Update on the Runnins

I completed Week 4 Day 2 of the C25K running plan earlier tonight, which puts me at about the halfway mark.  I’ll be honest…this week isn’t easy.  My legs get very tired, and my lung capacity starts to close up toward the end of the longer running intervals, particularly the final one, because of exercise-induced asthma.  I’ve only used my inhaler twice, now, and I can’t really tell if it’s helped, yet, but I’ll be using it before every session from now on since the workouts are becoming more intense.  Week 5 scares me.  It starts out with 3 intervals of 5-minute runs on Day 1, and ends with a straight 20-minute run on Day 3.  If I can successfully get through that week, it’ll be a turning point in my confidence in getting through the program.  If all goes according to plan, I’ll have made it through the whole thing by around March 19th or 20th.  Then, it’ll be time to transition to running outside, build back up to 30 minutes, then work on distance to get to that 3.1mile mark (ideally, a bit more, to compensate), and, finally, to increase speed and get my time down.  And, by then, it’ll be pretty close to time for the 5K.

Can I imagine myself running for 30, or even 20, or 10 minutes straight at any speed?  Nope.  But, then again, a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d even be capable of running 2 sets of 3 and 5-minute intervals.  I’ve been going slowly.  I jog at 4.6-4.7mph and walk at around 3mph.  But, I know that’s my limit, right now, in order to get through the runs.  My ultimate goal is to get up to 6mph runs, which would put me at 10-minute miles.  But, really, I just want to be able to finish the 5K and show my support, slow or not.  I want to be able to tell myself that I did something I never could have imagined I could do, and I want to share that with the person who motivated and inspired me to start, and to strive for something that is benefiting my health, my self-confidence/sense of worth, and people who suffer from blood cancers, like my grandfather had.  Maybe, the research conducted as a result of this grant won’t directly lead to a breakthrough cure.  But, maybe it will.  Or, maybe, it’ll be a stepping stone.  Or, maybe, nothing of clinical use will come of it.  But, it’s that process of trying and continuing to try that really gives any of us a chance at anything, and the fact that there are things to be discovered along the journey that are of their own significance is even more reason to do so.

Fundraising starts this upcoming Thursday and runs through almost to the end of April.  The number I have in my mind right now for my own personal goal is 500.  That could even go up, depending on whether others join in on the fundraising.  When the page is up, I’ll throw a link up on OD.  

I’ll probably end up writing a sappy letter to Kina when I’m finally running my 30 minutes outside.  I’m thinking of giving her something when I see her in April, though I don’t know what, yet.  I feel like I need to do something to show my gratitude.  Maybe, by that time, I’ll have learned guitar well enough that I can write a song dedicated to her and play/record it, ha.  Speaking of which, learning guitar is hard.  I have to bend my fingers in ways they just don’t bend.  Hope they adapt, soon.  And, wish I didn’t have school impeding me from practicing as much as I wish I could

In other news, I’ve been hiccuping on and off all day.  ALL.  DAY.  What’s up with that shit?