May Running! Spring into action!
 

Good morning ladies, so I am really hopeful that we can keep the momentum going, the participation last month was amazing!!!! That's why I do this thread:) Everyone is doing so fantastic! I love it!

So this is our monthly running thread where we share all there is to share about our love, and sometime hate, of running :) So spring into action this month and run! Don't care what kind of runner you are, if you run you're a runner! Distance, pace, none of that matters!

So I managed to get my 20 in on Sunday, the heat wasn't a problem, my body had no issues, but me head and my heart were not into it. Starting to burn out a little I think, but I'm recognizing it adapting a bit to get myself to the start line in June in one piece.

6 miles this morning. I skipped the "scheduled" workout and just ran. It was nice. Ignored my watch and just did the work.

I'm running my first 5K this weekend. I'm excited, but nervous...because I have a pretty serious time goal...which is dumb considering I did 20 last weekend, my milage is high for me this week and it will be a trail run...I'm not much of a trail runner...so we'll see how that goes:)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Well so much for beautiful weather this week! If it was warm light rain I would consider going out anyway, but got thunderstorms instead.

So indoor workout for me!

2.5 miles yesterday. Threw up in my mouth at the start, but ended up pushing through with NO WALK BREAKS. Made the first mile in 8 minutes!

Hi ladies! I'd like to join this thread for May! My 1st May run will be tonight - I'm hoping to get 5 miles in under 40 min again [last done on Sat] - I have a 5 mile race on Mother's Day I'm prepping for so here's hoping!

LC - 28 yrs.

K90wner- don't have the answes to your questions but wanted to say congrats! That's awesome!

Krampus- you are one fast Chica! WTG!!!

I didn't run yesterday because Im starting insanity and had the fit test. I figured I'll just go back and forth. It'll take me prob twice as long to finish but that way I don't lose my endurance I've built up and need for the longer runs I plan on doing in the fall. Going for about a 3 mile run this evening if everything goes according to plan! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

2 miles yesterday alternating walk/run @ 3.5mph and 6.3mph (1 min on, 1 min off) for 30 minutes.

k9 owner: wondering where you had been TRAINING! CONGRATS!!!
ncuneo: You will do great on the trail run and will most likly really enjoy it,I do all my running on dirt or trail much easier than road on the joints {though I hear the times are slower I wouldn't know since its all I do}
Everyone else great job on your runs;

As for me woke with a mirgraine today but took an Imitrex waited an hour and then ran a 5 miler not my fastest but felt good to get out been working a few extra days {BOO HOO} and its cutting into my running scedule! But day off today chores and running today.

ncuneo : thanx for starting the thread again :) and personnaly, I looove trail running! A little part of my long run lately was on a trail and it was always my favorite part of the run. The difference between concrete and the dirt road really helps the knees too!

drake : better indoor than nothing!

krampus : you litteraly threw up? or it's a figure of speech? (this is one of the time my french understanding of this make me say WOAAAH lol) if the threw up thing is real, god you're a warrior!

k9owner : WOW! that is awesome :D great time!!!

devadiva : running even with the migraine.. you go girl!

***

i finished my freaking.hills.training last night.

YAYYYYY!

after 4 weeks, I finished it last night with the 7 repetitions hills/8k. Meeeh. So boring. Going on the same streets seven freaking time. Plus some people we having a BBQ at a house right at the top of my hills section, it was smelling delish, I was there, climbing this thing, starving and sweating my life. ''Go run, they said. It will be fun, they said'' :P

Going again for a 8k tomorrow and a 14k this weekend... I need to map a route, I've never ran that far!

Have a great month of running, everyone!

I spoke to soon, thunderstorms moved thru quickly & I was able to get a run in afterall! :carrot:
Still working on my form, it's slow going. I noticed my lower back has been really sore lately & realized that I am leaning too far forward when I run.

