^I think if you're enjoying yourself and staying overall healthy and active who cares. I've never really cared all that much about my speed, although I have recently incorporated speed work into my program, just because I was getting a little bored and wanted to do something a little different.

I think we all kind of go through cycles of training and non-training or intense and less intense cylces of running. Or at least I do.

And that said...I *think* I've decided to go ahead and train for the LA Marathon. I did some research and it looks like it's only sold out once, so I'm sure sometime between now and March I can find some extra cash for the reg fee. And if I can't or it sells out, oh well, chance you take.

I'll have to go back and look at the training schedule I put together, but I don't think training will actually start untill late October, so between now and then I'll just plug along

It sounds like everyone is doing great! I love reading all of your running posts even though I don't comment too often. I ran 3.1 miles today with a time of 33:56, so that puts me at an 11:19 mile. I think I'm ready for the 5k/obstacle course in mid-October! I don't know how well I'll do with the obstacles, but at least I know I will be able to run. I'm thinking now of running longer and farther. I'm not interested in running faster because I really enjoy the pace I have when I run, but I am interested in burning more calories and whittling down my body. Joyfulloser, a poster on 3FC and someone I follow often, worked her body into amazing shape simply by running and running 4-6 miles a few times a week. I can already tell that my legs are a lot smaller than they were last month and it's all because of running. I'm really enjoying this! I hope you all have a great Sunday!

I did some research and found that I was definitely overtraining. I found a good beginners half marathon training plan and did an easy 2.5 miles today with little pain. I think if I follow this plan I will be set to finish the half in 12 weeks! I keep reminding myself that I'm not in it to win it- I am just in it to finish without stopping or walking! Ncuneo - you are such an inspiration! I have never even considered being able to run a full marathon! I hope your training goes well and the $ comes through for you!!!

First 5k under my belt! My chip time was 32:01.2! 1373/4872 of all women. 356/867 in my age group. Not bad for a first try!

My garmin clocked me at 32:13 ... and it measured the distance as 5.17km. Mapmyrun says it was 5.1kms. SO, not sure what to believe. If I go by the Garmin, I did 5km in just over 31 mins.

Regardless, I felt good. It was definitely my best performance ever, without a doubt. I didn't walk at all and I ran faster than I usually do. I'm happy.

But I still think I got ripped off with the time

Congrats fozen!

Youve inspired me to try for flying to nyc in 2012 for the marathon there! I was thinking of joining you for the la one, but i think it would be too soon for me, so idecided to set a really bigbcool goal to work toward!

congrats frozen.

I haven't been on here in a few days, but ran 2 miles on Thrusday and my first race was on Saturday. I intended to do a 5K, but my son pooped out during mile 2 so we walked/jogged the rest of the way. Didn't bother to find out my time or anything - no chip. I'm signing up for another one in November that I'll run solo
One thing that suprised me was the chaos that was the race. TONS of people everywhere. There was no pace setting so it was bobbing and weaving trying to get around the walkers, strollers and slower runners-- then we became the slow ones, lol. I'll chalk this one up as a trial run

Congrats frozen and NTexas on your runs!

Did ~5.5 or 5.75 km on small hills in 36 minutes today. Turns out running is a lot more fun for me when I only do it 1-2 x a week

Question for all of you: Are you out of breath when you finish? My breath is much more rapid, but it's very steady and I wouldn't consider myself "out of breath." Does that mean I should/could push myself harder? I think I'm afraid of pooping out... and opt for "slow and steady" as opposed to pushing myself.

i'm generally not out of breath when i finish, but as per previous confession, i'm a lazy runner!

I'd say it depends what you're trying to do with your run. If it's a long one - no it should be steady breathing. If it's a tempo run, you should be a bit out of breath, and if you're doing intervals then you should be out of breath at the end of each interval!

If you're only running 1-2 times a week i'd say you're doing ok. If you're running more often than that and aiming to get faster then i'd say that in at least one of your runs you should be out of breath some of the time.

(see, i've suddenly become an expert (????) now that it's someone else with a question!!)

I just got these amazing, custom made shoe soles for my running shoes. No more arch pain!

I'm currently running for weight loss purposes- so no long distances for me.... my body seems to prefer running shorter distances (45-55min) at a quicker pace most days of the week for weight loss. Running is also my anti-depressant, so it is like my daily dose of prozac.

I wasn't cut out for long distances - gained a bit a kept getting new pains. I'm sort of a wimp - so I don't like the pain or injuries at all.

Can I ask - those planning the marathons and half-marathons - what are your calorie levels like?

@unna - i'm doing weightwatchers online, and i eat all my activity points and maybe 25% of my weekly points. i know that most people are calorie counting, but i'm more comfortable with weight watchers because when i calorie count, i starve myself until i end up binging.

If I'm trying to lose I'm around 1400 - 1800, weekends off. So depending on how "off" my weekends are the closer to 1400 I stay. If I'm maintaining I'm closer to 1600 - 1800, weekends off. I also listen to my body, some days I'm just hungrier than others, generally this is related to TOM and sometimes running. When I first started running I was hungry all the time, but my body seems to have adapted.

If I didn't take the weekends off my cals would be much higher on average, but when I say off I mean off Also, I've noticed since getting my Garmin, my burn varies. So one day a 3 mile run will get me 300+ cals and the next time barely 250, so it's just about finding that sweet spot for you.

Did 9 Sunday, 3 yesterday. My 9 was good, but yesterday and today I'm feeling a little run down, may be coming down with a bug - oh well.

ST/Yoga today and 5 tomorrow.

9 miles is way too many for me - I simply start getting a bit bored - oh, and I also start wimping out (the bigger problem).

I also find myself eating around 1800 calories - though I would like to get it around 1500. I agree that some days are much hungrier than others. I don't really take the weekends off - I mean, I guess I could, but I don't really think about it.

Anyway - a little bit of an intro: I've been running shorter distances (no longer than an 90 minutes) 4-6 times a week on and off for the past year or so. I wasn't counting my calories and was easily maintaining around 170 (I'm a bit taller). Unfortunately, I'm not really sure how much I was eating. But, everyday would include a bit of chocolate, chips, or beer/cocktail.... with sugar in coffee, etc. I would guess somewhere around 2500 cal. a day (in any case, too much). Now I am trying to rid myself of this extra weight that I've been wanting gone for awhile now. I love shorter sprints as calorie-burning cardio. I also have a garmin - which I love!

Thanks for your answers!

I'm doing a learn to run program. I am running 5 minutes, walking 2.5 x 4 reps at the moment. It's pretty difficult, but I'm going to keep at it. I'm part of a team doing the Run for the Cure (Breast Cancer) so it's for a good cause and to get healthy. It's a 5 K walk/run. I'll definitly be doing a bit of both since I currently take 30 minutes to do just over 2 kms. Oh well, it's a start and there are others on my team that will walk/run with me. Intimidated, but looking forward to it.

good job! as a C25K graduate, i can tell you that running does get easier the longer that you do it, so keep at it, and it is so rewarding!