C25k - w6 d1

Just completed week 6 day 1, which is 10 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking, and another 10 minutes of walking.

I'm getting close to the 5k goal! I can hardly believe it. In January and most of February, I was feeling gross and lacking in energy. I could hardly get up off the couch. I have no idea WHY I decided to be insane with a friend of mine and volunteer to run a half-marathon, but I did, and it's been a change for the better. After completing a 5k, I'll go on to post about training for a 10k, and then a half-marathon, partially because I have some ideas bouncing around about them, and partially in case anyone else is interested in what going beyond C25k looks like.

I signed up for my first 5k yesterday. I had been looking all over active.com for 5ks in my area around the time of my finishing the program, but the ones I found that were interesting, affordable, or not completely sold-out seemed to be in September/October/November. No good for me -- I'll be 5k ready at the end of May. I don't know how it slipped my notice the half-dozen times I combed through the site, but I found one locally (in my suburb! of a major metropolitan area! where most things occur in the more populated areas!) that benefits a local Catholic school. It also happens to be on the very day I finish the C25k program (essentially skipping w8 d3 for the 5k proper). Perfect timing!

So this week I run in 20 minute chunks, divided up differently. This also is the difference between my 5k running app (5k runner) and the original C25k program. d3 of last week would have had me go from 8R + 5W + 8R to a straight 20 minute run, and then back today to breaking it up with a walk. I won't be doing the 20 minute run until next week. Next day will be a 3R instead of 5, then 15R + 3W + 5R, and from there building up 5 minutes at a time to the 35 minute run / 5k (at a 12 minute mile pace, which is roughly what I'm doing).

After passing the 5k mark, I intend to work on my speed as I then start working towards a 10k, and in order to work on speed evidently according to a bunch of links here and within, I should do a bunch of 5ks where I"m actually *racing*, where it's actually hard from start to finish. Which makes sense, these are *races* after all. Why not?

So that's my next plan -- do a 5k, work towards a 10k while increasing speed. Run a bunch of 5ks to PR on a 10k and more.

Whoo!