Couch to 5k

Vote for my school!

2010-07-27T23:05:00.002-04:00

I have a couple of running posts to catch up on, but for a brief aside, you should all vote for the school where I teach to win $500,000! I'm the music teacher, and right now we don't have any performance space -- for concerts, drama, assemblies, anything. Right now when kids all need to assemble, they have to squeeze onto the floor of the "cafe-gym-atorium" -- it's very uncomfortable, and they don't all fit. If we have to try to fit in parents as well, forget it! $500,000 would be invaluable.

Thanks!

Week 4: Day 1

2010-07-21T20:13:00.002-04:00

Since the first two workouts of Week 3 had gone so well and I am a little behind in my training schedule (gah! vacation! heat wave!), I decided to skip the third workout and move on to Week 4. It was definitely a jump, but not overly hard. I would describe it best as a good challenge. My mom, with whom I worked out, was impressed. Of course, that's kind of her job, as my mother, but I still liked it. I went a total distance of 2.5 miles.

Also, week 4 is as far as I got last time, I believe.

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

Like a Virgin / The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (3:11)
Vogue / The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (5:19)
Don't Ask Me Why / Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 - Billy Joel (2:57)
Steep / Billy Breathes - Phish (1:38)
Billy Jean / Number Ones - Michael Jackson (4:54)
Kiss The Girl / Classic Disney Vol. 1 - The Little Mermaid (2:43)
Killer Queen /Greatest Hits - Queen (3:01)
Sweet Sweet / Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins (1:39)
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting / Greatest Hits - Elton John (4:55)
Like a Prayer / The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (5:52)
Cherish / The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (3:53)

Week 3: Workouts 1 and 2

2010-07-18T12:53:00.006-04:00

So after my first aborted attempt at Week 3 that left me wheezing before the first 90 seconds of running was through, I decided to wait out this heat wave before attempting to run outdoors again. I think humidity was at around 98%, and it was in the 80s or even 90s for the entire past 2 weeks.

So I went running at the gym, where there is beautiful, beautiful air conditioning. I went with my mom both times, who walked quickly on the treadmill next to me. Even though she walked the whole time, I only ended up going about .2 miles further than she did in distance, so we are fighting (not really). TJ came along for the second work-out, although he did the elliptical instead of running.

I did find one dangerous thing about running on a treadmill while using the playlist below: being on a treadmill during the OK Go song makes it REALLY hard to resist the urge to try doing this:

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

Earth Song/ Number Ones - Michael Jackson (5:01)
Coming Clean / Dookie - Green Day (1:35)
A Prayer of St. Patrick / Gloria - The Sacred Music of John Rutter -- City of London Sinfonia, Cambridge Singers (1:33)
You Can't Hurry Love / Serious Hits... Live! - Phil Collins (2:54)
Your Smiling Face / Greatest Hist (Live) - James Taylor (2:55)
Nut Rocker / Tessie EP - Dropkick Murphys (1:22)
Mass for Five Voices (William Byrd) / Best of the Renaissance - Tallis Scholars (1:27)
Here It Goes Again / Master the Treadmill with OK Go - OK Go (3:00)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2 / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (2:58)
You Are Not Alone / 1996 Grammy Nominees - Michael Jackson (5:48)

How to Feel Much Older, in Three Easy Steps

2010-07-12T10:22:00.002-04:00

1. Start a running program. Although you have never run before, be surprised at how easy it is to follow this program.

2. Make it about 6 weeks into the program before having to stop to focus on your comprehensive exams for your masters degree.

3. Two years later, at approximately the same level of physical fitness as when you started last time, start the same running program over again.

Week 2: Runs 3 & 4

2010-07-11T01:16:00.003-04:00

So I've run a few more times, but haven't blogged it because I've been ON VACATION! Woo! TJ and I went to Boston, MA -- I'd been several times, but he'd never gone, so we did all kinds of fun tourist-y things like the Duck Boat Tour (not the one that was run over by a barge, thank God), and we even camped out on the Cambridge side of the Charles River for 6 hours on the Fourth of July to watch the most amazing fireworks display I've ever seen.

Anyway, Run 2:3 was the day before we left (Tuesday). TJ is taking a college course that doesn't get out until 8pm, so I dropped him off at 5, visited with my Dad, who lives close-ish to the college, and then picked TJ up to go running. It was too late at night to drive 40 minutes back to our normal running trail, so we went to Taconic High School to run on the track. It was kind of nice running on the track - there were a lot of people there of all kinds of fitness levels. And since we were going around in circles, TJ didn't feel the need to try to stay with me, so he could go at his own pace without having to turn around. It definitely felt better on my legs, but there's something I like about running in a more natural setting.

We had fully intended to run while we were in Boston. It's a great city for doing things like that, and we both brought enough running gear to take up silly amounts of room in our suitcases. We weren't counting on a heatwave - it was over 95 every day, with enough humidity that there was a rainbow without any rain. Which was gorgeous. But we didn't really feel that running in extreme weather when we weren't sure of our surroundings was the best idea.

So instead of moving right on to Week 3 upon resuming today, I did week 2 once more. Today we decided to go to the gym that I am a member of, and, let me tell you, I kind of enjoyed the experience. Air conditioning! And I think the fact that the treadmill is moving is helping me lengthen my stride, which is something I need to work on. I ran with no leg pain at all. Watching the TV while running was also fun. I switched back and forth between SportsCenter (which featured The Winking Lizard, where I used to work, on a story about how LeBron James' cold-hearted departure is going to effectively bankrupt Cleveland!) and the Food Network. And did I mention air conditioning?!?!

I've been using the same playlist the whole time :) Next run: week 3!

An actual 5k!

2010-06-27T18:33:00.005-04:00

TJ and I have targeted an actual 5k to run! We're actually going to do the run in memory of TJ's good friend James, who both had an incredible obsession with Yankee Candles, and died way, way too young of a heart condition. When I found a 5k at the Yankee Candle Flagship Store that benefited the American Heart Association and is going to be held exactly at the end of our training calendar, it seemed like fate.

So, James, get ready for August 14, because we'll be at the Disney World of Candles in Deerfield, MA, running in your honor!

Week 2, Run 2

2010-06-27T18:12:00.003-04:00

Having counted the mile run as run #1 for week 2, TJ and I set out for the second run on Friday evening. This one hurt. A lot. I think my muscles were not recovered very well from field day, which was really about 7 hours of solid activity, starting with a run that I didn't stretch very well afterward (bad Erin, BAD!). And several sprints after a certain science teacher who was taunting me.

Anyway, even though I was in some serious pain, I pushed through -- I knew I couldn't pin it on the shoes anymore -- and did the run in its entirety. I will be sure to stretch before and after, quite thoroughly, each and every time. Some lessons are learned the hard way.

Playlist! Lots of good ones this time. The beginning had kind of a punk rock theme, which I found to be a great vibe for running.

