STC - C2W12D78

Summer Tracker Challenge
Beginning Date: July 16, 2007
Ending Date: October 7, 2007

Workout: Couch to 5k
2 miles: 26:00
total distance: 3.065
total time: 40:00
speeds: 3.8, 5.3, 5.2, 5.0

I'm getting frustrated with the running situation. Over the weekend I figured out my target heart rates for exercising at 70-85% level. The target is between 140 - 165 beats per minute. My maximum heart rate is 189 beats per minute. When I run for even 1/2 mile my heart rate gets up to 185 bpm. This would explain why running longer distances (even 1/2 mile) is difficult for me to maintain. Friday night the scheduled workout was to run 2 miles without any walking breaks. I ran 2 miles, but after the first 1/2 mile I had to stop every 1/4 mile to take a drink and take a 10 second rest. I don't know where to go with this or what to do about it. I'm running at a pretty slow pace - 5.3. I ran 1/2 mile at 5.0 this morning and it was tougher because I felt like I was in slow motion the entire time. I'm not pushing myself harder than I should be. I have been running for 6 weeks and exercising consistently for over 6 months - shouldn't my heart rate be getting a little lower?

Wednesday I'm going to try to run the distances at 5.0 or below and see if that changes things at all.

I will lift this afternoon.

I really hope that when my birthday comes around I see significant differences in my fitness level and body composition. I'm re-reading BFFM and am going to put together a game plan over the coming weekend for how I want to do my third challenge. Interestingly, I chose a chapter on carbs to read yesterday and it said that the main source of my protein should NOT come from dairy products (i.e. cottage cheese). Uh oh - this puts a huge wrench into my menu planning, but I will have to figure out ways to work around it - sometimes 3 meals a day have cottage cheese in them as the protein source. Hmmmm....