Oh Helen!!!!!! I wish I could fly east just for an FE!

Heather - I looooooooove running in the rain. LOVE IT. It sucks to start, but once you are in it is so nice to not get hot. Baseball cap to keep the rain out of the eyes. Heat on the otherhand ick I will take rain over sunshine every day of the week (when I am running)

Had my hot half yesterday, I did pretty well through 12 miles, was well on pace to get a new PR and then just died on the last mile. too freaking hot. And it wasnt even all that hot, just hot for me.

gah I wouldnt even try at 85. I start whining at around 65

Ennay, we Oregonians are real wimps about heat, aren't we? I did a 5K yesterday morning at 9:00 am, and was miserable. Don't know how hot it was, but like you, anything about 65 is hot to me. I usually do another race in July, but they changed it to a 6:30 pm race, and there's no way I'm running at that time of day in the middle of July.

Helen, AWESOME!! Wish we could all come and cheer you on!

Hi, ladies. I am jumping in.

I am losely following C25K. I needed more than a week in the beginning, but now things are going VERY smoothly. It is hard to believe that 6 weeks ago I thought that I full minute of running would kill me. (i track time, not miles). I got up to 12 minutes in a row yesterday. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can do 15. I really think that I can. I am slow as cold maple syrup, but I am really trying to push forward.

Anyway, you are all so inspiring. I have not found a running partner here at home, so I will take all of your expertise and enthusiasm with me in spirit when I run.

I also posted a quick question. If you get a chance to answer it, TIA.

I'm still excited about it!

In terms of running in the heat, I wouldn't know. It seems to have been raining here for the last two months after a nice April. I did 5.2 miles in the rain and wind this morning, I'm still wearing capris and a long sleeve top because I'm such a wimp in the cooler weather. My shorts are very underused at the moment.

Welcome, onthetee! I tracked time instead of miles at first too, but you'll probably find that you're more interested in mileage when you've reached the point where you can run for more than 30 minutes at a time, or when you follow a program to train for a race. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

I ran 10 miles today, and I did it faster than last week, but it was pretty difficult. My husband found us a new route, though, so I didn't have to do the same 3-mile loop over and over as I usually do. Yay for new scenery! It was 5 miles out and 5 miles back. I took a couple of walk breaks to drink some water from my lovely new fuel belt (size small, by the way, though they do run large -- I was just excited to buy a size small ANYthing).

As for running in the heat, I try to get up quite early to avoid it, but it's always humid lately no matter what time it is. So I'm covered in sweat pretty early in the run. I'm ok as long as it's overcast or the sun isn't too high (like today), but sunny days kill me. I pray for clouds in the mornings! This new route has pretty much NO shade, so I was quite thankful for the clouds today.

10 miles--yowsa! That new scenery sure helps, doesn't it? That and some new music, which I desperately need.

Ran 3.5 miles today, which I'm very proud of since it's the longest distance I've run. I noticed that my gym has a 500 mile club, and I think I may join it just as a motivating way of tracking my miles. I don't run much, but it all adds up over time, and it will be nice seeing my name on the list. One woman has run 46,000 miles.

Onthetee, don't worry about being slow. You will get faster. We all start out pretty slowly, and, hey, some of us (me!) stay pretty darn slow. But when you look where you've come from, it's an incredible feat, don't you think? I get a little shiver of excitement when I run across the street to catch up with someone just because, hey, I can actually run now.

I lived for 8 years on the North Coast of California. Temps there are 50-60 pretty much year round. The seasons are wet and dry and I miss it like mad. I am a bit jealous of your weather.

Heat is one thing. I do fine in low-humidity climates. Here, it is like breathing water right now.

So glad I popped in tonight. I was just going to count my time in the pool today as my exercise, but I think I will go put some miles on my shoes.

Ran 2 miles this morning. That's a first for me...in a VERY long time!

onthetee ... I'm another extremely slow one ...

I need to run tomorrow, I ran only last sunday and have only been roller blading and biking so far this week... It's supposed to be cool tomorrow morning so I'll be going out ....

I couldnt find your question, what was it?

Well I think I will officially pop over here now that I am running. Well, it's sort of a goofy slow-ish jog but I think it will be a nice run once I am in better shape. I at the end of week 1 OF CT5K and did alright. I am still in one piece and I am excited to see if I can take more than 60 seconds of jogging. I know I can run faster but being so out of shape I have to slow myself down to be able to do the 25-30 minutes of this program.

In two weeks, I am starting my running at the gym (husband is going to Iraq and I need childcare while I work out). They have a track (it's small, maybe 1/8th of a mile, I will have to ask) and of course treadmills. I am comfortable running w/o the treadmill, so should I choose the track? And on "off" days do you guys do weights or non-running cardio? I am looking to shape up big time, so weights will be involved a few days a week but I wasn't sure what days to lift on (running vs. non-running).

On non running days I do a mixture of non-running cardio, weights, and rest days. A lot of the time it depends how I'm feeling! I have never actually run on a track. I run on the treadmill for speedwork, and then just random roads/paths/trails etc for outside runs.

I had a nice 15.4 miler this morning. I'm definitely feeling more confident about building up my mileage now. One thing I never realised before I started running is how sociable it is. At the moment I almost always seem to bump into someone from running club when I'm out on a run, which is a nice excuse to stop and chat for a few minutes.

Tomorrow is a rest day, but I think I'm going up to the dales for a day of walking if the weather holds - it's not great, but it was warm enough to run in shorts and a vest this morning so it's a big improvement.

It would be unseemly to grab the hot young man at the gym to tell him of my latest accomplishment, so I will share it here instead

I did 20 minutes on the elliptical, ran for 8, walked 4, ran 10.

I might be a runner....

What I love is the sense of pride when I push myself. I see how it becomes an addiction.