Questions About Starting Workouts Again

[NoodleUnit]

Day 1 done

I took it very easy, by halfway through the run I was grinning from ear to ear... soooo nice to get the buzz again. I'll be taking it steady though.

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Hope your travelling is going well

[Greenling]

Day 1 done

I took it very easy, by halfway through the run I was grinning from ear to ear... soooo nice to get the buzz again. I'll be taking it steady though.

Open Original Shared Link

Hope your travelling is going well

Hi NoodleUnit,

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I had no internet while travelling! It kind of puts me in a panic when I don't have tech (and then I start to think how unhealthy that is....).

I'm so happy that Week 1 is going well for you! I totally can relate to the grinning ear to ear because I'm doing the same thing. I must look like a loon on the treadmill some days. I'm intrigued by Runkeeper--going to have to look into that more.

I didn't get to run while travelling at all. I did get a lot of physical exercise (lots of casual walking and yardwork/gardening), but no workouts. I'm anxious to get back to the c25k next week. I'm going to pick up Week 2 and go from there. In the meantime, I feel really good (after 12 weeks Gluten-free). So yea!

Have a good weekend!

Greenling

[NoodleUnit]

Hehe

Well that's week 1 complete now - I took my 5 year old daughter out with me (her on her bike) today and she got a good workout. It was obviously slower than I would normally like, but it was fun, relaxed and I still got a buzz. I've managed to do it, despite eating something that doesn't agree with; sore side, bit of neuropathy, arthritis. In fact, if anything, when I run, it all seems to go away

Glad you had a good time travelling and are starting to feel the gluten-free benefits.

As for runkeeper, it's one of many options if you have a smartphone. The reason I went for it is that it's the best app out there just now for adding custom intervals easily, making it a real boon for the c25k. It just tells me when to speed up and slow down, and I can just relax, listen to my music and lose myself in the run instead of constantly looking at my watch.

[Greenling]

NoodleUnit,

Sorry, it took me a bit to respond. I took a 'digital sabbatical' for a few days (since I'm off work for the summer). How's Week 2 treating you? Hope all is going well and your symptoms are subsiding even more.

I'm intrigued by the interval timing of runkeeper, but I don't have a smartphone. So I may investigate upgrading my heart-rate monitor to one that does that. For now, I'm running inside on a treadmill because it is VERY hot here and outside is not an option. I've done the first two days of Week 2 so far, will do day 3 on Friday. So far, so good, not brilliant, but not horrible either. After I run, I keep walking so that I get closer to the 5K distance overall. Not there yet, but soon....

Hope all is well with you!

Greenling

[NoodleUnit]

Hi Greenling

Just completed week 2 today. Seem to be doing okay despite having had some food trouble ( I suspect that the culprit may be some olives stuffed with jalapenos - I have no trouble with chillies but I think the jalapenos may have been pickled with malt vinegar ).

Today's run was pretty slow tbh, but I had my daughter with me again. She struggled on the way out, but on the way back she managed to set a decent pace for me in one or two of the intervals. She's a little trooper though, and it's a real pleasure having her with me. My hope is she'll get stronger as I do and will be able to stay with me on my Saturday runs at least until I start doing a lot more running than walking.

I seem to be putting weight on, suspect it's a function of muscle being heavier than fat, hopefully that's what's happening anyway.

You still keeping it going?

NoodleUnit

[Greenling]

Hi NoodleUnit,

I'm hope your food troubles are getting better; it gets tricky when you start to deal with the ingredients of ingredients, doesn't it?? I just messed myself up with Indian papad (one of the spices in it is generally mixed with wheat, but no mention of that on the label). So I hope that it was the olives for you as that way you have it figured out.

Sounds like your running is coming along. It must be fun to have your daughter with you. I'm hoping to start running with my nephew when he moves in with me in August for college. He's a lot faster than I am, but he'll probably slow down for me. Hopefully, it will cool down a bit by then (and I'll be doing more running than walking) and we'll be able to run outside.

I finished Week 2 and am going to start Week 3 (although it's a big step up on paper) on Monday. Assuming my stomach problems are gone by then.

BTW, I've been struggling with weight gain the last couple of weeks. It might be muscle, but I'm thinking it's more that I'm absorbing calories much more efficiently than I used to. I'm logging my food on Fitday so that I can track things a bit better. I'd really rather be losing than gaining....

Have a good week!!

