Just Keep Going

If you are fan of my wife's blog, you know all about our latest excercise program. She and I have been running the workout system for the Couch to 5K program from Coolrunning.com. This program allows you to slowly work up from no running to being able to run 5k (or 30 minutes straight) over the span of 9 weeks.

The workouts start easy. Week one is 3 workouts on nonconsecutive days of a 5 minute walk, 8 cycles of 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking, followed by a 5 minute cool down walk. Week two has the same warmup and cool down walks of 5 minutes (this is consistant through all the weeks), and 3 workouts of 6 cycles of 90 seconds running and 2 minutes walking.

Week 5 runs you through day 1 being three 5 minutes runs with a 3 minute walk in between, day 2 being two 8 minute runs with a 5 walk in between. Day three is a major killer with a 20 minute run with no walking break.

45 minutes ago, I finished week 5 day 3. I survived my 20 minute run. I am a runner!

All day long I psyched myself up (or was it out?) to try to pull off this run. It has been 19 years since a couple of track practices my senior year of high school which were the last time I ran 20 minutes without stopping. Since that time I have completed college, worked several menial back breaking jobs, worked one deadend career position for 10 years, met my wife, had kids, put on about 60 pounds (I was an absolute twig in HS), eaten about 30 billion calories and 600 million fat grams, drank 14 olympic swimming pools of regular Mt. Dew (I DON'T do diet soda), done virtually no physical activity for the sake of "exercise", and suffered a stroke at age 22. I truly doubted my body could survive a 20 minute run- at least not in one piece.

Guess what...despite the torture and self-destruction I have caused my body over the years, I made it through the pinnacle 20 minute run workout of C25K. I feel pretty good about it...right now at least. We'll see how I feel in the morning. That is, if I make it to the morning.

If I don't, I leave everything to my wife...except my credit card bills. I leave those to the guy who came up with couch to 5k. I hope he appreciates it.

Defying gravity

2 months, 13 days, and still flying high. Sir M had a birthday party on the 19th of April. My job on the day before was to stop by the Rantoul IGA to pickup the birthday cake for the shindig (btw--this is THE place for cakes in the area...no other place is even close to their quality. Get the bettercreme whipped frosting, and remember who sent ya). While waiting for the cake, Sir M decided he wanted a pre birthday gift--a power rangers mylar balloon. He picked that balloon from the center of about 50 balloons on the ceiling. It took me two minutes to even find the balloon he was pointing at. I bought it though, figuring I was wasting 3.99 as most likely that balloon would make a break for the open sky as soon as we left the store. It didn't-- we made it to the car and made it home, and through the party throughthe week, and on into the next month. As I blog, that crazy mylar balloon with the power rangers picture on it is STILL flying in our living room. Red Ranger-FULL POWER!!

Anybody have a recent copy of the Guiness Record Book? What is the record for longest flying power ranger mylar balloon? I think I have a contender...