Program Week 2

So as I left off I was nervous about this week. The time of running was increasing the whole week with only 1 minute of walking in between. A minute goes really slow when you want it to be fast (ie when running) but goes by really fast when you want it to last forever (ie walking) :) But I'm committed and was going to follow the program.

So week 2 program -
Mon - Walk 1/Run 2 X 7 - plus 2 min run
Wed - Walk 1/Run 3 x 7
Fri/Sat - Walk 1/Run 4 x6

So Monday...absolute hell! Did it but suffered the whole way through. And this still isn't hard....in contrast to the end goal. All Monday and Tuesday really questioned if this was going to happen for me. Once again texted Jeremy that said to be exact "I f'n hate running" which of course was about the same text he had gotten a week before. But I said I still wasn't going to quit in which he responded and said it wouldn't be quitting just changing focus to something that I "enjoyed" more. I appreciated the "letting me off the hook" response. But my response was that I'm really hoping this is a "there are good day and bad days" type of situation.

And I'm happy to say it was....Wed in which I actually increased another minute felt so much better. Had put together a playlist on my ipod of tunes to run to and I just got into a zone. I was slower than a snail...but I was moving...and that was ok for me. But the downside...once I stopped I immediately felt it in my knees and hips. Iced my knees that evening but ached all night and felt like even organs hurt from the jostling around. Next day my bad knee was bothering me...not as bad as in the past but enough to make me nervous again that maybe this just wasn't going to happen for me. Thurs was a walk day so I did have a break to recover. Friday worked late....knee still a little sore and just wasn't in the mood. Got home and decided hey I'll at least walk. By the way I've been doing most of my workouts at about 7 when the sun is going down and considering I hate the heat and summer...the heat has not bothered me at all..in fact I don't even notice it. Perhaps it's all the other pain distracting me :) So anyway...about 7:30 got started and decided what the heck...I'll do what the program said and if it hurts then I'll stop and walk...and re-evaluate my next steps in the program. Now I was suppose to do 4 min of running for each interval but decided to do just 3...not push it. Immediately I was in the zone...the 3 minutes were not bad at all....and for the last 2 intervals instead of doing another interval of 2 min at the end...just added a minute to the last 2 intervals. I think at one point I was actually looking around and taking in the sights and enjoying a breeze....during the 4 minute interval no less..it was so wierd! I finished and I wasn't dying and no pain in the knee since. How is this...is my body already adapting this fast....? And truth is I'm running 23 of the 30 minutes...those 1 min...are really nothing. I'm really starting to see how I can convert this into a full 30 minutes. Sat another good run....and was able to do them at the 4 min. Now please don't think I'm falling into a false sense of hey this is now easy...not by any means...but I'm seeing progress...and it was unexpected at this point.

So another theory.....and this is just speculative...obviously it's early...but swimming was and is my gig....and long distance swimming to be specific. I've just always been an endurance person vs a sprinter. Never thought it might convert to running which is physically harder to a degree...as you don't have the water to offset the effects of gravity while running. Could this be a part of me that extends past swimming? Again it's super early...and Monday may be hell again...but I'm curious as to whether this is an overall trait and is now benefiting me. We'll see...