Transformer -- you're most definitely not a fraud, so you shouldn't feel that way! Any amount of running makes you a runner, everything else is just a matter of scale.

Good job finishing up that last mile!

Actually, I am doing a new half marathon, the 13.1 Ft. Lauderdale half marathon. It's a new half marathon series, put on by the same people that do the ING Miami marathon and others. There are 5 half/full marathon events coming up in the next few months in Dade and Broward alone -- the 13.1 Ft. Lauderdale half in November, the Rotary Holiday Run in Weston, FL (half) in December, the ING Miami Marathon in Jan, the A1A Ft. Lauderdale marathon in Feb, and the second 13.1 half marathon in the series in Miami in March. I'm planning to do them all .... 5 half marathons in 5 months. Plus a few assorted 5Ks and a 10K that I always run. It's nice to have a variety of events that are local, no travel or overnight stays required! I'm mostly doing it for the fun and the "event" experience (and the shiny medal!), but it would be nice to work on speed too. My PR for the half is 2:07, set last year at the Ft. Lauderdale A1A marathon.

I'm currently running a "base" long run mileage of 10-12 miles, so essentially I can go out and run a half anytime I want to. I think a half marathon is the perfect distance, long enough to be a challenge, but not so long that the training just beats you up. I call it all of the fun with less than half the work!! I ran with a friend who is training for New York on Sunday. She had to do 18 miles, I was able to stop after 9 and was VERY glad I didn't have to do another 9 .... Those 20 mile runs are for the birds, IMO. Way too much like work.

Heavens, you aren't a fraud at all! We all started somewhere. Heck, I didn't start running (never even THOUGHT I could run) until I was over 40. I couldn't run for a block straight when I started. I trained with run/walk intervals and did a number of race events, up to and including a full marathon, as one of those run/walk people. It took me 5.5 HOURS to finish that marathon, but by gosh, I did it and have the medal to prove it. Eventually, I got faster and my endurance improved, and now I can run longer distances and faster than I ever thought I could. It's just a matter of patience and consistent training. Losing weight and getting lighter definitely helped too.

So post away ....

Hi all,

Jumping into this forum b/c I need support for my running which needs a little help at the moment. Running off and on since high school (more off than on), but have a pact with my sister to run a half marathon in late November, which is the longest distance I've ever done (did a 10 mile a few years back when I was an exercise maniac).

Anyway, my goal is to finish. I have been trying to run since April but somehow I can't get my weekly mileage up past 12-15 miles. I'm now working with a personal trainer and am essentially starting over. Can run 3-4 miles no problem, but anything above that I get whiney and want to walk.

I look forward to learning from you guys and reigniting my passion for running.

Thanks,

Caroline

Welcome Caroline! How exciting to have a stretch race to aim for in November, I'm sure you'll have a blast! Let us know how the personal training sessions go, pass along tips and tricks and anything else of interest they tell you!

I'm personally looking forward to the winter series of races in my area (mostly 5 and 10ks), because then the weather is finally tolerable. There a couple nighttime races right around the holidays that I particularly enjoy because they are routed through areas where people SERIOUSLY decorated with lots and lots of christmas lights and stuff. And we get to wear Santa hats and or costumes.

Hi Caroline! As you can see from my post above, I think a half marathon distance is a fun challenge to train for. My philosophy is that there's absolutely nothing wrong with walking. There's a whole sub-culture in running that advocates a run-walk interval approach. I did a whole marathon using 10/1 intervals (10 minutes jog, 1 min walk, repeat for 26 miles). You can choose any interval that you are comfortable with: 3/1, 5/1, whatever. Check out www.jeffgalloway.com for lots of information and training schedules.

There are both physical and psychological benefits to this approach. Physically, it gives you breaks, rests your legs and lungs, and helps you go much longer/farther with the less perceived effort. Psychologically, you are breaking the run down into manageable chunks (I only have to run for 10 minutes!). And, it's not a weakness to walk, it's your "plan". As a first-timer, this is a great strategy and it worked very well for me.

Don't think that you will look wierd, there will be MANY others doing exactly the same thing. And for those purists who think you are only "running" a race when you run every single step -- poo on them.

The single most important preparation step for any distance race is your once a week long run. Your other running days (usually 2 or 3) stay at shorter distances, 3-5 miles is perfectly fine. Most training schedules have you increasing your long run distance by one mile per week, up to 10 miles for your first half marathon. If you are running 4 miles now, you would need about 6 weeks to progress to 10 miles, and then allow 2 more weeks "taper" down to rest up for the event. You still have ample time! Check out the web link and look for beginner half marathon training schedules.

Marathon events are great fun, and addictive! After you finish one, you'll be looking for the next one.

Caroline - Welcome to the thread! I think MBN has given you some fantastic advice. I've also found that when I'm following a very exact training schedule, I lose the word "can't". If I'm scheduled to to a 15K long run, I may feel like I'm going to die by the 12th kilometer, but I finish it because I'm supposed to. Left to my own devices (without a training schedule) I piddle around and quit when I start to get tired.

