I just read the last couple of pages of this thread and I am so giddy, I can be one of you guys!!!

Sorta. Today was my first day trying to run since PE in high school many moons ago. But it was great! Tomorrow I am going to walk for 25 minutes and then Saturday it will be Week 1 Day 2. I`m so looking forward to it, I`m sure I`ll have to keep myself from jogging tomorrow.

Yay!!!

Welcome to running Archy....

I had a decent run this morning... I went out for an hour, I could only run and walk by then end because it was already getting hot 22c/71f ... but it felt good anyways... Many times I had to walk just to wipe the sweat falling in my eyes because with contact lenses it really BURNS!!

So I just got this treadmilll...

And dang if it wasn't hard to run on that thing.

I can always run outside but I am planning for the heat. I wilt when it gets over 90 even just walking. Anyhow after much cursing and pouting I got into a groove and ran 3 miles S L O W L Y. I was so afraid I was going to fall off.

Welcome Archy!
:welcome2:

Have a great race Helen. You are such an inspiration.

Welcome Archy!

why isn't it Sunday yet? I just want to get going and can't face another day in work.

welcome Archy! YAY now the running board can be funny!

Helen I am getting excited FOR you. What time is the marathon on Sunday (and what time is it now where you are?)

The marathon is 9am, and I think we're 8 hours ahead of you over there in Oregon. It's just before 7pm as I type this.

I've just been out for my last 2 miler. I didn't have my SDM on, and just ran what felt like a fairly easy pace - it turned out to be a bit faster than target marathon pace which is reassuring, but I'm sure it won't feel that easy for miles 24 to 26!

I'm heading up to Edinburgh in the morning, I'm not sure when I'll be back online. Possibly on Wednesday at my parents house, unless I find an internet cafe in Madrid on Tuesday.

Helen, I can't wait to hear about your marathon!

Today I ran 4 sloppy, difficult miles in about 46 minutes. My running form is probably never very good, but today it felt like it was a hideous thing to behold. I just felt seriously sloppy for most of the run. The last 1/2 mile felt like the best part. Maybe it was tough because I haven't run since Tuesday, and haven't worked out at all since Wednesday.

Oh, my, we're supposed to have a running form? :D Lisa, kudos to you for running 4 miles in any form! I figure just the fact that I can get through 3.2 miles makes me pretty special so I'm always inspired by those who do so much more.

Ennay, if you see this, have you ever done the Mt. Tabor Challenge?

Off to run to the farmer's market and back. I really like the runs where I run somewhere, stop for a while, then run back. I make my DH carry all the purchases. :)

Sheila...I did a race at Mt Tabor in 2005...I think it was a 10K? It was one HECK of a hilly run.

14 today with a monster hill in the middle, lets see:

hmmm it truncated and only showed the back end of the hills.

Just for comparison though that one at mile 10 is the one that during my 10K in January made me cry.

Well, in case the forum wont let me on again ...GOOD LUCK HELEN!!!!!!!!!

You guys rock!
 

Helen - I know you did great, can't wait to hear about it!

Everybody else, Wow, you guys are making me know that I need to get my butt back out there (i've been off my running for a week or so... just a couple of short ones).

Shelby, I'm right there with you, I'm slow, and sometimes I feel like the slowest runner on the planet. It doesn't help that on both the 5k's I've run, I've been beaten by a good portion of the walkers. But hey, we'll eventually get faster right? and at least we're out there doing something.

<---going to get off my butt and do some cleaning now, so I can run this evening.. hopefully it won't be raining, which is why I've been lazy, but if it is, I think I'll just run anyway as long as there is no lightning.

Dee

i can not believe the marathon doesnt internet post results until WEDNESDAY. I was going to look Helen up because I am dying to know how she did!

Of course I dont know what her goal was, so even if I could see her time I wouldnt know what she felt about it.

I'm excited to find out Helen's results too!

I ran 5 miles yesterday, and a creepy old man stopped his car and said something to me. I don't know what it was, because my iPod was on, but it freaked me out a little.

I didn't get up early enough to run today, and even though I have the day off I simply CAN'T run in this heat. It's about 90 and horribly humid. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, because I'm not driving all the way to the gym, but I may just do some kind of workout video here. Sigh...

Hi!

Well, I'm down to a *mere* 46 minutes now for my meagre 5.2K. Bwahahaha! Slow and steady wins the race, right? Well, maybe not literally, but hey, whatever. I know that I'm pushing myself a little harder each time, so I'm happy with my progress. If it takes me another year and a half to get under 30 minutes, that's *ok* As it is, 9 minutes shaved off my time.

