welcome crk
 

crk, I am new too, and also lived in Madison for 4 years, where my 2 oldest were born. I started running to lose baby weight, around Lake Monona and the campus. Never ran before that, but have kept on for 23 years. Now I have 4 children, most are independent, but the best time for me to run is still the am before the school chaos starts.

I have done some 5K and 10K races, trying to motivate myself to do a half marathon. I notice when I train in the longer distances my hip flexor is sore, so am thinking I should trim down to a better BMI.

My new favorite toy is the stopwatch app on my iPod. I am starting to put sprints into my morning 5 mile run, especially the last uphill push on my favorite route.

Welcome, Crk! I am in central Virginia now in the blue ridge mountains (you guessed it!) but am originally from the Madison area. Congrats on having some races under your belt, and it sounds like you have a clear vision of what you are looking for which is great. Disneyworld, here you come!!!

EveL - your salad sounds tasty! I love feta, and I love me some protein, too! It sounds like you're planning ahead so you can still go out to eat together which he enjoys while staying on your eating plan. Be patient - he may come around in time. It can be threatening to others in our lives when we take control of our lives since it challenges those around us in ways that they may not want to face. Not sure if this is the case w/ your hubby, but I've definitely experienced it in my own life, both with my health as well as with a job change. Just keep leading by example and focusing on reaching your goals for yourself - you don't need anyone else's permission or blessing to do this. Congrats on the half marathon sign up - that is huge!

So I banged out another 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday. I think I am going to set the goal of about 10 miles a week spread out over three ones: 3.1 miles for speed (no incline, just get the lowest time possible) 3.1 miles where I play with incline and do more walking, and a 3.8 mile 'long' run. Okay, not long compared to some of y'all but I'm still pretty new to this. On my off days I plan to do elliptical, swim, dance or yoga, or a workout video - and of course strength training 3x/week. (Did I mention I have biceps now??!!) Trying to keep it varied.

I have found some great 5ks in Boston in July and planning to do one if all continues according to plan.

Have a great weekend all!

Hey girls! There's so much going on here, wow! I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to everyone, but my exam is next week and you know I tend to disappear around exam week, but I've been reading what you all are up to so I'm staying in the loop! Welcome to all the new members, good job to all of you for keeping up with the running and pushing yourselves to new distances, and Cake - welcome back!!!

Quick update: I ran 8 miles today!! Unfortunately, it was through a park so I can't be sure of the exact distance, but based on my time (1:20) and by asking people about the trail, I'm pretty sure it was 8. Close enough! I started waaay too fast and was so tired after like 2 miles, but then slowed down and easily made my way to the end. It feels great! My half marathon is exactly 3 months from today, so I'm getting pumped up about it! And I signed up for another 10K in 3 weeks, just for fun :) Anyway, I promise I'll be back after next week and actually participate in the convo. Have a great weekend and week everyone!

Blue- The salad was FABULOUS! yummy! We both had a great evening, it felt more like our norm (minus all the horrible calories!) So that is a great start for us. And congrats on the biceps! I'm starting to feel mine too but they're still under a few layers of fat, lol.

Hey all... was supposed to do about 15 miles today BUT ended up cutting it a little short, and did ALMOST 13..... at an 8:32 avg...so im pleased..... it was pretty Zen-like, for about 8 or 9 miles...then i think all the hills i had been running in the earlier miles caught up with me, and the run started to feel less zen-like and more like work, which is why i cut it short...i want to keep this very positive happy peaceful feeling surrounding my long runs..i dotn WANT them to feel like work! i want them to be the one run i look forward to all week, ya know?

Heres some awesome news though...went in to the MRC weightloss center to weigh-in. I am technically on maintenance but i still go in every two weeks or so to weigh-in and check in, etc... Theyve been helping me since i quit smoking with meal plans to minimize the weight gain... ANYWAY, since before my marathon id been hovering around 137-138...but it stayed there consistently since i quit smoking (gained about 5 pounds total) So i go in a weigh-in today.. and WHOOSH!! I am down 2 or 3 pounds to 135!! WAHOOS!!! AND ive been eating MORE lately!! Ive been trying to very gradually up my calories, because theres NO reason, being as active as i am, that i cant be eating 1800 to 2000 cals a day, on a NORMAL day.... No more of this 1300-1400 crap!!! Well....i havent been gaining, so i think my metabolism has started to regulate itself out!!

