Couch to 5K: Day 1

Yesterday, I did day 1, week 1 of Couch to 5K, which means that for 20 minutes, I alternated between jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds.  It was easy.  Still, it's hard to believe that back in November I completed a half marathon at a run/walk ratio of 2:3 minutes.  I stopped running completely in January when I had cold that I couldn't shake, which turned into a sinus infection, which resulted in me getting my first (nonpreventative) antibiotic prescription in nearly a decade.  Walking for 2 miles left me exhausted. 

I'm not sure if I'll attempt running this winter.  Instead, I may do Jillian Michaels DVD's instead.  I really struggle to run in the cold.  My children give me colds, and I also have a touch of asthma, which makes them worse.  When I get sick or am recovering and try to run in the winter, my pulse gets way too high, and I feel terrible.  I tend to have to take weeks off from vigorous exercise.  I guess this means that when I'm sick, I need to watch my portion and carb intake much better than I otherwise would.  If I can't exercise, probably giving up bread and carby snacks would be enough to carry me through until I can exercise again.  (Carbs, especially in the winter, seem to make it harder for me to control my appetite.) 

Anyway, so day 1 of C25K was a success.  I am thinking that I will do each week twice, whether or not it is challenging.  If it is challenging, I may repeat the week more.  I want to get to the point that I can run 30 minutes continuously before DST goes away.  Then I will attempt to run (intervals) with my Corgi in the mornings, when it's cool enough that I won't feel guilty for running him. 

I am seriously considering walking a half marathon this fall.  I, unfortunately, walked a half marathon I intended to walk/run back in April.  Doubly unfortunately, there was a walking division that I did not enter, so I came in dead last in my age group, since I was in the running division.  I started out at a great walking speed but was not able to maintain it!  By the end, I could barely move.  I definitely need to work on my speed walking. 

I am trying to keep the stress down on me, and I really don't feel up to pushing myself as far as running goes.  I'd prefer to do short runs and long and short walks.  I LOVE running.  I suck at it; it's hard for me, but I do love it.  I also think it's a lot easier on my skeletal system to run when I weigh less, so I think it will be good for me to prolong the C25K to until I am sure to weigh about 10 pounds less. 

I think I will do a 5K towards the end of the summer though, and run in it!