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.

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.