Edwin Villanueva

Although Spring is officially one week away, the San Diego area is getting a head start with some spring like weather this weekend. With the time change and the plant life in the area starting to blossom, I’ll be spending more time with my camera and doing more photo walks soon.

Sunday evening, I was in the middle of W3D1 of the C25K program when I started feeling some discomfort just below the right knee. I tried to go as long as I could but finally stopped during the second 3 minute jog. I really didn’t think much of it as I continued to walk the final part of the workout without any discomfort. Later that evening, the knee swelled up so I applied some R.I.C.E. treatment and went to bed. The next morning, the swelling on the knee had gone down but now it was stiff and was painful to walk on. As I was limping around trying to get ready for work, I decided that I’d better get it checked.

The doctor diagnosed the knee pain/stiffness to overuse and recommended more R.I.C.E and anti inflammatory medication. She also suggested to rest for the next couple of weeks with only low impact exercises during this time period. Also, as a precaution, she had me take some x-rays of the knee. Hopefully, I will get the results of the x-ray tomorrow.

I’m still feeling a little pain in the knee so I decided to take the whole week off from exercising. I’m already starting to feel sluggish from the lack of exercise so I hope to do some light stationary biking this weekend and then start spin class again next week. I hope to get back on the C25K program the following week. At this point, I’ll have to play it by ear and listen to my body.

On Monday, I started a new fitness program called Couch to 5K. I found out about the program from one of Brandice’s post on Facebook and her blog.

The premise of the program is to take anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks. The program gently introduces the body to moving by alternating between walking and running small distances, and slowly building up until after 8 weeks, you’re ready to run 5 kilometers or 30 minutes non stop.

To aid in the program, there are several iPhone apps that can be downloaded from the App Store. I use this particular C25K App(opens iTunes). The App is pretty simple to use. You setup your play list and then just start the program. You’ll get vocal notifications to “run” and “walk” and before you know it, you’ve completed the days session.

I finished my first week of the program this evening and I’m feeling pretty good. So far, I’ve used the treadmill for the program which probably explains why my legs aren’t hurting. I think this weekend I’ll hit the pavement. Hopefully the hard concrete won’t cause any soreness and pain.

I’m really looking forward to the next 8 weeks and seeing where this takes me. With Brandice and Drew also doing the program, I know I’ll have a good support system to help motivate me during those difficult days when I don’t feel like running.

One of my goals this year was to own a Canon L Series lens. I rented the 70-200mm f2.8 IS last summer and was in awe of not only the build quality of the lens but the pictures that it produced. The clarity, sharpness and DOF (depth of field) were amazing. I knew right there and then that I needed to start saving so I could start building my lens collection.

Fast foward to about a week ago when I got an unexpected surprise from work. With the small bonus that I got, I pulled the trigger and bought the Canon 24-70mm L lens. I received it last week and have been waiting to take pictures with it. Unfortunately, every time I’ve wanted to go out, the weather hasn’t played nice. Hopefully in the up coming days/weeks, I’ll be out and about shooting with this beauty.

The San Diego area is getting more rain tonight and later on in the week. It’s not nearly the same amount as last week but will probably be the last significant amount we get in this area for the remainder of the year. It was fun while it lasted.