Review of Weight Watchers Program

Recently I decided to get more serious with my long distance running. When you run long distances you don’t want to carry any extra weight, so I decided I needed to drop about 25 lbs. I did the Weight Watchers program for about two months, and in that time, I lost 24 pounds.

With the Weight Watchers plan, not all calories are created equal. It is a points-based system that basically punishes you for unhealthy eating by counting unhealthy foods as more points. If I have a healthy snack that is 300 calories, it uses a lot less points than if I had eaten 300 calories worth of unhealthy food.

There are both daily points and weekly points, which gives you a lot of flexibility. Let’s say you are going out to eat with friends and you don’t want to be really austere in that situation. You can order whatever you want (within reason) and just tap into “weeklies.” You can type the name of the restaurant into the app, and it tells you exactly how many points each menu selection at that restaurant will cost you. You are allowed that special meal, but you’ll be paying for it by not eating as much for the rest of the week.

Another thing I really like about the plan is that all fruit is free, meaning it doesn’t cost you any points. When you run out of points or maybe just have a craving for sweets, you can fill up on fruit. Even bananas are allowed, which might be good news for people who have been on other diets that don’t allow much fruit at all.

Drinks use up a lot of points, so you will quickly get in the habit of drinking water with every meal. Eight ounces of milk is like seven points, so these days, I’m only drinking about one glass of milk a week as a special treat. Avoiding caloric beverages is the key to losing weight. Even if you don't sign up for Weight Watchers, keep in mind that most people will lose just by cutting out sweets and drinking water with every meal.

I enjoy exercising, so when I did the W.W. program, I was exercising about two hours a day. Other people do this program without exercising at all, and the diet works for them as well, but I like that you can buy yourself extra points by doing a lot of exercise.

Even after you’ve achieved your goal weight, you can keep it off without keeping track of points as closely. This is because after a while you get in the habit of eating the same way you did while on the plan. I’m still kind of following the principles I learned while I was on the program, and I’m able to easily maintain my current weight that way.

My wife has the “internet only” account, which includes the mobile app, and I basically piggy-backed off of her account by finding out the points for various items and keeping track of what I ate with a pencil and paper. Also, she is my personal chef, so a lot of times she would just serve me my meal and tell me how many points it was.

I really recommend purchasing the app though since it is much easier to keep track on the go when you are using the actual app. Just pay the $20 a month for the internet only account, which is really all you need. You’re probably going to save that much anyway when you stop buying sodas or whatever.

I hate gimmicks, but this diet is not a gimmick. It’s a balanced diet where nothing is completely off limits, so it makes for a very sustainable lifestyle in the long term. Also, it encourages you to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I can’t say enough good things about this healthy, user-friendly diet. 

Here is a short video on why you should drink only water if you are overweight.

Balance in the Christian Life

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1

We live in a day of specialization, when we ought to strive to be general practitioners. What I mean by that is that we should try to achieve balance rather than going overboard in any one area of life. There are people who cultivate their brain and not their body, and there are others who get plenty of exercise yet don’t feed their mind. Some people will excel in an area such as art or music but can’t hold down a job because they lack practical skills. Ideally, we should get some smarts, get exercise, be musical, and work hard. Investing some time into each of these areas can help us to accomplish more for the Lord.

The best way to develop the mind is to read. You may not think reading is your thing, but you need to make it your thing because God gave us his word in written form. Ask God for wisdom, and then do your part by including reading as an important part of your daily routine.

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” 1 Timothy 4:13

If you are physically weak and frail, then you need to get stronger. I don’t see any weaklings doing anything for the Lord in the Bible. If you are a person that is physically weak, then you need to work at becoming stronger.

"A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.” Proverbs 24:5

“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.” Proverbs 31:17

If music isn’t your thing, just show up to church and sing your heart out until it becomes your thing. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. The singing isn’t just a filler—it’s an important part of the church service since God commands us to sing.

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” Psalm 100:1-2

When it comes to the Christian life, there is something to be said for being a Jack of all trades. We need to not only read our Bibles and have our own personal walk with God, but we also need to show up for church and go out soul winning. The Bible is an infinite book, so reading it from cover to cover routinely will help us to approach life with a balanced perspective. Participating in church and soul winning will provide fellowship and exercise and will benefit you physically as well as spiritually.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22

Here is a sermon to go with this article.

