My understanding is that a lost period is a result from rapid changes in diet (specifically, a rapid drop in calories) or exercise. Specifically, it stems from a rapid change in the energy available to the body OR in situations where body fat drops too low.

While some believe the C25K program progresses a bit quickly in terms of potentially risking joint injury, it's a very reasonably-paced program in terms of moving slowly from walking to jogging and gradually increasing time.

Are you doing really intensive training on top of C25K? Are you eating proper calories for your height/weight/activity level?

It could be worth seeing a doctor if you've started missing periods. Good luck!

Just finished the C25K program and ran my first 5K race yesterday. Looking for a thread to continue with past 5K.

I finished my race run in 36:54 so I suppose my first order of business is to get used to the distance a bit and try to shave some time off. My November running goal is to run a least 2x a week and 3.1 miles each go.

Post yoga running is great! And I actually got the idea from a silly interview with Jennifer Aniston - she said it was her fave combination. I have to say I agree.

I've been reading the thread, but have been incredibly busy. Due to a busy schedule, my running is limited to Thur - Sunday. 4 days are better than nothing. I would prefer it if they were split up, but I'm feeling okay. This week my partner and I ran 19 miles total. One long run, and the rest short.

It is getting cold here and that actually helps my endurance runs.

aka8941: I've never had my period stop. Everyone is different. Let us know what you find out!

But, while talking about TOM and running, I can generally eliminate all my terrible cramping if I can pull together enough energy to start running when the cramps start. It works better than any aleve.

Thinsole Congrats on your 5k!!! Please do join us over here for your post-C25K life

Unna 19 miles is terrific. Way to get in all that running. I was running 3x a week and kept incurring pain in my knee and ankle. I've had to roll it back to twice a wek- one short (3 miles) and one long (well, long for me, 6 miles). Not as much running as I'd like but I think it's what my body prefers.

Do you mix up your running? Such as intervals, distance, speed, etc? Or do you run generally the same pace and distance each time? I have no real desire to mix things up myself, just to do my usual run, but I recognize that the alternative is generally recommended. What do you do?

Also, that's awesome that your boyfriend runs with you. My fiance is the type of guy who can drop everything and run a 10K if someone paid him, but hates running. I've gotten him to run with me once in the past year! He'd much rather be on the basketball court

ncuneo how is your marathon training going??

it's not missing...more like delayed. anyyywaaay...doesn't matter. Once I'm at a normal BMI the whole situation should work itself out. Ran Week 8 day 3...ready to start week 9.

Hiked both days over the weekend lots elevation gain. Shopping on Monday{its a marathon trip 11 1/2 hrsRT with shopping to big town }.
Today I ran 5.1 miles for the first time took exactly 1 hr. I am pleased no stopping. Considering I just startted running {jogging} on Oct.22. I am PLEASED!!!!

Hey guys! Marathon training is going great Indi, thanks for asking. It doesn't feel much like traing yet because my milage is still under 20 mpw, but that's gonma change soon. I did a great 9 Sunday and an easy 3 yesterday, yoga tonight and 5 tomorrow.

I'm under a huge deadline at work so I haven't had much time to keep up or participate in the thread, but you all are doing fabulous! Keep it up!!!!

indiblue: I think it is excellent to scale back if you keep feeling pain. When this happens to me, I usually scale back. I also buy a new, alternative pair of shoes.

It irks me when people feel that they have to be running fanatics, even when it hurts. We all talk about moderation in our diet and such, but we never talk about how healthy moderate running is. I don't really understand why we don't.

We have no fixed plan, really. We like to get in one longer run (1-1:20), which is obviously not fast or speed focused, and then do 3 shorter runs (45min) where we do try to pick up the pace a bit. He loves trying out different trails.

My boyfriend actually got me into running almost 3 years ago. He was much lighter, more experienced, and faster than I was. He does it to relieve stress. Now, I'm happy to say that we are in similar physical conditions - I no longer have to fight to keep up. In fact, he fights in the beginning to keep up with me, and I fight at the end to keep up with him. He is super slow at the beginning and I start slowing down at the end, when he becomes faster.

