The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. I’m off schedule, but this is the results of the workout for week one, day three. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Results: I completed the workout. As with the prior workouts, my pace was slower than prescribed. Other things changed this time also. I was outside instead of on the treadmill. According to RunKeeper Free, the mileage was quite a bit longer at 1.54 miles. But, this wasn’t from running more. I ran less and walked faster. My average speed was at 3.11 mph. My walking speed was about twice as fast as before. But, the runs did not go well this time. As before, I cut the first couple of runs short and resumed walking early. The third run was the last for this workout. With the varying terrain of the path I was following, a run happened to coincide with an uphill slope. Even though it was a gradual slope, trying to run up the slope wiped me out. My breathing and heart rate were fine. But, the achilles burn did not go away this time, though it, too, changed somewhat. Instead of just burning along the achilles tendons, the burns were more in the calf muscles and a little along the shins. I think muscle burns are better than tendon burns. Maybe that part is going in the right direction. It just wasn’t a fun workout today, though it was good getting exercise. Being outside was a nice change and let me compare my response to different surfaces. I started barefoot on the grass beside an asphalt walking path. This lasted through the warmup and first interval. Then, I entered some trees and transitioned to my Vibram Five Fingers on the asphalt path. Later, I alternated between the path and the grass beside it. Another contributing factor to my impression of the workout is that I haven’t felt well today. Yesterday, a spasm started in my back that remained to plague me. Then, today, I had various pains along the bones in my right side. These included my ankle, various parts of my knee, my hip and even a tooth. I’m not sure what caused it, but they ebbed and flowed throughout the day. Maybe it is just the onset of arthritis aggravated by some approaching storms. Still, I tried to do my workout and completed the time. That was good. My average speed was quite a bit faster. I liked that, but it had consequences also. My left foot now has a couple of blisters, one on the bottom of the big toe and another in the middle of the foot pad. Though painful and aggravating, I am not depressed about the way it ended. I just think I need to take it slower than I originally expected and slower than the program. I’m not sure how long the blisters will take to heal and whether I will be able to work out in a couple of days. But, as soon as I can, I will continue my workouts. I do expect the first week workouts to be repeating for a while. Before I can move to longer runs, I need to at least be able to complete the runs at this level. It will likely come with time. I just need to persist at it for a while longer. I knew going in that this would not be a quick process. What was run down over decades would not be rebuilt overnight. The rebuild is progressing.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week one, day two. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Results: I completed the workout.  As with the prior workout, my pace was slower than prescribed.  But, it was still a little faster than before.  I ended the workout at just over a mile, this time at 1.13.  I still had the achilles burn during the run segments, though different than before.  The burning feeling was not as intense.  Instead, there was just more tightness.  To complement this, my shins also began to ache.  The result was that I resumed walking before the end of the run segments as I did before.  Still, something must be going right.  I did go further this time than before and my breathing was still okay. I ran barefoot on the treadmill again and listened to Robert Ullrey’s podcast again.  I didn’t use the timer app this time, just the podcast. It seems I’m always forgetting something when I workout.  I really hope it does not become a habit.  I did remember to do the stretch before running this time.  I did the five minute warmup walk and then did a few stretches before beginning the run/walk intervals.  But, I forgot to wear the heart monitor.  I felt fine, though, and think I did okay.  But, I don’t really know for sure.  That’s what the monitors are for, right?  You get that comfort factor from knowing the numbers. I changed my diet a bit before this workout.  I drank more water to hydrate while I was working my desk job during the day.  And, I had a couple of avocado sandwiches for lunch.  That was tasty and provided some carbs.  For  an afternoon snack, I munched on a few dates for some more carbs.  That should be healthy enough and should have provided a good preparation for the workout.  Breakfast and dinner are more protein and less carbs. Another good workout is over.  My achilles seem to have mostly recovered.  My shins are still achy, though.  I think I’ll go ice them.

a personal technology profile

Last updated: 6/11/2009

My resume documents many of the technologies I have worked with professionally, but provides just a few personal aspects. This page sheds some light on the more personal side of my passion with technology with a touch on the professional side.

In my twenty plus years as a software developer, I have used and have been (and still am) willing to work with a wide variety of technologies. My home network, mentioned on my resume, is an example of this. I have Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The Linux systems I have are primarily used for servers, though I have used and am open to using them as desktop systems. I do not use desktop Linux as much now simply because I have a better Unix-based desktop in my Mac OS X laptops. I use both my OS X and Windows laptops on a daily basis depending on what I am working on at the moment. This message was composed on the Mac, though it could just as easily have been on the Windows laptop. I am very comfortable with and enjoy using both systems.

After twenty-plus years as a software developer, basically living at a desk, I am not in the physical shape I would like to be.  I recently came across a program that can help to correct this problem.  It is the “Couch to 5K” program from the Cool Running web site.  As the name suggests, it is designed to help you go from the couch to running 5K (3 miles) in just over two months.  In spite of where I am starting from, an almost completely sedentary lifestyle, the level of progress shown in the scheduled should be doable, I hope.  I will try to log my progress through the program.  Someday in the future, I hope to be able to look back on this and marvel at how far I’ve come.  I hope to be about sixty pounds lighter by then, too.  It’s good to set goals.  Of course, there is a lot of work between now and then. For others looking to start a similar program, another good resource is the C25K web site.  There is a forum for commiseration and progress tracking.  The main C25K page also lists some good resources like podcasts to use during the workout.  They provide a way to signal you when to change pace.  There are also some running tools, info, and what to do after the 5K.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks.  This is the results of the first workout, week one, day one. Program:  Brisk five-minute warmup walk.  Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.  Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Results: Yeah!  I completed the first workout.  My pace was slower than prescribed.  I did more of a slow walk than a brisk walk and my fastest run was about 6 mph.  I ended the workout just under a mile at 0.95.  My breathing was heavy, though not overly strained.  My heart rate was good, above the threshold and comfortably below the maximum.  The biggest problem I had was with my achilles tendon, from just above my ankle to just below the calf muscle.  It began to burn during the jog segments of the second half of the intervals.  As a result, after 30-40 seconds of jogging, when the burn got too intense, I reduced speed to a walk early.  But, I still managed to finish the program. To avoid worrying about traffic and possibly collapsing too far from home, I ran barefoot on the treadmill in my basement.  For timing, I used Robert Ullrey’s podcast, played with the Routine Timer iPhone app, and kept an eye on the treadmill timer. A contributing factor to the achilles burn may be that I forgot to stretch before the workout.  When I stretched afterwards, the achilles did not hurt.  So, it should be okay going forward.  I suspect the achilles burn is from running barefoot and landing mid-foot instead of using the heel-strike common when running while wearing shoes.  I think the achilles burn may be overcome more easily than the shin splints of heel striking, at least I hope so. Overall, it was good first workout.  But, as a geek making a change from nothing to something, I almost wish there was a week zero to get started more easily.  It’s all uphill from here; should be good.