Thanks for the input, fp. The link was helpful too!

blueridge- You are going to do amazing on your 5k! Your plan sounds very similar to what mine was when I did my first 5k. I wanted to still keep exercising but also take it easy so I could perform my best on race day. So, in my humble opinion, it sounds good to me! Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

i dont take any energy replacement unless i am going to be running longer than 90 minutes...... Longer than 90 minutes, and i start taking them every 45 minutes-- so in a marathon every 5 miles or so.... The key is to start taking them BEFORE you need them, or it will be too late. My opinion for 45 minute to an hour? just eat a good breakfast/ pre run meal. That will be more than enough.

Thats a lotta taper for a 5 k. :) if its what makes you feel comfortable though. Ive found (and read it/implemented it) that its a good idea to get out the day before and do a LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT easy run/jog/walk just to loosen up your legs and get them warm so you can stretch them........ if you are worried about fatigue inthis case i would be more concerned with cutting out strength training the week of, rather than the running itself...... strength training requires more "repair" and energy to recover by the body... also, when i stop strength training for a week, i drop a couple pounds which helps makes running easier (and faster!)

Good luck, you will love it!
Oh, and the only possible flaw i see is that you are allowing less than 2 hours from wake up to starting gun...... how close is the race? how BIG is it (how many runners?) are you driving yourself? Do youhave to shuttle to the start? Will there be parking close by? How many porta-potties are available? Is an hour enough time for your food to digest, etc etc etc..... i personally would be AT the race a little after 6...not just waking up :)!

Hi guys, mind if I come and play? I finished the C25K today (yay me!) and am ready for the next step, but I'm not sure what it should be.

My ultimate goal is to run my local marathon next year - 2011. It will be just after my 42nd birthday, and the idea of doing 42.195km on my 42.195th birthday seems a bit karmic to me. But I don't know how to get there. All the marathon training programs I've seen range from 12-25 weeks, and I've got just a bit over a year to get from 5k to 42.

Do I start with a 10k program, then a HM, then the marathon? Or do I bite the bullet and get a trainer (there's one near me who's very good apparently) to write me a specific program?

Cheers chickies.

Congrats!! My first marathon was "karmic" in my opinion as well..it was on my BDAY!!
So, to answer your question.....a marathon is going to be hard to do in one year. WHEN is it next year? is it next year in january (9 months away?) or next year in DECEMEBER (20 months away?) Big dif :)

Ok, back to my point. Optimally (OPTIMALLY) you should have approx one year of steady consistent running under your belt before you even start training for your marathon. Think of it as insurance against injury ( and no, i dont mean it guarantees no injury.....but it helps)..it takes TIME for your body to adapt to the stress running puts on your joints and muscular-skeletal system. Seriously......running 18 milers and logging 40 miles a week, or more, is not something your body does without some coaxing, and TIME.

On the other hand, if this is something you are committed to....
You CAN do a 10K or Half, if you WANT TO. you don't have to if you DON'T want to. Its a great way to progressively build up your miles, with smaller, closer more tangible goals along the way. You can train for a 10K in 8 weeks..... or less.....you can train for a half in 12...... and the great thing is that as you do so (if you did) you'd be building not ONLY your longest run distance (from 3.1 to 6.2 to 13.1) but more importantly (in my opinion) you'll be building your weekly base mileage. THIS is going to make or break your marathon training. How many miles a week do you run right now?
When i was peaking for my marathon in October i was pushing 70 miles a week... you dont NEED to be able to run that much... BUT you have to consider your "long run" that week of 20 miles...yes- i said 20 miles...plus at least another 20 during the week, and you'll be running about 40 miles, at peak training. at least :) Probably