Mk- Congrats on the weigh in!

I got impatient and ordered Chalean Extreme and some select tech dumbells. I'm soooo excited to start! I always have such a hard time trying to get a good strength session in at the local gym. All the machines/dumbells/space are taken up by muscle heads and it's hard to get in the groove when you have to wait for someone else to finish their EXTREME GRUNT PROVOKING VEIN POPPING HARDCORE LAT PULLDOWN! Frustrating.

Originally Posted by dancerindenver:
Anyone else have issues from time to time with knee pain from their patella (kneecap) not tracking quite right, rubbing against something (a tendon or ligament - not sure) and getting sore? I've done some poking around online and it sounds like it helps to strengthen part of your quads to help hold it in place but I'd be curious to hear if anyone else has conquered this particular demon....

Dancer - When I was much younger, I broke a piece of bone off the top of my tibia and the way it healed causes my knee to track higher than it should, leading to the kind of pain you describe. Specific strengthening exercises that firm up the muscles and tendons that hold the knee cap in place help, as does wearing a brace, taping my knee in place and icing at the first sign of soreness keep it at bay too.

If it's something you have consistent problems with, it's definitely worth having your doctor refer you to a physical therapist. They'll be able to figure out the best solution for you, based on how and where your knee cap is going out of alignment.

Eve - glad you guys had a good time, and the salad did sound fabulous! Some people just have a hard time with change, even when it is change that they encourage...

Mk - congrats on the weigh-in! Maintenance is so much harder than I expected, and I don't have stopping smoking in there. You seem to be doing great!

Crk - I'm new, too. :)

Cake - I was was pleased with the 4 miles, more disappointed about being trapped indoors than anything. I loved my treadmill until I started getting to the park more, now I tolerate it more than enjoy it...

5 miles today at the park, didn't go until late so it got dark while I was still there. Haven't done a lot of after dark running, park was pretty crowded so I felt fine. Took out one of my earphones and listened to the crickets and night noises. Peaceful.
I'm pretty sure I'm doing a Turkey Trot 5k on the 21st, it will be my first formal event, pretty excited. I'm giving serious consideration to signing up for the ING Half here in Atlana in March. DH asked me why I wanted to do it and I couldn't immediately give a good reason, I just feel like I want to do it. I'm going to think on it some more, because I know it will be hard work.

I'm posting on my iPod while DH watches the GA Tech game on DVR so hard to scroll back to read posts. I'll be back tomorrow on my computer.

Good night everyone!

Shannon-- Congrats on signing up for the Turkey Trot-- your first "formal" event! You will have a blast!!
Putting our bodies through the stress of training for a distance event (such as a half marathon) is not something that non-runners can, or will, EVER understand!! That's ok. I suppose, looking at it from the outside, it DOES seem crazy to WANT to run 13.1 miles, or 26.2 miles!! That's not even including all of the training miles, which is where the REAL dedication comes in (and also the real ENJOYMENT, in my opinion!) When i was running the marathon, someone was holding up a sign that read "YOU ARE ALL CRAZY" ! :)

Give it some serious though. March is not very far off (But definitely doable, if you commit!) and there will ALWAYS be another half mary if you dont feel you are QUITE ready!! Youll make the right choice!

Shannon - you should definitely go for the Turkey Trot! It's such a great time of year for racing, and the atmosphere of a race is just insane (in a GOOD way)! I'm running a turkey trot too and I'm very excited. It will be my first 5K. I told my husband about my goal to run a HM, and he looked at me like I was completely loopy, but he wouldn't even run 3 miles much less 13.1, so there you go. If you pushed me for a reason why I want to do the HM, it's really hard to nail it down, but that's because there are SO MANY reasons why it will ROCK! Even if you decide you're not ready for March there will definitely be others down the road.

