The last minute is always the hardest. I am tired and out of breath, just like I’m out of quarters for the laundry. But I keep going because the last minute is where I make the most gains. It’s where I push my body a little bit further than it’s gone before, so tomorrow it can heal and go even farther the next day.

Today I will run for 8 minutes and walk for 5 minutes and run for 8 minutes as part of the 2nd day of training in the 5th week of the Couch to 5K program. I’m halfway there! I am pretty sure that last minute will be rough, but it will get me closer to the 5K and farther from the couch. It’s only a month and two days until the Midsummer Night’s Run 5K, and I’ve got to stick to every day of the training schedule to be in shape in time.

I’ve “enjoyed” the Couch to 5K program so far, but I have to put quotes around the word “enjoyed” because it has been challenging. The program has pushed me hard on each run, but not so hard that it’s impossible. (Uh, except for that one day when I stopped a minute early. Whoops!) I can feel myself gradually getting in better shape and I’m looking forward to the day when I can toss off a 5K again like it’s no big deal.

Just a reminder, if you sponsor me for at least $20 on my upcoming 5K, I will add your site to the list of sponsors in the middle rail. All money goes to the National Headache Foundation. Thanks for everyone who has donated so far!

• Run Lazy
• My Basement Gym
• Airplane Extenders
• ResuMAYDAY
• Yogurt Beats Cake
• …Things are going to start happening to me now
• Gravel and Rust
• Booth or Bust
• Fat Girl, Thin Dress
• Cupcakes Take the Cake
• Why the Weight?

This morning I completed the first day of week 3 of my Couch to 5K training. I like using the Podrunner Intervals MP3s while I’m running because they make a beeping sound when I’m supposed to switch from running to walking or back again. I’ve done interval training in the past by using my watch, which only makes me focus on the time. I’ll be huffing and puffing and look at my wrist to see I only have 30 seconds left…and then I check again and I have 20 seconds left…and then again I see I have 15 seconds left…and OH MY GOD CAN I STOP RUNNING YET?! Surely 30 seconds have gone by, right? A watched pot never boils, and a watched sports watch moves slower through time than an unwatched one. Having the podcast alert me when to switch gears let my mind wander and focus on other things than the time, making the whole run go by quicker.

At least, it usually does, until that last 3 minute interval I had to do today. I ran down the trail in one direction and turned around at the usual spot I’ve used during these runs, but because I was doing long running segments this week, I got back home faster than normal. So I had to keep chugging past the gate to my complex…and chugging some more…and then, oh really, let’s just walk the rest of the way even if I have to cut 60 seconds off the last interval. It is muggy and hot and this is good enough. Anyway, I’m still on track for the 5K, which is now less than two months away!