Crown King Scramble 2015 Race Report

Saturday, March 28, I ran my first running race of all time, the Crown King Scramble. The race is a 31 mile uphill ultra-marathon that begins at Lake Pleasant outside Phoenix, AZ, and ends at a small town in the middle of nowhere called Crown King.

The race started at 5am, and because I was so anxious the night before, I was only able to sleep for 90 minutes. When we started running, it was still completely dark outside and nice and cool. My strategy was to cover as much ground as possible before the sun came up because the heat makes it so much harder to run. Also, there was a cut-off time of 3.5 hours to reach the 15.3 mile marker.

For the first 13 miles, I ran everything, even the steepest hills. Then for the next 5 miles, I ran everything that was downhill, flat, or slightly uphill, and I only walked up the steepest hills (walking up a steep hill is at least as hard as running on flat ground). I made it to the 15.3 mile cut-off in 2 hours 57 minutes, so I had made the cut-off with 33 minutes to spare.

Everything was going great until around mile 18 when my quads began cramping severely. This was in the midst of some very steep climbing (see above elevation profile). I decided that maybe I was low on electrolytes because it was getting hot, and I was sweating a lot. The high in Phoenix that day was 97 degrees, and the high in Crown King was 77 degrees. At the aid station at mile 19.1, I guzzled a lot of Gatorade and drank a bottle of coconut water to try to get more electrolytes. Another runner gave me an electrolyte tablet that also helped, along with some Whole Foods antacid that I had brought. My quads stopped cramping, and I was able to keep running, but for the whole rest of the day, I felt like I was always on the edge of the cramps coming back.

Around mile 23 I started feeling good again and enjoying the race. I ran as much as I could, but as soon as my quads would feel like cramping, I would back off and walk for a while. The whole day I was checking the clock and doing the math to make sure that I would finish within the 9 hour cut-off. Since this was my first ultra (first race for that matter!), my only goal was just to finish before the cut-off. Once I got to the summit at mile 28.7, I knew for a fact that I would be able to finish well within the allotted time. The only thing left at that point was just 2.3 miles of downhill to the finish line.


There had a been a lot of pained faces along the trail that day, and a lot of expletives, but at this point in the race everyone is smiling. It's all downhill from here! The hardest part about this event is not the fact that it is 31 miles long, but the fact that there are 6,750' of climbing (the equivalent of climbing the Empire State Building more than 5 times). However, for some strange reason, I wasn't smiling. In my mind, I was very happy to be finishing a goal that I had been working toward for so long, and I was was definitely happy not to have to climb any more hills. But for some reason, a couple miles from the finish line, I started sobbing for absolutely no reason. They were not tears of joy because I didn't feel particularly happy. I wasn't in any pain. In fact, the whole race had been much easier than I had thought it would be. I think it was just that the stress my body had been put through was causing a chemical reaction that made me start crying even though there was no logical reason for it whatsoever.

For the last few miles, I lost all will to try and improve my time. I knew that I would for sure make it before the cut-off, and that is all that mattered to me, so I just walked the last couple miles. When I got to Crown King, I started running again, just so I could run across the finish line. The guy running right in front of me was greeted by his young son who ran up and gave him a hug right before he crossed the finish line. I thought to myself, "That is really nice. I wish my family could have been here." Just then I looked over, and my wife and kids were on the side of the course cheering for me! My wife had decided to bring the whole family up and surprise me (I had not planned on her picking me up. I had thought I would have to bum a ride back to the valley). I ran across the finish line, got my finisher's mug, and lay down in a cold stream. My final time was 8 hours 32 minutes. Out of 250 entrants, I had come in 186th place.

Although there were a few dark places (mainly between miles 18-23), I had a great time. The first 3 hours especially were really fun, running along at a good pace in the cool sunrise and chatting with other runners. I am definitely planning on doing another ultra-marathon in the very near future with the goal of running a faster time, and eventually I would like to try even longer distances. The closest thing to epiphany or spiritual enlightenment that I experienced on this run was that I finally understand why women sometimes break down crying for no logical reason (hormones!).

Running Every Single Day

Here is a riddle for you: I run every single day, 7 days a week, and yet I have a full day of rest from running each week.

