Week 1 - Day 5

The first week of training is almost over and I have to admit, it's going pretty well. Today's my first day of rest since Monday (it's Friday, by the way) and even though I've been steadily building up mileage, I'm not suffering from any debilitating aches or pains. I'd expected to feel a certain amount of soreness, especially in my legs, considering I haven't run consistently for almost five weeks before this (on account of Ramadan). But I'm pleasantly surprised that there isn't any. And it's an encouraging sign because I know and I feel that I can go further and faster.

Here's how my week has been so far:

Monday: Strength training day. I warmed up with a short cardio session then did weights for my arms and legs and followed that with an abs class.

Tuesday: 3.5 mile run which went pretty smoothly. I consistently upped my speed every five mins or so and finished even stronger. I'm happy about that because that way I'm getting some form of speed training in.

Wednesday: This was supposed to be a 2-miler or cross-training day. So I ended up doing 2 miles on the elliptical and followed that with a killer abs class and some weights for the arms and shoulders.

Thursday: Yesterday was my first run with a heart-rate monitor and while I'd been warned that I might find wearing one frustrating, I didn't realize just how much it could bug me. I had to run 3.5 miles (which I did) but unlike Tuesday, when I had consistently increased my speed every few mins, this time I had to maintain a steady rate so that the heart rate could monitor me and so that I could have a base from which to work from. That nearly drove me insane (like I said, I'm not a patient person). At multiple times during the run I wanted to speed up and I couldnt because I had to pay attention to how I was feeling everytime my heart rate went up or down a couple of notches.

I have to admit though - even with all the complaining I realize how important it was that I wore the monitor yesterday. (Caution: Math follows) So my maximum heart rate should be 199. And if I'm functioning at about 80%, I should be maintaining my heart rate at about 160 beats. Yesterday, when I thought I was running slow, my heart rate was fluctuating between 165 and 175 (83%-88%)! Now I don't know everything there is to know about the science of heart rate zones yet, but I'm assuming if I go faster (which I'd like to), chances are that rate is going to be really high - like the maximum! Ummmm.. not so sure if that's a good thing just yet.. I'll have to read up more on this.

So other than some bruising (courtesy the HR monitor) I'm doing great! Today is a rest day and I'm really taking it easy. Tomorrow is a long run!! 5 miler!! I'm so excited - we're going running by the water!! :)