I never attempted running (outside of the mile in gym class which I always HATED!) till I was 26. During my first weight loss I was primarily swimming for cardio, but I injured my shoulder and had to figure something else out for a while and started the c25k. I didn't immediately love it, but really grew to enjoy the sense of accomplishment. I feel like I burned out on it after the second half-marathon and pretty much stopped running for 2.5 years. I guess I have a love/hate relationship with running.

Bigknitter, I have the same problem trying to run with food in me. Anything other than fruit or maybe a piece of toast needs at least 3-4 hours. Friday I tried running a little more than 2 hours after lunch, that didn't go well at all. It had a lot of fiber, so I guess it wasn't digesting very quickly.

I made it out for two pretty terrible and short runs this week. I had some really good runs on vacation the week before, but had a pretty rough week coming back, one of those things where it feels like nothing can go right. I ended up riding my bike to/from school 4 days this week (usually only do 2 or 3) so I was feeling a little fatigued from that and running on top of it just wasn't going well. Took a nice rest day today, only activity was a 1.7 mi stroll with the dogs. Digging into my mapmyrun.com archive and doing a 4.25 mi route tomorrow, first thing in the morning after some hydration and fruit.

ncuneo & bigknitter: thank you!

ncuneo: I can see how you have set your mind to something and want to continue, I wish you the best and hope you don't aggrevate your injuries in the meantime!

mkroyer: I am saving up to buy myself a racing bike by the end of may/beginning of june. Where I live along a big river there's a ton of cyclists racing b because the bike-lane is very good and goes vor miles and miles. Big benefit of living in a country where everybody rides their bike to commute! Love to read about your experiences with it.

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I am amazed by my body right now. After my first barefoot run my calves about killed me for days, but my second much longer run did not cause any muscle pain in my lowerlegs. My blisters looked really bad, as in.. bloodred. They still are but all the fluid seems to be absorbed by my body again, and because they are pretty 'deep' I don't think the skin will come off. They are pretty much healed already. I will keep another day rest but then I am out there again!

Ran 5 miles this morning 43 degrees sunny and new snow on the mts beautiful day to be alive..thankful I can run.

mk, autodidact and ncuneo: Thank you for the good wishes! I am really hoping this will be the one that sticks. mk, exciting is one way to put it! Between anxiously waiting to find out whether it worked and the hormone injections, I'm pretty much a basket case for two weeks! Btw, I'm sure the offspring will TOTALLY understand if you can't see them because you have to bike AND run.

drake: I think the dream was a sign that you really need to get out and RUN! The sprints sound great.

philana: Awesome on the sub-30 5K!!! That's one of my "one day..." goals!

ncuneo: It doesn't sound stupid at all. My sister hurt her quad this week and really shouldn't be running at all for another week or so, but it was impossible to get her to stop when I was home this weekend... and I get it. I just hope you get to and through the June race without any problems, and then give yourself some serious time to recover!

Bigknitter: I do NOT do well when I eat a meal before a run. Something smallish (a banana, a yogurt) when I really need it is usually good for enough energy to get me through, and then after the run I feel like I get to "reward" myself with my dinner.

cherrypie: I have been thinking about you, and hoping you're feeling ok with the surgery coming up! Good luck again, and please check in with us afterward when you feel up to it.

shananigans: I hope this morning's run was more enjoyable for you!

devadiva: That sounds awesome. I wish there were some pretty scenery like that around here!

Oh my gosh no. I used to loathe running, and even when I started running regularly in September I can't say I really enjoyed it... I just enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment I felt from being able to do it. But I love it now!!



I was visiting my parents and sister this weekend, and I got in one short, faster (for me) run outside on Friday, and then did my long run on the treadmill on Saturday. 7 miles, woohoo!! And I felt GOOD - my legs were fine, my lungs were fine, and even with upping the speed the last 15 minutes I felt like I could have easily done another mile or two. Total revelation moment around mile 6: I thought wow - I can actually do this. And I want to do more, and more. My sister is planning to run her first half marathon in September, and I told her that if I'm not pregnant I'll run it with her. I'll be slow as slow can be, but I KNOW I can train for it and do it.