Eve - Oooooo, I keep hearing the talk about the Chalean videos and am interested to hear how they work out for you. I really struggle to get my strength training in (due to lack of motivation) so I'm always on the lookout for new ideas to make it more interesting!

MK - congrats on the GREAT weigh-in! Maintenance is tricky (I'm there too...) and that's awesome to hear that you're doing so well.

Today is my last day of a vacation in FL, where my hometown is, after having been here for a week. Flying back to Wisconsin in about two hours (blah), and I'm already daydreaming about my next trip to FL! I've been having a good trip and been great about staying on track with my running and (at least somewhat) with my eating. Also, Santa (my parents) gave me my Christmas gift a little early...a Garmin running watch! Of course I HAD to get up early this morning to try it out!! For now, I have to go get myself on a plane! Talk to you later!

smisen - thanks so much for the response on your knee pain - that was very helpful! I'm going to see if running every other day and getting in the stretches and quad exercises keeps it at bay - if not, I'll head to a doc or PT for some more help.

Sounds like you are all doing great!

MK - did you go to that crazy class at red rocks afterall?

6 days to HM.....getting nervous and excited all at the same time....but I get a medal at the end...how cool.

CRK - Welcome!

Mk - You are right people must think we are crazy! I love being crazy then...

* i just lost everything* argh

Mk- someone actually held a sign that said that?! OMG that's hilarious! :rofl:

cake- you can do this hm! Go you! :goodluck:

Today is my last day of week 2. I'm gonna go out there and kick some butt! :club:

Everyone have a great day!

Hey guys! Cakebatter -- which half are you doing? I've got the 131 Ft. Lauderdale this Sunday, my first half of this season.

I had a busy running weekend. Did 7.5 miles of bridge repeats on Saturday - bridges are the only hills we have around here! Then went to lifting class and we did a ton of squats and lunges. On Sunday morning, the marathon gals did 18 -- I had planned to hang with them as long as I could but bailed out at 15.5. My legs were really tired, that's about all I could manage! But, for half training, that's plenty good enough.

This week, I have the taper dilemma again. I tend not to taper at all. Which is fine for calorie burn, but not for optimal race performance! For me, a 13 mile run is just an average Sunday morning long run distance, but if I expect to run it FAST, then a little taper would probably help. I'm not sure I even care about "optimal race performance" any more .... I just hate to take a day off of working out. I'm running for fun more than time these days. It takes the pressure totally out of the whole race thing too.

So - HM this weekend. Then a Thanksgiving day Turkey Trot 5K, and maybe I'll do the Jingle bell jog again this year. It's always amusing to see the costumes and hear the jingle bells that everyone wears on their shoes!

Happy Monday everyone ....

MBN-- i dont taper either...ast least, not for a half....... you said yourself you werent running this to "perform"...do what feels good!!! you didnt take a day off the day befor eyou ran 15 miles this sunday! Thats my opinion....of course, you are a more seasoned runner, and i wouldnt suggest that to a newbie ;) I get exactly the same way if i cant/dont/shouldnt get a run in..... i lose out on all those calories burned!!!! Ijust about lost my mind tapering for the darned marathon!!!

CAKE---5days to go!!! are you tapering?? whats your running/workout plan for the week?? as far as the night before, i dont htink you need to go too crazy carbo loading (itll just sabotauge your weightloss!) I would suggest adding just a little bit of extra carbs the night before. I dont know what you usually eat, but maybe add like HALF a whole wheat bagel, and the have the other half as part of your breakfast in the am...... alittle bit of honey on top is always good, and whatever other carb you normally have for dinner i would increase the serving size..... you should be good to go!! ( Your welcome for the unsolicited advice)... Or you could do oatmeal!! Yummy!!!

Evel-- how did week 2 wrap up for you??? All ready for week three now? :)


I went to the gym this am and did my track workout on the tread.....2 X 1600 at a 6:48 pace and 1X 800 with 400 m rest in between....thats all..... plus warm up/cool down mile.....

