If it's hilly and a terrain, that could definitely contribute to increased calorie burn, for sure.

It's really hard though to exercise your way to weight loss. Check out this article to understand why. If you don't want to read the whole thing, just look at the chart in the middle. Even burning 10 cals/min (which is really high, most people can't do that) for 30 minutes 3x a week and eating at maintenance will only lead to a loss of .25 ls a week. Even bumping that up to 6x a week only leads to .5 lbs a week.

Running and walking are both awesome forms of exercise and can help a lot with the weight loss process. But the vast majority of weight loss comes from dieting, not from exercise.

hope this is helpful :)

I have a question for all of ya'll. When you run, do you have to pause to catch your breath, or do you just run continually. I realize most of you are seasoned runners, so you probably don't have to take breaks, but how was it when you were first getting started? I ask this, because I can probably only run a minute nonstop before having to pause to take a breather (That's when I walk).

Thank you, indiblue. I will check that out. I guess I will just use my heart-rate monitor for a stop-watch, instead. Do you think it reads my pulse correctly? I may still monitor that. I'm not sure what heart-rate I should strive for when exercising though.

Serval - you said are sprinting right? Well then of course you're out of breath, I think anyone no matter what their fitness would be out of breath. When I run a steady pace, a pace that is comfortable for my body I'm never out of breath, I don't think I ever have been, except maybe when I first started.

10 miles was pretty good this morning. I should have taken water it was a little warmer then I expected and I got hungry today. I hate that, I never know when I'm going to get hungry durning a run. I usually can power through it, but sometimes I get dizzy and weak, today wasn't too bad. I pretty much never eat before a run, with the exception of some GU, unless I'm famished when I get up, then I might have a banana or something. When runs get a little longer I think I'm going to experiment with another GU around mid way to see what it does for my performance.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Ran 16.2 miles this week. Didn't make my goal of 21 miles, but will do better next week!:D One more pound to goooo!!!!:carrot:

Dang, joyfulloser, that's awesome!

When I was a kid, I remember being jealous of my friend who would sweat beads in gym class. As I grew up, I was no longer jealous of people who could sweat perfusely and was happy that I only ever glistened. Well, after my run yesterday, I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat in the yard to chill. As I sat, I felt a drop of sweat roll down my back, then I looked down and a bead of sweat was rolling down my calf. My 8-year-old self came out and I was like COOL!!!!

ncuneo Lovely run! What's your usual pace for a 10 miler?

joyful Nice job! So excited for your goal- it's so ridiculously close!

Today: meh. Did 5K today on very, very hilly terrain. The path around the park near my house is beautiful but in some places it's so steep it has steps. Pace was terrible. But I suppose every time I power through one of these it's helping both my quads and endurance in the long run.

I've been diligently icing my knee multiple times a day, wearing a brace, and doing my ITB foam roller. Pain is almost gone- yipee!!!

Did a 5K Saturday evening - 35 minutes exactly. Was really hoping to get under that and started well, but developed a stitch in my side halfway through. Was really proud when we got to the hills and everyone around me started walking, I kept jogging. Really slow, but I didn't stop.

Looking forward to getting out for a jog tonight since it's supposed to get extremely hot and humid here mid-week.

In the discussion on running for weight loss - I do think it's helping me, but I'm not working hard enough to make me eat back any calories. I've been doing 3-4 miles, 3 days a week. I'm keeping my calories between 1200-1500 a day. And I feel like running is so much tougher than than the elliptical, although I am really enjoying getting outside more!

I want to thank ncuneo and mkroyer for their advice! My main motivation for running is really just because I like it, it gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. I have run 5 marathons in the past, and 3 half marathons, so my motivation for running another one is basically just to see if I still can!!!
On the other hand, I DO NEED TO LOSE about 30 pounds, Dr even says so. So I am going to try to pay more attention to my diet, at least for this next month. Surfing around I read something along the lines of weight loss = 80% diet and 20% exercise, so I need to work on my nutrition. I am shooting for 42 miles this month (not week!! whoa!) which will be about a 40 mile improvement from last June. :D

Indie-I'm pretty slow, depending on how I'm feeling the best I can run is 10 min mile, and the worst is 11 when I'm really struggling. I usually fall around 10:30 with little effort. I will say a lot of my running is on an incline though, I can run a bit faster on the treadmill.

3 mile recovery later today. It was too windy to run this morning so I have to squeeze it in after work. I've been researchering marathon programs like crazy, I'm having such a hard time deciding. I think I might take a high low approach and just do what I feel capable of on that day. I know I feel compelled to do the harder option though, but I want it to be fun although I don't want to be under prepared.

Hi all! Don't think I've ever posted in here. I have a lot of trouble mentally thinking of myself as a "runner". I feel like an intruder where I don't belong!

I ran just over 2.5 miles on my lunch hour today. I am still pretty sore from hiking a mountain on Saturday so it wasn't the most enjoyable, but I powered through. My first mile I did in 13 minutes and the second mile in 13:30. I know that this is really slow, but since I was running on the treadmill at anywhere from 4-4.2 MPH - I'm actually running faster then expected.

Awwwhhh...don't sweat it Cherrypie, we've ALL felt like that at one time or another. Just 8 months ago, I couldn't RUN to the mailbox without early onset cardiac arrest!:p Now I'm a RUNNER!:carrot: Who knew?

Guess you'll just have to start off where everybody does...the beginning!:D

K....I've been cooking all day and am literally exhausted. This is TRULY a MIND over MATTER type of night. It's almost 10pm and I've GOT to get my run on so as to start this week off on schedule (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun = 21 miles). If I don't come back...call the paramedics.:p

I did walking/running intervals this evening for 31 minutes while my husband rode his bicycle. I had looked up a walking/running regimen online, and was going to do a 10 minute warm-up walk, then run for 1 minute followed by 1 minute of walking for another 10 minutes, then another 10 minute walk. That didn't work out so well. I was able to do the 10 minute warm-up fine. I was even fine after running 1 minute, but once i got to my second minute of running I couldn't go the whole 60 seconds. :( I am REALLY out of shape.

So, I spent the time walking and then doing a small run for 12-30 seconds (as long as i could go), and my ankles started to kill me, but I made sure I at least walked for 30 minutes. I was soaked in sweat afterward, and now I have a headache. I guess it was better than nothing.

Sounds like your doing GREAT Serval!:D

Mkay...back from my run...5.4 Miles!!! Woot!

Thank you!