Thursday, January 31, 2013

I'm going to sign up for a 5K

I am confident that I can complete a 5K (3.1 mile) walk. I've been walking 2 miles every almost every day (50 miles in January).  But I'm hoping to be able to run at least most, if not all, of a 5K by the time race day arrives.  There are about half a dozen 5Ks in our town.

I'm planning to sign up for one (or both) of these 5Ks.

Race for the Zoo (May 11th)
(This picture is from Albuquerque's BioPark, but it's a cool logo!)



and the

Alien Chase (July 6th)
I live in Roswell, NM.  On July 4, 1947, something crashed.  Was it a UFO? Was it a weather balloon? Was it an experimental aircraft?  During the Alien Chase, apparently people dress up when they run.

So, what am I doing to get ready to participate in a 5K?  I'm glad you asked!

I've been walking 2 miles almost every day.  And I'm including the C25K (Couch to 5K) program during that times 3 days a week.  The goal behind C25K is get you from "couch potato" to running a 5K in 9 weeks.  Each day starts with a 5 minute warm up and ends with a 5 minute cool down.  In between is about 20 minutes (ranges from about 19-21 minutes) of alternating walking and running.  The first week is 60 seconds of running followed by 90 seconds of walking. I did the first day of week 2 today.  This week I run 90 seconds and walk 2 minutes.

Right now, I am focusing on keeping up with the running. I'm not worrying about speed.  I'm walking and running about 2.5 MPH. (Which would make my 5K time about 75 minutes).  As I increase my endurance, I'll work on increasing my speed.

Have you ever done a 5K? How about a marathon?  I don't know that I'll ever try a marathon, but if I end up enjoying running...who knows?

3 comments:

  1. Every year I swear I am going to do the Halloween Fun Run. If you are doing the C25K - by May...the 5K should be a piece of.....celery!

    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay! You are doing great! I didn't finish C25K because "plans" don't work well for me, but I did start it and can tell you that it works and can seem terrible at first, but you will be amazed at what your body can do!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know what you mean about completing plans. I've tried various "one a day" plans (ie. The Love Dare, The Purpose Driven Life, crossword a day calendar, etc). I have yet to complete one! Maybe this will be the one I finish.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your support on this journey. Please be nice (to me and to other commenters).

Donors Choose Update

Since my previous post on Donors Choose , a lot has happened. Shortly after I changed schools in August, I was invited to be a Donors Choose...