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

Po' Lazarus / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - James Carter & The Prisoners (4:21)
Big Rock Candy Mountain / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Harry McClintock (2:18)
You Are My Sunshine / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Norman Blake (4:28)
*Coming Clean/ Dookie - Green Day (1:35)
*Tonks Hunts a Leprechaun / Music Ed 420 Project - Erin Gardy (Milne) (2:08)
*Nut Rocker / Tessie EP - Dropkick Murphys (1:22)
*Deianara Crush / Sweden - The Mountain Goats (1:54)
*TROGDOR / Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits - Strong Bad (1:40)
*Ebudae / Paint the Sky with Stars - Enya (1:53)
Unreleased (3) / Burningn'n Tree - Squarepusher (1:28)
Hollow Hills / Celtic Solstice- Paul Winter (1:55)
Let's Get Together / Classic Disney Vol. 1 - Hayley Mills (1:32)
*Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch (1:58)
Bongo Contront / Return of the Candyman - Charlie Hunter & Pound for Pound (1:21)
Eleanor Rigby / 1 - The Beatles (2:07)
*Down By the River to Pray / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Alison Krauss (2:56)
I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Soggy Bottom Boys (3:10)
Hard Time Killing Floor Blues / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Chris Thomas King (2:42)
*I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (Instrumental) / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - John Hartford (4:29)

Mile Run at Field Day!

2010-06-27T17:52:00.004-04:00

The school where I teach had its field day on Wednesday -- super fun! I made excellent shirts for all the kids in my advisory (as well as myself), there was a volleyball tournament, and the teachers whooped the students in a giant tug-of-war match.

There was also a mile run. Here I am!

See how quickly I am running? I was actually not running all that quickly -- I ended up doing the interval plan from Week 2 of Couch to 5K, and finished 22nd with a time of 13:55 (for 1.06 miles, actually). Out of 22 who finished, but about 35 who started the race. Mr. Griffin won overall, and students from my advisory were both the first boy and the first girl to finish. It was the power of the T-shirts. Overall, a pretty good experience! Hopefully at next year's field day, I can ~~convince some slower people to enter~~ have a faster time!

All Tonks' Children Got Shoes

2010-06-21T22:46:00.002-04:00

After a brief hiatus to buy new running shoes, HOLY CRAP SHOES MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

After two attempts at week 1, having to give up both times, I tried it again tonight with these new babies:

And, yes. Holy cow. I thought I was in the worse shape of my life the other two times I'd run. But tonight, not only did I blow through the Week 1 workout, I ran for an additional 3 straight minutes at the end.

Boo ya.

I re-used this playlist for the third time. It was still good, and this time I actually got to run to the Chip n' Dale theme song, which was exciting and kind of MacGyver-esque.

TJ came with me on the run, which was fun. He runs way faster than I do, his stride being about 50% longer than mine, but he doubles back for the walking part. The weather was gorgeous -- about 67 degrees by the time we went at 8pm. It was the solstice today, so we had just enough daylight for our 40-minute escapade.

We'll be graduating to Week 2 for our next workout. AND I now have enough confidence to enter the mile run for field day at school on Wednesday. I'll probably finish last. Oh, well.

Week 1, Second Run

2010-05-22T10:49:00.002-04:00

I went running again today. I talked TJ into going with me this time. It was fun going with him, even though the plight of the short-legged runner meant tht he was going much faster than me even when I was taking 3 strides for every 2 of his.

My calves held up much better than last time, but this time it was my shins that were my demise. I think I need to get new shoes -- these are pretty old, and I don't remember having nearly thus much muscle soreness last time. Yay for an excuse to shop!

I used exactly the same playlist as last time, so no need to repeat it here. Enjoy the weekend, readers!

Back in Action!

2010-05-21T16:51:00.004-04:00

Hello, blogosphere! After (....*checks blog*....) nearly 2 years (oh, man), I've decided to return to this plan to try again. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you about several changes which have happened in my life.

1) I got engaged, then married! Hence the new account and last name. Don't worry, though, this is still the same Erin. (I know you were worried.)

2) I graduated from grad school! Now I am gainfully employed as a music teacher and drama director. Hooray! I just finished up directing my first musical, and suddenly have all manner of time on my hands that I don't quite know what to do with, and significantly less stress in my life than at any point since about 1998 (not kidding).

3) I moved across the country! Whereas I used to live in Cleveland, right by a gorgeous running trail, I now live in the small town of Adams, MA..... right by a gorgeous running trail!! This wasn't my first stop between running trails, though; there were two intermittent (and horrible, and thankfully shortlived) stops at apartments in different towns in Western Mass, which were NOT right by gorgeous running trails. This one, however, is.

4) I miss feeling like I'm in shape. I chaperoned the high school prom last weekend, did the dance to "Cotton-Eyed Joe" for about 3 minutes, and was winded. Pathetic.

5) Unfinished business! I gave up last time, and that's lame. I do that sometimes. I don't like that about myself. So I'm trying to make amends.

So, anyway, I'm back on Week 1. I went on my first run yesterday, and, being out of the habit of running, FORGOT TO STRETCH FIRST. D'oh. I was doing pretty well cardiovascular-wise for the whole thing, but my calves started to burn like nobody's business halfway through, and I had to walk for two of the running bits. I promptly e-mailed friend, marathon runner, and fellow teacher Benn for some suggestions, and was not disappointed - he had some great stretches that I haven't tried before.

Other than that, I felt really good about running. It was my first time running on the new trail, although I had gone walking on it several times, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of it is in the shade.... since it was 80 degrees and humid yesterday, I was extremely grateful for this! It's a very pretty trail, and I'll write more about it in a later post.

Of course, I will be keeping up with my playlists! There will probably be a lot of repeating from the last go-'round, but I do have some new songs in there.

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head) / Way to Normal - Ben Folds (3:38)
Dr. Yang / Way to Normal - Ben Folds (2:30)
The Frown Song / Way to Normal - Ben Folds (3:38)
The Avenue Q Theme / Avenue Q Original Cast Soundtrack (1:05)
Fugue for Tin Horns / Guys & Dolls Original Cast Soundtrack (1:28)
Wild Honey Pie / The White Ablum - The Beatles (1:01)
Eliza / A Picture of Nectar - Phish (1:32)
Inakteli nóták (IV. da capo, Allegro) / A Cappella Choral Works of Ligeti - London Sinfonietta Voices (0:52)
Berliner Messe - Zweiter Alleluiavers / I Am the True Vine (Arvo Pärt) - ProArte Singers (1:22)
Up, Down, and Touch The Ground / Winnie the Pooh (1:02)
Indian War Whoop / O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack - Jim Cummings (1:30)
Before Cologne / Way to Normal - Ben Folds (0:54)
Cigarette / Whatever and Ever Amen - Ben Folds Five (1:38)
I Think I Have a Chance with this Guy / Strongbad Sings and Other Type Hits - What's Her Face (0:56)
Bookends / Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits (1:21)
Royal March from "l'Histoire du Soldat" / Make a Jazz Noise Here - Frank Zappa (0:59)
Sweet Sweet / Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins (1:39)
Theme from Chip'n Dale Rescue Rangers / Cartoon Shuffle - Anamation Soundtrack Ensemble (1:01)
If Ye Love Me / Pastyme with Good Companye - Flying V (1:32)
You Don't Know Me / Way to Normal - Ben Folds feat. Regina Spektor (2:30)
Cologne / Way to Normal - Ben Folds (2:30)
Errant Dog / Way to Normal - Ben Folds (2:30)

Hello from Outer Space

2008-07-20T09:46:00.002-04:00

Hi! No, I'm not dead. :) I had a two week vacation at the beginning of the month where my internet was spotty (read: my parents have dial up), and then rushed back to Berkeley to prep for a research trip that I'm leaving for this morning. I'll be in Independence, MO for a week at the Truman library, researching health insurance proposals and the conservative coalition in Congress (those are for two separate projects). So, I have been running but I have not been blogging!

