Countdown...

Ok, so I've got 3 more weeks to pull it together! Not that I'm trying to win it or anything (HAHA) but just finish somewhat respectably!

Thank goodness for Planet Fitness! At $10 bucks a month? Can't be beat! (Even though sometimes it feels like Planet Fitness is beating my ass!)

I always think I'm going to enjoy the treadmill. I mean, I have to admit I always feel really great afterwards! But once it starts rollin' I'm like.. "Oh no! Here we go again!"

And all the Ada Trails, those are helping too. And they're even cheaper!

Anyway, what follows will be my countdown journal. Beginning with last Friday...

Friday, April 17th... After doing 30 minutes of lower body machines until my legs felt like jello, I did 2.3 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes, which equates to a 13 minute mile. My plan was to run 3 and walk 1 but I just couldn't do it! So I eased into a run 2 walk 2 which was a whole lot more do-able. I have no idea how some of these people around me can run for 30 minutes at a stretch!

Saturday, April 18th... So I drove up to Roselle Park today where they have an actual 5k trail, just to try and get some perspective. It was a gorgeous day and I have to say the trail was packed with walkers. Not too many runners, so it felt sort of cool passing people. :) I was exhausted by the time I came to the first marker that said I had only gone 1 1/4 miles!.. but just kept trying to think about everything I'd learned at the "Good Form Running" clinic last week. It was alot to think about... and to be honest none of that really makes any of this any easier.

Anyway, I ran as much as I could, and when I had to stop I just continued walking at the fastest pace I could. Running alongside the river was a trip with the sun on my face, the wind at my back and THIS SONG playing in my head. Did I mention that it was a GORGEOUS day?

The 5k marker up the way was such a beautiful sight to see! Made the trek in 37 minutes which equates to an 11:55 minute mile. Whew! Because as I understand it, the pacer groups stop at 12!

Does anybody ELSE ever feel like their running shoes are laughing at them?

Monday, April 20th... The plan today was to go to the gym and run an "easy" 2 miles.. and to be honest I was dreading it all day! Because I have never been able to run for more than 4 minutes at a time on the treadmill. So I guess today must have set another milestone.. because I was somehow able to do it! Except for that one little glitch... when at about .3 miles I somehow hit the emergency stop button and had to start over again so my overall pace got all skewed, but within a matter of seconds I was back running. But what's crazy to me is that at that very second that I fell forward on the button???... it's because my mind was somewhere else completely and I wasn't even looking at the timer or thinking about how painful this all was. Which I suppose could be considered both a good thing and a bad thing!..

But anyway, somehow I ended up running for a full 25 minutes without stopping once (except for those few seconds...) And I seriously never, EVER thought I'd be able to do that!

But just one *note to self*... "Please wear different underwear next time!"

Friday, April 24th... It's been a tough week schedule-wise for getting to the gym.. and the weather outside has been frightening! But made it to the gym today and ran 3 minutes/walked 2 minutes for 30. Killer! Why did it almost seem easier on Monday just jogging 2 miles straight? I really need to start planning my race day strategy.

I keep wondering what it is that makes me want to do this so much, or perhaps "want" isn't the right word. "Need" maybe? I mean, afterall, I did the "Monster Montage" in "A Chorus Line" 8 times a week for a really, really long time... and before that, high kicks down Disneyland's Main Street in "America On Parade" daily for over a year (wearing at least 50 lbs of fluff and fiberglass!)... and then there was "The Rich Man's Frug" in "Sweet Charity" back in 1976 which was probably the most exhausting thing I have ever done in my life! But I have never been able to run. (Or at least not since I was 10!)

And now I am 60... :)

Two more weeks!

Sunday, April 26th... So, I wasn't really looking forward to this today and was sort of hoping the weather would be cloudy and grey so that I'd be able to come up with some sort of excuse, but wow!... what a beautiful morning it turned out to be! So I headed up to Roselle Park again. I actually considered trying to run somewhere else a little more scenic, but I just really like the mile markers there and the fact that I can time my 5k time there pretty easily.

First stop... Port-O-Potty. Why? Because I always get nervous that I won't have another chance to go before I really have "TO GO!"

But now... can we please address something that is pretty disgusting?.. Why is it that everybody who uses the Port-O-Potty always seems to have such a serious case of diarrhea??? I mean, can they really not figure out a way how do "that one" at home??? And also, (btw) the right combination of fiber, fruits, vegies and exercise can really help with that! Please!...Google it!.. and take heed! For the sake of ALL of us who have to use those things???

Anyway, I keep forgetting how long that run feels to me. But it always feels great to pass people along the way, especially when we're going in the same direction! :)

But now that it's over the memory is a really enjoyable one in my mind. :) I ended up jogging it in 37 minutes which equates to about an 11:54 pace mile. So not too terrible I guess.

