Today marked a major milestone. I finished the 12 weeks of the Nike Plus Walk to Run program. Can I run? Yes, I can! So here's a little wrap-up on what I've achieved:
At the beginning of the 12 weeks, my regular workouts involved walking around the interior hallways at work at lunchtime. The goal was 3 days a week. Some weeks it was a stretch to get in 2 days of walking. Now? Across the past 12 weeks, I worked out all but 13 days. That's almost 6 days a week, on average. And the program had one day of rest each week built into it. I'm really proud of my commitment to the program. And that time period included trips out of town, unforeseen weather or other challenges, working out on weekends, etc. What changed? I went to run/walk before eating my lunch. Before, I would eat first, then walk. Which would lend itself to inertia keeping me in my chair. So for motivation and not getting sick by eating then exercising, I exercise first, then eat. Any now I actually want to go and get the run in. What's happened to me? :-)
I've done a triathlon and a 5K. The triathlon wasn't pretty. But I was happy to finish. Even if I was walking at the end. And while I run 5K or more on my full running days now, it still felt good to participate in an actual 5K event.
Random things:
Gatorade is really sweet. As I was doing the triathlon, I was really not digging the Gatorade. They have a new product now G Fit that is supposed to be lightly flavored enhanced water. We'll see. I tried some today. It was fine for an after workout drink. I'm not sure how I'll feel about it for during workout hydration. But I need to find something for the longer workouts that I'll like.
My other go-to post-workout drink is coconut water. It has electrolytes in it. And I like the flavor.
I'm loving my Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad for cooling me off after the workout.
It's hot. And humid. I'm hoping that training midday will be helpful for the times when it's not so hot and humid.
I picked up some new sunglasses yesterday. I was using some inexpensive Foster Grants. But I didn't like how they would move around on my face as I ran. So I scoped out some Oakleys. And I hunted them down. Tried them on. Loved them. Took them out for a test run today. Still loving them. I'm calling them a reward for completing the 12 week Walk to Run. But I didn't think of that until I had already bought them :-) (If you're interested, they're the Half Jacket style with black iridium lenses).
Today's workout:
5W/30R/5W
weather: already hot and humid at 8:30 am
distance: ~3.5 miles
What's next? Stay tuned tomorrow! This is not the end!