My basic place in running is that I totally hit a mental (and running!) wall when I got to the week where one suddenly jumps from five minutes of running to eight to twenty all over the course of three days! What?! It seemed crazy, especially since the plan so far had really been guiding me through running and, even though some runs were hard, there was nothing that I didn't feel like I could accomplish. My mom started running about five years ago, and she gave me a great pep talk, saying that I should favor running at my own pace over trying to stick to a plan and then giving up because it is too hard. :) When she started running, she didn't have an interval plan, but she did have different "benchmarks" along the trail that she would get comfortable with before increasing her distance. She was saying that for some, it might take a month before she really felt comfortable to move on...certainly not just one day!

So, basically I am currently doing the 5/3/5/3/5 run until I feel comfortable with it. After that, I will probably move on to either 8/5/8 or 5/3/8/3/5, or maybe alternate between those. That 5/3/5/3/5 has been kicking my butt, in part I think because I've been traveling and playing catch up on work, and so not getting out every day (I would say it's been about 3-4 days per week as opposed to 5-6 when I'm in Berkeley on a regular schedule). Anyway, long and short of it is, don't be discouraged if you start a plan and its schedule doesn't turn out to be your schedule! As my mom says, the important thing is just to be out there and be active, and I'm accomplishing that either way. :-D

p.s. I also went running on a treadmill for the first time during this project the other day, because a friend was going to the gym and I thought it would be good motivation to go. :) Augh! In some ways it was easier (the running part), but I definitely felt like I was going to fall off the whole time! I also think I spend the whole time starting at the moving parts (to make sure I didn't fall off) and thus felt like the room was spinning when I "disembarked". I think I will stick to road running unless it is raining or something!

Executive Decision ;)

2008-06-30T14:07:00.002-04:00

So, I've decided to repeat last week's running this week...I did go out for 3 runs over the course of the week, but the five minutes just never got any easier, so I want to give my body a bit more time to adjust to this running pattern before moving on. There is just no way I'll be able to run 20 minutes by the end of this week...so, hopefully another week of getting used to these longer runs will help me actually be able to do it the next week! :)

Aaaaaaaaand I suck.

2008-06-28T01:40:00.002-04:00

Oops. Didn't go today either. I think Wednesday's unsuccessful run has me a little psyched out. But I know I can do this - I did it Tuesday! In somewhat of my defense, the alarm didn't go off this morning and I lost 2 hours of my day. But I still had time to go if I had been able to motivate myself.

I *WILL* go on Sunday.

I just might be lagging a little behind my schedule :)

Ouch!

2008-06-26T14:13:00.002-04:00

Wow, 5 minutes is harder than I thought it would be! It's going ok so far though...this week I've been on two runs so far (skipping yesterday just to give myself a break!). I'll go again this afternoon...in my new running shoes! I'm excited to try these out...I got them from Zappos and they are specifically for running and also for people whose feet pronate, which mine do. So I'm excited to see if they're more fun to fun in. I'll have to take a photo later to share because they are super runner-y and cute. :)

Here's my running playlist for this week:

Boyfriend - Ashlee Simpson (3:03)
All Over Me - Danger Flowers (1:43)
Open Fire - Sara Mac Band (4:59)
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him (2:32)
Good Love Never Dies - Liz Phair (2:59)
No Ceiling - Eddie Vedder (1:34)
Shooting Star and the Ambulance (4:56)
The First Cut is the Deepest (3:01)

Google Maps estimates my running distance at 1.6 miles...not bad! My current route is one I might change...it starts out slightly uphill for the first half, which is sort of tough, but we'll see...that is probably good for me. :)

Week 4, Day 1.5

2008-06-25T21:15:00.003-04:00

Today I discovered the importance of a recovery day between runs. Although yesterday's run was pleasantly easy, I didn't get more than 90 seconds into today's run before my leg muscles were burning with the heat of a thousand suns. I decided right then and there that I must be doing some damage that my muscles were not quite recovered from, so I abandoned the running for the day. Some recovery drink you are, chocolate milk.

I did walk for about 45 minutes, though, some of it hiking on the trails that go right down by the lake - I saw a heron! So I will try to go again on Friday, and for the third run on Sunday. Hopefully my legs will be ok with that plan.

Week 4, Day 1

2008-06-24T19:11:00.007-04:00

Running for 5 minutes was, actually, much easier than I had expected. Yay! I think it helped that both songs that I picked were extremely effective. "Rockin' the Suburbs" was quite appropriate for both my setting and my mission, and the tempo was perfect. "7" was great because I really did feel like smoting someone at that point in my run :) As I passed them on the path, I thought of smoting the other joggers, cars, and some squirrels, although this was all as benevolent as possible.

*Head Over Feet / Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (4:27)
Ironic / Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (3:50)
*At Last / My Cherie Amor - Stevie Wonder (2:52)
*Berliner Messe - Zweiter Alleluiavers (Arvo Part) / I am the True Vine - ProArte Singers (1:22)
**Rockin' the Suburbs / Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds (4:59)
*Colonel Hathi's March (The Jungle Book) / Classic Disney - J. Pat O'Malley (2:31)
*Don't Ask Me Why / Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - Billy Joel (2:57)
*Sweet Sweet / Siamese Dreams - Smashing Pumpkins (1:39)
*7 // The Hits/The B-Sides - Prince (5:09)
*Hand in my Pocket / Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (3:42)
You Learn / Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (4:00)
Forgiven / Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (5:00)

I decided to take some photos of what a run is like for me. If you want to see a larger version of an image, just click on it!

Tonks helps me prepare for my run, which consists of putting on a cute running
outfit and lots of sunscreen. She's so encouraging. And creepy.

The sidewalk leading away from my apartment.

I actually live on the same street as this house.

Obstacle #1: Berries. Anyone know if these are poisonous?

Walking over a brook.

Where I stretch after my warm-up walk.

Bridge over the lake.

View of Lower Shaker Lake.

Geese! They stayed more or less in the same place the
entire time I was out.

The beginning of the path.

The long and winding road. This is why I think Google maps probably
underestimates my mileage.

A meadow!

Sometimes I like to walk on top of the wall instead of on the path.

A view of the lake from the path.

I took a detour on my way home to see more of the lake. Check out this dude, and
also the geese in the background. They are lazy geese.

