Couch to 5k, Week 8 review.

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Hey what's up everyone? It's Brad H. coming back at you again. I hope that everyone had a wonderful and grateful Thanksgiving Day. No matter what is going on in our lives, I'm sure we all have something to be thankful for. Tonight's blog post is another C25K post. If you read my last post, you know that last week was the 8th week of the program. You also know that I went out of town for Thanksgiving, and I was wondering if I would be able to find somewhere to run at while away. After all, I've come too far along on this journey to fall short now. Here is my review of week 8 of the Couch to 5k.

Week 8 of C25K had three days of the same length of runs. Like everyday of the program, it had a 5 minute warm-up walk. A 28 minute run followed, followed by a 5 minute cool down walk. Day 1 of Week 8 began for me on Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving. I meant to run that Tuesday before, but I had to go get my sister from college. I was tired from the drive, not to mention it was dark by the time I made it back. Since I was leaving for Thanksgiving Wednesday, I woke up at 6:15 to run. My sister was supposed to go run with me, but she decided to sleep in. I knew that she would sell me out lol. I went to the track and put in my run. This was the first day of the program where I ran in the morning. It was another challenging run, but I was able to complete it. There was a guy out there running as well, so that gave me even more motivation. I came back home, finished packing, ate breakfast, showered up, and then got the highway with the family.

Day 2 took place on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I was out of town for Thanksgiving for 3 days total. I knew that if I wanted to stay on track with the program, I would have to run at least one day out of the three. I asked my godmother and her husband where there any local tracks or parks. To my delight, they informed me that there was one a few miles from them. The night before I went, my godmother's husband rode with me and showed me where it was. The next morning, my sister and I went to the park he showed me the previous night. The name of the park was Veteran's Park. It's located in Ft. Worth, Texas. There were a few people out there walking, which is always encouraging. My sister did a bit of running, but she walked most of the track. The track was about a mile long in total. I got started on my 28 minute run. It was a cold morning, but the running quickly turned it hot for me. I tried to resist looking at my timer on the podcast, but with about 5 minutes left I did. The reason I don't like to look at the timer is because I feel I will slow down on purpose to make the time go faster. After 28 minutes, I was done. It was a great feeling for me to be able to run even while I'm out of town. It let me know that I am truly dedicated to this program.

The third and final day of week 8 took place yesterday evening. I left the house around 5 p.m., and got my run in. On this day I didn't look down at the timer at all. It seemed to make the run go faster also. Out of the three days of week 8, this felt like the easiest day. After finishing, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I am officially on the 9th and final week of the Couch to 5k running program. Three more days, and I will become a graduate. The final week is 30 minute runs, which means that I'll be running an extra 2 minutes. After posting my accomplishment on the Couch to 5k Facebook page, a fellow member replied saying; "Week 9 isn't much different than week 8". As much as I'm ready to be done with this program, I almost hate to see it end.

Well that's it for this post everyone. Hopefully next time I write, I will officially be a C25K graduate. I know that I'm capable, and I won't allow myself not to finish, especially after coming this far. Till next time take care everyone, and stay up and stay healthy. Peace, love and blessings to all.

The Foreign Exchange: Connected (2004) Album Review

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The Foreign Exchange: Connected (2004) Album Review

Review of week 7 of Couch to 5k.

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Hello once again world. It's ya boy Brad H. coming back at you again. As always I hope this reaches everyone in great health and spirits. This blog post is another review of the "Couch to 5k" running program that I'm currently doing. If you read my last post, you know that I finished up week 6. I'm happy to report that I finished week 7 of the program yesterday. I am officially on week 8 now, and after this week, I only have one more week to go. It has definitely been a journey so far. It's a journey that I'm loving also.