Went to that crazy red rocks fitness yesterday!! WOW!! I am SO SORE in my upper body!! it was awseom!! It was really a lot of fun, and VERY challenging---although not as cardio challenging as i thought it would be!! I thought there would be more running and sprinting up the stairs and around red rocks park, but it was a lot more strength stuff...really crazy stuff, like crawling backwards up all the stairs..we did do SOME high intesity cardio though...all in all it was fantastic, and i will DEF continue to go!!
As a bonus.... I kept getting hit on by all the really hot, REALLY FIT guys there !! ;) HUGE ego boost !!!! I think some of the gals were hitting on me too!

LOL...glad you had such a blast at RR fitness! I checked out the website.. it looks tough! Maybe not for a superstar like you, MK, but I'm still pudgy! :lol:

I do have a major NSV... I bough size 8 jeans from American Eagle this weekend. SO happy... got a little teary in the dressing room... it seems like not that long ago I was still twice this size in clothing (16/18). Geez. It's taken a lot of hard work to get here.

My 10k is this Saturday! :yikes: So not ready!!

FP, or should I say "Formerly Knows as FP"? - Fantastic on the size 8!

MK - red rocks fitness is pretty intimidating. Glad you had a good time!

MK- week 2 went great! Everything felt good and it wasn't too challenging. I'm nervous about week 3! Jogging for 3 minutes is intimidating but I will give it a try! My mind is screaming 'you can't go for 3 minutes!' But I'm going to ignore it and see how I do! Glad you had fun at RR and kudos to you for getting hit on! ;)

fatpants- (skinny jeans!) Congrats on American Eagle size 8's! I would be teary eyed too! You're doing great! I know you will do awesome at your 10k don't worry! :D

ETA: Weigh in today.....SOOO CLOSE! 3 more pounds til ONEDERLAND! :D :D :D

MBN - I am doing the McDonalds Half in Richmond VA

Mk _ No carb loading for me. But the boy and I will be going out to dinner the night before, due to us staying at a hotel that night. The race is an hour 20 from where I live and I HAVE to go up the evening before to pick up my packet.....didn't see the since of coming right back just to repeat less than 10 hours later.

This week: Today I am running for two hours or 10 miles. Then tomorrow 4, Wed 6, Thursday very light crosstraining and friday...NADA

Fatpants - WaHOOOO! Congratulations. Even though I wear a 8 now i still try on the 10 or 11 first....It took me a while to adjust!

Eve - The mental is like 80% of battle inmy opinion, You are going to rock it!

Happy Monday everyone! Today was my first day back at work after a great vacation, so meh on that, but it actually ended up being not so bad. Now I'm just contemplating what to do at the gym tonight since I didn't get to workout earlier in the day...

Fatpants - Congrats on the Skinny Jeans!! Awesome! And best of luck with your 10K this weekend.

Eve - great job on finishing week 2. I know you will ROCK week 3! Mind over matter! It sounds like a big jump in the amount of running that you have to do, but you will be ready!

Hello to all the new sconny ladies, The land of my birth. We are leaving for Thanksgiving in WI in a little over a week.:carrot:

Good luck on your halves ladies

Evel : your enthusiasm makes me happy, you'll do it.

MK: Congrats on your weight loss, I remember you r were very concerned about this.

5 suckfesty miles for me today. I think I need new shoes ( my low back hurt the whole time) and my lungs are still a little congested ( complain much) Also I skipped my yoga class tonight for no real reason. Sad because it's the thing that keeps me injury free. Ah well tomorrow is an another day. Hopefully it will bring a new attitude and a trip to the running store.

Morning! 6 miles at the park last night. I may also be nearing the time for new running shoes... Got mine in January, have probably done somewhere in the 350-400 mile range on them now.

Good luck to everyone on the weekend races! :)

Eve - you will be great in week 3, the three minutes will fly by. :)

I'm still giving serious consideration to the half in March. Found a ten week half marathon training schedule online. Wow. Have to decide if I can really commit to all the time it will take before I sign up. I have 12/31 to still get discounted registration, so I'm going to see how the next couple of weeks go before I decide. Will ramp up the running over that time and see how much I can really get done.

