Couch to 5K

Because of the computer nonsense I had ot deal with yesterday I postponed my run to today. With the trail dried out from the rain and an extra day off I should have been faster but strangely I fell back slightly to 5.33/km. Not bad but a tad disappointing.

It was 12ºC and overcast as I headed to the park. One block away and a torrential downpour began. Figures. I hid under a tree and gave it a minute, thinking it might be one of those transitory cloudbursts. It quickly eased to a mere steady rain and I headed off. The shower stopped entirely halfway through and then started again promptly as I left the park, as if there was an invisible tripwire I was hitting that was turning it on and off.

I did feel a bit labored in the first half of the run but not overly so, with both stamina and leg muscles feeling it. The second half was better and my time improved in the last km, an encouraging sign. If Jeff is still out next week, I will probably move to either 25 minute runs or a full 5K for my runs.

I also hit a new milestone tonight, with the Nike+ sensor saying I have completed just under 702 km total distance run. Not too shabby for a guy who hasn’t jogged since high school!

With Jeff out for the week due to a mysterious ankle injury, I’m no longer referring to these mini-runs as part of the Couch to 5K plan. Instead I call them the ‘getting my flabby out-of-shape body back up to speed’ plan.

Today’s conditions can be summed up in two images:

And at China Creek Park:

I should point out that this isn’t as bad as it’s been, as here is the same view from a previous run:

However, the latter shot is from December 2009. When it’s, you know, winter. If the trees weren’t in bloom it could have passed as a day in February today.

The trail is eroding even worse now. The southern part has always been a bit dodgy when it rains, with large puddles and muddy stretches being typical. However, even the higher northern ground is getting soft and much of the mulch (say that three times fast) has been swept away by the numerous rivulets. It is a mess.

And it was part of the reason I fell back two seconds on my previous pace, coming it at 5:31/km. A couple of times I nearly lost my footing and my first lap was a bit slow as I staked out a path that would not leave me face down in the mud. No doubt only having a day off between runs also knocked me down a notch. I’m very much rebuilding my stamina at this point.

The run otherwise went well, though. I have managed to get past the mental hurdle of ‘oh god how much more before this ends?’, which is an important step! Here’s hoping Friday’s run is a little drier and warmer.

I cheated again today as I was running solo and just did another straight 20 minute run.

The weather was very mild — 15ºC, overcast and a light breeze. The sun briefly came out near the end. I wore a long-sleeved t-shirt but found it too warm. Note to self: stop overdressing — again!

With the muscles in my upper legs still a bit sore from Friday’s run, I managed the first 10 minutes with a slightly better time but it felt much easier than the previous run. The last four minutes, on the other hand, were harder as I struggled to maintain my pace. It paid off as I finished with an average of 5:29/km vs. Friday’s 5:33/km, a four second improvement. Nice!

The trail has deteriorated to the point of silliness and I am really hoping the city will be putting fresh mulch on at some point soon. There are long stretches where the mulch cover has completely stripped away due to the rain, exposing the clay and stones underneath. The worst part remains the numerous exposed tree roots, which constitute a genuine tripping hazard for runners and walkers alike.

Also, the fountain is completely clogged. But it works! And no bees! (yet)

As Jeff was in New Westminster today, I decided to skip the prescribed routine for Week 3 of the C25K plan, which is:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

Instead I chose to simply jog for 20 minutes, only the third time in the past six months that I had jogged for this length of time or longer. It was mild out (12ºC) but a light rain was falling so I wore my subtle ‘n gray long-sleeved MEC t-shirt with my shorts. It actually does a surprisingly good job of keeping the rain off, unlike my jogging jacket, which acts more like a sponge. My Nike+ sensor is still ticking so I set out with a Beach Boys playlist to serenade me as I wheezed and struggled through the initial part of the run. Two things struck me: some of the tracks I was listening to are nearing 50 years old. Egad! Also, the surfing songs in particular really start to blend together when played back to back. I’m pretty sure you could mash them into one epic 60 minute ultimate surfing song. I’m less sure that you would want to.

I finished with an average pace of 5:33/km, which is actually better than my last two 5Ks, though in this case I only ran 3.63 km. After the first five minutes I began to feel the burn but adjusted my pace and made it to the halfway mark after going through a few moments of ‘Lordy, it would feel really good to stop now’. The second 10 minutes were easier and I actually picked up the pace a little toward the end. Given the weather, the park was fairly deserted. The trail was a little mushy along the southern side but didn’t require any real dodging to navigate. My initial 1 km came in at 5:09/km. Slow by my standards but not too shabby given how little I’ve been running this year.

