Had a good run today. Had to wake up ridiculously early to do it though and I have been walking around in a daze all day. But at least I got the run in.

Hiker – I wish I could run early in the AM, or do anything early at all actually. I have just come to accept that I can’t count on myself to get out of bed so I just plan to do my workouts in the evening. But it would be really nice to get it out of the way before I start the day.

Lisa – I am so looking forward to the day I can do 5 miles at all, even slowly. Good for you, I know how hard it is when you feel like your legs are just done. But you finished!

I’m hoping to try out a new 3 mile route tonight. It’s been rainy, I hope the arboretum isn’t too muddy.

Do any of you run with your dogs? My dog is my running buddy and as it gets warmer and I’m able to run further distances I’m worried that he’ll need water breaks along the way, how do you guys carry water on your runs? I’d like to get a CamelBak for myself eventually, but my dog can’t drink out of one of those. Just wondering if any of you have a handy solution for this.

3 miles today. The woman on the treadmill next to me wanted to chat, and I was able to hold a conversation the entire time. Plus, it made my run go by so quickly.

I'm still completely in awe of my body. Two months ago, I would *never* have been able to run 3 miles!!

Shananagins,

I wish my dog would run with me. He follows me down the driveway and lies IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD with his BELLY in the air and watches me pass him.

If I give him a big cheer "come on boy lets go come on" he will stand up walk 3 feet and lie down again.

If you are in the country and can run with a dog off of a leash they usually find water. However I am not sure what to do in the city. I had a friend whose dog would drink out of her hand (she would pour water from her bottle) mine would never do this.

My friend who runs with her dog carries one of those small collapsing bowls and pours water from her camelbak into it.

I wish I had a dog to run with, but I'm not around enough to look after it.

I feel like I'm struggling at the moment. I did about 10.5 miles tonight (just over 3 from work to running club, then just over 7 with them), and it felt like a struggle... but then I looked at my speed and it wasn't actually too bad. I hope it's just because I've been eating rubbish for the past fortnight and I'll get back to normal now I'm eating properly again.

Hopefully I'll be running into work tomorrow, I've left some clothes at the gym to change into. It's a nice easy run, 5 miles downhill!

I've just noticed - I've run 500.5 miles so far this year!

Yeah, I was meaning to get one of those collapsible bowls for him, forgot all about it! Found this of the REI site. http://www.rei.com/product/753131?vc...SHP_PICNIC_TOC Looks pretty dandy, but I’m not sure where I would clip it on though, I don’t wear a belt when running. He does have a backpack, I could just make him carry his own water, but I’d be making him work a whole lot harder.

YP1 – You sound like quite the distance queen. Anyone who calls a 5 mile run “easy” must be. 500 miles in 3 ½ months? I’ll be thrilled if I run that much all year!

Get ready to be jealous:

Just discovered I can get a Garmin Forerunner with some points I've collected. (Either that or an iPod Nano, among many other less interesting things..)

I just got a garmin forerunner They have a $50 mail in rebate and the price on Amazon is WAY less than the retail price at the Garmin store and on their website. I can't wait to try it out

I did my 5 miles this morning. It's fine when it's downhill (well, there are a couple of short gentle hills but nothing to get worried about). I'm having a break from running tomorrow then I can do my long run on Saturday.

Had a good 3 miles last night. Cool and a slight drizzle, perfect running conditions. Mostly uphill on the way back, great for those glutes. Gotta do more hamstring strength training, they've been feeling neglected lately.

Hoping to get a state park pass this weekend to I can train run on the weekends all summer. Can't wait!

What is a garmin forerunner? I am obviously a complete newbie.

YP1 – How long is your “long run”?

My iPod is having issues. I’ll probably have to send it in for repair.

A garmin is a GPS system that measures your run, some of them have HRMs too.

My long run will hopefully be somewhere between 20 and 22, although I'll probably take anything over 18 depending how I feel on the day.

well the weather here is drying up here finally! I took it outside for the first time yesterday and let me tell you I can feel the difference today! I did the c25k week one pod cast on that 2 mile loop around the lake near my house...the distance actually fit perfectly with the recording so that was nice, today though I've got jello legs! I suppose there is nothing to do but stretch really well and hit the pavement again tomorrow! My assumption is it will take my body a solid couple of weeks to adjust to the new atmosphere and type of exercise. Being at the very beginning of this its so hard for me to imagine the distances that you ladies run! I can't wait until I can do that!

NESunshine, you're soooo close to Onederland -- that's wonderful!!

Today I did 3.1 miles on the treadmill, and I finished in 33:00, which is my best time so far for that distance. It was my last run before my 5k Saturday. I'm thinking I'll be able to beat 35:00, which is my goal, but who knows? I've never done an actual 5k, and I don't know what the course is like or anything. Plus, my sister-in-law may want us to run the whole thing together and she may either slow me down or make me go faster -- I have no idea! I'll report back here, of course.