Running - Week 4

Welcome to four-mile week. I have no idea how this is going to go, as my body has not been too happy about all this running lately, but I've come too far to quit now. So without further ado, running - week four:

Day 22 - Huh, amazingly enough, running today was not so bad. The gap from two miles to three miles felt like we added an extra two miles, but the gap from three miles to four miles felt like maybe and extra 0.2 miles . . . weird. It was a nice morning run today (yes, for all of you who know me, I voluntarily got up early and went running . . . what is wrong with me?). It was nice to not have to avoid other people or cars though. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Day 23 - I ate Chinese buffet for lunch today . . . for those of you interested in my experiments, it seems that running with a tummy full of Chinese food is easier than running with a tummy full of Indian food, just an observation ;) One of the fortune cookies at lunch today said that Chinese food makes you healthier, somehow I think the running is doing that more than gorging myself on Chinese doughnuts, but I'll take it :)

Day 24 - Ouch, today I have very stiff heels (Achilles' tendons?) and knees. I still can't break the fourty minute mark (ten-minute miles) :( I'm definitely ready to be done running. In the interest of sharing my full experience with you, I will also tell you that I'm starting to get very sore under my arms from my sports bra . . . lovely huh? I can do this . . . only six more days of running.

Day 25 - Oofda. We got up early and ran (out of the door before six am, this is not normal for me at all). There were a few sprinkles here and there, but the rain held off until we were done running, thankfully. My heels (not the Achilles' tendon it seems, but a tendon or muscle a little further forward in my foot . . . I'm thinking a bursa sac), are really sore and my knees aren't that happy either. I'm very ready to be done with this (still) . . . only five more days.

Day 26 - I ran very fast today. My husband was trying to improve his time, but for some reason I just felt like I couldn't let him get away from me, so I ran very quickly to try and keep up. I know that is not part of the rules, but I was worried about getting lost . . . silly, I know. We cut over two minutes off our time from yesterday :) I still dislike running, it's such a mental game to push myself, not an enjoyable puzzle (where pushing is sometimes required) like rock climbing was.

Day 27 - I know you are probably sick of hearing this now, but I am so ready to be done running . . . that is all. (Not really, we ran in the afternoon today . . .I took the day off from work as we have to travel to my brother's rehearsal dinner tonight. We have our last two long runs (four and five miles) out of town, so this should be interesting). Wish us luck!

Day 28 - Hooray for less hills :) Today we ran through a big cemetery in Milwaukee (where we were staying with friends so we could go to my brother's wedding this weekend). It was drizzly and cool out but that is so much easier to run in that hot, humid weather. We deviated a little bit from the map as the cemetery "roads" don't have names, but the route was still about four miles. It was not a fast run today, but we (amazingly) made it through our four miles a day week :)

Day 29 - As much as I wish the month was an even four 7-day weeks, it's not, so Day 29 shall live in infamy as our 5-mile day . . . yikes! And the verdict? Whew . . . we made it! We took some advice from the great teacher (I'm not talking about Jesus this time, I'm talking about Yoda): "Do or do not, there is no try". Five miles really didn't feel that much longer than four miles, surprisingly. Also, where we ran today had few hills which makes running so much easier. Only one mile left to run this month!!! :)

Day 30 - Finally, this month's challenge is over. We chose a flat, relatively straight 0.5 mile route to run out and back on, and we both pushed ourselves very hard. Instead of going for distance like we had for the rest of the month, today was all about speed. I've never run a mile that fast in my life, so I'm pretty happy about it. My husband was hoping to get his mile time under seven minutes, but I'm still really proud of how he did and that he committed to this month's insane challenge with me :)

Week Four Running Chart

Mile Times

Heart Rates

I'm so glad this month is over. I keep thinking that my hardest month is over now, but we'll see if that's really the case. I did rock climbing first as I thought it would be the hardest one (at the time I was considering a jogging month, but nothing this intense), but then then the cake challenge came around and that was extremely stressful (sometimes) and very time-consuming. After those were over, reading novels was a great,  relaxing month, but I have to say this running thing has been the biggest challenge so far. Not that the cakes were easy, or that I'd want to go back and do that again, but I am so glad this running is over. As you can see from my extremely nerdy charts, my mile times stayed pretty consistent (with the exception of the last day) and my heart rate decreased a little over the month . . . I think that is a good sign. So I'm back in shape again, what can I do next month to ruin it? ;)