Ever since January 1 of this year, my goal has been to run at least 1 mile every single day. Most days I run more than that, but even on my worst day, I still run 1 non-stop mile. So far I am 69 days in and haven't missed a day!

Running everyday is the greatest thing that has ever happened to my running and has taken my training to a whole new level. In the past I had always tried running 3 days a week (every other day) in order to allow my body to rest between workouts. The problem for me was that it was hard to maintain a habit of doing something only 3 days a week. I am not very good at following rigid training schedules, and I am a very busy person, so I would plan on running 3 times a week, and before I knew it, I had gone 7-8 days without running. Where did the time go?! By running everyday, however, I never go long stretches like that without running, and therefore I never lose progress. Even on my busiest day, there is always 7-9 minutes to go out the front door in my bare feet for an easy 1 mile run in my neighborhood.

I am not denying that there is probably a physical benefit to getting proper rest between workouts and following a strict 3 day a week running plan that contains long slow runs, tempo runs, and track repeats, etc., etc. However, I find that the psychological benefit of running every single day outweighs it. By running every single day, running becomes a much stronger habit. It is much easier to get in the habit of doing something everyday than 3 times a week. The habit has become so strong, that I crave running (it's become an addiction!) and look forward to it everyday.

I must admit that I tried the same thing back in 2014 and failed after only a few days. My body just wasn't ready for daily running back then, but this year it has been great. Maybe for someone who is at the point in their training where I was in January 2014 (i.e. not physically ready for a minimum of 1 mile per day), a plan of 1/2 mile minimum per day would work? I'm not sure because I never tried that.

Right now I am running about 30 miles per week and am training for my first 50k ultra-marathon later this month, so we'll see how it goes.

A few other notes about my current training:

- No training plan. If I feel good, I run far. If I feel bad, I run 1 mile. If I feel like going fast, I go fast. If I don't, I go slow. One reason I'm able to run everyday is that I enjoy every run. If I were forced to do certain types of runs that I didn't feel like doing because of a strict training plan, I may burn out or stop enjoying running.

- The majority of my runs are done on pavement completely barefoot. My longest runs are done on hilly trails wearing my ultra-minimalist luna sandals.

- Every single run I eat organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups while running. Since I love peanut butter cups and only eat them while I run, sometimes I'm not sure whether I am craving running or craving peanut butter cups! It has become a Pavlovian response where running and peanut butter cups have become inextricably linked in my mind. I will admit that 69 days into my daily peanut butter cup binge, I am starting to branch out into other chocolates, but I still always eat at least one peanut butter cup to keep the streak going!

- My children have been running with me a lot more lately since they seem to have caught the running bug, too! (or maybe they just love chocolate peanut butter cups). My 6-year old daughter Rebecca just recently clocked an 8:10 mile!

In conclusion, running everyday has been a major breakthrough for me. In the last few years, I've really struggled to make progress with my running. By the time I was 29 years old, the furthest I had ever run in my entire life was 1.5 miles, and I hated every minute of it! I've been improving slowly but surely over the last few years, but the last 69 days seems to have been a giant leap in progress. The biggest success has been learning to love running.

Riddle answer: Once per week I run in the morning one day and in the evening the next day. This puts about 36 hours between my two runs allowing my body adequate time to rest and recover. By doing this, I am allowing my body a full day of rest (a day and a half, really) while still running every single day, 7 days a week. Even the Old Testament sabbath day only lasted from sundown on one day to sundown on the next (i.e. 24 hours), so even the Old Testament saints could have "run everyday" the way I do and still been in compliance!

An Enlarged Heart

Psalm 119:32 "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart."

This verse jumped out at me because I had read about how long-distance runners sometimes literally get an enlarged heart.

From Wikipedia: "Athletic heart syndrome, (AHS) also known as athlete's heart,[1][2] athletic bradycardia or exercise-induced cardiomegaly is a non-pathological condition commonly seen in sports medicine, in which the human heart is enlarged, and the resting heart rate is lower than normal.

"Athlete's heart is common in athletes who routinely exercise more than an hour a day, and occurs primarily in endurance athletes, though it can occasionally arise in heavy weight trainers. The condition is generally believed to be a benign one..."

Obviously the Bible verse is figurative, but it is interesting that it parallels a real, physical condition.

The Bible is always scientifically right on!