Greenling

[NoodleUnit]

Don't worry too much about week 3, it does seem like a big ramp up, but it's not that bad really. Just maintain a comfortable pace and you'll be fine. I just did the first run of week 3 this morning and actually enjoyed it. Oddly though, I was almost precisely the same pace and distance as last year.

Although looking back at last year, my lungs were fit to burst on the last stint while they were fine this year. Likely a result of going gluten-free and the effect it's had on my asthma.

Good point about absorbing calories, that could be a very good sign then.

As for food, pretty sure it was the stuffed olives, but I'm also still learning to avoid sources of soy, which seem to hidden everywhere. I'll get there in the end Hope you recover, and enjoy week 3.

[Greenling]

Hi NoodleUnit,

Week 3 is off to a good start. I had to slow down on the second 3-minute interval, but that worked and I finished strong. It felt good. After I had a great weight workout, so I feel like my workouts are really getting back on track. I actually have to do Day 2 tomorrow as I have to travel on Wednesday, so I'll see how it goes without skipping a day between.

I'm glad to hear that your asthma is improved. That must really make you happy! Good luck avoiding soy--it IS everywhere. Are you having to avoid anything else? I just got to add dairy back in this last week and haven't had problems with it. This makes me happy as I feel about skim milk like most people feel about their coffee. I still have to avoid tomato, pork and corn (because I tested positive for them), but my doctors are hopeful it's a temporary reaction due to the Celiac. I get to test them once I've been Gluten-free for at least 6 months.

Have a good week!!

Greenling

[NoodleUnit]

Just out of interest... How are you on your recovery days? I'm in a whole heap of pain today simply from muscle ache. I've spent my whole life, well apart from a few years in the middle, being sporty, so I know it's part of the deal, but this is extreme. I was going to run tomorrow but based on the fatigue and ache I have I'll leave it to Thursday. Luckily I don't work Fridays so can sleep late and recover well enough to run again on Saturday. But the Monday, Wednesday thing just isn't happening for me right now. I simply can't recover well enough, which is a bummer as I'd rather have my two day break between Wednesday and Saturday.

Hope all's well.

[Greenling]

Brace yourself, my answer got away from me!

Interesting question. I feel more muscle fatigue/aches when running than on recovery days. I never used to need multiple recovery days and now I HAVE to have them. On those days, my muscles aren't sore, but fatigue is definitely present. I try to take off Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday (so I run and lift weights MWF, and just walk on Thursdays). By the time I get to Friday, I'm slow(er) and my muscles get more easily fatigued while I run, but recover during the walking intervals. I've found that I have to focus on stretching more than ever before (particularly my hip flexors and hamstrings).

Today I had to run Day 2 because I can't tomorrow. Running back-to-back with Monday was tough. I had to slow down my running speeds and I was counting down every interval. Not an experience I'm anxious to repeat, so will definitely try to have a rest day in-between for the rest of the c25k.

I also may have to repeat Week 3--I've done okay both days, but both times I had to slow down on the second 3-minute interval and I don't feel like it's "relaxed running" (as the other two weeks did). I just keep telling myself that there is no rush on completing it and that it'll get better with time. (Also, I think my synthroid needs to be adjusted down again). So, a bit of a detour while answering your question....

I wonder sometimes if it'd be better to take two rest days together during the work week. (I teach at a university and am off for the summer now, but am trying to figure out my schedule for August when classes start again). I could see how Monday, Thursday, Saturday might be more restful for the body because work adds physical stress. But at the same time, scheduling workouts on the weekend is an issue (at least for me, as I want to limit commitments as much as possible those two days).

Sometimes I think that Celiac has caused me to re-evaluate my workouts and my fitness more than my diet. And that's saying something as I'm obsessive now about my diet....

Have a good day!

[NoodleUnit]

Heh - well I was feeling less sore when I got home from work today so I went and did Wk 3 day 2 anyway. My legs felt like lead, I have to say, but I was faster than I've been so far. Bizarrely, every time I check, despite being 3 stone lighter, I seem to be hitting near as makes no difference the same pace as I did on that same run last year. It's quite disheartening to say the least. I guess I just need to keep telling myself I'm still recovering and as long as I'm not slower then I'll be okay.

This year:

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Last years stats:

Approx stats ( including warmup/cooldown ):

Distance: 1.84 miles

Pace: 16.20/mile

Calories: 330

Time: 0:30.27

Definitely taking a 2 day break now. And I think you're on to something with the stretching, I may have to do a fair bit of that over the next two days.

