I decided to give the C25K a permanent home at mindplunge. I created some pages dedicated to the C25K so readers can use it as a reference or resource: Couch to 5K

I will continue updating these pages since I find every day more information about the subject. I’m also in the process of making my own C25K Podcast! The most used podcasts for the C25K are Robert Ullrey’s C25K Podcasts and DJ Steveboy’s Podrunner Intervals: First Day to 5K. I have to be honest and both podcasts feel kinda outdated to me. They still do the job but the music is not my taste.

So there ya go! New podcasts coming soon. In the meantime I have W1D3 to run tomorrow morning. This will end my first week! More tomorrow.

We all know about the Digg effect, the reddit effect, the Slashdot effect etc. but you rarely ever hear about the power of StumbleUpon. Today I experienced the StumbleUpon effect on a small scale.

Recently I build a few pages about the C25K program (more about this in my next post). The main page got stumbled and within two hours my Snoop app from reinvigorate went nuts. The counter went through the roof (note that I have a low ceiling so the numbers might not impress you). I was able to capture some screenshots of reinvigorate.net:

The above image is a screenshot when I came home walking my dog and noticed Snoop was producing a continuous sound.

Another snapshot 15 minutes later. The number went up for another minute and then slowly decreased. The next snapshot is a total of visitors.

I’m curious how Google Analytics is processing the numbers. More later

I couldn’t help myself. When I came home I needed to go on a walk. I already did my workout in the morning but I’m full of energy. According to the folks at coolrunning.com:

It’s easy to get impatient, and you may feel tempted to skip ahead in the program, but hold yourself back. Don’t try to do more, even if you feel you can. If, on the other hand, you find the program too strenuous, just stretch it out. Don’t feel pressured to continue faster than you’re able. Repeat weeks if needed and move ahead only when you feel you’re ready.

I just did an easy 5K walk. Nothing too fancy:

Distance: 3.35 mi
Duration: 1:01′09″
Pace: 18′13″

It was just a beautiful late midday. Temperature was low 70’s and a lot of people were walking or biking around. I couldn’t skip this walk. I know my dog loved it! Any thoughts about ‘too much exercise’?

I added a new blogroll dedicated to C25K runners (look for the C25K heading near the bottom in the right-column, homepage). Most of them are in their first two weeks, some of them are having a head start (no pun intended). If you are new to the C25K program (or even some weeks into it) and are blogging about it, let me know in the comments and I’ll add you to the list.

Blogging about your progress is a great motivation tool. I’ll make sure to check out your site and see how you’re doing! So far on my list:

Dan’s Running Blog
Determined to Run
Lavender Lemonade is Losing it
Losing weight and gaining health
One Woman’s Journey Through Life, Fitness, and Food

Don’t give up and keep on running! Let’s motivate each other!

This morning I finished W1D2 (Week 1, Day 2) and I feel pretty good especially after going all out on my last interval. This is the data from Nike+:

Distance: 2.11 mi
Duration: 29′29″
Pace: 13′56″

This includes a 5 minute warmup and 5 minute cool-down. Nowhere to go but up from here!

The most interesting part of today’s workout was the time of day. I got up at 05:15 and started at 05:40. It looks like civil twilight (a new word I learned, more later) is the domain of cats, homeless people and runners. I was amazed by the amount of cats I saw during my walk/run. Same for the homeless and runners!

I mentioned civil twilight. Twilight is the time before sunrise, called dawn, and the time after sunset, called dusk. Sunlight scattered in the upper atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the Earth is not completely lit or completely dark. The sun itself is not actually visible because it has not yet come over the horizon (sunrise) or it has passed below the horizon (sunset).

Civil Twilight begins in the morning when the center of the Sun is less than 6° below the horizon (the point of civil dawn), and ends at sunrise. Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the center of the Sun is more than 6° below the horizon (the point of civil dusk).

Cool huh?