Training Update: 22 September

I was doing well for a bit there, running slow intervals, exactly as I had been told.

Then, I went for a run right before we left for Taiwan. It was excellent. I started running and I didn't stop. 5k later, I hopped off the treadmill, glowing red and feeling completely pleased with myself.

That satisfaction remained until the next morning, when I woke up with miserable hip pain. I was told to train gradually because when I get tired, I use the wrong muscles to balance, and my decision to enjoy my run meant I did all the things I wasn't supposed to. My hip hurt for five days, well into the Taiwan trip.

Lesson learned? Quite possibly.

I took a break until we returned, and soon thereafter, I stumbled across a writeup about Couch to 5k. I liked the idea of a structured training plan that my adherence to wouldn't make my physiotherapist cringe, but I couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted by the notion that running a 5k would require nine weeks of training. The longest I had ever trained for said distance was three weeks at most. Then again, I also have had a lion's share of running injuries, and the only reason I finished the 5k I ran earlier in the month was raw stubborness, not fitness. I printed out the plan.

Today marks the first session of week four, so I have six more weeks to go until I can officially run halfway home from my office. Week four is the point at which you actually have to jog more than walk. My tortoise-worthy achievement is above.

I think I am more couch than 5k. We'll see in another week or two.