Whoo hoo, it is already July! Let's have a great running month!

Got in 4 miles this morning. I plan to run 5-7 days a week (on my elliptical - since I can't do impact running with my knee). I figure it was a good start to July

I think I'm gonna start posting my C25K results in here again. Yesterday I did 1.99 miles in my 30 minutes of W2D2. That's my fastest average so far.

Wow, July indeed!!
I started this month with a nice paced feel good almost 6 miler and won the race for the camp bus!!-- made it, again in the very nick of time!!

Slowmo, there is a NJ marathon every May. I can easily get into that race and it takes place about an hour from my home. There is a/THE NYC marathon but that is impossible to get into (I've been turned down 3 times) and also a little more inconvenient for me. Maybe this is my year??

have a great July 1, all you very cool running chicks!

Hey All! Happy JULY! =)
I wanted to bring some questions from the June thread over.

One thing I was confused about, I have never really run before this and always learned I should hold in my abs for better form, is that the same in running too? On my podcast, the guy is saying to be loose, so hmmm - see where I am confused, is he talking about your abs too?

I am really enjoying this, however, I have been slacking on my other cardio workouts, in fear that I will hurt myself during a run. Has anyone felt like that? I figure it is a good source of cardio for now and I will add back in the other things in the next few weeks.

Vixjean, I'm not an expert by any means, but I think what you are trying to find is that balance between keeping an "engaged" core and being relaxed and loose during your run. Keeping your core stable (not "tight") helps to keep your posture upright rather than slumped over. Have you ever seen runners that are all hunched over? It's hard to breathe efficiently that way. You have to engage your core enough to have an erect, but relaxed posture, and you want the muscles of your arms, shoulders, legs, etc, to feel relaxed and "loose" rather than all tensed up and fighting each other. Does that make any sense at all? I think this all sounds way more complicated than it is ....

After spending 2 weeks in the cool mountains hiking (and not running), getting back to the hot and steamy South Florida weather is a shock! I ran a 10 miler last Sunday and it just about killed me. I had a good 45 min treadmill run this morning, but my girlfriends want to run 10 milers by the beach on both Friday AND Sunday this week. I'll see if I can keep up!!

Vix, I agree with what MBN said. I definitely don't focus on keeping my abs "tight", but I do think about good posture. And I do somewhat focus on keeping my arms and shoulders nice and loose because over long runs I have a tendency to begin to tighten up there. I usually will shake out my arms and roll my shoulders one every mile if I start to feel tense there.

I don't generally worry about hurting myself during a run, but I do cross train with biking and swimming. And now I'm going to add in more strength training, too. Just make sure to really listen to your body and if you are feeling pain, you need to adjust your training plan around that!

This morning I did 5.14 miles and I gotta say, I can't wait for the summer heat and humidity to be over. The humidity particularly is just killing me and even though I had a really good run it would have been so much more comfie with lower humidity!

Alright, I'm going to start the month off right by posting on this thread right away since I was almost non-existent on the June thread.

I don't have any official July runs to talk about yet but things have been going really well for me lately. Between ice baths after each run and really focusing on relaxing my muscles, the nagging problems in my left calf seem to be clearing up. I'm going to be attending my clinic's group run for hill training tonight and then I'm due for a 16K long run this weekend. Hopefully it'll go better than last week's attempt where I stopped at 9K due to the heat!

Back at my computer after a day out of the office. My poor little (or big) legs are a bit tight today. This morning I did some nasty hill work and I do not know if my body will be forgiving me anytime soon.

kitty - that is funny about NYC marathon. I actually tried to get in this year and it was a no-go. I have heard that unless you somehow get a guaranteed spot it is really difficult. I think that I am going to do one called the Whistlestop that is on some nice trails up in northern Wisconsin.

On the abs question, hmmm, I guess I have never really though about what I do with my abs when I run. So I guess I go for the relaxed approach.

I skipped running altogether last week, and finally crawled back on the treadmill last night before bed.

I cruised along at an easy 4.0 mph pace for a little over 30 minutes. Two weeks ago I was up to 4.2 mph, but I needed to take it down a peg last night since I missed that whole week.



But, it did feel good to get myself back on track.

Thanks MBN & Josephine, Good posture but not tight-tight. I will have to check my posture on the next run. My feet and hip have not bothered me at all during my runs last week, I am very happy about that. I am also doing good with keeping my arms down and body relaxed.
I am going to do my C25K run W3D1 tonight, little nervous as some of the runs will me 3 minutes - 3 minutes, what the **** did I get myself into? LOL! Going now to download the podcast for it, then off to the gym... my stomach needs to settle in a little more from dinner, hope that happens fast!

I like the book "Chi Running" it teaches good form. I'm not really into the "spiritual-ish" aspects of the book but I do like the running form.

Hi cool runners!
I did my week 3 day one, (I did an extra round to make my 2 mile goal) so it took about 35 minutes. I really surprised myself running for 3 whole minutes! Wow! This program really IS working, and helping me lose weight too. There was a girl next to me on the treadmill that was doing sprints. It felt really cool when we were running at the same time, I felt so proud of myself (she had a much longer stride, but was going a lot faster). I did a 5 minute cool down walk. Then I did some deep stretching and gave some extra time with that.
Josephine - thanks for the book tip!

Did W2D3 yesterday. Wasn't to bad I guess. I'll be doing W3D1 either tomorrow on the treadmill or out on the road dodging traffic.

Sounds neat. I'm going to pay my library late fees and check it out!

Well, I'm off for a run in the blazing heat.. waited too long... but I'll pay attention to my posture.