Week 3 Wrapup

Next week's running schedule had me going to 4 runs of 5 minutes each, with 2.5 minutes of walking between. That's a far cry from the 3 minutes running/3 minutes walking I was doing this week. I feel like the running I did this week was okay, although I was struggling a little. I feel like I could do 5 minutes, but I don't know for sure if I could do 5 minutes 4 times. And, I feel like the 3 minute runs should feel easier if I'm going to be able to jump to 5 minutes next week.

I had a couple of other concerns as well. For one, Becki's been going out with me most nights. She can't go every night, though, because of her other motherly obligations and claimed need for sleep. I'd prefer that she still be able to go out with me as often as she can for as long as I'm doing this. So, I didn't want to ramp up so fast that she felt like she was going to fall behind because of her intermittent participation.

My other concern is just for my own body. I really actually like running. Before, once I got past the remedial training and got to the point where I could run for an hour, I really started enjoying myself. I had the "runner's high" and everything. If I can get to the point where I can run a decent distance again, I'd like to be able to keep it up, but I can't if I injure myself. I've been living as a fat man for my whole adult life, and it may have been taking a toll on my knees and other parts. For all I know, I may only have another 5 years that I actually can be a runner before my knees give out. I'd like to do what I can to maximize my body's usefulness during the time I actually have left, and that means playing it safe and ramping up kind of slow.

So, because of all that, I'm flunking myself this week, and deciding to repeat this week of the running schedule again with just the following changes: I'm only allowing 2.5 minutes walking between runs, since that's all I'll get when I jump ahead to the following week, and I'll add a couple of 4 minute and 5 minute runs at the end of the week to try to build up more for the following week.

The good news is that the new shoes are working great. I don't have even remotely the amount of shin splint trouble I used to. I can't say for sure that it's the shoes, but I'm just glad I don't have to overdose on the ibuprofen any more.