Why I Started Running Barefoot

Many people have asked me about why I run barefoot or in very thin sandals or minimalist shoes. I actually discovered barefoot running by accident, and then later I read about the benefits and understood why highly-cushioned running shoes are bad for your feet and will likely lead to running injury.

I discovered barefoot running one day a couple of years ago when I was jumping rope for 20 minutes and wanted to segue directly into a run. I didn't want to stop and put my shoes on because I wanted to go straight into the running without taking a break, so I just took off running barefoot. I ended up running for an hour, which was longer than I had ever run before at that time. I noticed immediately that I could run faster and further when I was barefoot. However, I was doing too much too soon by running for an hour barefoot the first time out, so the bottoms of my feet were hurting when I finished the run.

Because my feet were not ready for that level of barefoot running yet, I went back to my running shoes. However, the more I ran, the more problems I had. First it was my knees, then it was my ankles, then it was my shins, then it was my calves. Finally, I just gave up on running for a while.

Then I read a few books about barefoot running that explained that the injuries I was suffering were due to the cushioned running shoes I was wearing that were causing me to run with bad form and ironically were increasing the impact on my joints. I started running again, rotating between running barefoot and running in minimalist footwear. This time I started out slowly and gave my feet and legs a chance to get used to running barefoot.

Since that time (5 months ago) I have been doing a lot of running and have had absolutely no injuries, knee problems, shin splints, etc. I have also been doing a lot of running on steep hills and slippery slopes at South Mountain in minimalist footwear without so much as a stumble or twisted ankle. I have run 8-10 miles barefoot multiple times and felt great. I have run for over 3 hours straight in minimalist shoes and felt great afterward.

This is my daughter, Rebecca (age 4), who has had absolutely no running training or instruction. Yet she naturally runs with perfect form in bare feet. Why? Because this is the way God designed us to run.

Becca loves running!

Notice her bent knees, foot flat on the ground, straight back, and slight forward lean.

Running in a skirt like a lady!

Here is another picture showing a different stage of her stride.

Because your feet are one of the most sensitive parts of your body, they are great at telling you immediately if you are doing something wrong. If you run barefoot, your body will instinctively change the way you run to minimize pain by minimizing impact. The biggest thing that will instantly change is that your stride will shorten (i.e. you will take smaller steps), and you will land with your forefoot first instead of your heel. After landing forefoot first, the rest of your foot, including your heel, will make light contact.

Shoes provide a false sense of security by cushioning your feet and making them comfortable. This causes you to come down much harder than you would in bare feet. Your feet don't feel the impact, but the impact is still there and shoots up your leg into your knees, hips, lower back, etc.

By cushioning and babying your feet in high-end running shoes, you are also making them weaker. Since they are being supported by the shoes in so many ways, they no longer need to support themselves. Therefore they become weak and lazy which leads to poor running.

Remember, running barefoot is much different than running in traditional running shoes. Therefore, you must start very slowly, even if you are an experienced runner. Running barefoot should be treated as a new activity and should be eased into. For example, if you are running 20 miles per week in running shoes, you can't just start running 20 miles per week barefoot. Start by walking barefoot and then graduate to running very short distances.

Mental Training for Running

One of the hardest things for me (or anyone?) about long distance running is staying mentally focused and not becoming bored. There are a lot of ways to keep from getting bored and to make the time go by quickly. Running on scenic trails, listening to something on an ipod, running with a friend you can chat with, etc, are all helpful. However, scenic trails are not always available, nor is a friend who is willing to run long distances always available. When it comes to the ipod, it can provide some entertainment, but passively listening to something does not fully engage your mind in the way a conversation with a friend does.

I have found that by far the best method of making time go by quickly and enjoyably on a long run is quoting chapters of the Bible from memory. I find that quoting chapters that I know very well works best because if I try to quote chapters that I am a little shaky on, the mental strain tires me out and leaves me with less energy for running. Quoting chapters from the Bible that are well known to me provides the perfect balance of engaging my mind enough to keep me from getting bored without overly straining my mind and making running difficult.

