Week 8 - DONE!

C25K Week 8 is complete! I can hardly believe that I am almost done with this program. Monday's run was weird because I had to run at the gym -- the power was out at the house because of Friday's storm. It was very noisy and there were so many people around! Blech. But...I was one of those people who I used to admire -- you know, the person working out next to you who just keeps going and and going at a faster pace or steeper incline than you are!

Wednesday's run was back at home -- our power came back on Tuesday night. (Thank you and bless you PGE!!) I postponed and postponed, but I finally started my run at 9:00 pm or so.

Friday's run was a challenge -- I decided to try the distance recommendation rather than the time recommendation for the C25K program. So, instead of running for 28 minutes, I decided to try to run 2.75 miles, which I did in about 33 minutes. Which amazed me. It is like having a stranger within (a la John Bingham in last month's Runner's World) who is motivated to go running and do other good things for herself. This stranger, oddly enough, has the stamina and mental concentration to run for 33 minutes straight.

Anyway, I felt really good afterwards--not out of breath, legs not tired, just sweaty and happy. And the next day, Saturday, I felt great also, especially my legs. It was wonderful.

I'm on the trail of a cheap rowing machine that I am looking forward to using for my upcoming cross-training days. Wish me luck on Craigslist!

The stranger within says bring on Week 9.