Good day everyone!

3 days and one hour to race day.....nervous....nervous. THere is a NorEaster coming thru. I am hoping the storm clears out by Thursday because the race will be rescheduled if it is storming and pouring on Saturday (at least that is what I am guessing). And I have to drive up on Friday. *sigh*

Shannon- WTG on 6 miles. I say if you are running 6 miles now you "breeze" through your training schedule for a race in March!!!! Gor for it!

SG - Did you make it yoga last night? I hope your workout went better than the day before.

Crk - I do WW too!!!!

Hey thanks everyone! Funny last time I was a size 8, I was at least 10 lbs lighter so I definitely have exercise to thank for this.

Cake ~ hope the weather holds out!! It's looking a little iffy for my race this weekend as well.. we need good weather vibes! You are going to do FANTASTIC!

Shannon ~ I agree with Cake, if you've got 6 miles under your belt pretty regularly, the half marathon shouldn't be too difficult to train for, especially if you find a schedule that seems doable.

Geranium ~ good luck at the running store.. definitely sounds like you might need some more supportive shoes!

Eve ~ Have you started Week 3? How is it going? I was also very nervous to jog for 3 minutes when I did that week... weird to think about now. You will do great!!!

Good Morning!

I didn't have to work today, so Im just now waking up! hehehe

After breakfast I'm heading out to do week3 day1 I'm really trying not to worry about it and just do it.

I hope nobody's races get canceled! I'll send good weather vibes out to both of you!

EveL - you're so close to onederland! I dropped a 1/2 pound last week so I now have 7.5 pounds to go. Congrats on being at the half-way mark!

Geranium - nothing can beat a good pair of shoes. I am notoriously cheap but good socks and shoes (especially for exercise) are the one thing I won't skimp on.

Cake - Richmond is just about 1 1/2 hr from me - maybe someday I'll join you for a race there!

Fatpants/Skinny Jeans - congrats on size 8! Wow, a single digit! And good luck at your race - is it appropriate to say 'break a leg'?

I couldn't work out Mon or Tues so am looking forward to a long run and some weight lifting after work (woohoo - I get out of office at 3:30 today!) - rainy but that's what treadmills are for. My doctor noted that my resting heart rate has decreased, which is awesome. I have my running to thank!

I took my doggie out for my run today. He kept me distracted during the 3 minute runs. We totally rocked it! No sweat! (well there was some ;)) I'm really getting into this running thing. :D

blue- It's so unreal that I'm half way there already! Congrats on being close to onederland as well! If I get there first, I'll save you a seat! And congrats on decreasing your resting heart rate! That is awesome!

Fat--- you look so Beautiful!! Just Glowing!! What was the occassion for the dress?

Originally Posted by mkroyer:
Fat--- you look so Beautiful!! Just Glowing!! What was the occassion for the dress?

Thank you! It's actually the dress I just got for all the holiday party shenanigans in December. I am pretty stoked about it!

Eve - :high: on the run today!

FatPants - fantastic picture! :)

Planning a run after work, but might push it to tomorrow. Had to put a metal shelving unit together in our storage unit and moved a lot of really heavy boxes back and forth. Probably should have been two person assembly... :eek: Pretty worn out at the moment, so might go home and do some yoga. The weather is dreary today, too, which doesn't help. Blah...

Good day everyone!

Hey All! I just got back from my vacation and I'm here to report that I did absolutely no running (or working out in general) the whole time I was gone. I ate like a pig and drank like a fish. It rained the day of my friend's wedding but it was still so very pretty. We had a blast - I SCUBA dive so the bride, another friend, and I all went on a two-tank dive and saw some beautiful fish and coral and DH went snorkeling with some of our other friends. The food was amazing - I ate some sort of fish/seafood practically every day. So we came home last night and the rain from Hurricane Ida followed us in so I haven't ran today. I need to get back to business! I think I'm going to have to start getting my runs in early in the morning before DH leaves for work... evenings are too short as it is.

