Congrats!

I haven't been too worried about my neighbors. When I leave my apartment, I'm walking for the first 5 minutes anyway. You can get a significant distance away by the end of the warm up walk. By the time I'm jogging I'm usually on the school grounds (I run over to a nearby high school and back) and I don't really care what the kids (those who are actually there at 7am or 6pm) think about my running distance.

When I run at the local park (and truthfully, in my neighborhood too), no one is paying attention, really.

As a woman alone, even with a small dog, I'm not comfortable running at night. I just won't do it.

Hi, everyone. I just finished w5 tonight. Ugh, it was awful. It was the worst run so far. I decided to take a break ten minutes into the run (to split it in half) because I really had to massage my calves. After that I tried to go back on my treadmill and do the next ten minutes, but it was torture. My body was heated up on the inside and freezing on the outside. I started to develop a rash on my stomach and neck/chest area. My skin was itching everywhere, but mostly on my stomach (it was bright red). I scratched maybe twice. I had to stop and sit down after 5 minutes to examine the problem. I think my shirt flapped, causing my stomach to get colder air.

Anyway, I had to take five minutes to wrap my arms around my midsection so it could warm up. I completed the run and cool down, but I felt really weak. Even now I'm feeling nauseous. I hope I don't get sick tonight. I woke up last sunday at 6 am because I was sick enough to throw up. That may have been partly due to too much strength training. Or I might have a bug or virus. I don't know.

I didn't get to do w5d3 until tonight because I was super busy this weekend. I'm behind with my exercise, so I have to pair up workouts. UGH! I hope you guys are all doing better than me! Tonight I am hating running.

Today I started a second week of week one of c25k. I feel really frustrated that I have not started on week two yet. I live in a very hilly neighborhood, where 3/4 of my workout is uphill or downhill, with one stretch that is a pretty steep incline that is a little more than a quarter mile long. It is about half way through the run. By the time i get to this hill, it wipes me out, makes my calves hurt, and makes me feel I cannot go any further. I have pushed though, mind over matter, but it males feel feel it is going to be really hard to get over the hump. Should I start doing my c25k workouts at a local track? Has anyone else had a problem started out with too many hills?

I got W1D2 done today and on a mostly uphill route! I am really happy with this, it is fun just to be able to say you are going to go for a run.

utgirl - maybe trying it @ the track would be really helpful- do you have that option? my route has a couple slight hills but nothing major, i definitely feel it work my calves though!

maybe try to find a flatter route (like the track) and work up to the hills for the extra umph!



i did w2d1 today! feeling good! i'm going to do the 30DS tomorrow morning, and i'll do w2d2 on friday, then w2d3 on saturday. woo hoo!

All the schools in the area get out at the end of this week, so next week the high school I graduated from will open there track to the public all day, as opposed to after 7 at night. I probably will do the next couple weeks there until I know I can work the hills in without burning me out.

hey everyone! i still haven't ran, have an awful sinus/head cold, but i am reading everyone's posts and will be back shortly (i hope). as soon as i can breath again!!!!

"Our sport is your sport's punishment."

I've been lurking on Runnersworld lately and remember seeing this quote in someone's signature. It really hits home, mainly because I've been doing a lot of thinking about my early experiences with running.

The "President's Physical Fitness Test" was one of the most dreaded weeks of my elementary school career. They'd make us attempt to do pullups and other difficult exercises. The culmination of this annual humiliation was the "Mile Run". The teachers would lay out a course and time each student. I remember spending the majority of it walking, out of breath, and getting passed by other kids.

As I got older and participated in jr high sports and then marching band all the way through college, the penalty for screwing up was "take a lap!". I hated running. I hated the thought of running. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to do it.

Well, today I completed W5D2 of the Couch to 5K. I ran two intervals of 8 minutes with only 5 minutes rest between runs. It's no more than I ran last week (16 minutes) but just the first 8 minutes was the longest uninterrupted time spent running in my entire life. Furthermore, at the end of the first interval, I know that I *could* have kept going. Wow.

And I was fine. When I started the run, I reminded myself of the things that got me through W1, like keeping the pace slow. Sure, I was breathing heavily, but I was able to curb Lucy when she started pulling on the leash. I was able to look around. I was able to stay positive when Ullrey gave time warnings for the other runs on this week's podcast. I was hyped.

I am so incredibly excited about this weekend's run. I'm going to mow that sucker down.

//and sorry for the long post. I'm a little giddy right now.

Rocketbunny, that is awesome! I cannot wait to get to that point in the program. I keep thinking back to middle school when I joined the cross country team ( oh how I wish I would have stuck with it in high school and college) and it was so hard for me to run the whole distance in practice. What pushed my to run the entire distance the first time (5 miles) was my coach was riding a bike behind me the whole time. I did not want him to see me walk. At that point all our other practices runs had only been 3 miles or less, and I had not been able to complete any of them without stopping to walk part of it. Even though I was panting the whole way, there was no better feeling than running the whole distance. I cannot wait to get to where you are now, and I definitely can't wait until I can run that whole distance again.