I'm also a follower of the 10:1 method. It's made a huge difference to me in how much longer I'm able to make my runs and how much more I can push myself. I have a hard time believing that I can run for another 35 minutes, but I can always make it another 6 minutes to the next walk break!

So I had a really great trail run today. I met up with my mom at a local dog park and she walked with the dogs and kids while I ran. I did a loop around the field then I went off on some obscure trail for a bit then I finished off with five reps of up and over and back of a hill in the middle of the field. The kids joined me on the hill which was really cute. DD really really wants to run like her Mommy! It's some nice extra incentive for me, knowing that she's watching and mimicking me.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a pre-run where the trail race will be on the 20th. I'm back and forth on whether I'll do the 8K loop or the 15K loop, but today went so well that I'm leaning towards the 15. I've only done 4 5k's since my recovery from my race, but they've all been really solid runs so I'm feeling pretty positive. DH is also going to go with me which will be quite nice. I'll just kick him in the shins every now and then since he's a stronger runner than me already!

I did 7.01 miles this morning on a very popular route for runners/cyclists. It was a tiny bit cooler then usual, and less humid (thanks to Hanna moving out of our area) with a nice wind from the west so it was almost -- dare I say it -- comfortable out there! A bit of a preview for the cooler fall weather I'm looking forward to.

I was chased off the road by a big pelaton of bikers, narrowly avoiding an ugly crash for all of us. I know they didn't mean to do it, and since I bike myself I can find it in my heart to forgive them. Still, it pays to pay attention, that could have been tragic for more than one of us!

I've never done a trail race, Kim, I'm looking forward to hearing about yours! What kind of terrain will the race be over? Is there an online site for the race with a map of the route?

Jo - I'm glad you didn't get run over! Thank goodness you've got those long muscular legs so you could move quickly!

The website for the race is here and the map of the trail is here (I'll be running the red and the blue loops). This is the last of the five races for the season so if I enjoy this as much as I think I will, I'll be chomping at the bit for next year's season!

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Based on the advice I've seen you guys posting I've decided to continue to do my 3 mile runs most days and then add 1 mile per week to a "long run." (I had been debating doing that, versus inching up the distance on each run, like doing 3.25miles 3-4x a week for a week, then 3.5 for a week, etc etc.) So today I did my long run of 4 miles!!!! It actually wasn't a lot harder than 3 miles, mostly due to the fact that I had some new mp3s to listen to.

MBN -- I just noticed you are my height (go shorties!) and your starting weight is close to my current weight.

May I ask approximately how many calories a day you were eating when you were losing and how many you're eating now that you're maintaining? --If that's something you've kept track of?

I'm trying to decide what my goal cals should be. I know everyone is different but since you were close to my stats and running for exercise at the time so...

Thank you!!

Transformer -- way to go! I think that is an excellent plan. Isn't it nice to know that 4 wasn't significantly harder than 3!

In fact, I was telling my husband today about how clever it is that MBN has her long run at 10-12 miles per week and that way stays in half-mary shape pretty much all the time. I love the idea of just being able to go do any half-mary that looks interesting without having to drastically change her training to accommodate it. SO I've set the goal to start inching my mileage back up for a weekly long run and do the same thing.

So like you, I'll be slowly upping my weekend run into my "long weekly run".

Transformer - I think your plan sounds fantastic. Keeping the long run to once per week (for me) makes things less stressful during the weekdays. Congrats on rocking a 4-miler! It sounds like you were well-prepared since it went so well. Before you know it you'll be bumping up those long runs to distances you'd never have expected!

So Hadaad and I did our trail run this morning and it was amazing. On the drive out, I was sort of debating whether I should do the 7K or 16K loop. Part of me wanted to keep it shorter since I was doing my first real trail run and I hadn't had a long run since my race three weeks ago. We didn't actually make up our minds until we got to the point in the trail where the group split (4K or so). I knew for sure that I wasn't ready to head home since I felt like I was just getting warmed up!

We continued on with the group doing the Enduro loop and although the two of us were always waaaay behind the rest of the group, we had a great run. We ended up finishing off the distance in 1:54, a time that I was really happy with. I had some issues with an old ankle injury here and there when I wasn't careful about my heel strike on uneven ground, but other than that I felt really good. By the time we made it back to the parking lot I was tired but not in that "I can't believe I dragged my *** through those last 4 kilometers. I must now sit down for a week" kind of way that I've felt after some long runs!

I'm now contemplating doing the half-marathon route on race day in two weeks. It's 23.3K and it's all over rolling hills, which sounds intimidating...but there's a part of me that wants to go for it!

Well, today I ran two miles and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be! I went nice and slow (12:00 minute miles), but instead of running in little five minute segments like I normally do, I ran 25:00 minutes straight! I was pretty darn excited. Now I have seven/fifty done for September!

Thanks, Tyler! It did feel good.

KimProbable- I say go for the half-marathon! (Of course, I only say that because it sounds so cool...)

Strong work, Viatre!!!