Then when I got home I thought I'd see how fast I could speed walk around my block (1.l miles) and I came in at a 14.3 pace. What a fun way to spend a Sunday!!!

Oh, and BTW. the only reason I knew that it was 1.1 miles around the block was because I got into my car afterwards and measured it. Although while I was getting into my car I also jammed the car door corner right into my shin!!! Ouch!

But how fun that the bandaid matches my shoes!

And my shirt! :)

Wednesday, April 29th... I'm definitely one who is motivated by music because without music it just ain't happening. Some people enjoy a nice walk in the woods listening to the sounds of nature. But I get enough nature sounds at 6:00 am outside my window every morning which is not necessarily always a good thing. Especially on the weekend!

But anyway, I have this playlist of walking/running songs that I've been compiling probably since last summer and there's not a single song on that list that I don't love! And it's always been fun to just sort of put the songs on shuffle and take my chances with what comes up and matching my pace to the beat. I guess you could say that I'm a fan of interval training (I know, I sound like I know what I'm talking about!) lol

But for the past week or so, after working out, I've been deleting some of the songs from my iPod that I've found don't completely energize me and give me that extra boost that I think I'll need... as much as I may love them. But don't worry, I'll add them back in after just as soon as this thing is over. (Because I know you are concerned!...)

I think I must sound crazy to be making such a big deal about a 5k for goodness sake! Still, I just want it to be a really great experience and so I'm methodically trying to make it one, but I guess in the end, it could really end up being anything... and that's what actually makes this so exciting! But I've now got 58 songs that I'm pretty confident will see me through!.. and that's close to 3 hours of music for a race that I will hopefully be able to complete in less than 40 minutes! haha

Today I ran 5 minutes and walked 2 for 28. And it felt amazing!

Saturday, May 2nd...... So I was trying to figure out an interesting 5k route to take today and remembered how nice it was walking along Thornapple River Drive last year. So I mapped out a route from Lion's Park up to the top of Windcrest Drive which turned out to be about 4 miles and I figured, being just a week away from the race I'd push a little harder this time. Little did I realize that further down Thornapple River Drive the walking path becomes something pretty much resembling a roller coaster. I DID know that Windcrest was a really steep incline because I almost bought a home up there 22 years ago. Walking past it today made me wonder what, if anything, might be different in my life today if I had bought that one instead. (Which I probably would have if somebody hadn't snagged it out from under me...)

What an exhausting run that was! And I say that only to sound cool because, of course, I walked up most of those hills! But I DID run a few!

Still, I CANNOT WAIT to get back to 'just walking' as a hobby!..

Anyway, here is the route a ran/walked today..

Wow, when you look at it in perspective.. it barely even equates to the length of the Kent County Airport(GRR)! I mean, if I'd been a plane I would have been back to Lion's Park long before I'd even started!!!

But as it turned out (NOT being a plane) it took me about 50 minutes to run/walk 4 miles. So I'm still pacing at around 12 minutes or so, but there were hills today people! MAJOR HILLS!!!

Friday, May 8th...... So the run is tommorrow. My training schedule said I was suppose to run a mile today but I'm not going to. It's as humid out there as a... (fill in the blank!) But I've followed the rest of my training schedule to a T this week! Yesterday at the gym I did 40 minutes at 1 minute run/walk intervals. By the end, my finger was more exhausted than my legs... with all that speed adjusting on the treadmill!

Ok, funny story... Kind of.

At about 20 minutes in yesterday my iPod just suddenly stopped playing. And as you read up there above, it's just REALLY hard for me to run without music, but I just kept going anyway. And then at the end of my workout, being somewhat distracted by my iPod dysfunction, while fiddling with it I walked right into the men's locker room! Something DID seem a little backwards to me, but then I always feel a little dizzy after getting off the treadmill. Luckily the guy standing there in the buff set me straight!!!

OMG, how embarrassing!

As it turned out my battery was just dead. So whew! Because honestly?.. I think all plans might be off for tomorrow if I had to run without my music.

I went downtown after work to pick up my Bib. What a madhouse! I am so thankful that I decided to pick it up today though, rather than try to do it tommorrow morning. Parking tommorrow has me a little nervous, but hopefully I'll be able to get there early enough and park east of all the action as to not be impacted by road closures later.

Who am I kidding? The parking situation isn't really worrying me at all! But THIS SURE IS...

Wow! 5K starts at 7:00...

But ya know what? I'm just going to go forward with this as best I can. I certainly won't melt in the rain! (Of course I haven't tested that theory yet!)

My personal goal tommorrow is to not only finish but to try to finish within my age/gender graded time of 39:10, which would be a really respectable finish time for me. Oh and also to just try to RUN it as much as I can!

Anyway... please watch for me and cheer me on!

Oh, and throw me a towel!!!