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though week six has had its challenges (the flu, for example), i finally made it through.
couch-to-5k is moving right along, and here's week six.

day one [5.19.12]:
decided to follow a slow saturday at work with an hour at the gym.  it was my second attempt at week six, day one and it went much better this time!  i actually quite enjoyed it, and realize how much i've missed running.  i ended with 10 minutes of high resistance elliptical goodness, then decided to call it a night.

i am coming at this challenge with a renewed commitment to making it happen.  i really enjoy running and i know i'm supposed to go further than this.  not only that, but i can, and i will.  i just have to get back into the routine of running every other day.  once i can do that, it will be smooth sailing for the remaining few weeks.  here we go!

day two [5.21.12]:
after dinner, i slipped on my running shoes and headed to the gym.  i was psyched for day two, which involves 10 minutes of running, then 3 minutes of walking, then 10 more minutes of running.

so i started up the app and began the warm up walk.  five minutes later, the running portion started.  i hit my stride and found a rhythm relatively early on.  i was feeling pretty awesome when about halfway through, the app told me to start walking... what?  i knew it had only been five minutes, not ten, so i checked the app.

wrong day.  oops.  i gave myself thirty seconds for a break, then started over from the warm up walk, making sure i had the right day this time.  sure enough, i had, and day two really wasn't too bad.  the second interval wasn't easy, but i pushed myself to keep going in the end.  so, i made it during the last of the days with walking intervals, and even got in an extra few minutes of running, too.

i ended with the elliptical, which i'm starting to like more and more (who knew?).  day three will hopefully be on wednesday and i'm looking forward to making it happen.

day three [6.15.12]:
it's been a little while since my last couch-to-5k workout.  life has been a bit stressful and busy, with family goodness and changes at work and...  i also caught the flu, which knocked me out for a good two weeks.  not fun, so not fun.  it's not surprising that i've fallen off a bit.  i have been staying active lately, with short trips to the gym and forest preserve excursions, but couch-to-5k had come to a brief pause.

until today.  after a false start--forgot my gym pass--i turned on the cubs game and hit the treadmill.  day three is 22 minutes of running, with no walking intervals.  it was slow going, being my first run in a while, and i did take a few short walking passes (because i haven't run in a while, my knee was bothering me a tiny bit, and i didn't want to push it too far).  however, i kept the energy going with fast walking intervals and kept my heart rate up, too.

i know it wasn't my best run, but soon enough, i'll be back to better running shape.  these things take time and work, and i just need to be patient.  i mean... it's time for week seven!  i'm so close to the end! speed will come in time.  if i put my mind to it, i can finish by the end of june, no problem.

in addition to couch-to-5k--22 minutes, 2.25 miles--i also did 10 minutes on the elliptical (one mile) and 15 minutes on the recumbent bike (three miles).  such a good workout!