Day Three: About time, loser

Date: April 14, 2006
Time: 6:10 PM - 7:20 PM
Running Time: 9 minutes total
Path: The usual way out to Lake Shore, down Lakefront Path to 2500 N; back the same way. Approximate distance covered in walking and running: 3 miles.

Not significantly more running today, but a lot more walking. That's not a bad thing. I eschewed the trip to Oz Park because I got a late start and wasn't looking forward to 15-minute or so bus rides in each direction, plus I wasn't in the mood to get there and find out that there wasn't a real track, just in case. I took the usual route but stayed more or less off the pavement; there's a narrow gravel/dirt track on either side of the paved path for most of the route I took along the lake, so no huge loss. Anyway, I walked most of it. It was a nice warm day, about 80 with low humidity and a light breeze, good weather for running. Drew and I started off walking together and, in conversation, didn't start running till just past Belmont (already half a mile). Naturally Drew outpaced me immediately. I tried upping my "dose" a little bit, giving a shot at the 90 seconds running, two minutes walking suggested for Week Two of the plan. It wasn't really any worse. After three cycles of each got me to 2500 N (just a block north of Fullerton, easily my farthest south yet), I rested for about ten minutes, then decided to try a "run until you can't take it, then walk until you feel better" approach to the trip back. I only ran for about 1:40 before I ended up stopping the first time, but I squeezed in two more 90-second running cycles on the way back, and the rest was all walking.

I don't think there's anything too wrong with that when you're just starting out, though. More walking = some leg strengthening = better at running = even more leg strengthening = even better at running. At least that's the hope, right?

I'm pretty happy with my physical condition at the end of these things so far, at least besides my calves. (The Achilles were fine today.) I checked my heart rate late in the end walk and got 130; I had been at relative rest for a while by that point, but my heart certainly did not feel like it was ever going like crazy. Likewise, my breathing has been pretty reasonable. Granted, the running is mostly light jogging; it's not like I'm doing wind sprints or anything. But when you get winded going up the stairs, being able to come back in after a run and not feel painfully out of breath is a good start. We'll see how all the muscles feel tomorrow. I'd like to get back out on Sunday if possible, though (although it isn't supposed to be as nice).

Good news for people who love Flax news

According to Alma, there is a rubberized track - much, much better than running on pavement and actually where I did a lot of my running (at Underhill Field) in 2002 - at Oz Park. I was a bit wary of taking public transportation for 20 minutes just to run - because that's one more thing to carry (the Chicago Card Plus), plus it's like half the downside of joining a gym - but at least the 8 bus down Halsted ends up right at the park, meaning it's not the most ridiculous commute ever. (If I would have been stuck walking to the Red Line, then walking back from it at Fullerton, and then another quarter-mile down to Webster, you could have forgotten it.) I don't exactly relish the whole "get on a potentially crowded bus while dripping sweat and then ride it for 20 minutes while everyone tries to avoid you" aspect of it, but it's better than blowing out a tendon, no?

So I think I'm going to try that out tomorrow. It's supposed to be 75 (wow), so that's nice. Of course, it also probably means the track will be crammed, but so would anywhere on the fourth truly nice day of the year.

Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me

After the last run, I spent the next several days nursing sore Achilles tendons (among other things, but most worryingly those). I didn't want to stop running, but you sort of need Achilles tendons to walk, and I didn't want to take any chances - I can't imagine anything worse than starting to exercise and immediately having to quit because of a debilitating injury.

The problem is, I'm not totally sure what to do. I walked about a mile and three-quarters today when Drew and I went down to the Diversey mini golf course; my legs were pretty tired by the time we got back, and I hadn't run a step. The Achilles, mercifully, are fine for right now, but now it's the knees and calves that seem worn out. I can't win.

One possibility is just that my feet are too flat. But then, I've always had flat feet, and I didn't have this same problem in 2002. I guess I wasn't starting from quite so much of a dead stop then as I am now, but that would seem to rule out the feet even more; if the reason is just "greater apathy to overcome" or something, that's at least doable without orthotics. It's also possible that part of the problem is just pounding the pavement, but if I have to run on a treadmill then the whole "save money by running outside" aspect of the plan is negated. Fat lot of good that would do me.

Maybe I just need to stick to walking for a while. (Tired legs I can deal with; aching Achilles = bad.) Sure, it's not as efficient a calorie burn as running; to cover the same amount of distance would likely take me three times as long. To put it another way, it probably took Drew and me an hour round trip to and from the Diversey course, which is roughly three-quarters of a mile away. If I were able to run as much as I wanted, I could cover that distance in what, ten minutes? Less? It's one thing to get home from work at six, prep for a half-hour or so, and then run for another 30-60 minutes (if/when I can run that much); it's quite another to get home at six, head right back out, and if you want to cover a significant chunk of ground, not get back for 60-90 minutes. Actually, I guess technically it works out almost exactly the same, but there seems like a difference in perception to me. Walking just takes a much longer time to do the same thing. And yeah, it's less stressful and I can listen to my iPod (I don't take the iPod running because it's kind of bulky and because I don't want to sweat all over the same headphones I take to work), but it's just not quite the same somehow.