It was nice running this morning - 10 Celsius at 6:00 a.m., which was perfect for running in a t-shirt. However, it's gonna suck in the summer! I feel bad for those of you who run in the heat all the time (although you do get to run all winter).

OK, I'm gone for a week and dying to hear how Helen's race went, and I have to wait another two days!?!? Ack.

My DD has decided she wants to run everywhere. She is surprisingly fast for a 20 month old. I've been too exhausted to run on my own this week, although I am fast enough to keep up with her. Mostly.

Anne

Helen, I join in with the crowd in dying to read your marathon report - I guess we'll just have to be patient...

Me, I did my last long run this weekend before my half marathon in 2 weeks - I am getting very excited, but also slightly terrified. I'm sure I can do the distance. just nervous about being in front of all those other runners - I still feel a bit like a pretender.

Hello from sunny Madrid! (Well, sunny, but not sunny enough that it stopped me finding an internet cafe to update you all...)

I finished in...

3:52:11

I was pretty happy with that. Even though I knew there was an outside chance of 3:45, my main goal was just to break 4 hours, and I´d actually been thinking of 3:51 as a realistic finishing time somewhere between the two. I stuck with the 3:45 pacers until the 21 mile mark, then I had a nasty niggle in my calf/achilles/ankle area, on the ankle I broke and I decided that even if I took it easy to the finish I´d still break 4 hours comfortably, which at the time was a more appealing option than trying to kill myself keeping up with the pacers for another 5 miles. I struggled from 21 to 25, and then the last mile everything seemed to come together again and I overtook loads of people coming up to the line. I could barely walk at the end and had to shuffle to the pub, but have pretty much recovered now. I haven´t tried to run yet, but I´m walking OK and stairs aren´t a problem.

I´m flying to Gran Canaria tonight so will be able to post some more once I get there about the ins and outs of the race, but I thought I´d post a quick update here.

And 3:45 is in my sights in Amsterdam (October). After that I´m really confident that with another few months training I can break it and get a qualifying place for London.

Sub Four!! Oh yeah!

Anne

Spot the change to my signature ;)

Wow, congratulations Helen!!! That`s awesome!!! I can`t wait for the rest of your report.

(Now for something completely different)

I finished the first week of the C25K program and I think I am going to repeat it. Today was the first run I had where I didn`t get a stich or get shin splints. I think it`s because I spent more time on my warm up, and I started to warm up my calves with some exercises to strengthen my ankle muscles.

Today I also paid a lot more attention to my stride and went for smaller steps. If I can do this without a problem for another week, I`ll move on to week 2.

Today was also the first day that I didn`t step on any dog poop, so it was a victory all around!

And I`m still unusually excited about running! Yay!

CONGRATULATIONS HELEN on a sub 4 hour marathon!!!! That is amazing.

And CONGRATULATIONS ARCHY on finishing week 1 of C25K. That is very awesome :)

I'm proud to report I got a run in on my little mini vacation!:) Only 2.5 miles, but it was all uphill. I swear it seemed like it was uphill the entire way out, and uphill the entire way back. The point, however, is I exercised on vacation :)

Woo Hoo Helen! and woo hoo to you too Archy, first week is always hard, and not stepping in poop is always a plus. I ran 10 mins of my 30 min walk this morning, and going out for an actual run later, so be back to post about it.

Have a great day all!

:bravo:, Helen! What an achievement!

OMG, the coffee came spitting out of my mouth! Thanks for the laugh, Archy, and congrats on all your victories.

:woohoo: Helen!

:woohoo: Archy! (a special place in heck for people who dont clean up after their dogs.)

Yay, Helen!! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

And a cheer for you, Archy, for missing the dog poop today! Yeah!! :cheer2:

I did 4 miles on a treadmill today -- my "speed" workout, where I do 6 minutes of running followed by 1 minute of walking, then repeat it 6 times, and I increase my speed throughout and try to make the whole workout faster than my usual pace. Oh good lord, the buckets of sweat when I do that. The BUCKETS. And somehow, when I choose to do the speed workout, that always happens to be the day that a kazillion of my students are hanging out at the gym as well, watching me sweat and flail about on the treadmill like a crazy person.

Hi all! Mind if I join in? I'm not yet a runner, but I've started the Couch to 5K program as of yesterday. I need motivation to keep with it, and I figure you all would be the best to help me out!