I really want to start, but I can't find my good shoes. I can't afford new ones and I'm afraid I'll kill my feet running in Converse.

I've always despised running and can't imagine a time that I'll enjoy it. I really want to feel the accomplishment of running a 5k. I think if I can find one that I'll be able to motivate myself to follow through with c25k.

For those of you that have gone through the dramatic change of loathing running to loving it, what caused that change?

Well, ever since my last experience, I've barely exercised. I've been depressed about it and haven't wanted to do much of anything. I'm scared I'll get the same reaction, but I'm about to do w6d1. I decided I need to do the next few weeks at my own pace and take 2 weeks for each week. w7 is all 25 minute runs, I think. so I'm going to have to work up to that at my own pace.

W5D3 is done. Just as I'd thought, it was ALL mental.

I woke up before my 7:45am alarm and started getting dressed for my drive to shady (and soccer-enthusiast infested) Meyer Park. I put less water than usual in my camelbak lumbar pack. I figured that I'd take a few sips during the run, but the majority of water would be taken immediately after the run (with some given to Lucy in her portable bowl). I still wanted to carry it with me, but not full and heavy.

Anyway, the run was uneventful. I'd expected the first five minutes to be hard. They weren't, really. After that the run flew by. I plodded along, not focusing much on Ullrey's verbal cues for the other runs. By the time he told Day 1 to start the last five minute run, I was mulling over the idea of running an extra minute along with Day 1 and 2. However, I noticed that Lucy was starting to slow. At that time we were running what I consider the park's *squirrel gauntlet*, so she was distracted, but she may also have been tiring. When Ullrey told me I was done with my D3 run, all thoughts of that extra minute fled and I slowed to something that could NOT be called a "brisk walk".... but I did keep moving.

My legs were immediately infused with a sense of lethargy that lasted for a few minutes. I don't think I could have started running again at that point if my life depended on it. I sipped water from the camelbak and walked. I was nowhere near the car by the end of the cool down, so I put on another high energy song and continued along the path. My legs eventually recovered and by the time I got to the parking lot, I was walking briskly.

Arriving back at the truck, I figured that my workout had been a total of about 40 minutes, with a running distance of maybe 1 1/3 mile (I jog pretty slowly).

Looking ahead, Week 6 is looking pretty easy. After having gotten over the mental hump of the 20 minute run, two 10 minuters on D2 should be a piece of cake. The 25 minute run on D3 is just another matter of keeping going until it's time to stop. I can do it.

If I keep to the schedule of 3 runs per week, my 5K race on June 20th should coincide with my W9D3 workout. My graduation run will truly be my graduation!

Angel's Dust - You've been such an inspiration to me. You were so upbeat your first few weeks on the program. I know you can finish with flying colors.

Skinnywish - Hope you're feeling better (and back to running) soon.

Utgirl09 - I agree that you may want to drive to a flatter area or track. There is one hill on one of my running routes (Yay! for flat Houston). I always plan for it to be during a walking interval (warm up and cool down). Running outside is so awesome though. There is so much to distract you from monitoring time and distance. I love the fresh air and sunlight too. I can't imagine being so upbeat about running if I were on a treadmill all the time. I've gotta figure out where the local cross-country teams have their races. I've mostly been running on pavement but I hear that running trails is much easier on your joints.

And congrats to all the people that just started C25K. You'll be amazed at how far you've come by this time next month.

wow, it was fun today, but yet, it was hard...i am still playing around with the speed. walking at between 3.2 and 3.6 miles, running at 5.2 to 6 miles per hour. i skipped one of the intervals and walked at 4.0 or so...i think it was just some mental block because i breezed through the rest of it. and since i didn't make it to my 2 mile mark i walked a couple extra minutes.

i think i'll do one more week 1 run on monday and then kick it up to week 2 next week.

I am going to start week 2 day one tonight when it cools off outside. I spent 5 sessions on week one, and did not move on because of my issue with the hills all over my neighborhood. The last 2 times I ran the opposite direction, and I did SO much better. I don't know if it was becuase I was more used to the running, or the placement of the hills were at more convenient spots in the run/walk intervals. Either way, can't wait until tonight. I am actually looking forward to it!

A friend and I met up at the park for this evening's run, W6D1. She's a soccer player on off-season so running is no problem for her. We used to walk together frequently last year, until she had a leg injury that kept her on crutches for a while.

I put only one headphone in so that I could chat during the walks but still hear the verbal cues and music. The run went well. Even though my friend is already a capable runner, she didn't make me feel pressured to go faster or further.

She may join me on Friday or Saturday for W6D3.

I would like to add that my dread of the long runs has pretty much dissipated after W5D3. I know that I'm capable of whatever time is required at this point. 25 minutes isn't much different from 20 minutes. I'm at the point where I've accepted that "this run" isn't going to be "til the next corner" or any point ahead of me that I can see and mark with my eyes. I'll just keep going until told to stop.