Back to task at hand.. you can start now, by increasing your weekly mileage. Dont worry about speed, dont worry TOO much about distance (ie, getting progressively longer runs)...just worry aout getting MORE RUNS in during the week...or more MILEAGE...however you want to do it. Start by adding one more day of running..than tack on a mile to one or two of those runs in another couple weeks...in a month or so add another day. Then start running long...whatever. But you want a good solid base of about 20-25 miles per week before you start the marathon program..... training for a 10K or half is a great way to have a built in way to ramp up your miles. Try Hal Higdon training plans...go to halhigdon.com he has great beginner programs for half marathons (and marathons!)..maybe 10Ks too...very gentle, and *fairly* low mileage.....

if you give me more details about your running currently i can help more!

oh, and congrats on C25K! are you going to run in a 5K race?
And congrats on the weight loss....:)
As you lose more weight youll find its easier to add mileage and go faster...but at 5' 8" you arent carrying around as *much* extra as i was initially thinking... unless the 86 is in STONES!!!!! :)

Blueridgegirl- I didn't taper at all for my first 5k, or even 10k really. I typically only run three days per week so put an off day before the races. Did a decreased mileage taper week before the half, but even then only had one day off between runs as I ran 4x that week. Definitely do it though, if it makes you feel better. I agree with MK on the time though - if it is closely local the time may be fine, my 5k started at 8 four miles fromy house so 6 wake up worked. My half started at 7:05 downtown so I got up at 4:30 and was down there at 6.

Can I join in with the April running now that the weather is better?

So I wanted to try to increase my run from 4 to 5 miles. Of course, being me, I decided to try it this morning... after getting about 6 hours of sleep last night (keeping in mind that I need 8 hours to function well), getting up at 6:30am, going to the farmer's market, eating a couple of slices of bread (it's one of my food weaknesses... and that's why I don't always go to the farmer's market), going to a power yoga class for an hour... then running. My body felt like it hit a brick wall at 4.5 miles and said "I'm done" so I walked a bit, then ran for a couple more minutes and walked the rest of the way.

... Which kind of sucks because I'm pretty sure that I can run the 5 miles in different circumstances.

On the other hand, my first 5k is in a week and I'm kind of excited.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

July 2011. So 15 months away. So if we go with your "12 months of consistent running" guide, that gives me 12 months from now and then another 12 weeks or so for specific training. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? Or am I being overly optimistic?

I've heard this as well - 30-35k long run, and 70k total mileage.

I'm currently doing 5k 3x per week. Not nearly enough. But having said that, 9 weeks ago I was puffing and panting at the 1 minute mark, and I can now do 5k up and down hills in 35 minutes. So I'm still in the rapid improvement phase, I think.

So I should just get out and run?

Thanks! Yep, the 86 is kg. I'm still overweight, but less so, and I'm definitely shrinking. I was hoping it would get easier. I always like the bit in the Biggest Loser show when they give the contestants backpacks and make them carry up to their original weight in sandbags. I think I should do that one day, just to reinforce how far I've come. It's slow, but it's happening.

There's a few 5k races I've got my eye on. It's just getting into race season here (most of them are in the winter because the summer is too hot, and in winter it still only gets down to 64oF. So nice running weather. I haven't decided which one/s I'll do though. Plus the local running club (of which I am going to become a member, truly!) does a 5k loop along the river every second Sunday and you can do as many laps as you like. Should be good for long runs down the track. A couple of my friends did 35k last week.

Thanks again for your help! I'll look into those Hal Higdon programs. There are a lot out there, and I really don't know what's good and what isn't.

HI everyone! I just did my second 5K! I must say, it was really satisfying. It was in the honor of a friend and I'm honestly really glad I did it. Plus, I got two free shirts! :D

Since this was organized fairly quickly, it lacked a lot of the logistics of a more major race including mile pace running...and an average at the end. So, I just plugged in my ipod for a classic rock playlist in honor of my friend, and ran at a comfortable pace. I didn't break a sweat and ended up averaging 9:30/mile! Hopefully if I do another 5K, I can actually pace myself with the race, but I'm really proud I was able to do this running comfortably! :D

I didn't realize there was a running group here! I hope you all don't mind if I join in. I've been running for about a year and have two half marathons under my belt, training for another in July. With my 7 miles this morning so far in April I have 25 miles :)

BigKnit-- welcome! Theres always room for another new (or seasoned, in your case) Runner!

