Did 3 miles on Monday and Wednesday.
I have a 10k this Saturday in a VERY hilly area. Should be fun!

The weather is so perfect for running here right now. This is a very small window for good weather. Soon it was blessed hot. Haha, I live in the South.

To answer Jojo--I usually run after work, so evening. I'm use to it. It's good when I have stressful days--I can let it all out so I can relax.

I use to run in the mornings and love running Saturday mornings. It's just a great way to start off the day. I have to drag myself outside to do it, but once I am finally there and then afterward I feel awesome.

Hi All!! I did 2.5 miles today, easy run. Tomorrow is off running and I'll be doing strength training and yoga. Maybe some plyo too if my body says it's down with that- right now I'm tight and about to stretch again before bed. My half is in May so I'm following a training plan for that now. It's my first race (as an adult, I did track as a kid) and I'm saying I want to do 2:00 or better but honestly I would like to do 1:45.

mkroyer that sucks about the foot, hope it heals well and quickly.

ncuneo, I love lifting! How many days per week are you training?

Jojo, I typically run in the mornings, after breakfast if it's a hard run or before breakfast if it's short and I'm in a rush.

I prefer to run outside, but I won't run on the ice due to 4 ankle sprains in the past 2 years. No more injuries for me. I have a treadmill in my basement and watch tv or movies, but I can't wait to get back outside in the fresh air and listen to tunes instead.

I signed up for the Syndey half marathon today. It's on 15th May.

I started training for it a couple of weeks ago, but only registered today.
So basically i'll be running 4x per week instead of the normal 3-ish, and ill be doing some faster sessions (am normally just a lazy runner), and i'm increasing my long run (did 15km yesterday and due for 17 next week).

Target is to beat my pb which is a very modest 2:08 set a couple of years ago (didn't run a HM last year due to ITB then broken foot, then general laziness, then preferring trail running).

Would prefer to run at lunchtimes although obviously the temp has to be right (usually too hot here) and normally i'm working! Evening is probably better than morning for me, but i usually run in the morning, then go to the gym in an evening.

Good to see so many runners this month!!

^That's great for siging up for the half marathon. I'd love to do something like that someday.

Great to hear you are feeling better! I lived in the desert last year, so I know how hot and dusty it can get (and eay to get bronchitis). If you can get to a 10 k from a 5km in 12 weeks, I may join you starting end of May. That's some great motivation right there.

Good to see that some of you run at different times of the day that suits your schedule and that you are used to.

I find I don'thave as much energy in the morning like today. I have had horrible indigestion and sore shins from my last run when I did sprints. I could only go 1 mile today and then I did 30 mins on the epiliptical. I have to listen to my body when it says to stop to prevent further injury. I'll wait till I feel better and the legs are less sore to continue.

Happy running, everyone!

Race season is still in full swing here in South Florida. I've got my 3rd half marathon of the year on Sunday in Miami Beach. Well, technically it's my 5th race of the year, if you also include the half and full marathon that makes up the Disney Goofy race-and-a-half challenge.

Now, I'm about ready to sign up for something really certifiably crazy -- a 50K! In like, 3 weeks!! I'm heavy and slow right now, so heck, just go really slow for a very long time and you have an ultramarathon! I haven't really "trained" for anything long-distance since the Disney marathon back in early January, my longest long run has been 14 miles. (But, I've run a half marathon event almost every other week) So I'm going to run back-to-backs this weekend (12 miler on Sat, then the half on Sun), which will goose my endurance training a bit. Not as good as a single long run, but better than nothing. If that feels fine, then I'll go for it ....

See what starting running can do to you -- makes you NUTS!

Morning runner here too - 5am. It's also blazing hot here and I have to do it when the family is asleep in order to fit it in.

River-I lift 2xs a week. It's all the time I have for it, but it does the job.

Eeaked out 5 this morning and I'm hoping for 8-10 Sunday. Have a great weekend everyone.

Wow, it's so cool to hear from so many of you at different stages in your running 'journeys'.

I'm a beginner, doing the C2 5K programme, and loving it! I hope when I'm done running will be something I can keep up at and get better n better. I'm returning home to the UK from Thailand in just over 5 weeks, and can't wait to lose the heat and humidity and gain some scenery and be able to move from indoors to outdoors.

This week I did week three on Mon and today (had a major lapse midweek so only did it twice) today I added an extra 6 minute run to the end. I'm not fast, but I am enjoying building up my stamina.

Will be starting week 4 tomorrow or Sunday, and then continue from there.

My goal for this week is simple, to stick to the plan, and even when the longer runs come up, not to stop, I've gotta believe I can do it, and I will!

MBN - wow! 50km is a seriously long way, and you're not exactly giving yourself much time to prepare!! Sounds like a good plan to do it really slowly - then you have something you can beat the next time!!! Is it a road race or a trail?