All in all, I was pleased with the effort and I’m relieved to know that I’m already set for the end of Week 5, which concludes with a 20 minute run.

The thing I remember most about today’s run was during the second three minute segment when I kicked it up the proverbial notch, which was followed by a noticeable burning in my lungs, my body’s cute way of saying, “That’s fast enough, thanks!” Apart from that, the run went well for both Jeff and I.

Conditions were a bit damp, which has been the trend this week, but it was still mild. The weather seems to have gotten confused over the whole April showers thing.

Today’s conditions were pretty dismal for early May — the temperature merely in the single digits at 9ºC and a steady rain falling. Fortunately there was little wind, so it didn’t feel cold.

Week 3 of the C25K program involves two reps of 90 seconds jogging/walking and 3 minutes jogging/walking. It went by fairly quickly and on the 3 minute segments it felt a bit closer to a regular run, completing an entire lap before ramping down to a brisk walk.

Apart from a dog walker or two, the only others taking in the park were two sets of other runners, one a trio of guys being led by a guy with a cap and a whistle (‘I’ll stand here and tell you if you’re running too hard, because watching you run makes me tired’ and a pair of women who seemed to be doing some kind of mixed run/exercise thing. Despite the proliferation of joggers on the muddy course, there were no collisions.

Jeff was keyed up enough that he kept jogging after the jogging part had ended but I told him to stick to the program and he grudgingly agreed. It will be interesting to see if his enthusiasm keeps up as the jogging stretches from 3 minute segments to 5 and 8 then to 20 minutes over the next two weeks. 🙂

Spring returned!

It was about 12ºC today, which felt downright balmy after the ice-hands run on Wednesday, with the sun out and a light breeze blowing.

While the trail had dried out and the puddles were gone, someone had driven the mower along it, leaving deep ruts along the southern stretch. These ruts are deep enough to actually be a tripping hazard. I mostly ran around them, though the muck is still pliable enough that it’s easy to smoosh down the parts that stick up. I am still hoping that they add fresh bark mulch to the path, several stretches are in dire need of it after the relentless rains of the past winter.

The run itself went well. Unlike Wednesday I found myself with sufficient energy and Jeff maintained his pace for the first four of the six 90-second running segments before slowing. I inadvertently got way ahead of him in the second half when I glanced behind me, saw what I thought was him and kept going, not realizing it was another jogger and that the segment had, in fac,t stopped. Oh well.

Week 3 and 3-minute runs begin on Monday. Woo!

This one is a quick update because I didn’t run. Woo!

I didn’t run because yesterday I came down with some kind of 24 hour flu bug that left me alternating between feeling like a furnace and an ice cube. Good times.

Jeff did run — his first in the rain and first along the river trail out near his place in New Westminster. He reports the jacket was needed as it was rather chilly and running on the gravel path was harder on his knees than the mulch used at China Creek.

I shall be partaking in Part 5 (of 27) on Wednesday.

Conditions were once again very mild for the run/walk today, with a weaker breeze and occasional sun. T-shirts and shorts were fine for the 10ºC or so.

The run was unremarkable. I jogged a bit ahead a few times on the 60 second running segments (which ramp up to 90 seconds next week), as the pace felt almost too slow for my comfort zone. Weird, I know.

This completes Week 1 of 9 for the Couch to 5K program. Jeff is progressing well, already moving from the initial “Oh god my lungs are on fire!” phase to “This feels pretty good.” We’ll see how things go on Monday!

The second workout went well, with Jeff looking snazzy in his new running shoes and running faster through a combination of new shoes, music and endorphins. I also picked up the pace a bit on the running segments, falling more into my normal pace. No stupid injuries to report yet.

And today marked the first baseball practice taking place, as the clink of metal bat on ball was oft-heard while we jogged around the path. I have already begun watching the batters after the several close calls of the last two baseball seasons.

Weather-wise it was mostly overcast and a bit breezy but mild, otherwise. The fountain is working again and as usual has been stuffed so it isn’t draining properly. I may fix that if no one else does. Finally, I’m hoping the Parks Board puts some new mulch on the path as the past winter has been especially brutal on it, stripping it right down to the clay in some spots and exposing numerous tree roots (tripping hazards for joggers and walkers alike).  We shall see.

Onward to workout #3 on Friday!