Welcome, Lydia.

Well, runners, I'm on the sidelines for a while again--the stick turned blue and with my history of complications I'm making do with walking and swimming for a while. I'll continue lurking and maybe occasionally posting. I want to see Helen make her London qualifying time and all the C25Kers get to 5K. Plus goad Ilene about finally doing that triathlon.

Anne

ANNE!! You're sooo funny :lol3: I'm still not sure, it's in August, and I haven't swam since the biking weather is here ...

:welcome: Lydia :wave: ... Looking forward to hearing about your C25K ...

No running for me today, ran yesterday, did the gym thing this morning instead... off to get ready for work now... TTFN :wave:

Oh, AND :cheer: on the blue stick :woohoo: ... Take care of yourself!!

Anne :woohoo: on blue stick!!!! Absolutely hon, sit back with your feet up and bake for awhile. We'll still be here when you get back.

Ilene - you should do it, they are so fun. Way easier than just running.

Congrats Helen! A sub 4-hour marathon is amazing. :bravo:

Had a lovely run out on picnic point on the lake last Sunday, then my car committed mutiny and all my time has been spent getting it back in working order and getting me and DF around in one car. :mad:

Back on the road tonight, 3 days to my 5k!

I'd love to join ya'll, too! I know Lisa and Archy from another thread but most other names/faces are unfamiliar. I started C25k yesterday and looking forward to day 2 tomorrow!!! I'm SOOOOO impressed with the great running reports I've read in here! I hope I'm able to join the ranks of you successful racers before to awfully long!

welcome tricia!

7.6 or so this morning.

:welcome: Tricia :wave:

Yay, anne! :cheer2:

And Tricia, it's so good to see you here!! I'm so excited about the fact that you're starting to run. Woohoo!! :hug:

I ran 3.6 miles today, though I intended to run 5. I cut it short because my second toenail felt like it had fallen off. Ha...weird. It's just loose, though. Very weird. I tried to run at 5:00 am this morning but a dog growled at me and then chased after me, so I told it "Go away!" and it did, and then I was freaked out so I went back home! So I had to run at 5:00 pm in the 90-degree heat, and I even did some hills. Ack! I was determined to run, though. I got to the gym to change clothes and realized I didn't have socks, so I drove to a little local store and bought some!

Newbie question - I've just started to run (week 1 c25k) and I've been weight training for 3 weeks, now. I've noticed the scale has slowed to dropping only a pound or so each week. Did you all notice this? I feel like it's surely muscles being defined and that my clothes will begin to tell a very different story from the scales but I'm a worrier...I start to panic right away if it feels like my weight loss is getting out of control. I CAN'T go back to what I was!!!

Hi everyone! I finished Couch to 5k and now I am on a new 10 week program to get up to running 6 miles.. :-) I actually really like running now too.

royalsfan1-I have consistently not lost more than 1.5 lb. per week since after the first month I started to lose weight..My norm is no more than .5 lb a week. Remember slow and steady wins the race!

Tricia -- Don't panic, breathe, I promise you won't go back if you continue to do what you're doing along with a nutritious eating plan... You'll get wonderful muscle definiton and a healthy body :carrot:

I haven't run since Tuesday :( ... Life has been getting in the way since my car accident last weekend... But things are finally getting back to normal... Weather permitting I'll run tomorrow morning ...

Lisa - This is my trick with dogs, I bend down and act like if I`m picking up a rock. I thought it only worked with dogs here, that are used to having rocks thrown at them, but it worked in Chicago.

Royalsfan - I`ve lost 1.5 pounds per week since I started running. Unless your diet goes out the window, I think you should be fine.

Ilene - Hope you have a good run tomorrow!

I stepped on dog poop today :( and got hassled by a police office. This was after I stepped on the poop so my patience was thin. Since I know his captain I got his name and freaked him out about hasseling tourists. GRR!

But, I`m still happy with the way I`m going. I really have to work about getting up a little earlier to run, but other than that my legs feel great.

I thought I couldn`t run because of shin splints but now that I am spending like 10 minutes warming up doing all kinds of weird stuff (walking on my toes, toes pointed out, in, and normal, etc.) my legs feel like I didn`t even work them. I feel like such a dork, if I would have figured out that I don`t get shin splints if I warm up and cool down properly I would`ve started a long time a go. And I`m supposed to be the smart one!

Whatever, tomorrow I`m walking briskly since today is leg day at the gym. Sunday is rest day and Monday I start with week 2. Woo-hoo!