As I have said right now I am into walking, yoga, weights and taebo. I am considering taking up running. My problem is, I haven't seriously pursued it in alot of years. Any suggestions in getting started? I got a book on the subject, and the author suggested alternating between walking and running. Is this a good idea, or would it be better to slow it down and just try to run? Probably the most important thing is warm up and cool down. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (((In Health))) Judy

Check out: http://kicksports.com/new/ for great advice for the new runner. The "Couch to 5K" link is very helpful in getting a new runner up to a 3 mile pace without injury.

Best advice: go slower than you think you should. Running well has positive psychological impact, and running poorly has just the opposite. If you start out too fast (meaning too fast a pace where you're sucking wind or too much distance where you injure yourself), you can totally defeat your attempts to become a runner. Work up slowly, and when you reach your milestones of 1, 2, 3, etc miles feel very proud of your accomplishment.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice, it makes sense. I will also check out the website you suggested. I did go for a run today and it went pretty good, but I still had to run then walk. One of these days I'll make it just running. It all takes time to condition a persons body to do that. (((In Health))) Judy

Hey, what I can tell you, is when I was in the military we did alot of running . For those who first started, they paced us out. You time yourself and see how intense it is for you cardiovascularly, yet eventually i had to drop from it because i found out I had asthma well you start slow, walk if you have to, and build up each time.
Take care,
Latisia

I recently started running too. I am 42 and still need to lose about 10 lbs. 15 would be better, but I'll settle for 10 right now ;-)
I am training for a 5k race that is not until august, and having never run before, I guess this is plenty of time.
I found a training program for beginning runners at www.runningtimes.com
hope this helps
hi t-girl!
Lauri

Thankyou everyone for your great advice. I'm writing down the websites suggested and will look at them. I went to the High school track and alternated walking and running for 6 laps which is about a mile and a half. The grand kids played in the middle and I pushed a jogging stroller with my 2 year old, and 16 month old. Otherwise they would have been crying. It went pretty well though, I think the weights and Tae Bo made me strong enough to be able to push them. I must have been a sight, hope nobody took any pictures. Can't you just see the headlines now ( Deranged Grandma Making a Fool of herself at South Kitsap High) Well as long as it makes me stronger that's all I care (((LOL))). In Health Judy

Rupertsmom: I have also been to the kicksports web site and I love that one too. The training journal alone is wonderful. I think it keeps me motivated. I also do like the couch to 5k page. And the running club message boards.
Take it easy!
lauri

Hi IndyLauri, Thankyou for the great websites. Did I understand you are training for 5k race? Good luck with that. It will be awhile before I can think of racing. Thankyou for your words of encouragement, I need all the help I can get. Good Luck to you keep me posted as to your progress, have a great weekend, Judy

Judy, My goal for the 5k is just to finish at this point. As I said, I have never run before. My husband used to run regulary, about 3 miles, 4-5 times a week. He injured his back a few years ago, and had surgery this past January. He goes with me to the track now, and he STILL runs circles around me LOL!!
When I first started, my lungs would just kill me after about 1/8 of a mile. Now my lungs seem ok, but my legs will go first after about 1/4 mile or so. I am determined to do this though, and my husband is very supportive of me.
lauri

Hi Lauri, Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to you. I hear you about your lungs burning, mine still do, and the running isn't the only thing I do. If you keep training you should meet your goal of finishing the 5k race. I'm glad your husband supports you, that makes it easier. I think I pulled a muscle today in my leg. I don't know if the Tae Bo did it, or the 6 laps I did at the High School track, but I'm going to have to stretch out the muscle gently. Bob doesn't mean to be negative, he just thinks this should come as easily to me as it does for him. Oh well I like having someone to discuss the issues with, so thanks for your encouraging messages. Keep up the good work, Judy

Judy, I have learned from runners message boards, etc, ice, ice,ice
and rest rest rest. I know... the last thing you want to do when you are on a roll is have to rest LOL! Also, if you can stomach ibuprofen that will help with the swelling. I did read never take ibuprofen right before you run. I guess it can mask pain and injuries etc.
Geez, who am I, Marcus Welby?
Seriously though, I really think you should check out this link called Couch to 5k. It should have you (us) running 3 miles in 2 months. I did the Week one workout yesterday using the time option, and it was quite manageable.