:cheer2: Good luck on your running the next few days! :cheer2:

I won't be running...... I get to work doubles the next couple days.

nunceo: My first trail run was the 10K last Saturday, and I loved it! If that park were closer to my house (it's a good 50 minutes away) I would run there every weekend. I think you're going to have a blast, and GOOD LUCK on the race!!

krampus: WOOHOO on no walk breaks! And the 8 min mile!

K9: Congratulations on the half!! I would have cried too. :) I wish I had answers to your questions, but I'm sure someone here will!

lm3898: Man, that's fast! Someday I really hope I can do the same.

sacha: How does the running feel for you right now? How much running were you doing before?

Turbo: Congrats on finishing the hills!


I mapped out a strategy for training for the 5K in a few weeks, with a goal of improving my speed as much as I can between now and then. Monday night I did a 3 mile run at 5.5 mph for the first time and that felt tough but decent, and then tonight I did 3.5 miles with the first 75% at 5.5 mph and the last 25% at 6.0 mph. Slow for some but that's a really fast pace for me to sustain cardio-wise, and holy smokes was I dying the last few minutes! I am totally psyched that I just pushed through it and finished though, and I'm really hoping the speedwork is going to make a difference come race day. Friday night it will be 3 miles at 5.5 mph again, followed up by some walk/run sprints; Saturday will be an easy 5 mile run; and then Monday it's time to up the pace again.

Hello, I'm back again. I had a bit of a bad fortnight, including the death (from cancer) of a friend, funeral etc. So i was not here much.

BUT I am still running although my milage has gone down this fortnight, (I got sore knees as well)
Tomorrow morning I am going to run though, and again at the weekend and hopefully next week i will be back into it.

Opps, the boys are home, chat more later!

I am still around and running every other day. I bought a racing bike last month and I have gotten into biking to cross train and avoid overuse injuries. I signed up for my first duathlon this month. 2 miles running/15k biking/2 miles running. Should be fun. Everyone is doing great!

I've never posted in the monthly running thread but had a story I am sure others can relate to!
I started this journey at 227 lbs. At one point I've been much higher, but I don't exactly "count" it because I was pregnant. :^:
I have never been athletic or done any sort of significant physical activity. I failed gym class in 8th grade because I dreaded it so much, I skipped half the time. No show = no credit.

Then last February I started running on the treadmill. At first, it was 10 second bouts of jogging slowly because that was all I could manage...but I've built it up over time. I ran my first 5k last June, another in November, and did a 7k this March. Now I am training for half marathon in June and another in September, and my speed - while still slow - is significantly improved. It's pretty much unbelievable. Literally, i know of people from high school who have found this out through mutual friends and said things like "What, are you kidding me?" "No WAY!" or "Are we talking about the same person?".

Anyhow I was out for a run at a busy local boardwalk. I was sweating and breathing fairly hard. I met a woman with a little boy, and he said to her "Mommy, what's that lady doing?". The woman replied "That's a runner, honey! Running is hard work!".

Somebody called me a runner!!!! I know I run, so I'm a runner, but it's pretty crazy to be referred to that way. Especially knowing the basics of my physical fitness history! I was all smiles for the rest of my run. I wish that woman could know just how much she made my day!

Devadiva - Congrats on running after your migraine - that is super impressive! Everyone else - way to go - you guys are motivating!

I didn't quite make 5 miles last night - just too tired, started too fast. 4.25 miles in 35 min - I'll still take it. I have my first registered race - 5 miles on Mother's Day so I've gotta keep moving!!

WAY TO GO!!!! That's completely awesome! I remember when I started running again to lose weight. For the longest time, I was too embarrassed to run outside - I thought people would be staring or would make fun of me, but now it's become my favorite thing & I love that when I pass people, they can't hear me approach until I'm right there, I used to be PANTING so hard they could hear me 1/2 mile away...

i just start running and only getting through 1 mile without stopping my goal is to run 3 miles without stopping

Ooooo! I have had my eye on a Dualathonal too! It's next March so we'll see...never raced a bike before, don't even own one, but I do love my spinning!

K9
1.) Pick my weights back up?
2.) Run a mile or 2?
3.) Schedule my next 1/2?

