Day 5

Wow. I can't believe it's day five. Today I started the Couch to 5K program. I felt a little sluggish to begin with. I'm thinking it could have been my lunch that consisted of Doritos and a handful of bite size Snickers. Sigh. Anyway, I think it will be good for me to have some sort of "plan" for the next couple of months. The plan starts with a "brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes." To get my total of 30 minutes in I just added five more minutes of walking at the beginning and end.

I also tried to spend more time stretching today. My IT-band has always been a trouble spot for me. I wanted to start this challenge off running and felt I overdid it a bit the first few days. I am paying for that now. So, I'm holding my horses, taking it slow, and being smart. What's the rush anyway? I've got 360 more days to run! ;)

As for stretching, did you know the best time to stretch is after your muscles have had a chance to warm up. That's why most track athletes jog a mile or two, then do some stretching before the hard part of their workouts. And remember never to stretch to the point that it hurts. Stretching should be gentle. Here are a couple of my favorite (easy) stretches.

Happy trails & happy stretching,

Jessy