Sentimental Seadragon

Uh, what was that about running?

I have a confession to make. I haven't been running in about three weeks!

I know, I was the one who made a big deal about starting the Couch-to-5K program and got a bunch of you motivated. But then I wasn't feeling well. And then we went to Lake Tahoe. (But I hiked!) And then I was so tired when we got back. And now we're going out of town again tonight. Excuses, excuses, right? Well, I'm bringing my running shoes with me on this trip, so I should be able to get started again.

In the meantime, how have the rest of you been doing?

There's at least one person I'm aware of who's been running regularly. If you look in the 2008 Couch-to-5K photo album I set up, there is a picture of her Week 1 prize. (Actually, she got the blue notebook. The yellow notebook is reserved for Amber who was very close to finishing Week 1 but then she got sick. But since we're going to be visiting her this weekend, I'm hoping to convince her to come out running with us and finish off her first week...)

Su sent me a Week 1 prize as well, but I haven't had a chance to take a picture of it so I will add it later. Maybe I'll post that when I send Su her Week 3 prize which I already owe her (yes, she's leaving us all in the dust).

In addition to the people who've responded on this blog, I've actually gotten some email from people who have found this blog when they were looking for the Couch-to-5K program. I would love to be able to motivate them further by, you know, actually doing some running myself. So I'm glad they found me and will keep me honest!

iHike

Hm, would it be really annoying if I started all of my posts with "i"?

So my exercise plan has been modified this week. I did bring my running shoes with me, but it turns out that if you're not at the beach at Lake Tahoe, you're in the mountains - there's not much in between. So instead of running, I've been hiking. Nothing too strenuous, but then again, the first couple weeks of Couch-to-5K aren't exactly marathon runs.

As for hiking with Squeakles, my dad has been wearing him in the Baby Bjorn. Yes, my father, who is 30 years older than me is bearing the 16 lb weight on his chest while J and I hike along unencumbered. But you try convincing my dad not to carry Squeakles. (Or try convincing anyone in my family to give him up for a moment, for that matter.). And I can't say I have minded the opportunities this has given me to carry my camera around.

Couch-to-5K is going to have to wait until next week, along with a couple of updates here about other people's success so far.

Couch to 5K: Claim your Prizes!

After taking a few days off because I wasn't feeling well, J and I are working on the second week of Couch-to-5K. I was surprised that it wasn't as painful to get back to it as I'd expected. I guess those little 60-second runs from the first week actually started getting my body used to running again!

How about you? Are you running?

Now that we have a few people who are doing this, I've set up a prize schedule. It's not tied to any particular dates; all that matters is that you keep completing the schedule (outlined here). So there's no such thing as falling behind. If a week's schedule takes longer than an actual week (because of traveling, or maybe you get sick, or if you just need to repeat a week because you don't feel ready for the next one), you just pick up where you left off. The prizes come when you complete the first week of the Couch-to-5K plan (Week 1), and then every two "weeks" thereafter until the end (Weeks 3, 5, 7, and 9).

Here's what you do:

• When you complete the first week, and then every time you complete two weeks of the Couch-to-5K plan, let me know by email.

Here's what I will do:

• Congratulate you!
• If you have sent me your mailing address, I will send you a little prize. (And I do mean little, because I'm not rich here people. The prizes I'm mailing out this week were less than $3 each.) If you have not sent me your mailing address, I will photograph a "virtual" prize for you.
• I will feature you in the 2008 Couch-to-5K photo album (there is currently a link to the album at the top of the right sidebar) by showing the prize, your name (or a pseudonym if you wish), and the week you have completed. (Any other pictures you wish to contribute are welcome!)

If there's anyone who still wants to join in, it's not too late! Just let me know that you are starting, tell me your name or pseudonym, send me your mailing address if you wish, and keep me up to date with your progress.

Couch to 5K: Week 1 Complete!

It was a lovely cool afternoon yesterday, so even though J was laid out sick at home, I took Squeakles out by myself to finish up the first week of the Couch-to-5K program.