Another view of the brook.

I went a little "off road" on the way home, since I was done running.

People were feeding these ducks from a bridge.

Ah, home sweet home.

I recently read that chocolate milk makes an excellent discovery drink, and who am I to argue with what I read on the Internet? So I poured myself a cold one and enjoyed.

Week 4, Rest Day

2008-06-22T19:51:00.004-04:00

Today was not a schedule rest day, but there are thunderstorms about. I will run in the rain, but I will not run in thunderstorms. I just have to make sure that putting off this run (and future runs) is truly about the weather and not about my trepidation of having to run 5 minutes at a time. The first run of the week is always the scariest.

Speaking of running, TJ and I saw Get Smart today and it was hilarious. I say "speaking of running" because Max first meets 99 when she runs over him. They compare their mile split times, and hers are under 6 minutes. Oh, my. I will likely never have that pace - my legs are much shorter than Anne Hatthaway's :)

Anyway, weather-permitting I will resume my training on Tuesday and Wednesday, and try to fit in another run on Friday if I can - otherwise it will get pushed to next Sunday. One of these days I'd like to bring my camera with me and document my running path, too.

This is one of my options for my 5k:

I might pick this one just for the name :)

Running on the Golden Gate Bridge

2008-06-21T10:59:00.002-04:00

My parents have been in town the past two days and so we've been doing a little touring around the area. On Thursday, we decided to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge! It's a little less than a mile across and the view is amazing! On the way back across, my mom asked if I'd done my running that day; I said no, but it was ok because she was in town so I could skip a day. But, then we spontaneously decided that we would do some running on the bridge! There were actually a lot of other joggers too. I didn't have my iPod so we went off of my mom's watch, which may not have been very exact, and we only did 3 minute intervals, but I think I got in the total amount of running minutes I was supposed to, or something in the general vicinity. Such pretty views! Running on the bridge was lots of fun. However: word to the wise...if you spontaneously decide to start running, try NOT to do it when you're wearing sandals! I woke up yesterday morning with the tendon in one of my legs pretty sore...ouch! Tennis shoes next time. Luckily I seem to feel fine this morning. :)

Week 3, Day 3

2008-06-20T17:28:00.004-04:00

Today I found a great list of 100 Beginner Running Tips from the Complete Running Network. Overall I thought they were very helpful. Here are a few favorites:

4. Buy running clothes you look good in and that will motivate you to run.
12. Don’t neglect and irritate your family and friends by spending all your time running and talking about running.
13. Sign up for a race as soon as you feel up to it.
20. Don’t expect every run to be better than the last one; some of them will hurt.
25. Start a running blog and read other running blogs regularly.
26. Running is not an excuse to triple your intake of doughnuts, because runners gain weight too.
49. Don’t stretch before a run. Warm up by walking briskly or jogging slowly for several minutes.
58. A plastic garbage bag on race day is a very fashionable cheap disposable raincoat.
62. Give horses wide berths on trails and walk as you pass them unless you enjoy a hoof to the melon.
63. Always carry I.D. because you just never know.
77. There’s no shame in walking.
82. Vary your training routes. This will prevent boredom and prevent your body from getting acclimated.
99. To keep cool in hot weather soak a bandana in cold water, wring it out a bit, and tie it loosely around your neck.

I'd like to take tip #13 to heart and sign up for a 5k as added motivation to finish this plan. In theory, I will be ready on August 1. I'm looking at Ohiorunner.com's calendar to try to find a suitable race, and it turns out that there are a ton in my area. Choosing one and sticking to it should be exciting. Plus, most of them come with a free t-shirt, and many help raise money for a good cause.

Today's run was fine. I saw an otter, or perhaps a small beaver, swimming in the lake. It hid from me pretty quickly, though, so I didn't get a good look. I am trying to push myself by having my runs be on the upper boundary of my time limit later in a week - Zak and Sara was definitely a challenge, but I did it!

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

*Scenes from an Italian Restaurant / Greatest Hits Vol. 1 - Billy Joel (7:33)
*Healthy Body / Operation Ivy: Energy - Operation Ivy (1:41)
Oh Poor You / Really Really Happy - The Muffs (1:35)
**Zak and Sara / Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds (3:12)
*The Celts / Paint the Sky with Stars - Enya (2:58)
*Wedding Day / Birger Olsen - Birger Olsen (1:38)
*Fugue for Tinhorns / Guys & Dolls Original Cast (1:28)
Killer Queen / Greatest Hits - Queen (3:01)
Early Morning Rain / Complete Greatest Hits - Gordon Lightfoot (3:07)
*The Longest Time / Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - Billy Joel (3:36)
Only the Good Die Young / Greatest Hits Vol. 1 - Billy Joel (3:53)
*An Innocent Man / An Innocent Man - Billy Joel (5:18)

Week 3, Day 2

2008-06-19T00:13:00.004-04:00

So TJ has enough songs of the appropriate length that I was actually able to make a playlist of running-themed songs. The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

*Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (4:46)
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2 / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (2:58)
*Healthy Body / Operation Ivy: Energy - Operation Ivy (1:41)
Emperor of Ohio / You Can't Do That on Stage Any More - Frank Zappa (1:32)
*F**k and Run / Exile in Guyville - Liz Phair (3:08)
*You are a Runner and I am my Father's Son / Apologies to the Queen Mary - Wolf Parade (2:55)
*Oh Poor You / Really Really Happy - The Muffs (1:35)
*Dies Irae / Requiem - Alfred Schnittke (1:21)
*Burn it Off / Damage - Blues Explosion (2:56)
*From Point A to Point B / Sad Sappy Sucker - Modest Mouse (2:56)
*Into the Morning of the Magicians / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (6:19)
Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (4:34)

"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" was actually really great as a first song - it sets a brisk walking pace and the narrative of the song really gets you pumped up to get in shape... so you can defeat the evil robots. Plus it got me nostalgic for my freshman year at Oberlin.

The three minutes of running seemed easier today than it did yesterday, so that's good. I'll be going for my third run on Friday, so hopefully it will be even easier. It had better be, as five-minute runs will be next!

While out today I had an epiphany about what I should do for my mother's birthday, but I won't post it here in case she is reading this. She likely is. Hi, Mom, you're getting a cool birthday present this year! I like that running gives me time to think, and also to listen to some music. Oh, yes, and get in shape.

Week 3, Day 1

2008-06-17T17:59:00.004-04:00

Phew! Three minutes is a lot longer than 90 seconds! I made it through, though - many thanks to Garth Brooks and the Spice Girls for their help. One nice thing about this blog, I think, is that I will be able to read this entry in a few weeks and laugh at myself for thinking three minutes was long. But it was. So there, future self.

It was a nice run, although definitely the hardest one yet. In addition to the added running length, there was an excess of goose poop on the running path, which made for an extra obstacle. I also ran into a golden retriever on the path who had a huge stick in his mouth and looked so happy to have that stick. I also saw one man walking four little rat-dogs, and I think I saw a deer crossing the street, but I wasn't looking right at it and it was during my last 3-minute run, so I may have been hallucinating. A light rain started when I was about 3 minutes from my apartment, so that was a nice way to cool down.