The 4.25 I did this morning was probably the most challenging I've done since I started running again because of the hills involved, but I made it through fine and even felt pretty good during parts of it. Took 3 short walk breaks (maybe up to a minute) to catch my breath after a hill and/or mess with my music. Might go ahead and run the race route next weekend as a practice run, but it's not a loop so I'd have to maybe take the bus out there and see if my husband can pick me up when I'm done. Getting a little excited, this race is always a blast! The last time I ran it 2009 I finished the 8k in 48:02, but this year I think I'm shooting for finishing in under an hour.

chickadee32, hope you get the chance to do that half! Or end up pregnant, either would be pretty great actually.

Good morning,

Been rather AWOL from this forum and running regularly .
Yesterday I did a 10K race - finished in 1:03:30, not great, but considering I only ran 1x/wk to train..not horrible.
The most annoying thing was - they put done my gun time.
I crossed the start line @ 9:13...finish line @ 10:16.
The results were posted as 1:16.
Has anyone had this happen in a race before?
I suspect the time didn't pickup my start time.

On the bright side, it was a pretty good run, and I may be inspired to get back in the swing of regular running.
Have a great day everyone.

S

OMG! A runners thread! How come I've never saw that before!!

For the background, I've been running since August 2011 (so about 8 months). I'm definetely not the fastest runner out there : I'm slow, and I focus more on finishing the run than beating everybody else... because I obviously won't and anyway I prefer to beat my own goals, competing with myself

I'm officially in for a half-marathon in September, a Warrior Dash in August and training right now for my first half-marathon ever in June... A bit stressed about this one though :S

I had a 13k long run yesterday and it was so hot, I was really exausted by the end. It was still the farthest I've ever run so far, so I was still really proud of it

Can't wait to hear about all your running stories!!

Seems like everyone is doing great! Ran 3.75 yesterday which is the longest for me. I was slow but it wasn't terrible. Tough though. The 29th is my 8k so really got to push the next two weeks!

Thanks so much for thinking of me! I'm a bit melancholy today. I did my last run - 5 miles in the heat which was wonderful - at noon today.

I'm starting to doubt myself - is this worth it? What if I don't get the results I'm looking for? What if I gain the weight back? Thinking I'll start back at zero and won't even be able to run a mile when I'm given clearance. I'm all up in my head today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and I'll go into the surgery all pumped...

Cherry, that must be very difficult stuff to go through, but hear me when I say, you WON'T gain that weight back, you know exactly what to do and when to do it. I lived in fear of regain for a long time, still do, but as more time passes I know that is not going to happen, I love this life too much to let happen.

14 miler went well yesterday, pain levels were good to moderate...so I'm feeling pretty confident things are healing with the methods I'm taking. And today I feel really good...so that makes me really happy.

Have a great week everybody!

We all will be thinking of you... you will not gain the weight back as you have said it a life syle change and as for running you'll be slower for a few days a week or two and you'll be back at it were you were... AFTER you get healed up don't push it!!!

Thanks for the welcome

I've been out twice since I posted, it's a bit of a crazy time with exams and all that so it's been tough fitting it in.

The first run went really well, I barely walked at all. Then I went for a 5k run tonight, and it was horrible, it took me 41 minutes... I'm trying not to be mad at myself for it though, as I think there were a number of reasons for it... It was very, very humid which makes it hard to breathe, and I didn't take my puffer before running, and it was really windy... Also I've been eating horribly and getting ~5 hours of sleep a night or less for the last week or so because of exam stress, so I think my body is just really overtaxed. I'm trying to just be happy that I went out and did it even though I wasn't really feeling it, and I was covered in sweat afterwards so I know I worked hard!