(Maybe it was food poisoning or maybe it was sympathy pains for Squeakles' recent experience with oatmeal, but two nights ago I woke up to the horrible sounds of J retching in the bathroom. He tried to blame his illness on the delicious chard I'd picked up at the farmer's market that afternoon that we had for dinner that night, but I gently suggested that the culprit was more likely to be the Chinese food he'd gotten for lunch from a streetcart vendor...)

Ahem, sorry for that disgusting aside. Back to my lovely afternoon run.

Of course, it wasn't exactly a "run". It was 60-second segments of jogging, sandwiched between 90-wonderful-seconds of walking, repeated for 20 minutes.

The first day we jogged, J pushed the stroller while I complained on each segment about how. tired. I. was. can't. do. ... any. ... more. But I did it all and felt good about it afterwards. Then for the next couple of days I had slightly sore muscles and a strange belly ache. (In retrospect I think that I probably just worked some ab muscles, but for those few days, I considered whether I might be pregnant or getting my period or maybe I had a tapeworm or maybe my c-section scar was rupturing. Hm, hypochondria anyone?)

The second time J and I went out jogging, I felt a little bit stronger and I remembered that the last time I'd done this jogging program that it was the first day of the week that was always the hardest.

Since J was sick on our third jogging day, Squeakes and I went out by ourselves. I was happy to find that pushing the stroller wasn't bad at all. Squeakles slept the whole time, while I huffed and puffed behind him. (Side story: After the jog, I went to the grocery store where someone commented on Squeakles in his stroller. I replied that he'd slept while I did all the work of running. The guy said, "Well, in about 70 years it will be the other way around." And I wondered just how old he thought I was.)

The only thing about pushing the stroller is that when I locked the front wheel, the stroller seemed to veer to the left. And since it is harder to make slight directional corrections when the wheel is locked, this meant that I had to keep putting pressure on the handlebar to lift the front wheel slightly in order to keep making it aim straight. I quickly gave that up and left the front wheel unlocked and it worked much better.

I'm in the mood to celebrate one week down (eight more to go), but unfortunately this week was a rough start for everyone else. There was J's food poisoning. And after overcoming a bad charley horse, Amber had a good first run, only to come down with strep throat a couple of days later. And Mom to Baby J has found it difficult to fit in workouts around a crazy new work schedule and a baby who's putting up some sleep resistance.

Hopefully next week will be a good week for everyone!

The BabyBjorn-to-Stroller Running Plan

Who's with me?

We'll be doing The Couch-to-5K Running Plan starting, um, last Saturday evening. Okay, yes, so I got a head start. But as long as you start this week you won't be behind at all.

Plus, I'm saddled. And not just with love handles, but with a stroller. So in that sense you could consider it a handicap.

(The sense in which you might not consider it a handicap is that when I went out on Saturday evening, J actually ran with the stroller, not me. But I'm sure that sometimes I will be the one pushing it.)

Here's why you will love this running program: When you start off, you're hardly running. The first week you do this three times: "Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes."

It sounds ridiculously easy, doesn't it? Well, it turns out it's not really that easy if you haven't been running. (Not so) surprisingly, sitting at your desk, carrying around a baby, or even walking everywhere just do not exercise the same muscles as running. And excuse me while I make stuff up for a sec, but I do think that that part of training your body to run is getting your heart and lungs in shape. Mine are just not in that kind of shape.

So who's with me? J and I are going to try to run together, which means bringing Squeakles with us. Here he is in his new All Terrain Swivel Stroller. And that's me, pretending that I was pushing it.

So who else is with me? So far I count me, J, and Amber who will be doing it with us long distance from the sweltering heat of central Florida. (I'll bet she'd rather be running with a stroller.)

Oh, I see. You need more motivation? Okay, hm, let's see.

How about, for every week that you complete (and you're allowed to repeat weeks if you need to, or to go ahead of me if I'm the one who needs to repeat a week, or even to start at Week 7 or something if you're already a runner and don't need to start at the begining), I will send you a little reward by mail. No, not money, but just a little something to say "go you", or "I'm thinking of you", or "I've had this thing around the house for years, now here's a way I can pawn it off on someone else!"

Okay, so now who's with me?