http://kicksports.com/new/couch.shtml
Good luck!
Lauri

Hi IndiLauri, I have been checking out the running websites. I found another interesting one and subscribed to the news letter they offered. I ended up with more newsletters then I wanted though, so I will pick the ones to unsubscribe from. After answering my mail this morning I plan on looking at the couch to 5k website you have spoken of. My leg is much better, I didn't do anything on Sunday, and I'm sure it was psychological but I could feel myself getting out of shape. Of course that is not how it works, but it is amazing how your mind can play with your emotions. Bob and I took our morning walk, both today and yesterday. I did Tae Bo yesterday and today is a running day, if I can talk myself into it. The day is still young though. Hope to talk to you soon, Judy

today is my running day, too. I have to work late tonight because we're moving our offices to another building and I have to pack up my junk. So since I usually run at night I am trying to decide: do I want to haul my cookies around the track at 6:30AM or go at lunch. Decisions, decisions.... if I go at 6:30 I could be mugged (in cheyenne? LOL) but I can come back home and shower and get ready for work... If I wait until NOON then I have to take my clothes to the gym and change and then shower and change back... but it would cut into my eating time, so that might be good
Sometimes if I am not motivated but I start anyway, I am really glad. I can almost feel the inches dropping from my butt and thighs LOL!!
Good luck!!
Lauri

Hi Lauri, my oldest daughter's name is Laurie. She has a birhday coming up in 5 days. I can't believe she is going to be 29. I can still remember the pain of childbirth. It took me 20 hours to give birth to her, now she has children of her own. I did talk myself into a run yesterday, I went to the Ymca and ran the treadmill. It tells you how many calories you have expended, not very many, but it was a bit more cousiony, (is that even a word,it's terribly misspelled.) I was glad I kept my membership going even though I haven't been using it. Is Cheyenne have alot of crime? Port Orchard doesn't. We only have just under 8000 peole that live here. 3 years ago Bob and I drove back from Michigan and we went thru your state. Stopped at McDonalds in I forget what town, you guys still had quite a bit of snow. Did you figure out when a good time to run was? Personally even though it's a pain to haul myself out of bed, I like doing that stuff in the morning. I did check out the website that both of you guys suggested
and thought the couch to 5 k was interesting. The Runners.com was mostly about racing. Unless I get a huge attitude adjustment I doubt that I will race for quite awhile. I am thinking of putting an ad in the paper and getting a group of running enthusiasts together so we can run maybe on Saturdays. I'll have to see if I get a response, otherwise it will be me and perhaps my daughter. Today was a Tae Bo day, tomorrow is a running day. Keep up the good work Hey Rupertsmom, haven't heard from you in a while. Thanks for the advice on running slower then you have an inclination to do. It seems to be working but I still do the walking then running. I'm not worried about it though I figure one of these days I'll be able to really take off. Do you run marathons? If so I think that's great, my daughter Laurie does. Just thought I would touch base with you take care. (((In Health))) Judy

And another thought for those with doubts about this running-thing...If I can do it, anybody can. I am so completely NOT the athletic type, if you get my drift. lol. But I'm glad I gave it a try, because it's honestly one form of exercise I go back to over and over again without having to talk myself into it too much.

Judy - Hi! I'm still laughing at the thought of me running a marathon. I suppose it's possible that I would commit myself to that amount of training, but so far I just haven't been bitten by the bug. I seem to run exclusively for fitness and how it makes me feel, and going out and running 3 miles a couple of times a week is what I enjoy. I don't seem to have a strong desire to keep pushing myself to go further. I have run a couple of 10k races, an 8k and a few 5ks. Out of all of those, I like the 10k the most. It's kind of a fitness hurdle for me, where I figure if I can do anything high intensity for an hour then I'm not in too bad a shape. I'm currently debating training for a 20k on July 4th, but I just don't know if I'm up for it to be honest. I've got kind of a nice routine going with my weight lifting and other cardio that I get at the gym that adding more running to my schedule would limit the other things I do. I'm probably just going to stick to the 10k. Good for your daughter, though, in running marathons! Hey, maybe she and mom will do one together?