Blimey - how busy is this thread all of a sudden?! Great to see lots of runners out there.

My next race is a trail race up a big hill (and back again) a week on sunday and is 13.2km apparently! I've not run in that area before so i don't know anything about the course.

Trouble is i've not run at all for about 10 days now, although i was doing well before then. I've just been working about 14hrs a day including weekends and it's moderate-excercise work too so that's been enough and i haven't felt like doing more and have generally been slack-arsed.

My second excuse is the opposite of most here - it's been high 90'sF temp here this week and i'm not used to it yet!

All of you inspire me!
Running is an addiction for me that I absolutely love. I would rather run than any other type of exercise. I have to remind myself not to overdo it.

The biggest problem that I am having right now is getting this last stubborn 30 lbs. off. I just know that I would be able to run like the wind (j/k) if I was 30 lbs. lighter.

My big plan is to eventually train to run a few marathons and then I would like to write a diet/exercise book for people with Parkinson's. Changing to whole foods has changed my disease and invariably my life. I want to share that with as many people as possible.

Thank you for all of the inspiration from each of you.

milmin: I would totally read your book.

Tomorrow is a rest day for me. I swear, rest days give me itchy feet.

flatfoot, you might try some lotrimin for those feet. :rofl: Sorry, couldn't help myself. Seriously woman, I can't believe you run in St. Paul during the winter.

Matt, I'm impressed you run in the cold rain. I'll run in a warm rain, in fact I love it, but I avoid cold rain like the plague. Brrrr!

Wickedlady, I love Central Park! I ran around the reservoir there with a friend a couple years ago. Just a few weeks ago, I picked up a cute running T with what is undeniably the "skyline" you see during that run -- those incredibly expensive buildings surrounding the park.

Ange, your weather sounds much better to me!

Wfonseca, I wear all "wicking" clothes when I run. I thought it was important for the summer, but I think it is even more important in the winter, so you don't get cold and clammy. I buy a lot of my workout clothes at Target (their C9 brand is pretty good) and at a local discount athletic wear store. I don't know if you have TJMaxx there, but I hear they have good deals, too. Also, LLBean and Lands End have exercise gear. Just be sure to not wear a cotton shirt or socks right next to your skin, because once they're wet they stay wet!

So I registered for the 5K Saturday morning. I am thinking about going to athletic yoga on Friday. Last time I went it left me incredibly sore all over my body -- but I ran my best-ever 10K two days later. So maybe it's my good-luck charm. :D

Tell me about it! :dizzy: LOL! I've heard the last 10 were hard, but these last 30 have been monstrous! And I have a very realistic goal, just 10 pounds into healthy BMI!

I ran treadmill hills today. The time went so fast, which is good because my lungs were working HARD! I love running intervals. It keeps my mind fresh. Every two minutes I increased the incline 1% up to 5% and then every two minutes decreased back down again. Then I walked two minutes and did the cycle again only in one minute increments. I repeated one more time for a total of 40 minutes. It was great! But wow, hills are so hard for me. I can still sputter out phrases at 3% incline but I'm not talking to anyone at 4% and 5%.

Going for 3 1/2 miles this morning...:)

It will be an increase of 1/2 mile. I always go by how I'm feeling while I'm running, so I'm really hoping to get into the "ZONE"! I'll let you all know it went! BTW, I'm really sore from playing this new game I got "Wii Just Dance 2"...Oh my was that a workout!

Have a great morning everyone!:)

By the way, how long does this take for most of you? I find the first four minutes of any run to be absolute torture. Also it's the one thing I DON'T like about intervals. If I allow myself to walk it's really hard to get running again.

W5D2.......complete! And guess what I burst into tears when I was done! Totally did not expect that! It's a good thing I was on the road and it was still dark so no one saw me. I guess I was surprised that I have come this far.

W5D3 is the 20 minute run, right? That's a major milestone! Once you climb over that one, you are good to go!! It's more mental than physical now. ;)

Not quite....its the 2 sets of 8min runs - the longest I have ever run before. W5D3 is next!

1 mile at 6.0 then ran some intervals for the next mile. Bouncing between 6.0 and 8.0 on the treadmill today. Got myself a headache, still in recovery mode from last week's Strep.

Run On!

Ok folks...I MADE ITTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!! I ran 3.5 miles...and walked .2 miles (warmup) for a total of 3.7 miles!!! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I'm so excited...now I hope I can keep it up!:)

It's funny you should ask....I was just thinking during the first 5 minutes of my run, "wow..I can remember when I was working up to 5 mins. now it's barely a warm-up for me"..lol! It usually takes me about 2 miles to enter into "THE ZONE"...that place where time/space don't exist...it's just YOU, an OPEN MIND and FREEDOM! haha..I guess that's a bit "dramatic", but I guess you can simply call it a "second wind" in which things just get alot easier!:carrot: I agree about stopping, I don't walk, but sometimes I stop to get my water bottle and even though it's literally 2 secs, its hard to start up again...I HATE THAT!!!!:mad:

WOW...that's GREAT!!!!!! Congrats...just think...only a few more minutes and you'll be running your fist straight MILE!!!! Glad to hear you hung in there!;) Woot...woot!:carrot::carrot:

Whoa..strep last week and your running this week...AND at those speeds (which at this point my brain cannot imagine for myself..lol)...that's AMAZING! Yes, indeed...RUN ON!!!:carrot:

Week 1, Run #2 complete...3.5 miles in a blazing (not!) 35 minutes.. I am a fairly consistent 10-minute-miler. I have no real interest in going faster. I just like to run at a pace that feels good and that's always about a 10 minute mile. Today was a beautiful day in S. Florida...68 degrees, sunny and clear with just a light breeze. While I don't envy any of you that run in the very cold weather I have to say that I absolutely dread running in Florida in the summer...85-95 degrees with high humidity..ugh...so I relish days like today.

Anita

Awesome runs everyone!!!

The weather here is nice today and I think I'm going to leave work early and do a bit of shopping for my trip tomorrow. I'm debating going out for a brief run of 2 or 3 miles since I'll still have Friday and Saturday off from running. I'll let you all know tonight if I do.

Happy running!

Look at everyone and their running victories! Really inspiring to read. I ripped off a toenail last night so probably no running until next week...but it's Friday, so that's not so bad. I generally don't run on the weekends anyway.

I'd like to set a "mileage" goal of 12 miles a week.

Eliana The beginning is the hardest for me too. I feel all lactic acid-y and sluggish for the first 15-20 minutes and then it's smooth sailing from there to anywhere from 45-60 minutes total.

joyfulloser I'm with you on "THE ZONE." The first 1-2 miles SUUUCK. Congrats on your mileage!!!!!!