The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week two, day one. 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 1.71 miles in 31:08 for an average speed of 3.29 mph. My heart rate averaged 141 bpm and peaked at 166 bpm. After a bit more research into the anaerobic threshold and the Karvonen formula, perhaps this range is just about right for me. The peak was just a little way into the anaerobic area. I still wore my Vibram Five Fingers for the workout, though I did change my workout path. For my prior workouts outside, I drove to and from a park half an hour away to use the nice wide asphalt bicycle path. For this workout, I decided to try to loop around the lake in a park a couple of blocks from my front door. It has an asphalt trail up the east side of the lake and a street with sidewalk on the west side. There were some changes that made one section more difficult. There is a section of grass on the south end, along a main east-west street, between the trail and street on the west side of the lake. If this section had a paved sidewalk, it would be a little easier on the feet. With minimalist footwear, I land harder on grass than on cement or asphalt. I delayed attempting this route until now because I was not sure I could make it all of the way around the lake park. Now, I know I can. Parts of the workout were a small struggle. I think the apparent amount of struggle may reduce as my capabilities increase. I was expecting the move from the week one level to the week two level to be more difficult. I guess that comes later.

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 nine. No, there is not supposed to be a day nine. Technically, this is the week one day three, repeated for the third time. 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 intended. I ran all eight of the sixty second run segments. The week one level is finally completed. I did 1.67 miles in 29:22 for an average speed of 3.41 mph. My heart rate averaged 139 bpm and peaked at 159 bpm. I would have preferred a lower average, one well down into the aerobic range. When looking at my HR graph at Garmin Connect web site, I could see the distinct rise for the run segments and the fall for the walk segments. In only two of the walk segments between the run segments did my heart rate fall back into the aerobic range. The run segments were all into the anaerobic range. This isn’t good. I would rather be burning fat than sugar. The RunKeeper graph wasn’t what I would like either. On the W1D8 graph, there were distinct speed increases for the run segments and speed drops for the walk segments. That wasn’t the case this time. The speed of the first three run segments were easily distinguishable from the speed of the adjacent walk segments. With the remaining run and walk segments, I could not tell from the speed graph which was a run segment and which was a walk segment. The speeds were too close together. Compared with the prior workout, I was walking faster and running slower. Perhaps that explains the overall average speed being higher than the last workout. I need to work on keeping my run speeds up and walking speeds lower. Still, it was a good cardio workout and a milestone completed.

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 eight. No, there is not supposed to be a day eight. Technically, this is the week one, day two, repeated for the third time. 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 intended. I ran all eight of the sixty second run segments. It was as it should be, doable with some effort applied. I did 1.56 miles in 29:02 for an average speed of 3.22 mph. My heart rate averaged 129 bpm and peaked at 151 bpm. These numbers include the warm-up and cool-down periods. Though a bit slower and with a lower average heart rate, this was a good thing. I tried to run a little slower in order to keep my heart rate more in the aerobic zone instead of the anaerobic zone. The run segments still raised it into anaerobic zone, but the average was in the right area. I think I’m on the right track.

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 seven. No, there is not supposed to be a day seven. Technically, this is the week one day one, repeated for the third time. 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 intended. I ran all eight of the sixty second run segments. As is usual with just starting a program, it wasn’t easy. I finally feel that I am actually at the week one day one level. I did 1.64 miles in 29:41 for an average speed of 3.31 mph. My heart rate averaged 137 bpm and peaked at 161 bpm. These numbers include the warm-up and cool-down periods. My right calf was still feeling tight and I considered not doing the workout. But, I was afraid that if I didn’t get started again, I wouldn’t start again. I decided to try to do the workout and see what happened. I did my stretching and the warm-up walk. After the first run segment, I was feeling beat, my achilles and calves were starting to feel tight again, and I was ready to call it a day. But, I didn’t. During the walk segment, I stopped for a few seconds and did a quick stretch of the calves. That helped a little, just enough to do another run segment and then another and another. Before long, I had made it through run segment six and only had two more to go. It was a push to make it through the next two. The runs had been getting slower and so were the walks. I felt about ready to fall over, but managed to keep going. Unlike the earlier workouts, there was not a lot of pain. I just felt worn out. I guess this is what we are supposed to be learning, how to continue when we would rather not. Though I didn’t feel up to it, I successfully made it through the workout. Maybe this will be the week I finally complete week one.

This was an odd one. In my prior workout, I successfully completed a workout at the week one level with sixty second runs and ninety second walks. I found out this morning that I am not yet ready for the week two level. It was supposed to be very hot today, with temperatures in the mid-nineties. As I type this, it is still 91F. With the predicted temperatures, I decided to do my first week two level workout in the morning instead of the evening. This was bad on several levels. I had only completed one week level workout, not the normal three. I was moving up too quickly. Having a morning workout instead of an evening workout reduced my rest between workouts by twelve hours. The temperature may have be lower in the morning, but not by much and the humidity was much higher. When I got back to the car this morning, the temperature was 85F and humidity was 80%, not a comfortable combination. The combination of factors resulted in me almost completing one week two level ninety second run and starting a couple more. At that point, I realized it wasn’t a good idea and started the cool-down walk on the way back to the car. I still wanted to have a full workout for the day just to keep up regular exercise, but doing it outside wouldn’t work today. On the way home, I stopped at another community recreation center. They have a gym with some treadmills and another track. This track has a slightly different design than the other one. The corners have a diagonal and are less cambered. Though it this one is also above the courts, the railing is solid instead of open. And, with the air conditioner vents staggered around the perimeter, the cool air coming in doesn’t immediately fall to the courts. It was much more comfortable. Best of all, the track was free. After work, I went and tried the track and got a little bit more of a week one level workout in. As I had only been using my VFFs for my workouts and the last workout on a track had hard landings, I decided to try the New Balance 991s that I use to wear. It wasn’t a good idea. I know that heel striking is very bad on knees. I tried to avoid it and use a posture more like I did with the VFFs. It did not work as well as I would have liked. As expected, there was a more cushioned landing, but the heel got in the way. After half a dozen laps, my right calf was tightening up and I was on the way to a limp. I aborted before it got that far. I need to take some time before my next workout to let my calf recover. I also need to try out a good treadmill before I spend the money to upgrade mine. I think the next workout should be week one level on a treadmill in my VFFs. With all of the variety of surfaces, shoes, VFFS without and with socks, I need to get some consistency into my workouts. Perhaps I can do that on the treadmill, or not.