I've decided I am going to enter the 5k race on the 29th, for sure... I just have to wait til I get paid, as my pay cheque got delayed a week due to the stat holidays for Easter... I'm really excited about it though! Hopefully some of my friends will be able to come cheer me on and take pics, this feels important and I want it documented!

shananigans: That sounds like a pretty good run! And I'm totally impressed with your 8K time! I'd really like to be able to run that fast some day; I'm just hoping to get the 10K done in under 1:15, lol. You guys here inspire me.

sznn and TurboMammoth, welcome! sznn, that sounds like a great 10K time to me, but I can definitely understand your frustration at feeling like it wasn't timed properly.

Turbo and beachlover - yay on doing your furthest runs yet! Each time I have one of those I feel so accomplished, no matter the distance.

CherryPie: It would seem odd to me if you weren't doubting things a little at this point - I know I would be, and I think that's totally normal and expected! But you're NOT going to gain the weight back, and this IS going to be worth it. And you most definitely won't be back at the start when you're able to exercise again. You're going to be so happy you've taken this step, and it is going to make a big difference in your life. I'm really excited for you. (and I totally want to know how it goes because surgery on my legs in the future is something I've definitely thought about)

ncuneo: I'm glad the run yesterday felt decent, and that you were feeling so good afterwards today!


I upped the speed tonight and ran at 5.4 mph, and it felt HARD. I had actually planned a 3 mile run, but due to getting to the gym late and seriously having to fight to keep going by 1.5 miles in (mostly the latter) I cut the distance back to 2.5 miles and at the end I could feel my heart rate was really high, unsustainably high for me. How is it that I can run 3 miles one day at 5.3 mph and still have enough energy to increase the speed to 5.5, 6, 6.5 mph at the end, but when I notch the speed up just slightly from the start I feel completely worn out? Seriously, an increase of 0.1 mph shouldn't be that tough! I think I need to get back to doing some sprint intervals after my runs - I haven't been getting to the gym early enough to fit them in, but I think they were helping me increase my speed on the steady-pace runs when I was doing them more regularly.

@chickadee - 7 miles on the treadmill - way to go! I am so ready to be done after 3 on the TM Do you do all of your runs on the treadmill?

@shananigans - that hill run sounds awesome!

@sznn - that is pretty great for as much training as you did. I have had that timing issue happen before, my time was missing completely and I emailed the people who put the race on and they changed it - to a ridiculous time that wasn't even mine Lame.

@Turbomammoth and beachlover - echoing the yay for the longest runs! It is a good feeling

I thoroughly enjoyed my rest day yesterday but am back at it today. I did about an hour of weights, had a snack (just a little!), and then did the standard warmup routine. My run was 3 miles on the treadmill at 5 mph. I swear the treadmill is so much harder! I can go most of the time at 5.5 outside but on the treadmill I will be dying doing that. I hate it. Anyway followed my run with the ITB rehab routine and now I am done. I hope it won't be raining tomorrow so I can take it outside.

chickadee32: I think sprint intervals really help, but I've never been able to get myself to do them regularly because I hate them! I'd rather run hills for HIIT type training, incline I can do but forcing my legs to move so fast feels really uncomfortable to me. Oh, and thanks, I'm totally impressed with my time too. I'd like to see me running that fast again one day, I'm sure a lot of that will come with weight loss. I was around 30 lbs lighter then.

Bigknitter: I am also a treadmill hater! I've run outside when temps are in the teens and it's snowing, still more enjoyable than a treadmill to me.

sweetemotion: Good luck with your 5k! Stress and lack of sleep definitely drain my energy. I know how hard it can be with school, but making sleep a priority really makes a difference.

Did 3.25 in 37:40 yesterday, felt pretty good! Playing hookey from a couple lectures today so I can write a paper and start cramming for an exam, then I will reward myself with an evening yoga class after the exam tomorrow and get up early to have a great 5 mile run on Friday morning so I can spend the rest of the day catching up online for the lectures I'm missing today and get moving on a take home exam before I have to go to work that afternoon. Also have work and an out-of-town friend in this weekend, so I'll have to make use of time wisely to make sure I get all my school work done and a run in on Sunday. I swear, when I was working full-time exercise and weight loss were so much easier, at least I could get into a set routine.