Jogging Class is Done!

Well the first 6-week running class is done. I have done most of the homework needed to prepare for the weekly classes. Homework consists of 20 or 30 minute jogs and should include hills. I prefer to jog on a nearby road near home. At the beginning is a bridge over the river, then I jog past a very large horse ranch. There are a few hills that I am able to jog. Now that class is done, I need to keep up on this! I decided that 3 days a week I should do a 30 minute jog. I hope to start back with weight training on the non-jog days. Maybe I should say I plan instead of hope.
I did a 5k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was on Sept 25th. I started out walking, then got into the jogging. I took other walking breaks. My time was 42:51, but guess what? I came in first for women my age group. They must have all walked, but not me! My eyes teared up at the thought that I received a ribbon. I also won a Starbucks card in the raffle. It was MY day.

Progress - week 3

Third week of training class went really well. I had a full massage the day before to help relax my calf muscles and it paid off. I was able to do the full circuit with the class without calf pain. I had spurts of energy off and on that were enjoyable to use. I had a 3 hour drive after class and I fell the running energized me. My training walk on Saturday was at Lake Chelan with great hills and views. Sunday was 18 holes of golf that was equally fun. Nice vacation time!

Training continues

So nearly 2 weeks of 5k training - having problems only with my calves, but I found an article that tells me why they hurt when I jog and what to do about it. Basically, the muscles get too tight and there is not enough blood circulating. http://www.betterbodz.com/team/aching.html
Besides what the article advises I am gonna have my massage therapist work on my legs. Before, I only had upper body work done. Speaking of which, I started physical therapy on my injured (tendon tears) on my right arm. I am already feeling like it will heal properly and not leave me with years of pain due to scar tissue. If it sounds like I have a lot of physical issues, yes true, due to a sedentary lifestyle both at home and work. Not too late to make some changes and reverse some damage.
As I mentioned I have calf pain when I jog. That is the only problem I am experiencing! I don't mind the hard breathing - hey it's aerobic - but don't-like-dumb-pain. Finding I could climb the steps at the ball park a bit easier - even jogged up them a bit. Nice!

I Start Jogging

Last week I joined a 'Couch to 5k' class. It is held down in Seattle which is not so convenient, but it gets me away from Everett where I work and from oso far away. Also, my daughter is in the group, so that is a big bonus. The first night we walked for 1/2 mile,then we jogged that half mile. My calves hurt! Surprisingly, my normally tight shoulders relaxed. That was exactly opposite of my expectation. By the time I rested and we walked back to the meeting place, I felt fine. The past few days I have followed the training regimen: 40 minute walk; 20 minute brisk walk; 30 min jog/walk.
I started this blog for myself so that I can go back at times to see the beginning.