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

*New South Africa / Live Art - Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (4:43)
*Stomping Grounds / Live Art - Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (5:26)
Bafferton Village / Walsh's Hornpipe // The Bells of Dublin - The Chieftans (1:24)
*Bookends / Greatest Hits - Simon & Garfunkel (1:21)
*Papa Loved Mama / The Ultimate Hits - Garth Brooks (2:52)
*Bless the Lord / Godspell Original Cast Recording (3:02)
*Wedding Day / Birger Olsen - Birger Olsen (1:38)
*Eliza / A Picture of Nectar - Phish (1:32)
*Wannabe / Spice - Spice Girls (2:53)
Beauty and the Mess / This Side - Nickel Creek (2:52)
Lochs of Dread / Live Art - Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (5:46)
Bigfoot / Live Art - Bela Flack & the Flecktones (7:33)

For a total of 40.9 minutes.

Week 3!

2008-06-17T15:29:00.002-04:00

I changed up the running a bit yesterday...I had to go up to campus to sign some papers, so I left my stuff in my office and ran home! It was a nice run, about 5 pm so not too hot. I was amazed that I was able to run 3 minutes! I think the music definitely helped. :)

Here's my route. For some reason the little map has a detour that isn't on my original google map? Anyway, there is no detour onto College! But otherwise this is basically where I ran...about 1.5 miles!!!

View Larger Map

Here's my music. I think it's my best music so far!

Narissa Arrives - Enchanted Soundtrack (1:34)
No Ceiling - Eddie Vedder (1:34)
Boyfriend - Ashlee Simpson (3:03)
Something Hot - Afghan Whigs (2:57)
The West Wing Theme Song (0:46)
The West Wing Theme Song (0:46)
All Over Me - Danger Flowers (1:43)
Good Love Never Dies - Liz Phair (2:59)
The First Cut Is the Deepest - Cat Stevens (3:01)

Hills (by which I mean "Slight Inclines")

2008-06-14T15:36:00.002-04:00

It's interesting how you notice teeny slight hills when you're running. I have always thought of my neighborhood as an extremely flat place (which it is). But, when running I have noticed that there are actually slight inclines depending which way you go. I can run down my street and it's basically totally flat the whole way. Or, I can go up and down side streets, which have a slight incline. It's amazing how much harder the "uphill" is and how much easier the "downhill" is! What a difference a few degrees makes. :) My housemate Jessie, who just started biking, says she has noticed the same thing on her bike--that she notices slight inclines that she'd never thought about before.

Week 2, Day 3

2008-06-14T15:16:00.004-04:00

I've reached the end of week 2! I'm always excited at the end of a week to try the next week. I get excited about the different time intervals and start looking at songs to include. Next week is especially exiting, because I am finally getting into times that are actually song lengths - 3 minutes of running, woo!

Today went well. It was beautiful out, so luckily I remembered sunscreen (SPF 75). I was only out for 45 minutes and was in the shade about 3/4 of the time, so I should be ok. I took a slightly different route that gave me different views of the lake, which was nice, but it was a much less level running surface, so I might not go that way too often. There were a lot of other people out running, walking, and biking, and I always like smiling at them as I pass.

I actually listened to music during my warm-up walk today as well, now that I know about how long it takes me to get to my starting point. I'm definitely going to try to do that from now on.

These songs are mostly the same as from my last run, but I kept them so I could actually listen to them this time :) I did a couple of changes, but they're all from my first run of the week, so there's still nothing completely new. The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

*While My Guitar Gently Weeps / The White Album - The Beatles (4:45)
*Blackbird / The White Album - The Beatles (2:18)
*Across the Universe / Let It Be ... Naked - The Beatles (3:38)
Bongo Confront / Return of the Candyman - Charlie Hunter & Pound for Pound (1:21)
*The Wicked Messenger / John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan (2:03)
*St. Andrew (This Battle is in the Air) / Icky Thump - The White Stripes (1:50)
*Road / Pink Moon - Nick Drake (2:03)
*Bafferton Village / Walsh's Hornpipe // The Bells of Dublin - The Chieftans (1:24)
***Them Good Ol' Fashioned Parallels - Walker Evans (1:58)
*Kevin Puts - Canyon for Solo Marimba 1. Toccata / Ritual Protocol - Makoto Nakura (1:23)
*Faust Arp / In Rainbows - Radiohead (2:10)
Chippewa / The Bribe - John Zorn (1:25)
*Deianara Crush / Sweden - The Mountain Goats (1:54)
*Gilly (Breakdown) / The Genius of the Electric Guitar - Charlie Christian & the Benny Goodman Sextet (1:32)
*Tonks Hunts a Leprechaun - Erin Grady (2:08)
*I'm So Tired / The White Album - The Beatles (2:03)
*Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da / The White Album - The Beatles (3:09)
*Let it Be / Let It Be ... Naked - The Beatles (3:54)

For a total of 40.8 minutes. Good songs this week :)

Sara's Running this Week

2008-06-13T15:01:00.003-04:00

Running this week has been pretty good so far. I ended up swapping out a song in my playlist (the "Homestar Runner Theme Song" for Patty Griffin's "Reprise") because I realized I needed something more upbeat at the end of my run, and this worked really well. Thanks to Erin for reminding me that Homestar Runner has short, fun songs!

I went running early on Tuesday because my parents were coming into town. Always tricky to do that because I want to eat something first but also don't want to be running on a full stomach. I had a little snack and that worked pretty well. My parents and I went up to Sonoma for wine tasting, but went hiking for a couple of hours first at the Jack London nature preserve. There was lots and lots of uphill, so I could tell my running muscles would be pretty sore. I skipped out on running Wednesday for that reason, and also because of my parents being in town (we went swimming at the beach in Santa Cruz).

Yesterday, I was at my office most of the day while my parents took off for Nevada. When I got home, I was so not in the mood for running, not least of which because it had been a pretty hot day. But, I finally pulled myself off my ass and went out, which was actually a good decision to wait since it had cooled off a lot. And, even despite missing the day before, I thought the run went well. It's interesting because I feel like it gets easier during a particular run...that is, the first song is really hard, and then by the last song I feel pretty good. Weird.

Week 2, Day 2

2008-06-11T23:11:00.002-04:00

Tonight was a night of firsts for me: first time running at night, and first time running with another person. Or, people, as the case may be.

My friend Sheena and her sister Yvonne are staying with us for the night as part of their road trip across the country. Sheena is actually the one who introduced me to SparkPeople, after Yvonne introduced her. In turn, I introduced Sara. So we are all connected in one big web of health. Anyway, Sheena and Yvonne are in town, and in the process of planning their stay Sheena mentioned how hard it was to get some good exercise done while on the road. Luckily for them, I was planning on running today, so I offered that we could all go running together. Also in the course of this conversation I discovered that Yvonne had done the Couch-to-5k program, finished successfully, and can now easily run for 15 minutes at a time even when she hasn't been in a while. Yay!