Week 7 was another challenging week. However, unlike the last few weeks, all the runs were the same for each day of the week. Each day started out with a five minute warm-up walk as always. A 25 minute run followed. Again there was no walking during the run. The first day of week 7 was extremely challenging. This was the day that I ran in the neighborhood. The main difference between the neighborhood and the park is that there slight hills in the neighborhood. As you may know, running up hills make running more challenging. I struggled on this day, but I was able to finish and get it done. Upon finishing, I felt very confident that I could complete the rest of the week. My day 2 run took place at the local park. After doing my five minute warm-up walk, I got into the run. It was hard starting out, but I would say 10 minutes into the run I was good. It was also encouraging seeing other people running while I was there running also. I finished up strong, and I was surprised at how good I was feeling following my run.

I done day 3 of week 7 on yesterday, which was a Sunday. It was again another tough day. It took me a few minutes to get started up and into my groove. It was also a bit warmer this day than previous days, so that definitely played a factor. Again I was able to push through it and get it done. I felt a lot of relief when the guy on the podcast said I only had a minute left to go. I dug deep and continued to push. My face was covered in sweat afterwards, but once again it was a great feeling finishing. We are officially on week 8 now. I don't know what this week will include since I have yet to download the podcast. I know it's going to be tough, but I'm ready for the challenge. The only issue this week for me will be that I'm going out of town for Thanksgiving. I will be gone 3 days, so I will need to find somewhere to run on one of those days. Hopefully I will be able to find somewhere to do that. Well that's it for tonight's post. If you don't hear back from me before Thanksgiving, I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to be writing you again soon. Till then peace love and blessings to all.

Couch to 5k. Review of week 6.

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Hello once again. It's Brad H. writing again, and this is Brad H's Perspective. Hope everyone is doing great and enjoying life. I had been meaning to write this blog post several day ago, but we all know how life sometimes gets in the way of us doing things. However, I'm back again, and this is another C25K blog post. The last time I wrote regarding my progress on C25K was on November 7th. I had officially finished up week 5 of the program. Week 6 for me took place last week. First there was day 1 of week 6. This day had a 5 minute warm-up walk, followed by 5 minutes of running. Then there was a 3 minute walk, followed up by 8 minutes of running. Finally there was another 3 minute walk, which was followed by a final 5 minute run. Then of course there was the 5 minute cool down period. Day one was another challenging day. However, it was a bit more easier than day 3 of week 5. With that said, we got it done and went onto day 2 of week 6.

Day 2 of week 6 was another cold and challenging day of running. It consisted of a 5 minute warm-up walk. Then there were two 10 minute runs with a 3 minute walk in between them. Those were followed up by a 5 minute cool down. After putting in the work and effort, I was able to finish this day up strong. One thing I want to point out is that I like running in the cool compared to the heat. However, the cool air always gives me a running nose while I'm running. I never had that problem when I was breathing entirely through my mouth back in the day. When I run now, I breathe entirely through my nose. I'm going to have to do some research on breathing techniques that would suit me.

Finally, there was day 3 of week 6. I knew for a fact that this was going to be the most challenging day of all the weeks up to this point. This day had the usual 5 minute warm-up walk, followed by a 25 minute run. NO WALKING! I almost didn't go running on this day. I left the house and started my warm-up walk, but I noticed dark clouds in the sky. I figured I could beat the rain, but I started feeling sprinkles coming down. I decided to head back to the house. While heading back, the guy on the podcast announced it was time to run. I said to myself I might as well go for it. I mean what's the worst that can happen other than getting a bit of rain on me? So I got into the run, and a few minutes into it I knew that it was going to be tough. I had to reach deep inside of my spirit and soul to continue going. When the guy announced that I 4 minutes left, I was relieved. I kept pushing forward at a comfortable pace, and I was able to finish the 25 minutes of nonstop running. Definitely a great feeling afterwards.

So now that I'm done with week 6, we are onto week 7 now. I'm going to do day 1 of week 7 later on today. I believe that week 7 is 25 minute runs the entire week. I haven't downloaded the podcast yet, so I'll know for sure then. I know it's going to be challenging, but I'm up for the challenge. Another thing I want to mention. If you are interested in following my journey, check out my Youtube channel. I can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/prospectboy?feature=mhee. I've been making videos on my progress, so that's another way to see my journey. Well that's it for now. I will definitely be writing soon on my C25K journey. Hope you all keep staying tuned. Till then, peace love and blessings.

