Grandpa's Words

Today was a cold, damp day for training, but the drizzle wasn't enough to deter me from my mission to train for that 5K. I only have 5 and a half weeks left, but have 7 weeks of training on the docket. Eek! So, I powered through the chill and wet to begin week 3 of training.

I'm still doing intervals of walking and running, but the stretches of run time are getting longer. Today, I really felt pushed to my physical limit again. My body definitely got another jolt. There's no doubt in my mind I will be aching tomorrow! I started with my typical 5 minute warm up. That was followed by a 90 second jog and 90 seconds of walking...then 3 minutes of jogging and 3 minutes of walking. I then repeated the 90 second run/walk interval, ran 3 more minutes...then did the final 5 minute walking cool down. Phew! I'm so glad the robot lady in my phone (C25K app) keeps me straight. She is the best $1.60 trainer on the market...at least I think she was well worth the cost. :)

As I began my final 3 minute run, I was headed up a steady incline, and I was tired. My Grandpa Torr's words of wisdom kept ringing in my ears, "Never quit going uphill, because when you're going downhill, you won't want to." Boy, is that ever the truth. I chanted to myself - out loud, mind you - as I jogged up the Millenium Trail on Wootton Parkway, "Don't quit uphill...don't quit uphill...don't quit uphill!" And wouldn't you know it, I got to the top of the hill with a minute left of the jogging segment, which began my descent. And I kept going! I didn't quit, and I am so much better for the push. It was as if my grandpa's hands were on my back, helping to nudge me through the exhaustion. I'm so grateful he shared that tidbit and is such a believer in me.

I did 1.81 miles in 25 minutes today, which is an average of a 13.81 minute mile. I'm thrilled to have improved my mile time by about half a minute in just one day. I can tell my endurance is improving, and that has me so excited for what is ahead. I think I can actually do this!