So we all went out to dinner to this new Japanese/Thai place that was delicious (I actually liked their curry!), then went shopping in some stores in Coventry (a cool neighborhood near where we live) where we got some heavily discounted earrings and centerpieces for Sheena's upcoming wedding, and came home for a run. By the time we left it was 9:15, so night had fallen. We were running in a safe area, though, with a running path away from the road but within eyesight, so especially with three of us we were still good-to-go. I liked running out of the sun, but I don't think I would go by myself at night. I need to find a local running buddy, maybe (no offense, Sara).

Running with others definitely made me push myself harder than I otherwise would. Yvonne definitely kicked all our bums, and I suspect Sheena could have kicked my bum as well but was sticking back with me for the camaraderie. But pushing myself was good. We even added an extra minute-long run at the end, because "Eye of the Tiger" came on Sheena's iPod and she was inspired.

We definitely had a talk about how SparkPeople was really the reason that all three of us wanted to go running tonight, because it had inspired us to live more healthful lives. Yay!

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And then we went back again, for a total of 2.9 miles. Ignore the little side-trip onto Coventry, we only went where the white dots are.

Since we were talking a little during the walking segments, it was a little hard to judge how good the songs were. But that was okay. I still enjoyed them. Especially Walker's contribution. I just think I might use mostly this same playlist on Friday. Except for the Squarepusher song - there wasn't really a tempo for most of it.

As always, aqua songs are running, navy are walking. This is all music from TJ's collection.

Bongo Confront / Return of the Candyman - Charlie Hunter & Pound for Pound (1:21)
The Wicked Messenger / John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan (2:03)
St. Andrew (This Battle is in the Air) / Icky Thump - The White Stripes (1:50)
Road / Pink Moon - Nick Drake (2:03)
Unreleased (3) / Burningn'n Tree - Squarepusher (1:28)
Them Good Ol' Fashioned Parallels - Walker Evans (1:58)
Latino Interactive / B-Side - Ikue Mori (1:30)
Faust Arp / In Rainbows - Radiohead (2:10)
Chippewa / The Bribe - John Zorn (1:25)
Deianara Crush / Sweden - The Mountain Goats (1:54)
Gilly (Breakdown) / The Genius of the Electric Guitar - Charlie Christian & the Benny Goodman Sextet (1:32)
Sonja / I Love Everybody - Lyle Lovett (2:00)
I'm So Tired / The White Album - The Beatles (2:03)*
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da / The White Album - The Beatles (3:09)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps / The White Album - The Beatles (4:45)

*I actually ran to 1:00 of this song while Sheena tried to sing "Eye of the Tiger." It's hard to sing while you're running, even if you have a masters degree in vocal performance.

Week 2, Day 1

2008-06-09T20:48:00.002-04:00

Well, I braved the heat. I would have gone sooner, had I known that it was actually about 20 degrees cooler outside than it was in my apartment. Boo for no air conditioning.

By the time I did end up going, the skies had gotten ominously overcast. I made it one song into my run when it started raining and I could hear thunder in the distance. The rain actually felt pretty good, but I didn't really want to get hit by lightning. So I altered my route a little.

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That's right, I ran up and down my block 6 times. Definitely not as fun as running around by the lake, but it more or less ensured that I didn't get caught in thunder for more than 1:30. I did manage to finish the whole run without further weather incident, although it sounds like the rain has since started to come down pretty hard and the thunder is getting louder. Good timing, I suppose.

Running for 90 seconds was noticeably different than running for 60. My body could definitely feel when it had been 60 seconds and requested to please stop running. But I told it who was boss. I'm hoping that by the end of the week 90 seconds will feel as easy as 60 did at the end of last week.

This playlist was a little easier to make than last weeks' - there are a lot more songs in the 90-120 second range than the 60-90. The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua.

*Bafferton Village / Walsh's Hornpipe // The Bells of Dublin - The Chieftans (1:24)
*I'm Walkin' / Rock N' Roll Era : 1957 - Fats Domino (2:11)
*Pastime with Good Company (King Henry VII) / Pastyme with Good Companye - Flying V (1:36)
*Ebudae / Paint the Sky with Stars - Enya (1:53)
The Flight of the Bumblebee (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) / Greatest Hits - Philadelphia Orchestra (1:26)
*One by One (Lebo M) / Lion King the Musical - Original Cast (1:54)
Hound Dog / Grease Soundtrack - Sha-Na-Na (1:25)
Eleanor Rigby / Revolver - The Beatles (2:08)
TROGDOR / Strongbad Sings and Other Type Hits - Strongbad (1:40)
*Tonks Hunts a Leprechaun - Erin Grady (2:08)
*Kevin Puts - Canyon for Solo Marimba 1. Toccata / Ritual Protocol - Makoto Nakura (1:23)
*Kpanlongo / Spring 2007 Concert - Case Concert Choir (2:06)
*The Luckiest / Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds (4:45)

For a total of 25.8 minutes.

It's getting hot in here...

2008-06-09T14:56:00.003-04:00

So today is supposed to be a running day. However:

So it may or may not happen. We don't want any passing out going on. Luckily, by 7 pm it should only be 87 and feel like 88, so that might be a little more manageable.

Also, today I received in the mail 3- and 5-lb handweights, which were a reward for meeting fitness and nutrition goals in May. Woo!
Today is supposed to be a running day for me, but unfortunately:

Week 2, Day 1

2008-06-09T14:36:00.002-04:00

This was my first day of week two...my muscles were definitely complaining by the end! It was a good run, though, albeit a little hot. Yesterday I went running in the evening, which was much cooler, so maybe I'll try to stick to mornings and evenings when I can from now on. Here is my "soundtrack" for this week:

West Wing theme song x2 (1:32)
Tonks Hunts a Leprechaun - Erin Grady (2:08)
Narissa Arrives - Enchanted Soundtrack (1:34)
Chief Sitting in the Rain - Yo Yo Ma et. al. (2:02)
L'Autre Valse D'Amelie - Yann Tiersen (1:33)
Speed the Plow Medley - Yo Yo Ma et. al. (1:58)
J'y Suis Jamais Alle - Yann Tiersen (1:34)
When You Wish Upon a Star (2:01)
Le Banquet - Yann Tiersen (1:31)
Angel theme song (1:59)
Reprise - Patty Griffin (1:20)
What's that I Hear - Phil Ochs (2:02)

For a total of 21.1 minutes. The best running song was definitely "Narissa Arrives" because it feels like you're running away from something evil the whole time. :)

Week 1, Rest Day

2008-06-09T01:33:00.003-04:00

I'm definitely excited to begin Week 2 of this program. I have Sara on board now, helping out and keeping me motivated as well as contributing to this blog. And she's shown me new things already, like that this is possible:

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This is where I'll be running tomorrow. It's a slight variation on the paths that I've been running before. It's nice to get to know the neighborhood a little better as I do this running thang. I've got my playlist all set and ready to go, too, but I will make you wait for that until after I've run it.

This coming week I will be running on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday if all goes well, so look for posts from me on those days (and maybe more!)