Great Pic no-longer-FatPants! Beautiful Dress!

One of my anxieties about the half marathon is that I am a super slow runner... Some of my splits show as 12:30 per mile, and I have some decent bursts of 10:25 on my exceptionally perky days but I'm sill averaging 14:10, 14:30, 15:30 per mile for total runs... I don't want to be the last one finishing... :(

Oddly, I run pretty consistently at 5-6 mph, can do decent intervals at 7-8 mph on the treadmill. On the road I just slow down.

Shannon, the adrenaline will kick in and you'll do fine in your HM :hug:

FAT PANTS, is that you in that avatar :love: .... vavavoom :lol: , you look great...

Amy welcome back...

Had a super run this afternoon it was 4c/39f, loved it... I'm not fast but we had a great pace going today...

Just popping in for a super quick study break...

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

FatPants - You look absolutely beautiful! It's amazing to see how far you've come!

Hope everyone is managing to keep up with the running in all this cold weather. I know I can't talk, living in LA and all, but daylight savings is totally killing me and making me want to go to bed at 5pm! Luckily my running is on track as it's the only thing keeping me sane right now. Ah! Hoping for another 8 mile run this weekend, so we'll see how that goes. I miss you girls! I promise I'll be back after my stupid exam. Have a good rest of your week!

Fat - You look BEAUTIFUL!

Originally Posted by Shannon in ATL:
One of my anxieties about the half marathon is that I am a super slow runner... Some of my splits show as 12:30 per mile, and I have some decent bursts of 10:25 on my exceptionally perky days but I'm sill averaging 14:10, 14:30, 15:30 per mile for total runs... I don't want to be the last one finishing... :(

Shannon, unless your half is VERY small, rest assured that you won't be the last finisher!! All of the halfs I do have some percentage of walkers and a cut off time of around 16 minutes per mile (3.5 hours). Even if you run as slowly during the race as during your training runs, you won't be last. But, there's something about the race environment that kicks up the adrenaline and brings out our best efforts -- you will probably be faster than you think! Plus, your half isn't until, what, March? You may find you get faster anyway as you train up.

Fatpants (you are going to have to change your handle :D), what a beautiful dress!!

CakeBatter - how's the weather forecast looking? My race is Sunday, and it looks like it's going to really nice here -- cooling off finally.

fatpants - woohoo for the size 8s and the gorgeous dress!
cake - I hope the weather this weekend will work out for your race - must be a bit nerve-wracking in the meantime.
evel- how did day3 go? If it gets hard to keep running, you can always try slowing it down even further - it's still jogging, no matter how slow it you go!
amy - welcome back! glad you had fun!
TC - between daylight savings and much shorter days this time of year, it's definitely harder to get in a run while it's light, even totally apart from temperature issues. I got spoiled this summer, I guess. Can't wait to be on the other side of the year as things gradually get better again.

I'll be back in Denver (after a week in FL) again tonight and am looking forward to getting in a good run outside - I'm a bit sick of the hotel treadmill!

Good morning all!

amy - welcome back! your trip sounds so fun! I've always wanted to try scuba diving!
MBN - good luck on your race
Dancer - great job in keeping up your exercise while traveling, when it's easiest to let the routine slide.
Takingcharge - I know, I hate daylight savings time. Just doesn't seem right for it to be pitch black outside when I'm eating dinner at 6 pm. Glad you have a track to use.
EveL - keep up the great work on your training and definitely save me a seat in onederland...I'm on my way!!!


Had a great 3.6 mile run on the treadmill (the longest I've ever run, woohoo!) and weight training yesterday at the gym. Covered the screen which shows speed, distance, time, etc with a towel and just tried to get into the zone which was pretty nice. Going back today for a treadmill work out. It's amazing how quickly I feel myself improving. Just two or three weeks ago I starting trying to run/walk more than a mile at a time, and now it definitely takes less excertion that it did then. Perceiving that it is getting easier to run and lift is a big motivator as the scale oh-so-slowly inches down. And keeping up with all of you is another big motivator!