Gateway to 8K

Yesterday marked my first workout on the Gateway to 8K plan, an extension of my beloved Couch to 5K. It went....so-so.

I knew it would be a treadmill workout, because I'd be getting home after dark and North Carolina is going through a cold spell this week, so I admit I wasn't looking forward too much to my run. I diligently packed my gym bag in the morning and tried to pump myself up for the run all day. A million things conspired to convince me out of the workout, but I persevered.

First, I drove past the gym on my way home. I then had to make a left onto a busy road to get back, but I did it. I then discovered that I'd forgotten to pack headphones for my iPhone, and I absolutely abhor running, especially on the treadmill, without music. I managed to scrounge a pair up from the student help desk that only played music into one ear, but it worked. It took a fair amount of diddling around with the headphone jack to get it to properly play in my phone, but no matter. I thus began my run.

The GW28K app was disappointingly buggy. There was a definite glitch in the run times, as it listed 3 running sections and 3 walking sections, but then tacked on standalone run and walk sections at the end, confusingly. I kept adjusting the time on my treadmill and basically just couldn't relax and enjoy my run. The app also wouldn't allow me to shuffle my music, so I had to grit my teeth through an alphabetical run-through of my songs. I'm anxiously awaiting a software update.

I found the run challenging, as I tend to find treadmill runs. I did run faster than usual because I was on a treadmill, so I suppose it's good for me to practice that pace. I get too distracted by the treadmill, however. I'm constantly checking my time, speed, etc. One thing I did not check, however, was calories burned. Generally when I'm on a piece of gym equipment I watch my calories like a hawk circling over prey. This time I didn't think about it until this morning, when I realized I hadn't looked at my calorie count. It feels good to workout for aerobic benefit and pure enjoyment instead of weight loss.

Speaking of weight loss, I've been quietly and steadily shedding some pounds since early December. Usually when I try to lose weight I utilize various combinations of strict calorie watching and constant exercise. This time I've simply been eating moderate portions of whatever I want, and making healthy choices when at the grocery store or at restaurants. I even managed to lose a little weight over Christmas.  As of this morning I'm down 7lbs and I'm thrilled. Running has definitely contributed, and I'm excited to see how much further I can go.