As soon as you feel ready to all three questions. I could give you the standard answer, 1 day rest for every mile raced...but seriously who listens to that? If you feel ready and are uninjured you could run tomorrow. I honestly don't remember what I did after my first half...but I know I didn't wait 13 days:) Seriously though, listen to your body, because it is recovering and repairing. Everyone recovers differently. It took me at least a week before my legs didn't feel like jello after my marathon, but a friend of mine was knocking out 8 milers like it was nothing after hers...everyone is different.

8 miles pretty easy miles this morning...was supposed to be a tempo run, but it wasn't much of that.

Hey all! glad to know everyone's run is doing fine! :)

I went for an easy 8k this afternoon, I was planning to do it at a 6:50 min/k pace but I ended up running with a collegue and doing it at a 7:06min/k. I was okay with it though, I ate an apple just before going and it was stuck in my stomach LOL

My next run is planned for sunday (long one) and I'm planning to go biking saturday morning during the time the boyfriend has to work as a crosstraining. I'll try to keep the legs fresh for the long run though ;)

Question For The Experienced Runners....
 

I am doing the C25K program and have gotten to the longer 20 minute runs (although this is probably really short for most of you). I did the previous runs on an indoor track. Today, I ran outside early in the morning (temp around 67) with a lot of humidity. I was struggling more to breathe today. My pace was about the same but for some reason it seemed harder to actually breathe.

My inexperienced question....Is it harder to run outside for any of you? Can humidity effect breathing>

Yes and yes.
the thing you must remember about breathing and running in humidity is HYDRATION! & not just right before you run. It has to be the day before, the day of, and during the run. I live in the south and we have temps in the summertime of 95-102 degrees with humidity indexes making it feel like a muggy 108-112!! It becomes very difficult to run in. However, if you hydrate properly before and during, it helps.
I can usually drink about 112-160 oz/day during the summer, just to do a measly 4 miler at dusk.

Nicole: After waiting patiently for the weights, I could wait no longer. I started "1/2 Mary Recovery" at the gym last night.
Although, I'll tell you, drastically reducing the weights felt like going backwards! But, I kept telling myself-"Recovery, Krystal....recovery" :lol:
It felt good to do even the 5lb dumb bells, since it's been since April 11!!! :yikes:

Did 3 miles @ 5.5 mph tonight with the last few minutes at 6.0, 6.5 and then 7.0 mph. The same run as I did Monday night, but tonight it was much easier. :D I followed up with some sprint sets, and those felt pretty good too. My right knee has been bothering me since that hard run on Wed, and I know I should probably give it a rest... but I have just 2 weeks before the 5K, and then I'll be off the running completely for 2 weeks after that, so I think I'm just going to wait on giving the knee a break until then.

I didn't run so much in April because it was constantly raining, but since the weather is still not looking up I finally decided to just ignore the rain.

Ran 10k for the second time, and was 3mins faster than the first time. Took me 70minutes. Ever since I incorperated barefootrunning my ankle and shin pains have disappeared. I don't run barefoot all the time, but just every other run or so. Depending on the route and the distance. My feet are not up to anything longer than 5k and I am gonna buy fivefingers soon but not yet.

When do you gals start drinking water during your runs? And does it make a difference? I am still not bringing water but I think any more than 70-90mins I am really gonna need it. Obviously sooner when it's hot out.

Signed up for a 5k yesterday and ran it this morn. It is run with a marathan. Its a super steep course [on sandy trail} if you run the whole thing...I just did the 5k.
I did it in 43:44 and was 2nd ,1st was a 10 yr old. I beat her on the uphill she beat me on the down hill. It had a 700ft gain in that 1.6 miles at 5,500 ft elevation. I usually run on flat so I was slow. But faster than the reat. Was maybe only 20 people doing 5k and over 130 doing 10 miles or the full 26+. I was very happy with it.

deva: Awesome job!! It sounds like that was a really tough course!

philana: Woohoo on the time improvement! The longest run I've done was about 90 minutes and I wasn't drinking water during, just before and after and I made sure to hydrate really well the day before. I, too, think that if I were going to do something exceeding 2 hrs then I'd need a way to rehydrate during the run.

