I have been a delinquent runner this past week. Let me give you an update based on the running plan I made for this week:

• November 23, 2009, Monday – Cross-training by biking for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how I fare. The ultimate goal is to do moderate biking for an hour.

What happened: I borrowed Ramil’s bike and tried several rounds around our subdivision. Living in Antipolo can be very daunting for beginner runners or bikers like me. The original plan to ride the bike for 30 to 40 minutes was reduced to a quick 15-minute-ride. I felt like such a loser after realizing that I simply have to settle for those 15 minutes. There’s no street in our subdivision that does not have a significant amount of inclination and a few rounds had my thighs screaming for rest. It made me realize that I like running better than biking.

• November 24, 2009, Tuesday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.

What happened: We had deliberations in school in the afternoon and since the school is just in the next subdivision I decided to just run going to school and back home. Again, the hilly streets of Antipolo proved to be my undoing. I planned to do run the whole way going there but my body could only muster a run-walk-run strategy. I took me around 18 minutes each way which means I had a total of 30-40 minutes of run. Considering that most of it was uphill running/walking, I was satisfied with it.

• November 25, 2009, Wednesday – Rest day

What happened: After my challenging past two days, I savored my rest day!

• November 26, 2009, Thursday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.

What happened: Ramil and I were able to run around our subdivision. We ran 4k in around 17 minutes.

• November 27, 2009, Friday – Another attempt at a tempo run.

What happened: We had to do grocery shopping and we got home pretty late which means I didn’t get to run.

• November 26, 2009, Saturday – Easy run

What happened: I did many chores the whole day and ended up not running at all. I told myself that I was pretty much tired from the household chores anyway.

• November 27, 2009, Sunday – Rest day

What happened: We had plans to go to several places and again, we got home late. Third consecutive rest day

I dragged myself last Monday even if it was just to run inside the house for 20 minutes then I took another rest day last Tuesday. Yesterday, I ran again for 20 minutes inside the house. I plan to run again today for 20 minutes.

The now-cold weather here in Antipolo is making it difficult for me to run outside. I’ve noticed that I’m having more difficulty breathing when I’m running outside. I hope to remedy that in the next few days but for the mean time, I’ll have to be content with running inside our house.

I’ve been more or less consistent with my vow to regularly exercise. I’ve set a running goal for myself by running my first race in a few weeks and here’s how I’ve been doing:

• November 17, 2009, Tuesday – The day I started running again. I ran a total of 3k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k walking. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take note of my time.
• November 18, 2009, Wednesday – I ran a total of 4k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k walking. Total time is around 20 minutes. I  must remember to be more accurate in taking note of my time. Aside from the usual stretching before and after a run, I did 30 crunches which just goes to show how flabby my middle is
• November 19, 2009, Thursday – Rest day imposed by Ramil
• November 20, 2009, Friday – I was set on trying a tempo run but it was a date night for my sister so Ramil and I ended up bringing along Mateo. It ruined my mood even while we were just getting dressed to run. To make me feel better, Ramil offered to be the one to run with Mateo so I can go through with my plan. It turned out that our little boy had it in him because he excitedly ran with so much fervor, I couldn’t help but slow down a little and make it a family affair. The three of us were able to cover 2k while mostly running. Needless to say, I was pretty amazed with my two-year-old that I decided to just think of that day as my easy run.

• November 21, 2009, Saturday – We had to attend a birthday party, got home late and pretty much tired to run. We did a lot of walking that day though so I still had some light exercise.
• November 22, 2009, Sunday – Again, my sister had plans which means no one could look after Mateo. Even though I would have loved to bring Mateo along, Ramil was tired already. Instead of running by myself outside, I settled for running inside the house for 20 minutes. I was able to work up quite a sweat because I was doing sprints every 4 minutes. Again, aside from the usual stretching before and after, I was able to finish my exercise off with 50 crunches.

So there, I think I’m doing pretty okay. However, I hope to run my first 5k race in three weeks’ time so I need to train myself harder if I want to make decent time. Although I’m not looking at placing, I don’t want to be among the last ones in the 5k race. To hype up my running routine, these are my plans for the week:

• November 23, 2009, Monday – Cross-training by biking for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how I fare. The ultimate goal is to do moderate biking for an hour.
• November 24, 2009, Tuesday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.
• November 25, 2009, Wednesday – Rest day
• November 26, 2009, Thursday – Run 5k: 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 1k running, 1k brisk walking, 0.5k running, 0.5k brisk walking.
• November 27, 2009, Friday – Another attempt at a tempo run.
• November 26, 2009, Saturday – Easy run
• November 27, 2009, Sunday – Rest day

Please take note that the schedule  I’ve set above is not a schedule taken from any program. It’s just my own running recipe based on how I’ve been doing so far. Please also take note that I’m not a PE teacher or a graduate of any course related to sports so if there’s anything I’m doing incorrectly, I would appreciate some feedback.

Whew, I feel tired just looking back on what I’ve been doing and giving a rundown of what I plan to do. I’m just hoping I’d be able to write a good post about my running progress  in the next few days.