Let’s do an update!!!

When I last wrote I had repeated weeks 1 & 2 of the C25k training plan and started on week 3.

I have now completed week 3 and did a “bridge week” or week 3.5 I’m calling it.

Week 3 workouts were all the same:

• 5 minute brisk walk to warm up
• 90 seconds running
• 90 seconds walking
• 3 minutes running
• 3 minutes walking
• Repeat the above (minutes warm-up) twice

Week 4 felt like a big jump from the above because week 3 was a total of just 9 minutes of running (in 90 second and 3 minute chunks) and week 4 workout is 16 minutes total running between 3 and 5 minute chunks.

And from my previous post here, remember I’m taking things slow now, believing that I’ll be stronger later with no issues 😊

For week 3.5 I did week 3 and repeated it three times instead of just twice. That equaled 13.5 minutes of running.

Happy to say yesterday (July 4th) I did the first workout of week 4!

Week 4 workouts again are all the same and the workout consists of:

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk
• 3 minutes running
• 90 seconds walking
• 5 minutes running
• 2.5 minutes walking
• 3 minutes running
• 90 seconds walking
• 5 minutes running

For this one (first workout of week 4 above) on July 4th, I hit up the nearby Nick’s Creek Greenway early just after 630am before the sun popped up. I didn’t see another soul and other than it being quite buggy it was quite an enjoyable run. I did a longer walk to warm-up as it was a 10 minute walk to get to the trail and same for after I finished the above workout.

I’m slowly chipping away building back. It’s hard at times not to think back to a time where, heck, an hour run getting in 7 miles was easy. Now I’m excited to be up to running at 5 minutes a time for a total of 16 minutes a workout.

I am going to keep on believing though that I will get there. I’m working on staying focused on the “long-game.”

Last weekend I spent most of it (other than my workouts) on the couch watching the coverage of the Western States Endurance Run (WSER) on YouTube. WSER is a 100 mile trail race that is point-to-point from Squaw Valley, CA to Auburn, CA.

I tell ya if you need some inspiration or motivation check out some of these events. I was following Sally McRae aka Yellowrunner. She’s much more than an incredible athlete. Check out her book and podcast titled Choose Strong.

Here’s a link to an article with incredible photos to give you the vibe – The 2024 Western States 100 in Pictures .

I sometimes wonder why there’s a part of me that is just so drawn to them. I’m in awe of these runners and can’t tell you how many ounces I shed in tears.

I dream to do events like this, maybe even WSER, although it is incredibly tough to get into even via the lottery. I have a friend who it took 11 years to finally gain an entry.

And as I sit here after writing that, it seems quite audacious. Maybe back in 2013 it would have been more plausible when I was in Ironman shape and weighed 50lbs less.

However I’m at a point I have to keep working each day toward these goals. I’ve contemplated quitting the “whole running thing” and just can’t. And while it seems audacious to be dreaming about events like these I will keep on dreaming.

Part of it I think is seeing how far and how much we are capable of.

I also love being outdoors and know nature is incredibly healing for me.

And movement, movement is another huge piece for me, mentally and physically, to feel good and be me.

What is it for you? That makes you feel good, feel healthy, happy, free, and whole?