I did 5 easy miles on the treadmill today with a faster push at the end, and the knee felt ok. Still definitely off, but not really painful or anything.

I've noticed lately that no matter the speed/distance I'm running, it takes me a good 10 minutes to feel like my body has settled into the 'groove' of the run; before that, it's like I'm still trying to get comfortable. It's not an issue of my breathing, but rather the way my body is moving. Is this true for anyone else?

philana : I wasn't carrying water with me when I started running, but it kinda grew on me. I drink about one sip very kilometer. It mostly helps so hydrate my mouth I think, my mouth get really dry while I run. I try to limit to on sip every km so I don't get into the hypoathreny thingy

devadiva : wow! congrats on your run! OMG THE ELEVATION! that is a nice challenge, and you were a champ on it! yay for you!

chickadee : glad that your knee is feeling a bit getter :) I have the 10 minutes feeling that I need to really settle into my pace and my run (actualy it's even more a 14 minutes / 2 kilometers for me) you're not alone, don't worry ;)

***

Just went for my long run of the week, 14k and it felt great :) I discovered some new lovely trails too and it was a new challenge of changing my running route.

A really nice thing happened too : I was about at kilometer 11 and an old men passed be on his bike. When he reached my side, he slowed down and told me ''Don't give up, miss, keep going!'' It got me all ''awwww'' :)

You are all so motivating, and I thank you for that! I started reading your posts yesterday, and I thought--Aha! I should be trail running right now rather than sitting here reading these posts! So, off I went! Thanks! I did a couple of miles, since I had just finished up a trampoline aerobics class. (Have you tried one? They're so much fun!)

I'm still kicking around the idea of trying a half marathon either in August or October. I broke my toe in February, and it really goofed up my training and fitness level, but I'm back to where I left off (which isn't great, but hey, it's better than where I was last year!). I had counted myself out of the August half, thinking that I didn't have enough weeks, but I realized today that it's still a strong possibility!

I look forward to checking in more often. Keep up the good work, everyone!

Turbo: Oh good, I'm glad it's not just me! I ran outside today, and that seemed way better... maybe it's just more an issue on the treadmill where I can't naturally vary my pace at the start? Nice job on the 14K - I'm glad it felt so good! And that's a really cute story. :)

iowasteph: Really cool to hear that the thread got you out on the trail yesterday! I've never trained for a half (I'm still pretty new to this running thing), but I was looking at a training schedule starting in late June to do one in September. It seems like you would definitely have time to train for one between now and August!


I wasn't planning to run today, but I ate a bit more Greek food for lunch than I intended and so decided to get outside for a run this afternoon. I loved the trail run last weekend and so had looked for one closer to me, and found a 3.7 mile loop around a lake in a nearby park where it seemed like I could do a nice, relaxed jog. I thought I had read in the description that it was mostly flat... but, um, no - it was ALL hills! Not many long hills, but almost all up and down, and a lot of the hills were steep! It was still fun (I actually really liked doing the steep uphills on my toes around the roots and rocks), but it definitely wasn't the easy run I had planned on, lol. I was planning a tough run (upping my speed again) on the TM tomorrow night, but after 3 days in a row of running I'm thinking it might be smarter to take the night off and wait until Tues to do it.

Chickadee--sounds like a tough (but fun!) trail run!

Tonight, I took my youngest son out in the jogging stroller. It's always so tough for me to run with it. I ended up doing 4.25 miles, but I jogged .2 and then walked .05 throughout the whole run.

Have a great week, everyone!

Was in South Beach Miami for a bachelorette party last weekend, but managed to get 3.5 miles in Friday, pretty happy with that considering it was about 85 degrees and humid as all get out. I did stop once to catch my breath after 2 miles. Ran 5 miles last night at 42 min. Really trying to get back under 40 min. but my right achilles is giving me trouble again. I'm going to try to stretch better and run again later this week b/w 3 and 4 miles, hopefully it will go well as I have a 5 mile race Sun - REALLLLLLY want to finish under 40 min...

