I DID IT! Couch to 5K is COMPLETE!

9 weeks ago I was sedentary.  9 weeks ago I was winded after climbing one flight of stairs.  9 weeks ago I weighed 269.8 pounds.  9 weeks ago my fat clothes were tight.  9 weeks ago I ate at least 4,000 calories a day.  9 weeks ago I was too tired to play with my kids outside.  9 weeks ago I was headed for a heart attack, stroke and/or diabetes at a young age.

Today I am active.  Today I can run and run without getting tired.  Today I weigh 225 pounds.  Today my skinny clothes are baggy.  Today I eat less than 1,800 calories per day.  Today I ran with my daughter while she rode her bike.  Today I have a much better chance of living a longer, healthier life with my family.

Today I am a runner.  9 weeks ago I was not.  Today is my graduation from the Couch to 5K running program, and my first 5K is on April 2.

If I did it, you can.  I am not an athletic or active person by nature.  When I started the program, I literally didn't do any exercise at all and my diet was terrible.  There is nothing stopping you from changing your life if you want to.  Get up.  Go outside.  Walk for 20 minutes.  Now.  Go.  Do it again in two days.  On your day off, read about the Couch to 5K program.  If you are morbidly obese, call your doctor, and consider starting with a walking program.

But the important thing is to go and to do.  Your will feel less stressed.  You will feel better about yourself.  You will feel in control of your life.  I didn't start this program in a bad place.  I like myself and I love the life that God has given meπ––but I feel better about me and my life today.

Tonight I set a new distance record.  Tonight I averaged a 10:28 pace, passing my goal of 10:59.  Jeb ran with me and held my feet to the fire when I wanted to slow down.

Next week, I will move up to 33 minute runs with RunKeeper.  My username is mikemchargue if you want to virtually run with me.  After that it's up to 5K for a week and then my race.

And then I want to train for a 10K.

My name is Mike McHargue and I am a runner.

I want you to know that you can be a runner too.  Thanks for reading.

The End is Near - Couch to 5K Week 9, Day 2

My next run is graduation–the final run in the C25K program. Saturday will mark the end of one of the most life-changing experiences I've ever had.

But that's Saturday. Today is Thursday.

Week 9 started out tough due to some travel issues. It was certainly not the run I'd hoped for on my first 30 minute stint. A trip to Los Angeles also means I had to take 3 days off before Day 2, and I was really worried about what that would do to my conditioning.

It was a needless worry. From the first step of this run everything felt right. For the first three minutes I had a burn in my thighs, but it was the good burn. It's the feeling you get when your body says, "OK, I can do this. Just let me warm up."

After the first three minutes gravity left me, and I felt like I was floating above the sidewalk. Time lost it's meaning. I knew I was hitting a good pace, but it was easy. When I would feel a natural drop in my pace for a hill or minor fatigue, I would go faster. Easily.

Several times I laughed out loud at the sheer joy of movement.

The halfway point came far after I expected it. For my last 5 minutes I pushed the pace up quite a bit while running mainly uphill. For my last minute, I moved into an all out sprint that left me shaking when I hit the cool down walk. I loved every second.

On Week 9, Day 1 I hit 2.8 miles. Tonight I did 3.2 in the same amount of time. I burned 555 calories.

The pace, the distance, the calories don't mean anything. The feeling, or rather not-feeling of my feet on the ground and the wind in my hair is why I keep doing this. I am an addict. I am an athlete.

I am a runner.

And I will never be the same again.

Limping to the Finish - Couch to 5K Week 9 Starts

It's here at last.  My graduation week in the Couch to 5K program.  This week consists of three 30 minute runs.  At the end of week 8, I had really high hopes for this run.  Because of a business trip to Denver, I had to compress week 8.  It worked well enough as I had some of my best runs so far.  My hope was that a few extra days off would set me up for a strong start to week 9.

And then I had some flight trouble.  I was in the wrong city yesterday morning, with only 90 minutes of sleep under my belt.  I knew that was a recipie for disaster, so I decided to move my run to today.  With a little less than 7 hours sleep last night, I felt much better prepared.

Aside from some minor pain.  My right arch was really tender and my left hip felt off–and this is before I ran.  I blame this on a day and a half of airport hijinks with my laptop bag, overnight bag and dress shoes.  My body told me in the warm-up walk that it was not ready for this run.  I'd lost that itch, that need to run I've felt so often lately.

So, by tonight's run was the exertion of my will.  Every step was a struggle.  My energy felt low.  My foot falls felt heavy, and I wanted to stop after every step.  After 15 minutes I felt like there were no bones in my legs, but I kept going.  At 18 minutes I glanced at my iPhone which told me I was running a 15:00 mile! At 20 minutes I felt like I couldn't go anymore–so I ran faster.  I managed to get my pace back up around 12:00/mile with great effort.

I decided to sprint for my last minute, but I couldn't increase my pace at all.  It was taking a sprint effort to maintain my speed.

In the end, I averaged a 12:04/mile pace and I only covered 3 miles.  But I ran 30 minutes without stopping, and I've hopefully set myself up for better performance later in the week.  Unfortunately, a trip to LA is going to force me to push my next run to Thursday, and my final C25K run to Saturday.

Couch to 5K Week 8: In the Bag

Tonight I finished Couch to 5K, Week 8 Day 3.  That's my third 28 minute run.  I was intent on beating my pace from my last run–and I did by 11 seconds per mile.

Next week is Week 9 and the final week of the program.  That will be my C25K graduation, and then I'll focus on improving my pace and time in anticipation of the Springtime 5K on April 2.

A friend asked me today what I'll blog about once my Couch to 5K program is over.  I'm not sure.  Running has become such an important part of my life.

Couch to 5K Week 8, Day 2

Tonight's run was wonderful.  I started out with a very aggressive pace, which I sustained on the first two uphill climbs.  I had to slow down some because my legs really started to feel weak, but I'd pushed so hard starting out that I was much farther ahead than my first week 8 run when I heard the halfway announcement.  That encouraged me, so I stared to push it again even though I had a long way left.  At some point faster speeds felt easier and I pushed myself to move quickly uphill and relax a bit downhill.

By the time I hit 5 minutes, I was almost home.  I ran the opposite direction to add some distance.  My final two minutes were all uphill, and I ran hard and sprinted my final minute.

I suspected I was making good time and cautiously hoped I was nearing my pace on my quicker 25 minute runs.  Instead, I made a new record for myself.  I went from 12:19/mile to 11:18/mi and took my distance from 2.8 to 3.1 miles!  That means I did a 5K if you include my warm up and cool down.

I have very high hopes for Week 8, Day 3.  I think I may be able to break the 11:00/mile mark if I can maintain a better pace in the middle portion of my run.