Couch Potato to 5K: Week 4, Day 1

I wish I could get myself as motivated to go running BEFORE I do it as I feel AFTER I've done it. I think this is a cruel joke that God has decided to play on us humans. Okay, I don't really think that; I honestly don't think God is cruel, but still, I wonder why He, in His infinite wisdom, made it so that we have more energy after we've done aerobic activity than we have before.

For whatever reason, every morning, I have to convince myself that I really do need to go running, that it's no okay to skip a day, that I don't have more important things to do (like checking my e-mail seventy-eight times), and that I can actually achieve the goal I've set for myself before I'll get myself out of bed and on my way to the trail or the gym (I keep typing "trial" instead of "trail." Does that mean something?)

Today was another one of those days.

But when I finally made it to the gym, I determined to kick myself into gear and go for Week Four of the Couch Potato to 5K program I'm trying to kill myself with master. Week Four looks like this:


Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

That's two miles of running/walking plus a five minute warm-up and a five minute cool-down. And I did it. It's out of the way. Two more of these babies, and I could, conceivably, move on the Week Five.

It really wasn't all that hard. I did a 3.8 mph warmup walk for five minutes, then I intervaled with 5.1 mph jogs and 3.8 mph walks. I cooled way, way down with a 2.5 mph cooldown, so it all totalled out to a little over 3 miles and it took about 45 minutes, including the warm-up and cool-down.

I'm worried that using the treadmill is easier than hitting the trail (it's been too cold to run outside) and that, when I get to the trail, it will be harder and I'll have to work myself back up to where I think I am.

Ah, well. I guess I'll just work towards my goal and get there when I get there.

Anyone else running with me?