Couch to 5K

Started by nuevaburra
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I AM SICK! NOOOO!!!! It's an upper respiratory problem which is the worst for exercise. Ugh.


I never really thought that I would be at a point where my major problem with being sick is that I can't run anymore. It is kind of a cool feeling. 😎

So right now I am limiting myself to strengthening exercises in my room. And yes, the shake weight will be involved. 😀
 
CurrySpice said:
Seriously though, if you can maintain your HR around 160 for 45 min, you'll probably have already run several miles w/o noticing!
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Is this true? I really really want this to be true. It might motivate me to actually run instead of bike/elliptical in the gym. I'm off to google... 🙂
 
Did W1D2 today! Felt great!! I've also been using the machines at the gym after my run. Nothing too strenuous yet. I've been doing some ab work on a physio ball, then the hip adduction and abduction machines, a quad machine, and the assisted chin up/tricep dip machine. I'll keep working my way up with weight training as the C25K progresses.
 
WTG everyone on sticking with it!

I have a question for those who run with your dogs, or even those that don't: have you had any issue with loose or stray dogs. I live in a pretty residential area, but the other day a loose dog (~60#) came out of no where and charged me and my dog. Barking, hackles up, flagging tail and all. I just stopped, yelled BAD DOG at the top of my lungs and told it to go home. It seemed to work, but for that brief moment I felt pretty helpless. I had nothing to protect my dog from an attack from this other dog. Something tells me my earbuds were not going to pose much of a deterrent. So just wondering what others do in this situation.
 
Packen said:
WTG everyone on sticking with it!

I have a question for those who run with your dogs, or even those that don't: have you had any issue with loose or stray dogs. I live in a pretty residential area, but the other day a loose dog (~60#) came out of no where and charged me and my dog. Barking, hackles up, flagging tail and all. I just stopped, yelled BAD DOG at the top of my lungs and told it to go home. It seemed to work, but for that brief moment I felt pretty helpless. I had nothing to protect my dog from an attack from this other dog. Something tells me my earbuds were not going to pose much of a deterrent. So just wondering what others do in this situation.
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I HATE HATE HATE that other people can't keep their dogs under control! I know that my dog has ADD and a terrible recall, so I would never let him off leash in an area where he could possibly bother someone who WAS keeping their dog under control.

Anyway, it sounds like you did the right thing. I've also heard of runners (with or without dogs of their own) carrying Mace just in case yelling at the dog doesn't work and it is being aggressive.
 
Packen said:
WTG everyone on sticking with it!

I have a question for those who run with your dogs, or even those that don't: have you had any issue with loose or stray dogs. I live in a pretty residential area, but the other day a loose dog (~60#) came out of no where and charged me and my dog. Barking, hackles up, flagging tail and all. I just stopped, yelled BAD DOG at the top of my lungs and told it to go home. It seemed to work, but for that brief moment I felt pretty helpless. I had nothing to protect my dog from an attack from this other dog. Something tells me my earbuds were not going to pose much of a deterrent. So just wondering what others do in this situation.
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If you're not super comfortable running with mace, for some of the associated legal reasons, there are some other weird little devices that can help you out.

We had a citronella 'mace' spray, at a daycare I worked at, that worked really well for breaking up scuffles. You can order that on the interwebs. I'm not entirely sure it would stop a bats*it crazy attack dog, but you can usually get a few seconds of "what the ****?" from the animal.

SprayShieldClipOn_Sm.jpg


There are some other sonic repellent devices, but nothing that I would put total faith in.
 
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twelvetigers said:
They had a mace alternative at the... daycare? What kind of daycare did you work at??
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We had playgroups for the dogs. 7-10 per group.

It was pretty rare, but they'd have altercations sometimes at the entrance gates, or near a particularly valuable mudhole.

When that happened, a quick citronella shot would reset the scoreboard, and they'd go back to goofing around.
 
I just realized that I have to work at the emergency veterinary clinic the day of Madison's totally non-competitive, silly, and completely awesome 8k, Crazylegs. Soooo disappointed!