Good luck with your back-to-back long runs.

I needed to report my latest running 'find' that is AMAZING: so, in the German town I live in there are SO many runners, and thus many running stores. Now, instead of having to go to a doctor you can get a customized running insole at the store.

I went in because I had a specific problem with my right foot - the arch in particular. After jogging for approx. 55 min., I would ALWAYS feel like my arch was ripping apart with every step. It was SO annoying and painful.

Now, my customized insole has totally solved that problem and has even naturally increased my speed a bit. The good thing is, you buy the sole once, then you can keep getting it re-heated and re-fit if it is not perfect..... I've had to go back once because I had a blister from them.

But, overall I'm totally impressed. I think it is SO amazing how much of a difference the correct shoes make.

I'd call the running store in your area and ask if they have these - its really worth it. Or, if you are a serious runner, then definitely make an appointment with a podiatrist to have insoles fitted. I think, in the long run, your body will thank you.

So I'm going to skip the long run again this week and go hiking instead. It's the last weekend before my DH starts the overnight shift for the season and our last chance to do something active together. It's a nice break though. I've skipped 3 of my last 4 long runs and it's a really really good feeling to see that it hasn't affected the scale that much. I was really starting to feel like if I couldn't maintain a minimum of 20 miles per week and run a minimum of 8-10 miles every Sunday that I'd blow up to 268 again immediately.

This is a really important realization for me. Last month that thought made me really resent running and start to burn out. Now I'm in love with it more than ever and I know that I'm running to run and not running to eat or maintain my weight. I haven't adjusted my cals because of the slight decrease in my miles, in fact, I increased them a smidge (I'm doing an experiment with my ST). So anyway hope everyone has a great weekend!

The ice on my sidewalks has transformed to puddles so I got to run outside this weekend. It's so much easier for me, even with hills and wind, since I don't clock watch and I can rock out to tunes.

Ran a short 3K yesterday and my LSD today which was 10K. No serious aches anywhere so I'm happy about that. I am going to adjust my time goal to something more realistic, if I can do 2 hours for the half I'm going to be happy with that and not shoot for 1:45 my first race. 11 weeks to go, I'm looking forward to trying out the longer distances and seeing how they feel.

I ended up in the hospital after three days of terrible heartburn/indigestion. I thought it could have to do with my heart. Thankfully it was just a bad case of acid reflux. I went back to the gym today after not running for four days. I ran on the day I had bad heartburn, but only ran 1 mile. Today I ended up doing my 4.5 km, and walked up to the 5km. I really need to start pushing up to the 5km mark. Almost there, ugh!

It's a road race. The only reason I'm even contemplating it, is that I did finish the Goofy Challenge in early January. That's where you run the Disney half marathon on Saturday, and then the Disney full marathon the next day. I did them at an easy pace, finished strong, and had a GREAT time. And that was coming off of another full marathon in September.

Since Goofy, I've continued my normal 25-30 mile weeks, with long runs of 10-14 miles. That includes 3 half marathons. So, although I haven't run LONG recently, I've got the best endurance base I've ever had. I did 12 miles Saturday and ran a fairly decent 2:22 half marathon the next day and felt just fine. I think if I take it slow, with lots of walking breaks, I should be OK. It's mostly just about moving forward for a long time -- 7-8 hours. Pacing and adequate hydration/fueling will be key. But, it definitely will be something new and different!!

1/8 - 1/4 tsp baking soda in 2-3 ounces of water = instant relief! I used to suffer with that...so much so (due to poor diet) that I ended up with a mild form of "gastritis" last year. I too..thought I was having a heart attack (due to the how close the stomach is to the heart...it really feels the same). The doctor wanted me to take "Prilosec" for LIFE!!! I'm convinced that doctors and pharmaceutical companies are in "bed" to push those over the counter meds. After doing some internet research...I discovered that once you start taking drugs that inhibit your "proton pumps" from excreting stomach acids (such as Prilosec), you will NEED to take this forever as it changes something in your body's natural chemistry.

Anyhoot...I figured, "heck...I ATE myself this way...I'll undo it by proper diet and exercise". And that's exactly what I did. In the meanwhile though...I did have terrible heartburn on occasion. A simple dose of inexpensive baking soda and water worked instantly to relieve the pain and now I no longer need it.

Just thought I'd share.

Hey guys! I think I can finally call myself a joyful runner! I've never said that before. I've been running for some time now, but I always say I don't enjoy it. The last time I ran outside was summer and 50 pounds ago. I ran outside in Winston-Salem, NC this weekend (a 7 hour trip for me). I ran 6 miles and could have kept going! I did it in an hour too, which is my best time. It felt amazing. So much better than a treadmill! Now I'm itching to map out a 6 mile route here at home and get out there.