iPhone week was hellacious on my exercise schedule, so I didn’t get a lot of opportunity to sneak off to the gym last week. Only managed to get two runs in this week, but at least they’re over 2.5 miles. For what it’s worth, I’m attempting to make up for it by walking a lot more (taking a longer route from the train stop to the office, going for a “walking” lunch, taking the stairs if possible, etc.), so it’s not that bad. Here are the results from the two runs:

July 15, 2008: 37 minutes 42 seconds at a pace of 15′01″/mile

July 17, 2008: 40 minutes 40 seconds at a pace of 14′19″/mile

First run was very consistent, but the second run was plagued with a bit of tummy trouble while I was running, thus the constant stopping.

Thus, a few tips I picked up this past week: Don’t eat less than two hours before running, and if you do, eat something with high energy. Also: Planning out a running playlist to put on your iPod beforehand is SO WORTH IT.

Now that I’ve been in this for more than a month, I’m going to start incorporating more strength training into the routine. I actually enjoy it a LOT more than this whole running thing, but since cardio is harder to commit to (for me anyway), I wanted to see if I could do this first. I’m still not convinced I can (after all, I did skip a week or two) but it’s worth a shot, if only to try something different.

My exercise routine has been wildly inconsistent in the past couple weeks. Blame it on my recent acquisition of the Wii Fit (which is actually pretty good, surprisingly) or my late work hours last week, but yeah, my running has suffered quite a bit as a result. But I’m nothing if not honest, so here are my past three suck-tastic runs:

June 25, 2008: 33 minutes 02 seconds at a pace of 18′44″/mile

June 30, 2008: 33 minutes 19 seconds at a pace of 18′06″/mile

July 02, 2008: 37 minutes 27 seconds at a pace of 17′37″/mile

As you can see, I was stuck in the fewer-than-2-mile run for those first two runs. I was just really fatigued and didn’t feel like pushing myself, so I ended up walking more than usual. I finally pushed past the 2 mile mark on the third run, but not without quite a bit of fluctuation.

Depending on the weather this weekend, I might try out my first real run not at the gym. Perhaps at McLaren Park, if I feel safe enough.

June 18, 2008: 38 minutes 46 seconds at a pace of 18’08″/mile
This was the first run I did where I stuck to the 30/30 plan (Run/jog 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds, repeat). I had to really push myself in the last few minutes. It resulted in a slight pain in the right knee, but it’s a good sort of pain.

This is probably the first ever full running week I’ve ever done, and I’m mighty proud of myself for it. I might have to read up on what regular runners do for pain though. Ibuprofen? A wrap of some kind? Not too sure. Speaking of which, I should also probably visit the doctor soon.

My current goal is to just keep up a full month of regular runs. After that, I can see about setting actual distance goals.

Onward!

Okay, so it’s really take five, considering the amount of times I started and stopped this thing. But hopefully posting these completely embarrassing charts of my performance online will encourage me. The last time I’ve run at all was back in September or something, so yeah, these are really sucky.

June 13, 2008: 42 min 22 secs at a pace of 17’44″/mile
Rather inaccurate starting points, due to me starting the countdown when I was walking up and down the stairs in the gym.

June 16, 2008: 32 min 50 secs at a pace of 16’00″/mile
Actually followed through on a cool down on this one, thus the downward slope at the end.

I’m not really pushing myself, I admit it. I have the ability to go much faster and longer than this, but I don’t want to kill myself right at the start. I’m also running on a treadmill, which is infinitely easier than on the pavement. I’m thinking of scouting out a “softer” place to run in the City; a place with a lot of grass maybe.

So yeah. It’s a start. Maybe I’ll stick with it this time.