Hello!

2008-06-07T15:32:00.003-04:00

Hi, I'm Sara, Erin's friend from college, and I'll be running along with her. For me, it's definitely couch (read: lazing around in bed) to 5K! My comprehensive exam this past semester (I'm in a PhD program) really killed my will to live/exercise ;) and now that the semester is over and I don't have to walk 20 minutes to campus every day, I've really gotten bad about getting exercise. Erin has definitely inspired me to be more active this summer. :) The running to music has worked really well for me too (this was my third day), and is much more fun than other running I've done in the past. I've just been running around my neighborhood in Berkeley, CA, which is pretty flat and not too many folks on the sidewalk.

I'm also excited to try running. Everyone else in my family is a really impressive runner (especially my sister, who was in high school and college cross country and track)...in the past, I've gone to the Akron Children's Hospital 5K with them...and while everyone else was running the 5K and winning trophies, I would run/walk in the 1 mile "fun run". So here's to being able to run the 5K with them someday! At least all their running might mean I have the genes to be a runner even if I haven't succeeded in the past??

My goal for the summer is basically just to feel healthier...I feel good about my weight overall, but not about my ratio of muscles to fat...basically, I am about zero muscles right now. :) I've also noticed this past semester that I've been getting out of breath faster than I want to, so obviously running should be good for that. I've also been doing a little bit of strength training on our new Wii Fit and I want to keep that up and add some exercises that don't work on the Wii Fit (i.e. situps)...for that, I need to clean my room so I have a place to do them! I don't have too much going on this summer (I'm working part time and trying to study for comprehensive exam number 2 in the fall), so I'm going to pencil myself in for running every day, which may or may not actually happen. I figure that if I try for every day, I will at least run the 3 days required by the program! So far it has been working as I've run the past three days. I can actually feel it getting easier, so that's encouraging!

I don't seem to have very much "short" music, so what I did was make a 10 minute playlist and I play it twice through for my run. Not as exciting as Jazzerpat but it gets the job done. :) It's a funny mix of the Amelie soundtrack and the Into the Wild soundtrack, with the best song definitely being the West Wing theme song. The "presidential" sounding music is very inspirational and I can imagine I am Josh going for a run! I will have to figure out a way to incorporate it next week when I've graduated from the "run 1 minute" level.

Here's my playlist for this week, with running songs in red and walking songs in pink:

Photographs - Eddie Vedder (0:59)
L'Autre Valse D'Amelie - Yann Tiersen (1:33)
Tuolumne - Eddie Vedder (1:00)
Le Banquet - Yann Tiersen (1:31)
West Wing Theme Song (0:46)
Setting Forth - Eddie Vedder (1:40)
La Redecouverte - Yann Tiersen (1:13)
No Ceiling - Eddie Vedder (1:34)

Total Time: 10.2 minutes, to be played twice for 1 run/walk.

Here's where I've been running so far. According to Google Maps, it's about .8 miles each way for a total of 1.6 miles...not bad!

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Week 1, Day 3 + Rest Day

2008-06-07T00:43:00.007-04:00

I actually went out on Thursday for this session, but I haven't had a chance to blog about it until now. Yesterday and today were exceptionally busy - Thursday I did some tutoring in the morning, went running, took a class in the afternoon, and worked at night, never with more than half an hour down-time in the middle. Friday I went to school to help conduct an interview for my advisor's replacement, taught my last class to my preschool kiddies, and went to work, again with very few breaks. I just got home about 5 minutes ago. Phew!

This trend should continue for much of the weekend, too: working a morning/afternoon shift and then going to a party to celebrate the upcoming marriage of two of my friends (the ceremony is in Utah, so they're holding a local party for those who can't make it). Sunday I am conducting the church choir in the morning and working at night. I thought this was called vacation?

On the other hand, I feel really good about being active this summer, both physically and, erm, temporally. I don't feel like I'm overdoing it to the point of stress, but I do feel like I am actively involved in each day. As long as I get some time to myself eventually, it'll all be good.

Anyway, the run. This was a good one. One of my fears came true and I was spotted by someone I know (Nick, who is a fellow server at my restaurant). He drove by me in his car while I was running. Turns out he didn't think me pathetic at all, but rather it initiated a conversation in which I found out that he likes to run on the same path, and does something similar to my plan where he runs and walks in intervals! Now, instead of fearing being "discovered," I'm kind of hoping we'll run into each other on the path one day.

My first "best of" playlist worked really well. Jazzerpat knows what she's doing :)

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua. Only a few were new - those ones are marked with an asterisk. The new ones mostly worked well, although I still can't quite bring myself to enjoy Schubert lieder.

Wild Honey Pie / The White Album - The Beatles (1:01)
Eliza / A Picture of Nectar - Phish (1:32)
For the Mouse is a Creature of Great Personal Valour / Rejoice in the Lamb (Benjamin Britten) - My Conducting Recital, Sarah Allen, soloist (1:01)
Cigarette / Whatever and Ever Amen - Ben Folds Five (1:38)
I Think I Have a Chance with this Guy / Strongbad Sings and Other Type Hits - What's Her Face (0:56)
Bookends / Greatest Hits - Simon & Garfunkel (1:21)
Mr. Club / The New Romance - Pretty Girls Make Graves (0:48)
St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air) / Icky Thump - The White Stripes (1:50)
Flight of the Bumblebee from Tsar Saltan (Rimsky-Korsakov) / Live in Osaka - Eastman Wing Ensemble (1:12)
Sweet Sweet / Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins (1:39)
Introduction / Punch While Rap - Ill Mitch (1:06)
*Bums Interluding / Punch While Rap - Ill Mitch (1:40)
Over Hill, Over Dale (Vaughan Williams) (no clue who sings this, it was on a practice CD) (1:08)
*Fugue for Tinhorns - Guys & Dolls Soundtrack
They're Red Hot / Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1:12)
*Lachen und Weinen / Schubert Lieder - Judith Raskin (1:38)
Royal March from "l'Histoire du Soldat" / Make a Jazz Noise Here - Frank Zappa (0:59)
*Chichester Psalms - Movements i & ii - Leonard Bernstein (9:11)

Week 1, Rest Day

2008-06-04T23:45:00.002-04:00

So ideally in this program, you run 3 times a week making sure to give yourself a rest day between runs.

My life, however, makes this structure more difficult.

I work as a waitress in a very high volume sports bar. In a single shift, it's estimated that I burn 1600 calories. I wore a pedometer to my unusually short 4-hour shift on Sunday (we were slow) and I walked 10,000 steps. That's an active day's worth. So I'm usually quite tired enough as it is after a shift, and don't want to work out beforehand to fatigue my muscles any more than necessary.

I work 4 shifts a week in the summer, which would be perfect for this plan - I would run on the 3 days that I am not working. This is the general goal, and I'll do it most weeks.

