c25k week 5 day 3

YIPPPPIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Ladies and gents, I completed week 5 with a bang! I ran 20 minutes!!! So excited :) Fixing to head home to the apartment (at my parents now) I need to see whats for dinner and seperate some meat I bought at the store today! Ill be back later to blog some more. Just wanted to say that I completed my 20 min run!!

C25k: Week 5 Day 2

wahoooooo! I can now run 8 minutes no problem!!! So looking forward to my 20 minute run on Saturday! Cant wait to post here and let you know I completed it!! I am confident I will not have a problem completeing. Then it's on to week 6 on Tuesday.

Week 4 Day 3: C25K

I was sooooooooooo sweaty. I felt absolutely wonderful when I was done. I could see the sweat on my skin in the mirror when I got off the treadmil. Now, THAT, was awesome. Also I can run 5 minutes now without stopping woooohoooooooooo!!! I am so excited seeing my progression over the past 4 weeks. It is amazing indeed! I start smiling when im on the last 30 seconds and hear my voice in my head saying,"c'mon steph its 30 seconds you got this" and BAM!! I complete it. Best feeling ever. I also find myself looking forward to the next week more than ever now! The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon 5k is so looking good right now!!

Week 4 Day 2: Couch to 5k

Have I ever told you how much I love my shoes?? They are amazing. But thats not the good news I have for you. I have successfully completed week 4 day2! With a bang, I might add. You know how I shared last week about struggling with the 5 minute runs? Well, there is this thing on my phone called Pandora. Pandora rocks ladies and gents! I added AC/DC and Metallica stations to it today. Nothing like some hardcore awesome music, to keep the blood pumpkin and the feet running. Nothing to complain about here today. I was a sweaty mess and loved that I was the last one to leave the cardio theater at the gym today. People even came in after I had already started and then left before I was done...that always! makes me feel good!!

Week 4 Day 1: C25K

Oh my gosh!!! That was tough. I don't even have a ton of energy right now to write this post. The five min walk and what little walking there was I did good at, the three min runs I did good at, the five minute runs I struggled. I was good for the first three minutes of both and then i found myself running then walking super fast for couple seconds an then back to running. I pushed through it and completed it. Now....for the fantastic news that makes all this running and hard work worth it: weigh in time. I stepped on the scale and it said 190 so I stepped off and stepped back on and it said 191!!! Heck yes!! That is total of 15 lbs since I started this Couch to 5k thing. I am five pounds away from my first goal of losing 20 lbs!! Once i lose the twenty I will make up a new goal of how much I want to lose. On that note...im going to relax and watch tv for a change!!!

Week 3 Day 3: C25K

Gets easier and easier. I will tell you the first 90 seconds of running felt like a razor going down my quad! After I made it through the first 3 minute run I had this burst of energy. Loving it, the thought of doing week three over again for one more week did cross my mind. I just looked at what week 4 is and I told myself ha, I can do this. So on to week four I go! Starting Tuesday, I will do week 4 day 1 and weigh in!!

W3D2: C25K

Today started off rough, my smartphone took a crash after I updated skype mobile. Ipod shuffle was dead. I was on the phone so long with Verizon I did not have time to make my protein shake smoothie in the blender. So here I was, no music, no protein, no food of any kind in my stomach. I don't know about you but I rely on my music tremendously while running. So no music, no energy, I pushed myself to throw clothes on and pack my gym bag. I had everything on and ready to walk out the door and yes, the thought of taking it all off and laying on the couch crossed my mind. I knew I wouldn't be happy.

I got to the gym and did the usual stretching and ab workout then moved onto back. I got on the treadmil out in the open today, figuring that it would make me push myself that much harder. I usually use the treadmil in the dark, cardio theatre that has black lights and smaller amount of people. I got on the treadmil and started the journey for the day, no music what so ever. (even the music at the gym was really low) The voices in my head kept me going. (me pushing myself every minute) "C'mon steph only thiry more seconds you can do this" I don't know how many times I said that. Guess what? It worked, I felt like I was going to cry when I was on my last minute of running and then the last thiry seconds. I held the tears back but I was so proud of myself for pushing through it and acheiving a new level of accomplish. Just goes to show that I can do whatever I put my mind too. My mom was right! ;)

And yes I did feel like puking! Anyways it gets easier so I'm told! Wish me luck on the rest of my journey, I may need it.

W2D3: C25K

Yippie!! This is the best day of each week. I love the accomplished feeling of the last run sequence, knowing I have a new challenge awaiting me in two days. Great feeling. Side note: Breathing is getting so much easier and because of that the running part is getting easier too. Next week kickin it up a notch! (as Emeril would say) and I cannot wait!! I seriously have never been more excited about running in my entire life and I am so glad I decided to do this challenge. I am challenging myself and acheiving new highs in the cardio department. Lovin it! (no this isn't mcdonalds) I just like the saying!

W2D2 : C25K

AWESOME! I feel amazing! I love that this is in fact getting easier each time! When I am working out it tends to get a little bit harder. Once I finish it I can't believe I did it!! Such an accomplishing feeling!

Week 2 Day 1 C25K

Just a bit of a struggle to start off the second week. I pushed myself through it and for that I feel amazing! This week is 5 minute brisk warmup walk, 90 seconds jogging and 2 mintues walking. I decided to do full 5 minute cool down thanks to a suggestion from a friend. Last week I only did 2 minute cool down. I did a nice streatch afterwards and feel great now! Now for the good news!!! I am down 2 pounds!! Wahhhooooo! So happy about that and cannot wait to keep pushing through this challenge!

Week 1 Day 3: C25K

Well I completed the first week! Yahoooooo! It felt amazing! I.felt.AMAzing! When I started this whole thing I was unsure of the journey ahead of me. The first week has assured me that I CAN do this. Little by little I will become a regular at running 3 miles! I love how each week in the program it is a little step further. I have never been so excited to run! Let me tell ya, I definitely felt it today though. That's not a bad thing. :)

Week 1 Day 2

Phew! Got the sweat going for sure. I did a mile in 17 minutes and 30 seconds. When I was in highschool I did it in 11 minutes. Im sure I will be able to beat both of those. At least I hope! Today did the same thing as before: walked at 3.2 for five minutes, bumped up to 3.8 to jog then back to 3.2 for my walks. Once I finished the 20 minutes I did a 2 minute cool down walk. Afterwards I stretched a little bit. I can actually say I am excited to do cardio now. Before I would just do it cause I knew it was something I had to do in order to get in better shape. Thanks to coolrunning.com for the photo and the program. I love it! I find myself wanting to do this everyday and have to tell myself, no only 3 days a week. I do it Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays!

As always, you can find my journal on the c25k tab at the top of my blog.

Couch to 5K

Ever heard of it? Lately this is all I have been hearing about. My friends mom started and completed this program successfully. Then another friend posted about starting it on Facebook. I normally do twenty five minutes of cardio on the elliptical about 4 times a week. Every once in awhile I like to change up my workout so that it does not become to routine and boring.

When I saw everyone else doing or wanting to do the Couch to 5K program I decided, why not! If you have not heard of it, let me introduce you!

If you go to this website it will tell you all about the program. It gradually takes a couch potato to a person who can run 3 miles on a regular basis, in just 9 weeks! So go check out the website. I dare ya!

Now, about my journey. I have made a new page for my daily journal. For each and every day I will post what I did that day and how I felt about it. At the end of the program I will post my before and after pictures. Along with an honest review of how I made it through the program and any tips to go along with it.

One quick note, I did start today on a Monday, but I will be doing the program on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays from here on out. You will see on the website they have you doing the program three days a week.  So keep checking back for my updates!