Christmas was…  yeah.  It was great to spend time with my mom and brother (and my brother’s new girlfriend). We did what our family normally does for holidays.  The TV was off and we played games and cards all day.  It was great.

Great except the fact that Huzzy wasn’t there. I didn’t get a call from him, either. Now, I haven’t received a call for seven weeks from him, but I was hoping against hope that they’d let them call home for Christmas.  Oh well, they must be on a pretty important mission. I got an e-mail from him and that was the third best (behind having him with me and a phone call). It was good to get that.

I’m still doing the Couch to 5K program that I mentioned here. I’m supposed to start on Week 4.  That consists of 3 minutes running, 90 seconds of walking, 5 minutes of running, 2 1/2 minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running, 90 seconds of walking and then 5 minutes of running.  I know me. I know I could do the five minutes of running… but with only 90 seconds of walking before, I’m not sure I can do that.

I’m actually thinking I might just try to skip ahead to Week 5. Believe it or not, it actually looks easier. More running, but more walking time. The first workout of the week is 5 minutes of running followed by 3 minutes of walking. This is repeated for a total of three times.   The second workout is just 8 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking then 8 minutes of running.  And the third workout is supposed to be a straight 20 minutes of running.

Yeah, I’ve known from the beginning that I was NOT going to do that third workout when it came time for it. I can’t go from running 8 minutes to running 20.  And the next week (Week 6) is easier than the 20 minutes. I’ll just repeat the 2nd workout again.

Of course, I screw everything up because I am doing this 9 week program in about four. You are supposed to run three times a week. I’m actually doing each “week” in four days (which is one more workout  in the “week” than required). By going to a new week every four days, I can cut the program down by almost half.

So yeah, here I go. Week 4. Or Week 5 if I can do it!

I need to punish myself. I can’t seem to find the energy to work out aftercoming home from a full day at work, letting the dogs out, feeding the dogs and finding something to eat.

After doing all that, I just don’t feel like going out into the freezing Michigan weather. By that time of day, all I want to do is curl up at home and try to stay warm.

So, as a punishment, I’m going to be getting up at 5 a.m. to hit the gym. I’m NOT a morning person. This does NOT sound like fun.  But it needs to be done.  Lovely.

My toe is pretty much healed. A bit tender in spots, but mostly healed.  So I need to get back to my running. Or, rather, just start running.

Other MilSpouses on SpouseBuzz and in other MilSpouse blogs (like High Heels and Combat Boots and Most Certainly Not)  are trying a program called Cool Running: The Couch-to-5K Running Program.  It looks very simple, and from what I’m hearing from others, it really works.  And in only two months and only 25-30 minutes three  times a week!

I’m going to start the week of November 8… when I get done with my first week of active duty. If I can’t do it right away, I’ll start the next week. We’ll see how tough the first week or two is for me… I might skip ahead few weeks!

Anyone want to start with me?  You can do it with the goal of distance or time. I’d love to have someone start this out with me!

Here’s the program:

Week 1
Workout 1, 2, & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 2
Workout 1, 2, & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 3
Workout 1, 2, & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 400 yards (or 3 minutes)

Week 4
Workout 1, 2, & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then do the following:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2 1/2  minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Week 5
Workout 1: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk.

• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  

Workout 2: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk.

• Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
• Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)

Workout 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then jog 2 miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

Week 6
Workout 1: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk.

• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Workout 2: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk.

• Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

Workout 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then jog 2 1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.

Week 7
Workout 1, 2 & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.

Week 8
Workout 1, 2 & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes) with no walking.

Week 9
Workout 1, 2 & 3: Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk. Then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).