing here!?" way of thinking, I focused on breathing and relaxing my shoulders. I suppose watching TV helps but why do they put that thing so high up that my neck hurts after 5 minutes? Next thing you know, I'm on the 5th set thinking I have to finish so I can blog/talk about it. I do worry about falling off the treadmill when I'm not paying attention.

Today's run/walk was 6.1km or 3.66m in 45 minutes including approximately 10.5 min of walking time in there (90sec * 7), wam up 0.8km run/walk and the cool down 0.8km.

Week 2 to 5K

Congratulations to myself for entering week 2! I ran my first run this week per the following:

1/4 walk
1/4 run
90 seconds walk*
1/4 run*
*repeat 7 times
1/4 run
1/4 walk

I grabbed the above plan from the Shape mag "5 Weeks to a 5K" mentioned in my previous post, the measurement above was for miles but I misread and ran kilometers instead. According to my calculations, I ran just 1.7 miles and walked 1.4 miles to come a total walk/run of 3.1 miles. At least this walk/run of 5K or 3.1 miles is faster than my last one, it was completed in 45 minutes!

While 45 minutes seems lame, I'll tell you this is a lot more running than I ever did in one setting before. I used to only be able to run one mile and never ventured out of that comfort zone. Having a "plan" made a dramatic difference as I am able to count down the sets. I was about done after my second set of 1/4k run but I kept going, telling myself "5 more to go," "4 more to go," "3 more to go," "2 more," "LAST ONE!" Also, my pride got in the way because I really wanted to finish it so I can blog about it. =P

Since I'm a loser and misread miles for kilometers, I feel I inadvertently cheated. Therefore, my next run will be the same but actually in miles!