An Accidental Longer Run and a Run With My Sister

Last Monday I did day 3 of week 7 of my training program, three intervals of 7/3. I walked up to the lake and headed straight across the dam. Halfway across Little Red (garmin) notified me it was time to start running the first interval. I was feeling good, my breathing was really good and I managed to keep my mind on things other than the run.

Well, at a certain area around the lake I started thinking that Little Red (LR) should have notified me by now that it's time for the three minute walk or will be very soon. I'm starting to get a bit tired; my legs feel like they need a break and my breathing is getting a bit labored.

When I run, I don't like to look to see how much time I have left. It makes me feel like 'I still have so-and-so many minutes to go and I don't think I can make it'. It’s psychological, I know, but it makes it harder for me to motivate myself to keep going. I like feeling surprised when I hear the beeps telling me the running part is over and I can walk.

Anyway, I quickly glanced at LR and noticed 20 seconds. Yes! I can hang in there for 20 more seconds. But, no beeps come from LR. By now I'm at an area of the trail that I know for sure takes me longer than 7 minutes to run to so I take a good look at the time and saw 5:47! I stopped running and stopped the timer.

I didn't know what happened. Did the timer stop for a while and suddenly start again? Did I not hear the beeps telling me to walk then run again? Did I select one of the longer workouts by mistake? I was pretty tired by then and needed a walk break so I made a mental note of where I stopped, did a short walk further along the trail and back to the stopping point and started the timer again. At the end of the 5:47 time I heard LR beep indicating the 3 minute walk. Man, was I happy for that walk. I did the last interval without any glitches and went back home to upload the data into the Garmin Training Center.

After analyzing the data from that run I noticed that I had run for almost 13 minutes without stopping! That's huge for me. I felt amazed and pretty good about myself.

What I think happened is that I didn't hear the beeps because I wore a sweat band under the garmin. I had read on a blog that some people do that because it always gets so sweaty under the garmin and the moisture seeps into the holes on the bottom of the device and causes corrosion. So, until I find a thinner sweat band that won't muffle the beeping sounds, I won't be wearing anything under LR.

On Wednesday with the running group we began the 8/1 intervals. Unfortunately, the temperature was 98 degrees with a heat index around 112 at 6:00 P.M! It was decided that we wouldn't run, so we walked the 5k distance. It was so hot!

Yesterday, I got out to run at 10:00 A.M but the temp was already in the mid 80's. The first interval actually went pretty good. But, during the second interval I just didn't have it in me. I stopped within the first two minutes and walked for a minute then tried running again but just couldn't do it. I walked the rest of the time then just went back home.

Now to my sister. She's four years older than me and we're both 5 foot nothing. I weigh 114 lbs, but she has battled her weight for years and is dangerously overweight. She heard about me running and commented that she would like to learn to run.

So, this morning she and I began the training program starting with week one - run 1 minute/walk 4 minutes doing 6 intervals for a total of 30 minutes. Of course, the more intervals we did, the more difficult it felt for her but she did great. She did better than I did when I first started! I'm so excited to help her get physically active and improve her health. And I'm so proud of her for recognizing that she needs to do it and taking that first step on her own.
Something I noticed about myself during today’s run with my sister is that I barely broke a sweat! I probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been almost 70 degrees. It was a great confirmation that my fitness ability and lung capacity are indeed improving. And I've noticed a change in the definition of my calves and thighs as well.
This running stuff is hard work - but well worth the effort!

Running Improvement and Need a Road ID Bracelet

I'm still participating in the training program through the running club on Wednesday evenings and doing pretty good. I struggled some in weeks 4 (run 4/walk 1) and 5 (5/1). I'm not sure if it was the heat (it's been in the upper 80's & lower 90's) or if it was because my legs weren't feeling strong enough. In fact, I noticed that the first couple of intervals I would struggle with my breathing, but then my lungs would feel like they opened up making it easier to breathe, but my legs would feel like they didn't have the strength to keep going.

On week 6 day 1, I did great! I didn't have to walk at all during the 6 minute run intervals and I felt pretty good about myself. The second day of week 6 I ran at the lake in the middle of the day (not smart!) in 80 something degrees. I was actually done pretty well until the last interval. I was feeling pretty tired and was running up a hill that was steeper than I was used to and I hadn't run in that area before. I kept saying to myself 'you can do it, you can do it', when suddenly I just stopped! It surprised me. It was as if someone had put their hand on my chest and held me back. I walked for several minutes and tried to run more but just didn't have it in me to do it. I didn't even attempt to run day 3.

Last Wednesday was day 1 of week 7 (7/3). We did our training at one of the member's home and had a potluck. She lives in an awesome area that is hilly and a big wooded area. We actually did part of our run on trails through the woods. It was my first experience at trail running. I have to admit that ALL of the hills were VERY steep so some of us didn't run up most of them. It was a great workout but I didn't get the full 7 minutes of running because it was so hilly and I'm not at that level yet.

But this morning (I got smarter and went earlier when it was just 74 degrees) I did day 2 at the lake and ran each interval without stopping! My last interval was on the hill that I had stopped so suddenly last week. I think I've got that hill licked. Now I can't wait to run day 3!

Next Wednesday begins week 8 (8/2) and I feel pretty confident I can do it.

I never thought I'd see the day that I would be able to run 7 minutes without stopping. I know it doesn’t sound like much to most of you but to a person that has never been athletic or run since childhood, with asthma to boot, running for 7 minutes straight is a huge accomplishment!

During week 5 I developed bronchitis - again. Because I've started running, it aggravates my lungs and will continue to do so for quite a while. So my doctor gave me a steroid shot and I'm just about finished with my second round of antibiotics in a month. I don't want the bronchitis to get worse and develop into pneumonia again.

When I run I wear a SPIbelt to hold my cell phone, identification and inhaler. I was always planning to get one of those Road ID bracelets but haven't yet. So, in the meantime what I did was made a copy of my driver’s license and carried it, folded, in my SPIbelt. Well, a few weeks ago as I was doing my cool down walk, my phone rang. I pulled it out of the belt but didn't zip it back up. I walked home while talking to my friend on the phone.

Once I got home I took off my shoes, removed the belt and took everything out of it as I usually do. But, the copy of my driver’s license wasn't there. I realized I must have lost it when pulling my phone out of the belt or it fell out because I didn't zip it back up. I hastily slipped on a pair of flip flops and headed out the door to retrace my steps searching the ground along the way for a piece of paper the size of a driver’s license that was folded in quarters.

Now, I always take a short cut to the lake, which these days is becoming overgrown with weeds. Imagine trying to find a postage stamp in weeds that are knee high while wearing flip flops. I climbed the hill to the dike, crossed the dike and got half way around the lake to the area where I pulled my phone out of my belt. There it was. Someone had picked it up then ripped it into a hundred little pieces. I got on my hands and knees and picked up every little piece of paper I could see. When I got home I put it back together just to be sure I had gotten at least all of the pieces that might have my information on it. I got every piece of that paper!

It was so important to me to find that paper because several years ago someone had gotten hold of my checking account number and drivers license and wrote checks against my account. I didn't want that to happen again.

This is why I MUST get one of those Road ID bracelets.