Chewing the Fat

Hey kids.  I just finished my run for the day, despite what I told myself momentarily when I saw that "5:00 left to run" on my iPod.  You know how I mentioned the Inner Coach earlier?  Well, I rolled my eyes at her when she said, "You're halfway done with this run!" after two and a half minutes.  I finished it, though.  I will say, it sure was nice to see my numbers on Strands today with improvements in all categories from duration to speed.

I noticed that when I was warming up, I was counting down the seconds left.  I was walking at the time, so it is odd that I would be counting it down.  I think it's just that I feel bored after doing the same thing for a certain amount of time on such a contraption as a treadmill.  I kept that in mind when I was longing for the running segments to be over.  Really, though, none of it was too bad.  I think I'm back to the point where monotony is a greater challenge than the physical effort of running.

The last few minutes, I measured my cadence by counting how many times my feet hit the belt in 15 seconds.  My right foot struck 22-23 times every fifteen seconds, which is exactly what your cadence should be.  I try not to stride too big and concentrate on keeping my back straight and tall, bending forward from my ankles, and I guess all that concentration on proper form has paid off.  I'd really like for someone who knows what they're doing to look at me and tell me things I can do to be even better.

More good-ish news.  I have not been dieting.  I repeat:  I HAVE NOT BEEN DIETING.  I weighed myself, and I've lost 3.4 pounds since the end of the month.  It's a little more than 2 pounds per week, so if it happens again, I need to do something to slow it down.  Don't get me wrong; weight loss is great.  I just don't want to lose it too quickly and then gain it all back (with interest) even quicker than I took it off.  I averaged a loss of one pound per week when I was doing this last year, and that was a perfectly comfortable weight loss - I was never hungry, and didn't spend inordinate amounts of time at the gym.  Also, I never did gain it all back, and that's incredible considering the junk I was eating last semester (you can ask my roommates if you don't believe me).  If I can continue this pace, I will be in spectacular shape for my high school reunion next summer.  Not the ultimate goal, but it would be nice.

Anyway, it's a good "start" to week 4, even if it is really the middle of the work week.

C25K W4D1
Distance: 1.99 mi
Time: 32 min
Weight: +8.6
Sensation:  Drippy