And for any OOS'ers considering coming to vet school at UW-Madison. Do it for Crazylegs! What can be better than frat boys dancing in their underwear on the sidelines?? hahaha
 
twelvetigers said:
Lol. A DOGGY daycare. Not what I was thinking.
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:laugh:

The thought if using mace of a bunch of rowdy children made me laugh hysterically. Glad I was not in class when I just read that!! Hmmm, winder if this says something about my readiness for kids, good thing I have 4 yrs of schooling left.

I actually have a keychain size pepper spray from hubby. Hadn't even occurred to me to carry that, but it's a really good idea. Thanks! Btw, my mom bought one of those sonic things for walking our dog as a kid and it was useless on loose dogs. I don't put much stock in them either.
 
Does anyone have any suggestions on what a person can do to keep in shape while they are sick? If I do anything above a walk I start to cough like crazy. I have been taking my dog (much to his delight) for two walks per day instead of one and doing squats and crunches in stuff in my room. I know it probably couldn't kill me to just take 5 days off or so but it is killing me to be so inactive! I am convinced I am going to lose any gains I have made in the past 2 months.
 
awaring1 said:
Does anyone have any suggestions on what a person can do to keep in shape while they are sick? If I do anything above a walk I start to cough like crazy. I have been taking my dog (much to his delight) for two walks per day instead of one and doing squats and crunches in stuff in my room. I know it probably couldn't kill me to just take 5 days off or so but it is killing me to be so inactive! I am convinced I am going to lose any gains I have made in the past 2 months.
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I'm in your boat, for the next few weeks.

I broke my godda*n big toe last night, so I'll be out of the distance race for a bit.

Instead of running, I'll be subbing in exercise bike and rowing.

If you have access to a gym, those two might be a decent fit for you until you get your wind back.

Equally, you can get your heart rate up and burn calories with dumbbells, calisthenics, even yoga, without stressing your respiration.
 
Finally got out again. Mostly in an effort to loosen some stiff muscles from an ass-kicking riding lesson on Tuesday. And it was so nice and sunny and warm out today (double digits! 10C!) that I just couldn't help myself.

ETA: And I'm getting faster too! I will stick with this, I will stick with this, I will stick with this...
 
LetItSnow said:
Do I need to point you to the Chuck Norris comments earlier in the thread?
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What would Chuck Norris do 45 minutes after getting a fracture/contusion diagnosis?

He would eat chinese food, go to the gym, and beat his PR bench record by ten pounds.

I had the lo mein.
 
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So I had my first riding lesson of the quarter today.

Usually in the past when I ride, my right leg really hurts when I try to put my weight down into my heels. The tendon on the outside of my leg feels really strained and then the whole leg kind of becomes numb and useless.

Well, today was my first lesson since I lost about 12 lbs and my leg didn't hurt at. all. It was amazing. I also never got out of breath and was able to keep up the entire lesson without having to stop for a rest. I feel great!
 
LetItSnow said:
*CACKLE* Yes! I want that picture.

Somewhere on FB I have a picture of me crouched next to a galapagos tortoise that just happened to be exactly my age with a caption asking which of these animals looks to be in better shape.

I concede, you win.
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I'm going to try and keep even with you guys on the rowing machine, in the meantime.

A mile on that thing feels like a mile running, albeit different muscles.
 
Finished out Week 1 today! Looking forward to Week 2 =) I find the longer the running segments get, the more enjoyable to workouts seem to go (and they seem to go by faster, too!).
 
I guess I wasn't kidding when I said I was not in shape 😳.

My lab and I did the first real day of C25k yesterday. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I plan to stick with it though, because I think I will love running once I'm more fit. I know my dog loved it.

Anyway, I used "Podcasts for Running" to keep track of speed changes, which I would definitely recommend. He was a little on the annoyingly upbeat side, but it made me laugh and kept me going.
 
Re: Running with dogs

I actually run with my dog offleash and I stick to the main roads with nice big sidewalks....so basically I go from my house, to main street, through campus, and back home the same way. Ty runs with blinders on...totally ingnores people/animals while we are running and keeps about a length infront of me (he stops and waits at intersections). I always run at home like this as I live in the country and teach the dogs to run in the ditch. Neighbors get a kick out of me running with 3-4 dogs all heeling offleash next to me. Now that I live in town as an undergrad I only have one to run with and started with him on leash again. I realized how focused he was so weaned out the leash. Part of that is I cant stand to have things touching me while I run. I cant even run with a ring on so the leash drove me nuts.