Plus, let's face it - it's hard to justify spending hours per week running when life is already so busy with church, work, family, etc. However, when running time also doubles as a time to meditate on God's word and sharpen up memorized passages, it becomes easier to stay motivated and carve out the time necessary to go running. When I go running, I am also working on Bible memory which is important to me as a preacher and as a Christian in general. When I sit down to memorize the Bible or review a chapter, I am also training my mind for future runs. The more chapters I have down pat, the further I will be able to run, and the less I will have to keep repeating the same chapters over and over again which would eventually become boring.

Why run? Because in my opinion running is the single best and easiest way to improve your health and fitness. It requires little or no equipment and can be done virtually anytime, anywhere. Why memorize the Bible? Because God has promised us that if we meditate upon the word of God day and night, whatsoever we do shall prosper. Combining the two is the ultimate in mind-body-spirit exercise.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

Birthday/Anniversary Stay-cation Day 3 (July 25)

Today we left late in the morning to head down to Tucson, so I could spend a gift certificate I had received for Summit Hut. I had wanted to buy a pair of specialty running sandals, and no store in Phoenix seems to carry them. They could have been ordered online, but I figured it would be better to try them on and run around the store in them to make sure that I liked them before buying them. This is the model I ended up going with:

"But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats." - Mark 6:9

Then while we were down in Tucson, we found a nice fish and chips place where we could have lunch. We decided to bring the baby on this particular outing since we were going all the way to Tucson and didn't want to worry about being gone too long.

After fish and chips, we walked over to a gelato place where I had some kind of chocolate and peanut butter gelato, and Zsuzsa had Tiramisu. We then just spent a while wandering around, chatting, and enjoying the nice weather.

After driving back to Phoenix and spending about an hour at the house, we headed out for our next activity: horseback riding!

We rode for about an hour on trails at South Mountain to reach a steak house where we had dinner. Then after dinner, we rode back down the same trails, but this time in the dark since night had fallen.

Week 3 of Bible Running Program

 Well, right after my family got well, I got sick! My sickness involved a sore throat and cough that lingered for weeks, so now that I'm well again, I'm working on getting caught up with the running podcast.

Week 2: Day 3 (Psalm 69-78)

Week 3: Day 1 (Psalm 79-91)
Week 3: Day 2 (Psalm 92-105)

More Week 2 of C25K Bible Running

Sorry, everyone! My family has been really sick with some sort of stomach bug, so I have gotten a little behind on these. Everyone is well now, so I should have them caught up very quickly.

Week 2: Day 2 (Psalm 55-68)

Don't quit!

Week 2 of Beginner Running Program

I'm still working on the audio for week 2 of the Bible C25K program, but for now, here is the first day of it.

Week 2: Day 1 (Psalms 40-54)

Running Program for the Absolute Beginner

Recently I heard about this running program called C25K or "Couch to 5K" that is designed to help an absolute beginner go from not running at all to running a 5K (3.1 miles) three times a week. The program takes 9 weeks and is easy enough for just about anyone to do it. Running 3+ miles three times a week will get you in great shape and probably add years to your life.

In the beginning of the program, you start out alternating between jogging and walking. For example, the first week you alternate between jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. To make it really easy, I have put together a series of audio recordings that tells you exactly when to jog and when to walk, so you don't have to keep looking at your watch. The audio also keeps you entertained while you run/walk by reading you the book of Psalms.

This program will require an investment of 25 minutes, 3 times per week. Mon-Wed-Fri would probably work best. That investment is definitely worth your time to dramatically improve your health and fitness, especially since you will also be multitasking by getting some Bible reading in!

Here are the audio files for the first few weeks:

Week 1: Day 1 (Psalms 1-15)
Week 1: Day 2 (Psalms 16-27)
Week 1: Day 3 (Psalms 28-39)

Week 2: Day 1 (Psalms 40-54)
Week 2: Day 2 (Psalms 55-68)
Week 2: Day 3 (Psalms 69-78) 

Week 3: Day 1 (Psalms 79-91)
Week 3: Day 2 (Psalms 92-105)
Week 3: Day 3

Week 4: Day 1 

Here is the rss feed for the audio files:

http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/c25k_bible_running.rss

To subscribe to the rss feed as an iTunes podcast, open iTunes, then go to the file menu, click "subscribe to podcast," and paste in the url of the rss feed.

I do not recommend going out and buying expensive running shoes. They can actually do more harm than good and can cause you to run the wrong way. I personally run barefoot or in very minimal shoes.

Here is an overview of the entire program:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).