Finished Week 4 yesterday morning. Felt pretty good afterwards and heard the Rocky theme when I finished that last 5 mins.

Start Week 5 tomorrow evening. Another challenge to look forward to.

Scarlett and geauxgirl: I hope that you both feel better soon!

Finished Week 2 today with another fun run. While my weight hasn't been going down that dramatically (thought at least moving in the right direction) I definitely noticed better endurance during a boot camp style group class I did this weekend. Positive feedback! I also think I'm doing a better job staying hydrated the whole day instead of trying to drink a bunch of water 30 minutes before I workout. Excited to start those 3 min intervals on Thursday

Meeel- I'd bank on retaining water. Whenever I'm sore like that I retain weight and in a day or so I get a whoosh on the scale.

Geaux & Scarlett- *sends you vitamin C drops and Green Tea* Feel better!!

Aka- Congrats on finishing week 4! Good luck with week 5!

Toones- I'm loving the Rocky Theme Song. I get so amped up at the end of my run that I usually bop during my cool down.

ingridh- Way to go on finishing week 2. I know small numbers can be frustrating, the good thing is that they add up!

I finished W5D2 today. This program makes me constantly amaze myself. 5 weeks ago running 8 min solid...and running 3/4 mile in 8 min...impossible.
Wow...just wow.

Week 5 Day 1 tomorrow night! Weight loss has slowed from running...but should pick up again I assume. I'll have to run 3x a week for like, the rest of my life to keep this up. You either become a "runner" or you lose it ALL.

W7D2 was last night. It was also the first day of my TOM so I wasn't feeling too spectacular anyway. Managed to run 20 minutes and then power walked the last five. I'll see how W7D3 goes before making decisions about whether or not to redo the week. Kind of a buzz-kill though.

Went for W7D1 yesterday, got 12 minutes and suddenly didn't have the motivation to continue. So I walked the rest of the way.
I have woken up this morning with a sharp pain in my shin, so I'm going to give myself a day off, and then try W7D1 again.
I'm actually kind of surprised that I haven't experienced some sort of injury earlier.

aka8941: I'm not a med student, but used to be premed. I'd still appreciate the hounding though! lol

Got all the way through W2D1 and decided to take a rest day today. I'm so sore!! Will definitely do W2D2 tomorrow. I still can't figure out if I should take a rest day in between every work out or just keep going. I guess I should just see how my body feels? I do want to push myself though.

Great job everyone!!

WK5D1 completed. You know it wasn't that bad. It was a little warm this evening (low 80s) but I did it. We will see how things go on Day 2 and especially the dreaded Day 3.

Finished W3D1 this morning! I was a little worried because I was using my first pair of real running shoes instead of my normal trainers. I run on concrete sidewalks (I live in the city and I'm not interested in getting hit by a taxi) so I really liked the extra cushioning. It's kind of crazy how much my endurance has improved already from day 1.

Keep going strong, ladies!

Week 5 Day 1 DONE!

I'll be back on Sunday...it's my sister's wedding this weekend and yeah...that will take up quite a bit of time. UGHH

Thanks for all the well wishes.

The cold is still not completely gone but I'm mostly functioning.

I completed W6D1 today. It royally kicked my @ss. I could barely walk home when I finished. It felt good to be back out there though.

I'm running a Halloween 5k on 10/29, my family is coming down for it, I even found a suitable costume in my closet (80s outfit from a college party). I need to get back in the swing of training.

Woot! W5D3 complete. I actually did the 20 min run at a slower pace and only managed 1.6 miles all together but I finished it. It was nice to do laps around my neighborhood and pass the same guy out mowing his yard twice! I'm really starting to feel like a runner.

Scarlett- Way to get back to it after being sick! Good luck on your Halloween 5K.

Aka- Way to go on finishing W5D1. Hope you have fun at your sister's wedding. Being in the wedding though (ugh). Bridesmaids dresses make me twitch.

ingridh- I was considering getting running shoes do your's make a huge difference? Right now I'm just using a pair of regular sneakers and they work but not that great on uneven pavement.

Toonses- I was dreading all of week 5 and now that it's done I'm not really worried about what's coming up in weeks 6-9. Once I quit telling myself I was "gonna die, not gonna finish, etc doubts here" and just tried my best I felt a lot better. I hope you get the same.

Meeel & Insidethebeltway- Good luck on week 7!

Meeel I hope your shin feels better.

Insidethebeltway- I hope W7D3 went well for you.

Hi Everyone!!

I hope it's ok to jump right in here - you're all such an inspiration! I completed W1D1 today and feel fantastic! About halfway through I was feeling a bit tired, and old me would have got off the treadmill and "come back later" - but I soldiered through, and the second half wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. I felt like I had forgotten HOW to run, and I was running very slowly - but I keep reading that there's time for speed later, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself

I did W6D1 again today. A beautiful night for running, I went out as the sun set. The cool crisp breezy weather felt amazing.

The run killed me. I ran slowly and barely broke a sweat. My lungs are now back but my legs are another story. I just felt heavy and awkward running. At least I’m now dragging myself out on a consistent basis. I’ll get my mojo back soon .


Thinsole – GREAT JOB!!! We’re almost at the same place now.

For me the 20 min run seemed SO INTIMIDATING when I first tried it 2-3 months ago. I was in a state of disbelief after I got through it the first time. You must be on Enjoy the feeling, you’ve earned it!!

Cheece -

Good luck with the program. I know the whole thing seems so intimidating at the beginning. Just keep going. Congratulations on getting though the first workout. You’re right about not going to hard on yourself. I tell myself that any day I get out there and break a sweat is a good day.

Just a tip – at the beginning it’s normal to feel zombie like/tierd/drained for the rest of the day after completing a run. This will go away after a few weeks. Don’t let it discourage you. I definitely experienced this.

Cheece - Welcome! Good luck for the rest of your first week. Slow and steady ALWAYS wins the race. Don't worry about your speed now, just take it slow, focus on your breathing and making those intervals and you'll do it!

Scarlett - your mojo will come back! I lost mine last week, without dealing with a cold or returning from a period of absence. For the life of me, I couldn't break past that W7D1 run. I'm having another go today, but if I don't pull through, I might redo W6 with the intervals... build myself up to it again.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! It's Sunday here! A sunny day full of good runs (fingers crossed),beer and rugby(!!!).