Was able to run Thursday after my double shift, had just enough light. Gets tricky when I work late, we live in farm country and dirt roads get dangerous to run if it's too later
Went for a bike ride on Sunday instead of a run & yesterday it was raining like crazy. Got out there today, felt good! I am still working on just doing a mile. At this point I am worried about pushing myself too much too fast. Slow and steady with no injury is the goal! I will worry about speed later.

Did 3 miles at 5.6 mph tonight, with the last few minutes at 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 mph. Felt tough, but not terrible. Will do 3.5 miles at the same speed on Wed night, hopefully as a 3/1 run with the last 25% at 6 mph.

lm3898 : 5 miles in 42 minutes!! Good lord! That's fast! You must fly :D

drake : as you said, slow and steady is the key :) keep going!

chickadee : nice workout! good job :)

***

hey runners!

Went for my first interval of the my program last night : a 6k with 5 x 2 min little sprint (average a pace of 5:30 min/kilometer). It was okay, I was really feeling I was going out of my comfort zone while doing it. Plus it was rainy, my raincoat felt heavy and got me a bit too hot... Anyway. Did the sprints + recovery time 6k in 39:40.

I'm a bit freacking out these days though, one of my shoes is slowly getting pearced on the top of the toes. Ahhh! I love my shoes so much, I don,t want to change them :( I might try to fix the hole for now and only change them after my run at the end of June...

good running you gals!

Turbo: nice job on the sprints. I work on my pace by doing short runs (3k) as fast as possible with a few breathing-walks.

The weather is just in a funk, I wanted to go running yesterday and then it started to rain like crazy. So I just went today in one of the few breaks from the rain, and OMG! It is hot outside. I've been holing up inside because of the rain and had no clue it was that warm. Haha.

Anyhow, did 7.1k (4.4miles) in 48mins and am pleased with that. I took off my shoes after 3.5miles and my pace went up again. My big toes have blisters on the bottom though so I really can't run too much without them while I wish I could, it's so nice. I love it.

Will do 2 short runs and then hopefully a 12.5k on sunday.

Just a quick drive by SOUNDS like everyone is pushing it yeah for all of us!!!

Ran a 10k this am not my fastest,but 1;06;20. Had a kickbut HIIT class at execise last night and am really achey...well off to deep clean the house YUCK! {but it feels so good when its done)

Went just under 4 miles in 38 minutes on the bike path yesterday. It was super humid so breathing was awful but my legs didn't get tired at all. I thank hiking for that!

3mile run in 28mins today.
Did it barefoot and in the rain with shorts and only a tanktop. Dark clouds everywhere but super warm. It was awesome, animals were noisy along the river where I was running and storm was gathering. but thanks to the internet and awesome weather tools I knew I could go out for 30mins and be back before it broke. Was one of the most awesome runs as of yet. Unfortunately I've made the blisters worse, running in wet surface barefoot is just not the best thing. NEED 5fingers soooon.


Think I'll do gym-cardio and weights tomorrow and saturday and then attempt 7.5mile run on sunday.

It sounds like everyone's running is going great this month! You guys amaze me with your speeds - I want to run like all of you someday. :)

Turbo: Awesome job with the sprints! I really feel like those help me to improve my speed more quickly. And I think I need new shoes too (or at least new inserts that correct my overpronation), but I, too, am going to wait until after my race in a week and a half. It just seems like a bad idea to change them right before a race!


I did 3.5 miles tonight on the TM, with the first 2.6 miles at 5.6 mph and the last 0.9 miles at 6.1 mph. Again, a tough run but not terrible. I just feel really, really good when I'm done with these runs - proud that I'm pushing myself and able to make it all the way through what I've planned even when it's hard.

Four more runs planned before my 5K next Saturday; three will be training runs, and one will be a slower 5 miler. I'm targeting under 32 minutes for the 5K, which I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do. Secretly I'd love to be able to run it in under 30 minutes, but I just don't think I'm there yet. Some day though.