So, ive graduated to doing Body part splits, or Upper/lower splits 4X a week. This is to reduce the hormonal impact (read: no FAT LOSS) when i do high intensity full body strength training. SO far, i really really like doing the body part splits better!

Today i met up with a couple of middle aged guys trying to start up a track workout up north where i live, that's affiliated with our local road runners association. It was a great workout, just the three of us. did 6 X 800 meters, with 200 meter rest in between (KILLER-- im used to 400 meter rest in between!). i HATE 800's and i despise doing my track workout, but--- well, it has to be done. So i think if i join these guys every Sunday, it'll make me much more accountable, and force me to actually do em! Was shooting for 3:30s on the 800s (which is a flat 7 minute mile). Ended up running hte first three WAY too fast.... like at 6:15s..... the last 3 i struggled, but i still came in right about close to where i wanted. This was the first track workout ive done since December...

Then i went to JC penny to try on/buy clothes for Mexico! Havin a skinny day!

Thanks mkroyer! Whew, today's run was hard! I am pretty slow but for some reason I was doing pretty close to 10 minute miles and I had a hard time keeping my breathing going. I did most of it on a dirt trail which I love and wish I could do more of. It was 4 miles and so now I'm up to 29 for this month.

By the way, does anyone use the Daily Mile website? I like to use it for tracking my workouts and I'm in need of friends too lol

I just checked out the Daily Mile website thanks to you! :)

I feel a little out of my league posting my 1.58 treadmill miles in 25 minutes compared to the 5+ miles everyone seems to be doing. This was my first day of c25k. I wish I had seen my distance at the 20 minute mark, because my 2.0mph cool down really skewed the distance/minute ratio.

Oh well... I'll keep posting.

Thanks again! :)

LJ - congrats on your second 5k. Sounds like you have a nice collection of race t-shirts started.

bigknit - welcome. sounds like your april is off to a great start!

Jane - welcome. I am with you on the better weather...definitely makes getting out there to run much easier.

Big news from me today: I have a new 5k PR! I went out to run the route of the 5k I'm running on Saturday, and did it with my boyfriend, who by the way, is one of those incredibly fit, soccer player, not an ounce of fat on his body, kind of people. I've never run with him before, but he had agreed to do the race with me (and to run with me, despite my pace) so we went out and did it together. I ran the whole thing (the other time I ran the route I took walking breaks on the hills) and according to the stopwatch on my ipod, we finished in something like 29:52. WHAT?!?!? A sub-30 5k, on the road, with hills? You have GOT to be kidding me! I still wonder if we made a wrong term and skipped part of the route because I can't believe that we actually went that fast. Even if my timing was wrong, it was a great run, and I proved to myself that I can run the whole route without walking and finish strong. But I checked the map aftewards, and I think we actually did run the full 5k.

It's amazing to me the psychological piece of this - how having a partner beside me encouraged me to dig deeper. I seriously felt like I had to stop and walk when I did the route before, but having him with me I was able to dig deeper and maintain my pace. It's exciting what we are capable of when we push ourselves. So I am flying pretty high right now and feeling like nothing can stop me - first this 5k, then a 4miler in the fall, and I'm already looking ahead to a 10 miler and/or half-marathon in spring 2011. YAY!

Welcome to all the new folks!

Blue- CONGRATS on the pr! That must be so exciting for you! Keep up the great work!

I survived my first ever 5 mile run on Saturday! It went by sooo fast because the scenery where we were running was so beautiful and I was so focused on my form. My stupid garmin battery died during the run so I didn't get to actually *see* that I did 5 miles, but I made it all the way back! The hips were nagging by the time I was done, as usual, but i feel like i'm making progress. Running is so empowering for me. Every time I go out and try for a new distance, I amaze myself. I'm always nervous, wondering 'can i do this?' but every time I do it. It's an awesome feeling. :D