We're on a Road to Nowhere

Today was the start of Week 5 on C25K.  It was supposed to involve alternating 5-minute runs with 3-minute walks. Siiiiiiigh.  Even though last week also involved a couple 5-minute intervals, for some reason I couldn't hack it today.  And it really p!ssed me off! It felt never-ending, as if this particular treadmill at my gym had been surreptitiously replaced with this as I ran: 

There was a stitch right under my left ribs the entire time. So there were a couple "pauses", which put me off my scheduled time. And I got very frustrated. I probably ate too soon before I left for the gym. And I could have slowed my pace a bit, but I chose to stop instead. A couple years ago, I did a running regimen, but focused mainly on building mileage. So I usually ran a 5.5 mph pace, except on longer runs where I dropped down to 5.0 mph.  Since starting C25K, however, I do the running portions at 6.0 mph (a 10-minute mile), which is pretty speedy for me.

So I'm pulling a big re-do tomorrow to see if I can do this right. If I'm really going to run any significant distance, I guess I'll have to further explore the pace thing.  Or I should just take my butt outside where I really have no idea how fast I'm running. I'm such a weather wimp, though!  On any given day, it is most likely too dark/cold/windy/rainy for a December run for this wuss. I need optimal conditions! 

The good news though, is that wearing my Bodybugg confirmed for me that at least the treadmill session was not in vain. I still burned lots of calories.  And that is a good thing, Martha. I know one cannot have the time of one's life every freaking day at the gym, but today really felt crap. And it was all I could do to remind myself that the hardest part was getting there. (Usually it is! And once there, the workout takes care of itself, often enthusiastically even!) Today was just a slog from the get-go... Grrr! Frustrated...  tomorrow's another day...

ETA: The do-over was a success! 3 non-stop running segments of 5 minutes at 6.0 mph. Now I can move on.