Then again, maybe that isn't the worst thing in the world. If it burns the same amount of calories and is significantly easier on my legs, does it matter if it takes longer? It's sort of like one of those "Would You Rather" tests, like "Would you rather pay $200 for your favorite food, or eat a greasy piece of pizza for free?" In this case, the question is "Would you rather burn 300 calories in 30 minutes but feel totally wiped for the next several days, or in 90 minutes and feel more or less okay by the next morning?" Call me crazy, but I'd go with B, at least for right now. Maybe once I get a little more walking in there - and potentially on weekends I could go for sizeable walks - it'll enable me to build to running, kind of like how walking around the Northwestern campus probably assisted at least slightly in the comparatively seamless transition to running in 2002.

Thoughts are, of course, welcome. For the record, I have no plans to give up on running, I just think I may need to build to it a little more slowly, for my body's sake.

Day Two: It gets easier, right?

Date: April 5, 2006
Time: 6:40 PM - 7:00 PM
Running Time: 8 minutes total
Path: Cornelia to Lake Shore, Lake Shore to Roscoe, crossed under LSD to Lakefront Trail, down to Belmont, crossed under LSD to inner Lake Shore, up to Stratford, Stratford to Broadway, Broadway to Cornelia. Approximate distance covered in walking and running: 1.25 miles.

Why so much shorter in real time? Well, part of that was because it was pretty cold today (low 40s), and even with a sweatshirt I was feeling it (to be fair, I was wearing shorts, because all my sweatpants seem to be in a box somewhere). So as a result, I pretty much turned around right at ten minutes, allowing myself to come more or less directly back without having a significant walk left at the end. The other part was that I didn't have a five-to-ten-minute break in the middle like last time. So I felt okay about that, building up a tiny amount of stamina.

I also felt okay because I don't recall ever really feeling winded. Now, the jogging/walking alternation is intended to help with that, but still, when you're as out of shape as I am that feels like a decent accomplishment. Also, my heart rate taken pretty much directly after coming in was around 145, which doesn't seem too bad for having just finished running, even if it wasn't a huge amount.

The real problem was that my Achilles tendons killed. It wasn't so bad while walking, but during any running part it just felt like they were on fire. They more or less calmed down pretty soon after coming in, so I don't feel like this was much more than a new strain they have to get more accustomed to, but it's something to keep an eye on. The last thing I need to do is injure myself while doing this.

Slow and steady are the watchwords right now. With rain in the forecast, I probably won't get a chance to go out until Saturday anyway.

So how beat did I look after the second run? Voici! (Warning: May be dangerously sexy!)

Day One

Date: April 2, 2006
Time: 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM
Running Time: 8 minutes total, as prescribed by the Couch to 5K plan
Path: Cornelia to Lake Shore, Lake Shore to Roscoe, crossed under LSD to Lakefront Trail, down to about Wellington, back up around Belmont Harbor and returned same way (crossing back to inner Lake Shore at Roscoe). Approximate distance covered in walking and running: 2 miles.

Report: As first days go, I guess it could have been worse. The temperature neared 60 so it wasn't too cold, though out by the lake it was fairly windy. After I did the first ten minutes, which got me to my southernmost point at about what would have been Wellington had I stayed on the city side of Lake Shore, I had to sit down for a few minutes, so I didn't do the 20 right in a row. That may not have been entirely what the architects of the Couch to 5K Plan had in mind, but they do note that you should go at the pace you need and not try to kill yourself to meet the plan head-on. Ultimately I did the full 8 minutes of running and actually got in more than the 12 minutes of walking (plus the five-minute warmup walk) because that only about got me back to Melrose, leaving another almost 15 minutes of walking before I was back at the apartment.

So how did I feel? Well, not very good during most of the running parts, but I imagine that's only to be expected. I was marginally gratified to note that 90 seconds of walking was usually enough to make me feel like I could at least survive another 60 seconds of running, though by the time I got around to the last couple sequences I was pretty much done. The walk back was okay, though it was pretty slow going. By that time my feet were killing me, and my quads and calves still are none too pleased. I'm guessing it's ibuprofen time in a little while.

But this can't be considered too surprising. The shoes are still getting broken in, which may have contributed a tiny bit to my feet hurting. More importantly, I've never carried this much weight while trying to run before. I don't recall it being this much of a strain the first few times out in 2002, but I weighed 15-20 pounds less then, even when I was starting.

A few picture links. First, here's what I looked like when I got back from the run. I don't think you can tell everything (like how much I was sweating) but I do look more or less like hell, which is the general idea. Here's a picture of one of my new shoes. And here is a picture that gives you an idea of the gut I'm carrying around right now. I didn't take my shirt off or even pull it back so you can only tell so much, but I think you'll get the idea.

Just a slight delay

So I miscalculated a touch in the first post, which was written very spur-of-the-moment and didn't really take into account my in-place plans for the weekend. However, I have procured a brand-new pair of New Balances (picture forthcoming because you care so much) and will have my first run tomorrow (or later today, I guess) unless it does nothing but pour all day, and I'm hoping it doesn't because I don't need more excuses not to get out there. Naturally, the brief day or two of awesome weather we had didn't last, but a chilly day isn't going to slow me down. It's well past time already.