I reckon next week I'll drop the warmup and cooldown from the stats, the better resulting average pace will give me a bit of a psychological boost

[Greenling]

Glad to hear that you were able to do Day 2 yesterday. Somedays it's not as enjoyable as others, no?

I run a bit faster now than before, but I was super slow before. My hip joints and back were so inflamed that they just couldn't go faster. Now they're ready to go, but my lungs are not. So I was feeling a bit frustrated as well. I stopped counting my warmup and cooldown and that made my stats look better. I totally recommend that. Hee.

I'm taking a two-day break also. Will run again tomorrow and see how Week 3 ends.

Hope you're feeling all right today!

[Greenling]

Just an update: I finished Week 3 today! I'm pretty happy about it. I did some extra intervals (2 minutes) each day so that I can get closer to the 5k distance over time as I'm supposed to run a charity race with a friend this fall (eek!).

My lungs are still not quite happy for the last minute of the 3-minute intervals and I have to slow down on those longer intervals (plus it is stinking hot here and my thyroid dosage is causing heat intolerance), so I'm debating whether to go to Week 4 Monday. I'll probably decide that day.

Hope your rest days are helping with the pain. Good luck tomorrow with your Day 3.

[NoodleUnit]

Well done Greenling!

I've just started repeating week 3. I got badly glutened on Friday and was in no fit state on Saturday to do it. So rather than just skipping Week 3 Day 3 to carry on with week 4, I've decided to consolidate that week by doing it again, I wasn't as relaxed and free in my breathing as I'd have liked anyway.

So I did Week 3 Day 1 again today and it was much easier than last week. Felt more relaxed and it felt a little faster too. I put that down to the enforced 4 day break. I think until I start to feel comfortably fit, that's going to be my way of doing things. I'll repeat rather than skip ahead. Hopefully I won't need to from here on in though.

Hope you're surviving the heat

[Greenling]

Hi NoodleUnit,

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better. And, in the long run, four days off is probably not a bad idea as that way your body can focus on healing. Glad to hear that today's run went well (and felt easier than last week).

I had pretty much a similar experience. I started today thinking that I would decide on the first interval what week I was doing (Week 3 again or Week 4). The first interval felt really good, so I went three minutes and then walked for 90 seconds. The second interval I was ready to stop at three minutes, so I did. So I ended up doing three sets of those (3 mins/1.5 mins) and then a couple of 2-minute intervals, and then a couple of 1-minute intervals. I felt okay the whole time, but I'm not ready breathing-wise for the 5-minute intervals yet. So, Week 4 is on hold for me as well. I guess I'm calling this Week 3.5 (as I plan to work mainly on 3-minute intervals)??

Still hot here. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow to see if my thyroid meds can be lowered. I have my fingers crossed that taking too much plays with my emotional state (makes me irritable or apathetic, which are not my normal state), in addition to the heat intolerance.

Hope you recover well from your run today (and your glutening). I still sometimes get frustrated with my "slowness" or fatigue when working out, but then I stop and think about how much I've regained just in the last month...and it's pure joy and relief and all good things.

BTW, I told myself "gently, gently" today when I was tempted to overdo on the end of my run. So thanks again for that!

Greenling

[wheeleezdryver]

Mind if i join in?

I was a runner in high school, so I do have some back ground in exercising/ working out. Well, at the very least, i can remember how to do do stretches!

but anyways, I quit running/ working out for a long time (way too long) and am just now getting back into it.

My husband (who has a disability) and I just joined a gym across the street. It's nice to be able to get away and go over there for a little bit.

I, too, am doing the c25k... sort of... I am doing the same intervals, but doing it either on the elliptical or the exercise bike...depending on what I'm feeling up to that day. (treadmill is boring, plus I can't afford real running shoes... the shoes I wear using the elliptical or bike are Reboks, but they're also my day- to- day shoes that I wear everywhere else, for everything else). I just go slow for the walking times, speed up during the run times.

I usually will do the c25k one day, then just a 'regular' 15- 20 min workout the next day... and on the days following that, what I do depends on how I'm feeling that day (keep in mind I'm a caregiver, so that takes a lot of my energy and it's rather unpredictable how I'm feeling from one day to the next.) Right now my goal is to get myself back into the habit of working out at least 3-4 days a week (even if it's only a 20 min workout)average (I might miss a week once in a while), get into better shape, and hopefully my body will cooperate in also letting go of excess weight!

if I'm figuring it right, I just did week 3 day 3 today.

