work up to running 1 hour by December 31st

and honestly, I’m okay with that. I’m getting better, cardio-fitness wise, and frankly, I think that’s enough.

I may reinstate this goal eventually but right now I’ll stick to the intervals of walking and running until I’m solidly comfortable with those.

I quit working on this goal for a while. After my ambitious initial plan I completely stopped working out, moved my deadline back to the end of the year, and only yesterday returned to the gym after a month away. So I decided to resume this goal today. I am exactly where I was on August 28 – right before I started my exercise hiatus.

I ran 1.25 miles at 4.5 mph, just as on the 28th, then got tired and walked half a mile, then ran and walked alternating each quarter mile. I went a total of 3.5 miles.

I got home and drew up what seems like a good, moderate and reasonable plan for hitting the Dec 31 deadline by increasing my jogging distance by .25 miles each week from now til December, and then by .5 miles each week during december. That way I’ll hit 5 miles by my birthday, and if I can do those 5 miles at a mere 5mph, well, I will have jogged 1 hour!

So, that’s the plan. Every day this week I have to do a minimum of 1.25 miles followed by intervals, and next week I ramp up to 1.5 followed by intervals. i’ll see how I feel as I go along, I might be able to increase the distances faster than I expect, but at least with this reasonable plan I know I can for sure hit my goal – and maybe surprise myself by surpassing it!

Discussing fitness goals with my brother yesterday he said that he wants to make one of his goals be “run a 12 minute mile” by October 1st. He used to be a terrific sprinter but was never much good with distances and his endurance has gotten lower in the last decade, so we’re both at almost the same level now in terms of how far we can run (even though he can still sprint much, much faster than I can).

So, I’m excited to give this sub-goal a shot together with him. I can currently jog a bit longer than a mile, but only at slow speeds, around 4.3 mph. I have to build up to being able to do it at 5mph this month.

Just over 16 minutes at 4.5mph – 1.25 miles! – with only a 15 second walking break toward the end.

1.25 miles is the distance of the loop around my local park. I know that running the treadmill is a lot easier than running on the ground so now I want to see if I can actually do a jog around the whole park just to see if I can.

Didn’t go any further than that because I had a class to go to right after, but I think I’m doing pretty well considering how long I have till December. Just gotta do a little more every day!

Went back to the gym yesterday (august 26) for the first time since august 9th. Yesterday’s workout was okay. Just wanted to see how long I could jog without stopping, to get a gauge on where I’m at.

Wed, August 26 – Made 10 minutes @ 4.5mph (a pretty slow jog), then 5 min walk, then 5 more minutes jog, followed by 25 minute walk, for a total of 50 minutes.

Today, August 27, wanted to see if I could make it further if I jogged a little slower. – Made it 17 minutes 30 seconds @ 4.2 mph. then walked 10 mins.

Goal for tomorrow: 20 minutes @ 4.3 mph

!!!!!

I did the dance energy class at the gym tonight. really maxed out my heart rate. averaged 167 beats/minute for a whole hour. Spiked all the way up to 186 bpm when I was really working hard a few times. I hope this will help my endurance at running tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s goal is to hit the 10minute/5recovery rhythm for 4 intervals. HOpe I can do it. If I can’t, I’ll just try to go as far as possible!

1 hour is pretty long. The longest I’ve ever made it was 40 minutes… and that was a few months ago. My fitness has dropped since then and I’m not sure I can make it beyond 10 minutes right now. But I think a good, hardcore challenging goal is something that would really help me right now. So I’m on it.

This week, I’ll keep the intervals 10 minute / 5 minute recovery * 4 (total 60).

Next week 15 minute, 5 minute recovery *3 (total 60)

Week of the 18th: 30 run, 15 recovery, 15 run

Week of 25th: 40 run, 10 recovery, 10 run.

MONDAY SEPT 1 – 60 minute run.

I’m a little wary that this goal may be too ambitious, but even if I don’t make it all the way to being able to run for an hour by Sept 1, I’ll definitely make it there by October 1.