July 12, 2021

Couch to 5K : Week 7 Recap

Seven weeks down!

First, I just want to update on the email subscription situation. I'm so sorry to keep writing about this, but I'm trying to get it all figured out. The switch from Feedburner to follow.it has been a total nightmare and I had a complete meltdown this morning (literally sobbing and catastrophizing everything).

I discovered this morning that the email notification for my blog went to my spam folder. I asked Jerry and my mom, and the same thing happened with them. So, if you usually get notifications and you didn't get one today, please check your spam folder. I notified customer service at follow .it and I'm still waiting for help. I'm praying that it will be delivered to my inbox tomorrow morning.

Okay, enough of that (for now). I finished Week 7 of Couch to 5K!

This was the first week without any intervals. All three workouts were the same: Run 2.5 miles. Seven weeks ago, that felt impossible. Logically, I knew I could do it (in 2009, I couldn't even run down my street, and three years later I ran a full marathon). Running just felt so hard seven weeks ago. The intervals were only one minute each, but I struggled through them!

My main focus this week was to "run easy". It sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but at some point running starts to feel easier. And eventually, if I keep training, an easy run will be just that--like going for a walk. I use my heart rate to determine what is genuinely an easy run.

To me, an easy run would be in my MAF zone. Since I'm 39, my MAF rate is 180-39=141 bpm. To figure the zone, you just start 10 beats lower. My zone would be 131-141 bpm. (Here is a post where I went into more detail about easy running. It's a good, informative post--check it out if you haven't already.)

I've mentioned before that my ultimate goal right now is to be able to run three miles while staying in my MAF zone. I'm not even close to that now!

Week 7, Day 1 : Run 2.5 miles

I chose to do this one on the treadmill again. I was kind of nervous--I hadn't run that far in a long time. I set the treadmill at 5.0 mph and read my book. I hoped my foot pod would be accurate this time because I worked on calibrating it, but after a little while, I realized that the Garmin had reset the calibration factor to 100%--so it was completely inaccurate. I don't think I'll ever have an accurate, consistent method to get my Garmin and treadmill to be in sync.

The first half mile, my legs felt so tired and wobbly. I was starting to doubt whether I was going to be able to complete it. Eventually, I managed to focus on my book and stop thinking about my legs feeling so tired. My heart rate showed that it was anything but easy...


My average heart rate was 155 bpm. My MAF zone is Zone 2, so clearly I have some work to do ;) Over time, I'm hoping to see a shift toward Zone 3 and eventually Zone 2.

Week 7, Day 2 : Run 2.5 miles

The weather was exceptionally nice that day and I decided to run outside. I figured I might as well take advantage of it because who knows when we'll have another day like that? Again, I was nervous. Extra nervous because it was outside and I would be venturing away from home.

I made sure my Garmin only displayed the distance and my heart rate; I didn't want to know what my pace was. Since my goal was to run easy, I wanted to run by feel and not let my pace dictate that.

The run felt really good! I was surprised at how good I felt, actually. Much better than the treadmill run. I thought it would feel like it took forever, but it went by more quickly than I thought. The last half mile was harder--my legs became like lead. They felt really heavy and tired. I was glad to be done after that!

I was very surprised at my pace. I was expecting something in the 13:00's, and I was cool with that. I was not prepared for a pace in the 11:00's.


I always subconsciously run faster the closer I get to home, so perhaps that's why my legs felt so tired at the end. I knew my heart rate was going to be up there--it gets higher outside than it does at home. However, my average heart rate was 153 bpm, so at least I'm at the low end of Zone 4.



Week 7, Day 3 : Run 2.5 miles

I did this one on the treadmill again. I usually do my third run on Mondays, but I actually really wanted to do it yesterday after dinner. I've learned to take advantage of the days I want to run, because they are few and far between!

This time, I tried my best to really focus on my breathing and running lightly. I wanted to see if I could get my heart rate down. I read my book while I ran and each time I found myself running too hard, I would try to ease my steps.

It definitely paid off--my heart rate was in Zone 3 longer than it was in Zone 4! After looking at the first two runs, it seems impossible. But it just shows how powerful the mind is--when I focused on running easy, it literally made the run easier, even though I was running the same pace (on both days 1 and 3). My average heart rate was 148 bpm! So my average for the run as a whole was in Zone 3.


I was really happy with my heart rate during that run. I'm going to stop fiddling with the calibration factor on my Garmin (I'll never get it to be consistent) and just focus on running easy. Maybe by the end of summer, I'll be solidly in Zone 3.

Week 7 is now complete. Just 2 more weeks to go for Couch to 5K!

14 comments:

  1. Hi Katie, I thought it would help you to know that I've been getting the emails, and not in my spam folder.

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    1. That is super helpful to know--thank you so much!

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  2. Sorry the switch has been such a nightmare. Thought I'd let you know I've been getting all blog post notifications in my email just as before. So maybe a lot of others are still good too? Hopefully it'll all smooth out soon.

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    1. I appreciate your letting me know--I've been so stressed out about the whole thing!

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  3. The email notification for your blog post has been coming to my inbox (not going to spam). So it is not happening to everyone. Congrats on your runs!!!

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    1. I'm so glad--I have no idea why it would go to my spam and not to others, but I'm relieved to know that! Thanks for telling me.

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    2. If your email you’re sending it to is the same domain as your website (or same email to/from even) it has a higher rate of assuming it’s spam, since it detects it’s being sent on behalf of you from another system. That’s the easiest way I can explain it. I *hate* it because it happens to me all the time for work when sending EDMs. I’m still trying to explain the technicals and what to do to fix it - here’s hoping the techs can help you!

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  4. Reading this you are almost inspiring me to run again, almost.... ;)

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    1. I am SO glad that I started running again. I feel like I'm really accomplishing something each time I do it. Each little bit farther I run feels like a big milestone!

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  5. Your progress is so inspiring. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!

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    1. Thank you! Your book is actually what gave me the idea to possibly try the Couch to 5K again. And I'm so glad that I have been doing it!

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  6. Happy for you Katie!! You’re always an inspiration through all the ups and downs :)

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  7. Your e-mails are coming in just fine in my regular e-mail (not spam).

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    1. Same for me, no issues getting the emails!!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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