Tomoor evening, our church Ladies group is doing a 5k fun walk/run/ride on the greenbelt, so that will probably be my exercise for tomorrow.

Will see on Thurs what I feel like doing.... maybe just a 'regular' workout, maybe repeat week 3, mabye try moving on to week 4, IDK.

[Greenling]

You're welcome to join us, Wheeleezdryver. Sounds like you're off to a good start with your c25k. I like the elliptical too, plan on adding it in for cross-training once I get a few more weeks under my belt. Good luck with Week 4!

I'm glad that you and your husband can work out together--makes it easier to go when you have someone to go with. Being a caretaker is a tough and stressful, so working out may help with that as well. My dad is my mom's caretaker (she has advanced MS and is a quadriplegic) and I've done caretaking stints on a regular basis. So I admire your dedication.

NoodleUnit, hope you're feeling okay and are not suffering prolonged effects of being glutened. Is your Week 3 going well?

As for myself, today's running was not pretty. The heat intolerance was bad as was my breathing. Today was my first day on a lower dose of thyroid meds, so I'm hoping by next week both of those will be better. In the meantime, I did random intervals today ranging from 90 seconds-3 minutes, with my walking the same length as the running. On Friday, I hope to do the Week 3 routine so that I can start Week 4 next Monday. But we'll see.... On the bright side, I'm really happy with the progress I'm making on strength training.

[NoodleUnit]

The more the merrier, Wheeleezdryver.

Doing the c25k intervals on other forms of cardio is a blindingly good idea, well done you for realising it could be a way forward.

Sorry to hear about the heat intolerance greenling, you're doing the right thing though. Consolidate your current level if progress is a problem, hopefully progress will be just around the corner.

I've been having problems this week too, as you suggest, more an extended glutening than anything else. Mostly because I have visitors just now, and while avoiding actual gluten has been fine, it's been difficult to avoid the other nasties, like soya while they're here. I'm going to try for day two tomorrow, but I'm not expecting improvements from Monday's run.

I'm considering adding in some weights now, as my recovery days seem to be much less achy than they were. I've lost a lot of muscle especially on the arms, so I really want to get that sorted. The more muscle I can pack on the more fat I can burn.

Anyway, happy c25king everyone!

[wheeleezdryver]

thanks for the warm welcome here, you guys!

yesterday, I also did the machine weights for arms. First time doing that at this gym (in other words, it's been a while since I lifted weights). My arms are a little sore today! but that's good

Greenling, I'm sorry to hear your mom has MS... that is a truely horrible disabling disease... but I'm glad to hear your dad is able to take care of here, and that you are help sometimes.

My husband hasn't been able to go workout the last couple of weeks, he is working a summer job, and his shift is the weekend night shift, and it has thrown his sleeping patterns during the week completely off. But this weekend is his last weekend, so hopefully next week his sleeping patterns will get back to normal sometime next week. and when he does go work out, it will be mainly to lift weights, and when possible, he will go when one of the trainers/ employees can help him (but sometimes I will). He'll probably be there a good 1 1/2 hours each time he goes .

well, I realized this afternoon that I had the date for our church 5k wrong- it was yesterday instead of today like I though. dang, I was looking forward to it. But I wouldn't have been able to go yesterday anways.

All i did exercisewise today was take about a 10 min walk around my apartment complex.

Oh, and help a blind friend do shopping at walmart, and lift my husband part of the way into our van on the way to/from his chiropractor visit. (normal life things for me )

Have a good evening, you guys!

[wheeleezdryver]

Did Week 4, day 1 on the elliptical today.

Man, was it a [good] workout!! I started sweating like less than 10 mins into it (the gym was also a little warmer than I would have preferred, so that probably had something to do with it, too), and boy, did I have a good sweat going during the rest of the workout!

Today was also the first time, I think, that i've managed to do more than 2 miles on the elliptical! (I haven't been keeping track of my mileage. I might get a mini- journal or something at some point to track my workouts in)

I didn't think i've been improving, but this last week I've realized that I have been.... going back & doing week one would seem kinda slow & boring right now! it's good to realize there's been improvement.

And while I was working out, the commercial for gluten- free Chex came on one of the TV's that made me smile!

Good night!

