Hit the ground Running...

At least that's the hope. Right now it is a little intimidating to me as I have never been a runner.
The goal is to reach the point when I can run for 30 mins in 11 weeks. The plan I am going to follow is to do run/walk intervals three times a week.

Week 1:Walk 4 minutes, run 1 minute. Repeat 3 times.

• Day 1(10/6) - Felt very easy.
• Day 2(10/8) - I did 5 reps today. It was slightly harder than the first day.
• Day 3(10/10) - 5 reps again. Looking forward to the next set.

Week 2: Run 2 minutes, walk 4 minutes. Repeat 5 times

•       Day 1(10/15) - Not easy. Wondering if it is because I went to the gym after 5 days or if the 2 mins felt hard. I also upped the speed. 3.5 mph walking speed and 4.2 mph running speed.
• Day 2(10/17) - Not easy at all.  Bonus is - lots of sweat and 233 calories lost :) Walking speed was mostly 3.8 mph but slowed down to 3.5 mph a few times. Running speed was 4.5 mph.
• Day 3(10/20) - It was hard again today. Was feeling very tired and out of breath - not sure if it is because it isn't the right time of the month. Walking mostly at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph. Glad week 2 is over. Looking forward to week 3 to see how I feel about week 3 plan.

Week 3: Run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Repeat 5 times

•    Day 1 (10/22) - Hard - with a capital 'H'. Somehow pulled through. I found that the walking was harder in between running. Walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph. I was glad I could complete 5 reps.
• Day 2 (10/24) - It was hard but not as bad as the last (Day 1- 10/22). I think I can drop the capital 'H' this time ;-) Again walking speed was 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph.
• Day 3 (10/27) - Very happy that I am done with week 3. It was hard but I am so happy that I didn't give up. Like the previous days of week 3, walking speed was 3.8 mph and running speed was 4.5 mph. I am looking forward to starting to run more than I walk in a session.

Week 4: Run 5 minutes, walk 2.5 minutes. Repeat 4 times

•     Day 1 (10/29) - It was good to start the new week. However it didn't go well and I am not very happy even though I completed the days run. I had to stop twice - one after 2 reps when my shoe lace got untied and again soon after when the treadmill stopped. I started back again but am hoping I don't need to stop in between again. Even though running wasn't easy today, I thought the hard part was getting used to the 5 mins duration. Never felt that 5 mins was so long before :) I walked for 2 mns 30 seconds and ran for 5 mins. I walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph.
• Day 2 (11/4) - I had to take a break of a few days since I wasn't feeling too good. I started wondering if my shoulder ache was due to the running. But I guess not. I completed the day 2 of the week 4 run today. I walked at 3.8 mph and ran for 4.5 mph.
• Day 3 (11/5) - Just did 2 reps of the run today. Hoping to finish off the week on 11/7.
• Day 4 (11/7) - Completed Week 4 today. I am still doing ok (very tired but didn't need to stop) physically. But I just find the 5 minutes never ending mentally. I never thought 'only' 5 mins could be this long!! Now what will I do for the upcoming 7 mins run? As usual walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph.

Week 5: Run 7 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Repeat 3 times

•  Day 1 (11/14) - Got back to the gym after a week. Home and work came in the way. I completed day 1 of Week 5. It felt ok - hard but I didn't have to give up. Good thing there was only 3 reps Walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph.
• Day 2 (11/17) - Felt good and not very hard today. I feel I am ready for week 6 already but will complete one more day of week 5. Again, walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.5 mph.
• Day 3 (11/19) - Finished week 5. Feeling awesome! I walked at 3.8 mph and in rep 1, ran at 4.5 mph. In rep 2, I ran at the speed of 4.6 mph and rep 3 it was 4.7 mph. I will try 4.7 mph running speed for the next weeks run.

Week 6: Run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times

• Day 1(11/21) - Started week 6. It was hard but glad I could complete it. Walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.6 mph.
• Day 2 (11/24) - Walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.7 mph. Was not easy.
• Day 3 (11/25) - It felt hard but I completed week 6 and am so glad I did. Again walking speed 3.8 mph and running speed 4.7 mph.

      This week marks the 'more than' half way to finishing the running challenge I took up. Phew!

Week 7: Run 9 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 2 times then run 8 minutes 1 time

• Day 1 (12/1) - Walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.7 mph. Felt fine after completing todays exercise.
• Day 2 (12/4) - Walked at 3.8 mph and ran at 4.7 mph.
• Day 3 (12/5) - Done with week 7!! Walked at 4.0 mph today. Ran at 4.7 mph.

Week 8: Run 9 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Repeat 3 times

• Day 1 (12/8) - Walked at 4 mph and ran at 4.7 mph.
• Day 2 (12/11) - ...And I ran for 30 mins straight! YAY!! This was my week 11 plan but I felt ready to go. It wasn't harder than any other day. I feel so proud! So should I celebrate already? ;-) Noooooo, I will wait to complete Week 11. Ran at 4.7 mph today.
• Day 3 (12/12) - Done with week 8. Finished off the week by running for 30 mins at 4.7 mph.

Week 9: Run 13 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 2 times

•  Day 1 (12/17/) - Mommy duties prevented me from starting this week a little. 5 days of not running made it very hard today. But I am happy I could ran for 30 mins today. I started the run at 4.7 mph but after about 15 mins I started running at 4.8 mph. Felt good to have completed the run.
• Day 2 (12/18) - Ran again at 4.8 mph.
• Day 3 (12/19) - Completed week 9. Ran at 4.8 mph.

Now on Christmas break!! 

Week 10: Run 14 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Repeat 2 times

• Day 1 (1/5) - Back to the gym after a long time. Ran for 4.8 mph.
• Day 2 (1/6) - Today was the hardest day in gym for a very long time. Not sure why - but I came closest to stop running without completing the 30 mins today. I somehow pushed myself to  and completed 30 mins. I ran for 4.8 mph for 10 mins, followed by 5 mph for 10 mins and again ran at 4.8 mph to complete the 30 mins.

Week 11: Run 30 minutes. Repeat once and celebrate!