I have had leashed dogs move to approach him as he goes by and he will sidestep away as he goes by. That being said, we did have one HUGE Ches. Retriever run out after us one day while I was biking Ty (this I do on leash) and the owner took his sweet time to come get his "friendly" dog from posturing over Ty. I did my best to block the dog with the bike but I was about to start kicking and punching for all I was worth if the owner didn't hurry himself up. When he did finally (although this was all in only a few seconds) get his dog, he walked away and didn't say anything to me. No sorry, no nothing. I was PO'd but very happy that Ty is so nonconfrontational and didn't respond to the dog.
 
hintofblue said:
Anyway, I used "Podcasts for Running" to keep track of speed changes, which I would definitely recommend. He was a little on the annoyingly upbeat side, but it made me laugh and kept me going.
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I've tried a few, and settled on Laura from NHS. Mostly because, well, having a beautiful British accent talking in your ears once in a while isn't such a bad thing. 😉

4/1, C25K, Day 6: Still going. Like the energizer bunny, but without the energizing. Or the cute fluffy bunny ears. Or, really, any of it. Finally understand what they mean by April Fool's Day.
 
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FINALLY got a run in this morning. I haven't been able to run all week because I've either been in class, at work, studying, or sleeping. I just barely got by this week but I think the worst is behind me until finals. Ugh, not running drove me crazy!:laugh:
 
Ran my first 5K today in 31 minutes!

Not an amazing time but I was pleased with it. Had to take a couple 15 second walking breaks up some hills. I just started running in January, so there's hope for all of you!
 
The lab and I did C25k W1D2 today. We had a great time and it was a good day for it. Unfortunately, it seems I may have exercise induced asthma (or at least, that is what others have told me it may be). I'll have to talk to my doctor about it if it doesn't get better, but I'm going to push through for now.

I have also planned put the remaining workouts on my calendar so I won't have an excuse for not doing them. Current plan is to continue with C25k on M/W/F or M/R/Sat depending on the week.

I have a question for everyone though. What do you carry with you when you run? I have my phone and my ipod, but I'm having to get creative about how I carry them because my exercise pants don't actually have pockets.
 
hintofblue said:
I have a question for everyone though. What do you carry with you when you run? I have my phone and my ipod, but I'm having to get creative about how I carry them because my exercise pants don't actually have pockets.
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My house/car key (depending on where I started) and my iPod. I have an armband doohickey to hold my iPod and it has a nice little pocket for my key.
 
hintofblue said:
I have a question for everyone though. What do you carry with you when you run? I have my phone and my ipod, but I'm having to get creative about how I carry them because my exercise pants don't actually have pockets.
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I take a copy of my house key with me and tie the keyring around my shoes laces if I don't have pockets. I don't take a cell phone and I have an armband for my ipod. Several companies make waistpacks for running. They're incredibly small and form-fitting but they can hold water, phone, ipod, keys, etc. I see a lot of people using them.
 
hintofblue said:
What do you carry with you when you run?
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Definitely varies by distance, starting point, etc.

Last week I ran (13 mi) with a water bottle, energy gel and (car) keys. And I had no pockets, so I end up hooking the keyring around a finger and squeezing the tab of the energy gel between some fingers.

Disclaimer: I dropped both my water bottle and my gel once each.

I have definitely considered getting a pack thing, but have not yet made the leap.

Also, I try to always have something identifying on my person. I have a roadID band (roadID.com) that I try to remember to wear, but if not, I'll make a point to carry my student ID.
 
Managed to get away from biochemistry long enough to get out for a run this evening. Yay, Week 1 done! 😀

I'm developing a love/hate relationship with this running thing. Prying myself into my gear and my sneakers and getting out is a battle of wills. But I do feel a great sense of achievement once I get back. 🙄
 
Coquette22 said:
I'm developing a love/hate relationship with this running thing. Prying myself into my gear and my sneakers and getting out is a battle of wills. But I do feel a great sense of achievement once I get back. 🙄
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Oh wait, I know that feeling! Yeah, I hate getting my clothes/shoes on and starting. And then I'm always really glad I did when I get done.

I need someone to shove me out the door tonight for week 3, day 1. Anyone? Bueller?
 