[Greenling]

Running was easier today (either because it was cooler or I've been on a lower dose of my thyroid meds for three days). I was a bit pressed for time, so no extra run/walk today. All in all, I'm optimistic that next week will be better. Don't know if I'll start Week 4 or repeat Week 3 again. It all depends on the heat intolerance. But I'm okay with it either way.

Hope you've both had good exercise days (or rest days). I'll be offline most of the weekend, so I'll catch up with you on Monday. Have a good weekend.

[NoodleUnit]

Finally did Week 4 day 1 today. Boy that was a step up, doable, but still it pushed me a bit. It was ridiculously humid though, which made it pretty hard going. I'm doing distance intervals rather than time, so it took me to the 2 mile mark. And I'm now starting to see a significant pace improvement on the same stints from last year. In fact I'm almost the same speed now as I was a month after I finished the c25k last year, so I'm pretty hopeful of some good speed gains by week 9. Admittedly by then I was starting to get ill, but still, it was my fastest recorded pace.

The half-mile stints were, as you'd expect, the ones which really did for me. I wasn't feeling the "flow" of running that I was hoping for during them, rather I was just waiting for that beep to tell me I could stop. If I feel the same by day 3, then I'll repeat this week too. It's a decent strategy imo. Hopefully, the humidity and muggy, thundery weather will have disappeared by day 2 and I can give it a really good attempt.

I fell asleep on the sofa after dinner today. Something I never do, so it must have really taken it out of me.

Anyway

Hope you're doing well.

[Greenling]

NoodleUnit, I had a pretty similar result and a similar plan for the rest of the week as you. But I was less successful--made it through the first three intervals (3, 5, 3), then had to stop due to abdominal cramps (it's that time of the month). The 5-minute one was tough and I was counting it down too (for the last 2.5 minutes!!). Very hot here (around 105F or 40C), so even running inside is not pleasant now. I'm hoping Day 2 is better and I can do the second 5-minute interval.

I'm impressed that you're doing half-miles stints for your longer intervals. In 5 minutes, I get about .4 mile. So good on you on improving your speed so much while picking up distance at the same time. Good luck with Day 2!

Wheeleez, hope you're doing well also!

[wheeleezdryver]

friday, my 'workout' was going for a walk around our apartment complex w/ my husband and going across the street to Sonic to get their 'half- price drinks' during their 'happy hour'(me pushing him in his hospital wheelchair)

saturday ended up being a pretty busy day, and at one point emotionally and physically draining. For exercise, I did 10 mins on my mini- trampoline.

yesterday was a rest day.

Today, I was able to get to the gym and did W4D2 on the bicycle. it seemed a lot easier than the w4D1 workout I did on Thurs... I don't know if i wasn't pushing myself as hard (felt like I wasn't), or I lost track of the interval timing and that had an effect, or heaven knows what else. I'm also not as sore as I was after Thursdays workout (not necessarily complianing about that! ) But anywho, it was great to be able to go and get a workout in.

NoodleUnit-- yes, W4D1 is a good lil step up, isn't it! sounds like you did pretty good, despite the heat & humidity--- man, that stuff can be tough to deal with sometimes!

I agree that repeating a week is a good strategy, if needed!

Greenling-- sounds to me like you did pretty good, considering the heat and those *lovely* cramps. On *those days, for me, sometimes I'm lucky if i canwalk, let alone do any type of a physical activity/ workout!!

Good night!

[NoodleUnit]

Heh, got sensible and went out first thing in the morning today. Nice and cool. We don't have anywhere near the heat problems you guys are having anyway, but this was a nice change from the warmth and humidity we've been having recently, particularly the humidity.

Anyway, had a blinder of a run, waaaay faster than Monday's. In fact it felt like I was running properly instead of plodding during my last intervals, although my legs were really heavy to begin with. Got a huge endorphin rush after it too. I was grinning like a loon towards the end and for a long time after.

I've had my first decent week in ages health wise. No silly glutenings, no willpower problems, and as such my energy levels seem to be on the up. Staying well, so that I can run well. Its probably my biggest motivation to be ultra careful with what I eat. I'd been in self-destruct mode with food, for the last month or so, especially when I had visitors last week.

Wheeleezdryver, did you find the next day easier? I'm finding that first day of the new week to be the real difficult one, then seem to surprise myself how well I do on day 2.

Hope you're both doing well.

Keep at it Greenling