We have a treadmill now, so I decided I’m going to use it. I also realized I needed something to keep me motivated so I signed up for one of those virtual walk apps where you track your mileage to progress along a path that follows an approximation of a real world path. It’ll call out points of interest, etc etc. The interesting part is this:
The path I chose runs from Kyoto to Tokyo and is about 343.1 miles. My plan is to complete 330 of those miles by July 1st and then do a half marathon (13.1 miles). There happens to be a hiking/running trail near me that is, you guessed it, about 13.1 miles!
I just walked a mile in about 24 minutes at a pace of 2.5 mph on average. I did it in my socks like a fool but next time I’ll put on sneakers. My short term goal is to be able do a mile in 20 minutes which feels very achievable. I stepped off the treadmill a little warm and sweaty but not winded. I’ll have to see how my legs feel tomorrow.
Burned some calories too and I’ll admit an overarching goal here is weight loss, I’ve put on about 30 pounds in the past two years and I’d like to reverse that if I can. I have a huge amount of my wardrobe that I can’t wear anymore because I’m too fluffy and I like those clothes! I want to wear them again!
I’m doing the Nakasendo Trail challenge. Honestly kinda pricy for what they’re offering but I liked the features. Not anything as sophisticated as VR though.
So achievable that just by pushing myself a little I did a mile in 19 minutes. So I guess next goal is 1.5 miles in 20 minutes. There’s a 5k on the boardwalk over at the local beach on February 2nd. I might sign up
So I’ve been able to shave my 1-mile time down to 16:15, with a mixture of walking and jogging. Probably could have done a little better but I pushed too hard too early and my shins were really hurting. A decent pair of running shoes has made a big difference though, I even got some leg compression sleeves which seems to help a little?
The other night I walked for 18 minutes and then managed to jog at 4.5 mph for like 6 minutes straight and my legs felt totally fine. Just want to keep whittling down the warm-up time required so I can start covering some distance in the 20-ish minutes a day I get on the treadmill. Much more time than that is hard to come by on a daily basis. In that time I managed 1.2 miles tonight
If you find yourself plateauing I suggest increasing the time or distance even if you have to decrease intensity. When you do finally go back to intensity you’ll go much faster!
Oh and a tip for “not going too fast at first” - always think about your next run. The one you’re on is just practice.
Tonight I did 1.2 miles in about 22 minutes. Walked for 14 minutes, ran for 6, cooled down with another 2 minutes of walking. Just want whittle down that warmup walk little more
