Couch to 5k: Week Four
Posted on Apr 14, 2016
Posted in: Couch to 5K
Couch to 5k: Week Four
Hello Friends and welcome to Week Four of my Couch to 5k journal. You can read more about my journey here, here, here and here. Last week I was in California where the warmth, ocean views and fragrant spring flowers made it easy to get out for a run. Returning to Wisconsin and its unpredictable weather felt like a huge letdown, not just because our vacation was over but because winter just won’t go away. For our run on Tuesday night the mercury hovered around 32 and then it started sleeting. We ran while tiny ice pellets hit our faces and made the roads slick. My goal for this week was to pick up the pace. I had been running a 12 minute mile and I wanted to see what a 10 minute mile felt like. We finished 2.25 miles in 23:30 which put our pace around 10:45 per mile. Conveniently, we were done faster and able to take shelter from the abominable conditions. But I’m not going to lie – it was brutal. I think the weather combined with the first time of running faster made it miserable. I did some quick stretches and then headed home for a hot shower. On Thursday night the weather was better. Not warm by any stretch of the imagination but at least it wasn’t showering ice pellets. I tried again to pick up the pace and our group finished 2.25 miles in 23:45. It was a little slower than Tuesday but it also felt a lot more comfortable.
Another observation of mine since starting this program is that I have been sleeping much better at night. I am an occasional insomniac and lately I haven’t had any sleepless nights. At the end of the day I lay my head down, shut my eyes and the next thing I know it’s morning. I think perhaps my body is just plain tired from the uptick in physical activity. It could also be that I am getting outside more often and the dose of natural light makes it easier for my body to cue the melatonin at the appropriate time. Whatever the reason I am grateful. I am rested, have lots of energy and feel ready to take on the day.
Next week we run 2.5 miles and the extended forecast looks good. Perhaps spring will finally show itself. Until then keep running!