The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week three, day three. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then two repeats of: 90 seconds of jog, 90 seconds walk, 3 minute jog, three minute walk. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 134 bpm and peaked at 157 bpm. I did 1.75 miles in 31:24 for an average speed of 3.35 mph. I started off fast (for me), which may explain the slightly longer distance. But, I then had to push to keep going through the remaining run segments. The second ninety second and last half of the second three minute run segments were the hardest. Though I had to push and was glad when they were over, I ran a little more anyway. My shoes for today were my Vibram FiveFinger Classics. As is my norm with these, I did not wear socks. The FiveFingers are minimalist shoes and I had been wanting to try running barefoot. But, I had been reluctant to do it earlier because of worry that it might interfere with my workout. Today, I decided to try it out. After the last three minute segment, I pulled off the VFFs and ran an extra minute barefoot on cement sidewalks. It felt fine, not much different than with VFFs. As the form is the same, this makes some sense. When I reached the end of the sidewalk, I stopped running and took a right. This led me through the grass of a park beside another street. The cool grass felt great! So, when it was time to cut across the street and toward my house, I left off the VFFs and completed the cool-down barefoot. It was easier than I had thought it would be and my feet were fine. Week three is complete. The second two workouts of week three seemed harder than those of the week two, but I was better prepared mentally to push through them. I suspect I will need this new found ability even more in the weeks ahead.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week three, day two. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then two repeats of: 90 seconds of jog, 90 seconds walk, 3 minute jog, three minute walk. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 135 bpm and peaked at 158 bpm. I did 1.70 miles in 31:25 for an average speed of 3.24 mph. This is the same distance and a few seconds longer than W2D3. I made sure the iPhone had a good charge before starting. It was good to have the interval reminders again. Though I had two and a half minutes less running this time than what I did for W3D1, the time and distance were about the same. To keep my duration about the same, I walked the extra time as part of my cool-down. I ran slow today. It seemed harder. Perhaps I stretched too much. I received my copy of Mattes’ Active Isolated Stretching book and tried out some of the calf and leg stretches before the workout. Maybe I overdid it a little.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week three, day one. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then two repeats of: 90 seconds of jog, 90 seconds walk, 3 minute jog, three minute walk. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Result: I completed the workout, but not exactly as planned. It lasted 31:14. My heart rate averaged 131 bpm and peaked at 153 bpm. The distance and average speed are unknown. I think the distance was about the same, though I can only guess as the route was slightly different than before. I wasn’t sure how this workout would end, whether it would be pass or a fail. After the first run segment, my iPhone shut off. The next walk segment was extended while I tried to get it working again. No dice. If I was going to finish this workout, it would be without iPhone assistance, no RunKeeper and no Ullrey podcast to help out. Thankfully, I still had my Garmin Forerunner 50 HR monitor watch. Okay. Now, where am I in the program. What was the program anyway? I wasn’t quite sure. It is easy to follow along with a podcast. You don’t really need to worry about the specifics of the program; just listen to the music and follow the verbal instructions as you go along. But, when you lose that crutch part of the way through a workout, you have to scramble and start calculating. Do math while I’m huffing and puffing? You’ve got to be kidding. For a little while, I considered just doing something, anything and considering this as W3D0 if I couldn’t get it right. Then, I started trying to remember a bit more. I knew roughly what the program was supposed to be. I had already run one 90 second segment. So, I started over, sort of. Here is approximately how things turned out:

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week two, day three. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Result: I completed the workout as planned. I did 1.70 miles in 31:21 for an average speed of 3.25 mph. My heart rate averaged 140 bpm and peaked at 164 bpm. I normally do my workouts in the evenings. Today, I decided to do it earlier as the temperature is supposed to rise another twelve degrees by the time I would normally workout. It had rained most of the morning and thunderstorms are due later this afternoon and evening. So, the humidity is up. I forgot to do my stretches before starting. By the fifth run segment, my calves and achilles were burning. By the sixth run segment, I very much wanted to stop. But, I’ve been through this before and knew I could keep going and finish the workout. So, I did. Ah, the lessons taught by a little extra pain. Week two is completed. Onward and upward.

The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week two, day two. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Result: I completed the workout as planned. I did 1.74 miles in 31:10 for an average speed of 3.35 mph. My heart rate averaged 137 bpm and peaked at 163 bpm. My speed was up just a little, though my heart rate was down just a little. I like it. It had been raining on and off all day and the temperature was in the mid-60s. I had not done a workout in the rain yet and decided to run outside anyway. My iPhone is still being used for Robert Ullrey’s podcast and the RunKeeper Free app. To protect the iPhone from moisture, I wrapped it in a zip lock sandwich bag and flipped it upside down in my pocket so the cord came out the bottom. That would provide some protection in case the rain got heavy. The rain stayed light throughout the workout and the iPhone stayed dry. I didn’t. Most of my shirt was wet when I got home, but I think it was nice being out in the rain. I would rather be cooler and wet than dryer and hot. Of course, if it is hot enough, I’m not dry then either. Because of the wet ground, I varied my route again to avoid most of the grass. I spent more time on the cement sidewalks and did an out and back on the asphalt path beside the lake. This route change contributed to the extra burn I felt this time compared with the W2D1 workout. My warm-up walk ended and the first run segment began while I was still on the sidewalk. The run felt so easy I went faster than I should. It’s not fast overall, just fast for me. Though the majority of my run segments were a little under 5 mph, the first run segment was just under 6 mph. This isn’t much of a difference, but I think it is why I felt the muscle burn sooner and more than on the W2D2 workout. Just as I finished the fifth run segment, I come upon a park bench beside the path. It was so, so tempting to just sit down and rest. Fighting the urge, I sped up my walk instead and ended the last run segment as fast as the first. Another good workout is done.