Sometimes it is good to have a running buddy, but I also enjoy running alone and listening to music. He likes to talk the entire time while he is running - I, on the other hand, don't! I find I simply don't have as much air as he does. That could be because of my childhood asthma. We also only talk to each other in German. It is hard enough to talk in your own language while running, imagine pulling it together for another language!

Is your boyfriend Indian? Or is he working there? I've always dreamed of going to India. I would LOVE to live there for a few months.

Week 9 day 1 attempted. But I blew it and wanted to go waaay too fast. It was so fun though, just breezing through and feeling FIT and light. But that only lasted 20 minutes when I needed 30. Trying again tonight, and slowing way down to pace myself.

4 miles today in 39:15. Pretty good from where I started 6 months ago!

Running is still such a mental thing for me. I wanted to stop at 3. Then I asked myself why I wanted to stop - breathing was good, legs felt fine - but I wanted to stop any way! I was glad I pushed through.

Today was the coldest day I have run - so I was decked out in a runners jacket, gloves and leggings. I got pretty warm by 2 miles in. I guess it will be a trial and error as far as what I need to have on...

Dressing for the cold weather is hard. I have often put too much on. I've also worn too little, thinking I would warm up but never did! That was also a bit painful.

The best garment I have for the cold is my long-sleeve running shirt. The sleeves fold over into warm mittens. You can easily fold them back once your hands get warm.

Thursday evening we did a popular city route. There are SO many joggers here, it is ridiculous! I felt like I was jogging in a marathon of sorts. Jogging in the city has a competitive feeling, everyone doing their best to run faster than the next.

Some joggers are really experienced and light, they just breeze by, you hardly notice them. The others are not so experienced. You can hear their stomping, gasping for air, and then you pass them 10 minutes later, as they were so hard on themselves, they couldn't keep it up longer than 15 minutes or so. I just cringe listening to everytime they stomp the pavement - feeling empathy for their joints!

It helped me, after jogging for awhile, to think of it more as dancing (I had a lot of dance lessons as a child). I try to hit the ground as elegantly and graceful as possible, focusing on the strength in my upper thighs and how my arm movement helps gracefully pull me forward.

Anyone else experiment with ways to bring about a more "graceful" jogging, to prevent injury?

I recently started to run everyday on a treadmill at the gym for 20 minutes and i absolutely love it. I was apprehensive about running on treadmills because I was slightly scared that I would misstep, fall and humiliate myself. But, one day I just said to myself that I was going to face this fear and I did! I'm glad I made the decision to start running because I like it way more than I thought I would.

next step -----> marathon!

Hey everyone!

I've restarted my calorie counting and have begun hitting the gym. I'm training to pass the police departments fitness test which includes a 1.5 mile run in a little over 16 mins. Before I started reading this thread it seemed really daunting, but seeing how well everyone is doing, it doesn't seem that hard after all.

I'm currently just running on the treadmill, but was wondering if anyone had any advice for transitioning to road running. The fitness test won't be done on a treadmill so I need to learn how to pace myself without machine making consistently go the same speed.

I'm currently running 12 minute miles on the treadmill. I'm also seeking advice on how to increase my running speed.

10 km at 6 AM this morning. My 10K is next Saturday, which is good, because that's about all my knees seem to be willing to put up with for a while.

I really am not built for running. Will be definitely taking a 3+ month hiatus after this race.

aka great job on the fast run- nothing wrong with going a shorter distance and bumping your speed a bit! Good luck with your next go-around

CherryPie That is a GREAT time!

Unna It sounds like you have great form. I know there is a lot of debate about the importance (or lack thereof) of form, but I definitely think moving more fluidly helps prevent energy, keep up stamina, and psychologically feel more at ease/in control during the run.

Smoo welcome!

Tekakwitha welcome to you too! Great job on your training. If you are starting out on a treadmill, I would set the incline at 1. That is supposed to simulate "road conditions" a bit- in terms of wind resistance and the fact that the road doesn't move while the belt does.

For increased speed, try to run shorter distances and/or intervals at faster speeds. Your body should learn how to run different lengths of times and different paces. If you are looking at training for longer distances it would be worth finding a good running plan but for just 1.5 miles I would imagine you can just do a bit of speedwork on your own.