30 Day Breakaway Round One 5K

 

I completed a running program this weekend with a 5K run in the park. Runner's bid and all! I printed it out myself. 

I started my running journey 9 years ago, You can check out some of my running adventures in posts on this blog. I did the Couch to 5K to "learn how to run". There really isn't any instruction in that to learn HOW to run, but it does teach you how to build up to running longer periods off time. I ran a lot the first few years but stopped running consistently, until I just stopped all together. I would get motivated to run again from time to time. I even joined a cheap gym so I would "have a safer place to run" but in all honestly, after I started running outside, I no longer enjoy running on the treadmill. It's just different. 

After completing two rounds of 9 Week Control Freak followed by my 26 day water fast, I had the urge to get back to the love of running. I remember the great feeling I had during and after my runs, most times. I spent one week just doing my own runs. That week I built up 13 miles. The following week I was a bit "off" on the Monday so I decided to do a different workout. On Tuesday, I ALMOST didn't start the 30 Day Breakaway program because, well, it was Tuesday and not Monday! THAT is a TRAP that we often fall into. If something isn't on a certain day of the month or week, we can't do it. I shook that off and pushed forward.

I am so very glad that I did. This program had so many fun elements. Of course, I loved the strength training element each day. I love to lift! But there are so many different types of runs that she put into this program to TEACH people HOW to run and how to get better and faster. Some of the runs were ladders, pyramid, tempo, HIIT, descending, Fartlek, progressive buildups, and easy runs. I enjoyed each one because it kept it different and challenging at the same time. 

I was still adjusting after my water only fast so my weight went up a few pounds at the beginning of the month but slowly started coming back down. I lost 8 pounds during the time I did this program. And my miles during a regular run increased. I went from a 15.31 average mile to a 11.58. That isn't bad at all! I hope to reach a ten minute mile later this year. That would make my heart so happy! 

I am changing some things up and heading into a new phase. I am going to be doing intermittent fasting with the 16/8 window. I'll go into more detail on that in a future post. 

I started round 2 with the advanced running calendar today. I enjoy Breaking Away with this program!!! 

As Always,

~A Simple Texas Girl living life on the Jesus Way!