But this week, my three days off have come right in a row: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I was going to just run those days anyway, but I could feel that my muscles were tired today and I didn't want to hurt anything. I'll find some time to get my third workout for the week in before the week is through. I will likely do it tomorrow morning after doing my theory tutoring, but before going to my summer class and working an evening shift. It will be a full day, but the only thing that might prevent my run is the projected thunderstorms. If it doesn't work out tomorrow, I will have a little time between teaching preschool and working at the restaurant on Friday.

Week 1, Day 2

2008-06-03T17:25:00.003-04:00

I made today's playlist entirely of TJ's music. Well, not quite entirely. There used to be two Deerhoof songs and a Tommy Makem song, but they were m4a's and don't play on non-iPod mp3 players. So I replaced them with some of my stuff that didn't quite make the cut yesterday.

I thin I'm going to do my weekly playlists Jazzerpat -style: two different playlists on days 1 and 2, and then a "best of" on day 3.

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua. Songs especially fitting for their purpose get an asterisk; songs that would have worked better for the opposite purpose get 2 asterisks.

Proceed with Caution / The Dillinger Escape Plan (Reissue) - Dillinger Escape Plan (1:03)
Sweet Sweet / Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins (1:39)
Inaktelki notak - Songs from Inaktelle / A Cappella Choral Works (Ligeti) - London Sinfonietta Voices (0:52)
Main Title / Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack - Randy Edelman (1:45)
Mr. Club / The New Romance - Pretty Girls Make Graves (0:48)
*Eliza / A Picture of Nectar - Phish (1:32)
Petite camusette / Josquin Desprez: Motets et Chansons - Hilliard Ensemble (1:02)
**Kevin Puts - Canyon for Solo Marimba 1. Toccata / Ritual Protocol - Makoto Nakura (1:23)
*Royal March from "l'Histoire du Soldat" / Make a Jazz Noise Here - Fran Zappa (0:59)
Steep / Billy Breathless - Phish (1:38)
*Wild Honey Pie / The White Album - The Beatles (1:01)
**St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air) / Icky Thump - The White Stripes (1:50)
Harry, You're a Beast / Make a Jazz Noice Here - Frank Zappa (0:48)
Mass for Five Voices 1-Kyrie (William Byrd) / Best of the Renaissance - The Tallis Scholars (1:27)
*They're Red Hot / Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1:12)
Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog / At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash (1:30)
You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want / Avenue Q Original Cast Recording (1:12)
*Chan Chan / Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club (4:18)
De Camino a La Verdea / Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club (5:04)

It started raining immediately upon my return home. This was good in one sense, but bad in the sense that we're off to an ourdoor James Taylor concert. :( Wish us a soggy but good time!

Week 1, Day 1

2008-06-03T02:40:00.003-04:00

So now that it's summer and all, I've had the time to actually work out a little. And I decided this week that maybe I hadn't given running a good enough shot at courting my favor. I've tried a few times, even going as far as going to captain's practices for my high school cross country team, but I could never manage to get into it. But I've had recent inexplicable urges to try it again, so I thought, "Heck, why not, it's free?"

I went for my first run on Friday. There's this really nice running/walking/biking path right by my apartment, so I used Google Maps to determine distances between certain landmarks. I was going to walk half a mile to the path, jog a mile down the path, and then walk the 1.5 miles home. My legs, unfortunately, had a different idea. Silly Erin decided to do her leg strength exercises right before going on her run, so of course my muscles were not too happy with my idea of making them run for a mile. Interestingly, though, even though my muscles gave up, I never got a stitch in my side or too terribly short of breath - my lungs could easily have finished the mile, I think, and that had always been my problem before. Yay for being in relatively good cardiovascular shape! When I got home I figured out that I had run for half a mile - not too shabby for my first go-round.

Anyway, I though that doing some interval training might be a better way to work up to running than just trying to push myself to a mile immediately. I decided to do the Couch-to-5k training plan, since I've heard good things about it on SparkPeople. Here, I encountered a bit of a problem. Running intervals, of course, requires that you can time what you're doing. While I love my watch, it doesn't have any fancy features like a stopwatch, or even a digital display. I came up with the alternate idea of making playlists with songs of the appropriate lengths, so I could switch modes when the song changed.

Here, I think, may be the difference between running now and running in the past - I've never done it with music before. I went today for my first programmed run, and it was definitely 20 times more enjoyable.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my running playlist with you. Week 1 of the program has me running for 60 seconds then walking for 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes.

The walking songs are in navy, the running ones are in aqua. I added a few walking songs at the end because I wanted to go for more than 20 minutes. Songs I felt worked particularly well for their purpose get an asterisk!

*The Avenue Q Theme / Avenue Q Original Cast Soundtrack (1:05)
Dulaman (Michael McGlynn) / ACDA 2005 - Bentonville High School Chamber Choir (1:45)
*For the Mouse is a Creature of Great Personal Valour / Rejoice in the Lamb (Benjamin Britten) - My Conducting Recital, Sarah Allen, soloist (1:01)
*Bookends / Greatest Hits - Simon & Garfunkel (1:21)
The Arrival of the Wren Boys / The Bells of Dublin - The Chieftans (1:00)
*Cigarette / Whatever and Ever Amen - Ben Folds Five (1:38)
Berliner Messe - Erster Alleluiavers (Arvo Part) / I Am the True Vine - ProArte Singers (1:03)
Hallelujah / Rejoice in the Lamb (Benjamin Britten) - King's College Choir (1:22)
*I Think I Have a Chance with this Guy / Strongbad Sings and Other Type Hits - What's Her Face (0:56)
Kom! (Monica Aslund) / Spring 2006 Concert - Case Concert Choir (1:34)
*Flight of the Bumblebee from Tsar Saltan (Rimsky-Korsakov) / Live in Osaka - Eastman Wing Ensemble (1:12)
If Ye Love Me / Pastyme with Good Companye - Flying V (1:32)
*Introduction / Punch While Rap - Ill Mitch (1:06)
Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise) / Grease Soundtrack - Olivia Newton-John
*Over Hill, Over Dale (Vaughan Williams) (no clue who sings this, it was on a practice CD) (1:08)
Ite Missa Est - Deo gratias / Machaut - Messe de Notre Dame - Ensemble Organum (1:20)
*Under African Skies / Leaving Lights - Mark & Tara Franklin (3:21)
*Roseville Fair / Leaving Lights - Mark & Tara Franklin (4:18)
*Wildflower Song / Leaving Lights - Mark & Tara Franklin (3:20)
Leaving Lights / Leaving Lights - Mark & Tara Franklin (5:40)
Lights of Lousianne / Leaving Lights - Mark & Tara Franklin (3:51)

Now, having assembled playlists such as these to take me clear into July, I needed to get some way of playing them. So I broke down and bought a cheap 1gig mp3 player. My iPod Touch will have to wait. This is really cool, though, especially for $15. Definitely sufficient for my purposes here!

So I'm optimistic about the 10 weeks ahead for this running program. I'm hoping I stick to it. Hopefully committing myself to posting my weekly playlists will help give me some motivation. More motivation - running with my brother when I go to MA in July, at which point I should be up to 2.5 miles. But, at very least, I have an mp3 player now. Yay!