Couch to 5k week five is complete. Onto week 6.

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Hello once again. It's your man Brad H. coming back at you all once again. Hope everyone is doing well. I meant to post this blog post on Saturday night, but I got busy with some things and was unable to do so. So if anyone read my last post, you all know that I'm currently participating in the Couch to 5k running program. If you read deeper into that post, you know that I was in week 5 of the program. I am happy to say that I have officially finished week 5 of the C25k program. Day 3 of week 5 started out with a 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 20 minutes of non stop running. I must admit that this was the most challenging day of the program so far.

I went to the local park with my younger sister. She started out running with me, and after a mile she stopped. After she stopped, I still had 10 minutes left to go in my run. I had to dig deep and really push myself to continue going. When the podcast told me that I had finished up my 20 minutes of running, I was relieved and happy that I accomplished this goal. So now we are onto week 6 of the program. I have yet to download the podcast for this week, so I'm not sure what to expect as of yet.

I am learning much through this journey of the C25k program. I already knew and believed that exercise and fitness is mental, but now I'm living it. When I feel myself getting tired, I have to tap into that mental energy to get me through. It can definitely be hard work, but it's well worth it. Well that's all for this time. I hope to be writing on my week 6 progress in the next couple of days. Till that time comes, peace and blessings to everyone.

My progress with the Couch to 5k running program.

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Hello once again. It's me Brad H. Hope this reaches everyone in great health, mind, and spirits. In tonight's post I'm going to be discussing the Couch to 5k running program that I'm currently participating in. I was online last night, and I came across videos on Youtube of people who have documented their experiences with this program. Watching these videos made me feel bad that I hadn't been putting my experience out there for others to see. This has encouraged me to keep track of my progress, and update others on where I am with the program.

I first want to start out by saying that I am on week 5 of the Couch to 5k program. I just finished up day two of week five, and I will discuss that in a bit. For those of you are are interested, I'm going to give a brief background on my running history. I was an athlete all throughout high school. When I graduated in 2000, I like many other people in general became less active. This inactivity lead to weight gain. In 2006, I started back running. I slowly built up my stamina, and in a few months I was able to run two to 3 miles nonstop. This lasted up until around 2009. Between 09 and 2010, I went through some changes in life that lead to me not being as active running. I was still running, but not with the same regularity, or intensity.

I had planned on running in a local "Turkey Trot" race on Thanksgiving Day of this year, so I done some research on the Couch to 5k running routine. It claims to get you ready to run 3 miles in two months. To keep myself from pushing too hard, I started out with the program. The first week was very easy. It was eight 60 seconds runs, with a 90 second walk in between them. Week two was almost the same, and was easy for me as well. Week 3 got into the 3 minute runs, and the first day was a bit rough, but after the first day it was fairly easy also. Week 4 got into the 5 minute runs, and got through it ok. I'm now on week five of the program. I just completed day 2 this evening. Day 2 consisted of a five minute warm up walk, followed by an 8 minute run. Then another 5 minute walk, and another 8 minute run before cooling down for 5 minutes.

I struggled the first few minutes into the first 8 minute run. Maybe it was because I took an extra day off. However, after getting through the first 8 minute run, the second one was fairly easy. I'm planning on completing day 3 on Saturday. Day 3 is the day where the program requires a 20 minute run nonstop, so I gotta rest up for that. I know I will be able to get it done though. So far I'm enjoying the program, and I see progress as well. I'm following the podcasts that I downloaded online. Here is the website is anyone is interested: http://www.c25k.com/podcasts.htm. The guy name is Robert, and he tells you when to run, and walk. He also has music on there to listen to while running.

Well that's it for this time folks. I hope to be back writing you all on Saturday when I complete day 3 of week 5. I encourage anyone who is interested in doing this program to do your own research online. Well take care everyone, and peace, love, and blessings to all.