LetItSnow said:
Oh wait, I know that feeling! Yeah, I hate getting my clothes/shoes on and starting. And then I'm always really glad I did when I get done.

I need someone to shove me out the door tonight for week 3, day 1. Anyone? Bueller?
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Well, I live no where near to Minnesota, so I can't volunteer to be your running buddy. But I do really recommend having a running buddy if you find it difficult to motivate yourself. I find that when I'm running with someone else the planned run is more likely to happen. I have no problem breaking plans with myself and not running when it's only me. When there's another person I'll show up mostly because I feel like another person is depending on me to be there.

I've been really good about running for the last 3 months now and for the last month or so I really feel in shape. This helps a lot!! It feels great to be in shape and its very motivating not to lose that momentum.
 
Did Week 2 Day 1 today! Chugging right along =) Hopefully this weather clears up and I can run outside once or twice this week. I've been using OSU's indoor track in the gym. This is nice because then all I have to do is go downstairs to use the exercise machine and weights and stuff afterwards, but it stinks because the track bores me to tears. I'm hoping that maybe Wednesday it will be nice enough to run a loop from the gym, over the foot bridge to the vet school, back around over the real bridge near the stadium, and back up to the RPAC and I'll go back in and do machines and weights. I'm actually starting to enjoy working out!
 
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Right now I only carry an IPOD but when I get into a bigger city I will also have a key and probably my phone as well. I roll my IPOD into the band of my shorts and put the headphones so the headphones go up through my shirt. I have used my bra for storage in the past but its not so good if you sweat a lot to put electronics in there! I had my room key in there once when I went running and I was on a offroad path next to a river...I stopped to cool off and bent over to scoop up some water....room key went into the river and I ended up digging around for about ten minutes under rocks before finding it. Tying it to the shoe laces is a good idea! I cant hold things and even sleeves bug me so I dont think the arm ipod thing would work for me.
 
Thank you all for sharing some of what you bring with you and how. That will definitely help as I try to perfect what I'm bringing along. The keys/shoelaces idea is brilliant.

While I'm here, I need to fess up to not doing my run today. I'm having some shin pain already, so I opted to get fitted for new shoes instead. I knew better than to run in my old ones, but I was hoping it would work out. Looks like I was wrong.

Anyway, I'm hoping to be back at it later this week.
 
My run tonight consisted of victory laps on my gym's indoor track b/c I got into vet school. I felt like a dog that has just been let off-leash in a big ol' field.
 
guys, I have a confession to make. I fell off the wagon all of last week. 😳 I'm hoping to start again wed though!
 
I had a slow weekend myself - definitely did not meet the goals I set. But I am liking this thread and the site for keeping me motivated. I would love to find a running partner, but frankly, I am so slow, I would be embarrassed to run with another human being. Tortoise maybe. The dog even laughs at my pace 😉
 
My post is almost an exact echo of dyachei's. W2D1, meant to go yesterday, but got held up by weather (wasn't keen the idea of running uphill in 100k/h wind gusts). Little tougher then I expected, but pushed through it and felt good at the end. 😀
 
Week 2 Day 2 done! =) I was really sore from Tuesday's yoga class (that **** is harder than it looks!!!) so I didn't do a lot of weight training today. Also was running a little late and had to get to class, so I just did some abs and lats. Made a Weight Watcher's recipe of chicken teriyaki with brocolli and brown rice that was quite delicious, and I'm on track to finally move back into the "normal" weight category for my height tomorrow morning after about 2 years of being in the "overweight" category.
 
Hm, I paid no attention to this thread but just read through it now and following this sort of program with all you guys definitely seems easier than the few pathetic attempts to run I've made on my own. People have definitely told me to try running, but I can't get the motivation to do it on my own. I'm very tempted to try this - problem is, I'm moving in three weeks and then will be staying with different people and then traveling in S America over the summer. So it would be really hard to stick to a running program while I'm in unfamiliar environments and not having any sort of regular schedule. I can try it now for three weeks, but then I feel like I'd slip away from it and maybe not feel like starting it up later, or I can wait to start it until vet school starts and things settle into a routine (I know things will be crazy, but there'll be time here and there to exercise). Thoughts? 😕
 
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