Where I'm At, What I'm Doing

Today has been Week 3, Day 1 of my 'new' training program (ie, the 3rd one I've tried). I'm doing the ol' C25K program. After resisting for several months, trying other methods (and failing) I have given in to the dorky following of the interval training schedule.

I have to admit....it's awesome. Other programs I've tried have either progressed too quickly - leaving me injured & burnt out, or too slowly - leaving me feeling like I won't be able to even run a 5k until June! The C25K moves along at a perfect pace for me. I feel challenged each week, working very hard on the first day of each new progression. Yet I don't finish my run feeling completely drained and nauseous, symptoms of over-training. 

So here is a break down of the first 3 weeks (now don't laugh, remember...when I started I couldn't run 1 minute without wanting to pass out!):

(Each workout includes a 5 min warm up & 5 min cool down, I'm just going to list the core parts here)
Week 1 - Run 60 seconds, Walk 90 seconds, repeat for 20 minutes
This week was pretty easy on me. I had been basically doing the same thing for a few weeks, this was a slight decrease in my walking recovery time, so a bit of a challenge, but not too bad overall.

Week 2 - Run 90 seconds, Walk 2 minutes, repeat for 20 minutes
Day 1 of this week was a struggle for me and I couldn't finish the very last running interval. My HR was above my limit, I was getting a little light headed, and so decided to stop early. Probably a good idea. Day 2 went much better and Day 3 I felt invincible! I was tempted to throw in my own extra interval but decided not to push it.

Week 3 - Run 90 seconds, Walk 90 seconds, Run 3 minutes, Walk 3 minutes, repeat series twice
Today was Day 1 of this week. I was very nervous about running for a straight 3 minutes, but made it through all of the series! It feels great to be able to run for a small stretch of time, long enough for me to get into a rhythm with my feet & breathing. Towards the end of the 2nd 3-minute run I could tell my breath was increasing and I was reaching my limit, but it still felt great to accomplish. Only bad thing right now - my muscles aren't catching up with my cardio. My breathing stays calm & steady and I could definitely go longer based on my cardio capacity, but my muscles tire out too quickly. I'm staying positive that my legs will build up more strength over time.

Ooh...I'm finally breaking my 16min/mile threshold! Barely, but still - 15:57min/mile now. :)