Couch to 5K, Week 3 Revisted, Day 1 Again

I decided to repeat week three.  My sister Aimee (whose wisdom and knowledge of things physiological regarding exercise will be featured in an upcoming blog post) encouraged me to use the Couch to 5K program as a launching off point.  It is a tool to be adapted to suit one's needs. 

I didn't really feel ready for week three last week and was trying to push myself to be there, when I did not feel quite up to it.  I also had some schedule conflicts and a minor physical set-back.  But this week I'm ready to roll and I feel up for it.  It's going to be a good week.

So the routine for week three is
5 minutes warm up
90 seconds jog
90 seconds walk
3 minutes jog
3 minutes walk
90 seconds jog
90 seconds walk
3 minutes jog
5 minutes cool down

I stayed to about 3 mph walking and 4 mph jogging.

The computer told me I burned 185 calories with 57 of the fat calories.  I covered 1.44 miles and it took 25 minutes.

I still went easy on the Nordic Rider, but I did do it.  I did 10 minutes on the Gazelle.

Later, in the early evening, I was very stiff with some remaining back stiffness and a bit of piriformis nerve pain.  I've had that off and on ever since one of my pregnancies.  But, again, thanks to the wonderful stretches Aimee recommended, I can generally nip it in the bud before it gets severe. 

So tonight, when I noticed the pain and stiffness while making supper, I got right down on my kitchen floor in between things and had a most excellent stretch. 

Sweet relief.   Thanks, Aimee.

And as a bonus, I'm down to 20 minutes on my ticker, with two weeks remaining in which to finish it.  Generally, even when I have met my ticker goal, there has been a bit of a push to get the minutes in at the end.  But this time, I'm ahead of the game.