I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT!!! : )

I just ran THREE MINUTES STRAIGHT....TWICE!!!

I was not planning to go out and do my workout tonight because my knees have been bothering me all day and because of the numbness I've been experiencing, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to see if I could actually move on to C25K's week 3 workouts which consists of the following intervals:

1  -  5:00 Brisk Walk
2  -  1:30 Run
3  -  1:30 Walk
4  -  3:00 Run
5  -  3:00 Walk
Repeat numbers 2 through 5 once more
10 - 7:00 cool down (do equal 30 minutes total)

The first run is always the hardest for me. My knees don't really want to move smoothly, but once they warm up they are good. It went by pretty quickly...but so did the 90 second recovery walk after it! I was so nervous to try and run for three minutes straight. I made sure to keep my pace slow and as even as possible. I don't know about any other beginning runners out there but I concentrate mostly on my breathing during my runs. I always seem to start off with breathing in for 4 strides and breathing out for 4 strides. During my C25K week 2 training (which was extended) I seemed to go from the 4:4 breathing to 3:3 breathing and then for the last 10-20 seconds I would be breathing at a 2:2 ratio...which meant that I was just barely hanging on...praying for the Garmin beeps signaling the final five seconds of running. So when I started my three minute run I started with my usual 4:4 breathing ratio and I was worried about how I was going to be breathing after I reached the 90 second mark because that was as far as I had ever run before.

To try and make the time seem to pass faster I thought about anything but what I was doing (still always keeping count of my breaths), like getting started on the Summer Reading Program with my son and buying him a lunchbox and helping him prepare for what to expect when he goes to ALL DAY kindergarten in the fall...things like that...and before I knew it my Garmin was beeping!!! I had made it THREE WHOLE MINUTES without stopping...and I never reached my 2:2 breathing ratio!!! I finished with a 3:3 ratio. I was so FREAKIN' excited!!! I really enjoyed my three minute recovery walk. I don't know why but the shorter runs were the hardest during this workout. My ankles started to kill with about 30 seconds left of my second 90 second run...I know this because I glanced at my Garmin for the first time ever to see how much time I had to run left. I made the mistake of doing the same thing during my second three minute run and I still had 1:15 left...truthfully I think it helped me finish. I was really tired but I thought...I have just over a minute left, just 75 seconds left...I can do this! AND I DID!!! : ) I immediately turned around after the three minute run and started the final 10 minutes of walking. I didn't want to end the workout too far from home, and as it was I ended up having to restart my Garmin for another 1:35 seconds or so before I made it home. I'm glad I did because while my knees were pretty good through out the intervals...they did start to hurt during the last three minutes of my cool down. :(

I still can't believe I actually did it! I'm so happy that I ultimately decided to go ahead and go for it, even with how I've been feeling...especially today! Now, this does not mean that I'm not dreading trying to do it again on Saturday! The trend for me so far seems to be that the second of the three weekly workouts is the hardest to complete. I guess we'll see. For now, I'll bask in my three minute glow! : )

Here are my splits...I was so shocked! I really thought I was running SUPER slow, like a 16:00min/mile pace.

		Day One	Day One
C25K Week 3	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
1	05:00.0	0.27	18:41
2	01:30.0	0.12	12:29
3	01:30.0	0.08	19:09
4	03:00.0	0.21	14:29
5	03:00.0	0.15	20:08
6	01:30.0	0.11	13:15
7	01:30.0	0.07	20:35
8	03:00.0	0.21	14:08
9	03:00.0	0.14	20:46
10	07:00.0	0.34	20:35
11	01:34.0	0.07	22:20

I hope everyone has a great Friday. It's my hubby's birthday tomorrow, he's turning 29. He is going to a Tiger's game with three of his guy friends after work...I hope he has a great time...he truly deserves it! : )