Hey all, I hope no one minds that I started a July thread...since it is already the 4th of July.

Forced myself to get out of bed and run 3 miles this am before DH went golfing. My other options would have been to run at 2 pm (HOT!! ) or not at all today. I am glad I got up. What a gorgeous morning! I did get my first side stitch though. Didn't do anything I don't normally do. Oh well!

I posted this already in the Advice for New Runners thread but I thought I would post it here for all you advanced runners. Road Runners Club of America has a website where they list road races occurring around the United States. Click on the state to find upcoming races in your area.

http://www.rrca.org/calendar/

Hey all, welcome to the HOT month of July! After my 7 miler on Sat I was really sore and developed a pain in the bottom of my foot when I walked. I was worried about developing an injury so early in my training but it disappeared by Sunday evening.

Was feeling pretty down Monday and decided to shuffle my run to Wed, which I usually take off. I got up for 3 miles this morning but only made it 2 before I had to stop for coughing fits. Oh no! Taking cough syrup and hoping that the cold clears up quickly. Will try and run again tomorrow but not worried about cutting short if I have to. Just want to be able to my long run by next weekend.

IowaSteph-I saw your headphones question on the last month thread. Yes I run races with music whenever allowed. But I do keep the volume pretty low until the group spreads out some. Also I have an arm band for my mp3 and run the cord for headphones through my shirt and out the sleeve, to keep it out of the way,

Thank you midwife for starting the July Cool Runners...

I've been MIA and haven't run as much as I usually do, because of the heat I've been running on the dreadmill and I never run as long on there as I do outside... I must go to bed early tonight and get up to run at 6am, it's the only time that's good for me...

Happy Fourth of July my American friends!!

I've just been out for an 8 mile run. I'm dripping with sweat now, but in a good way

Must get into the shower and get ready for work, I'm interviewing a potential new assistant today so I'd better get myself tarted up a bit.

Since starting SB last Friday, my energy level has been pretty low the past few days...but that will perk right up once I hit Phase II and start getting some complex carbs back in...granted I can I eat black beans, etc...for some complex carbs, but whole wheat bread/tortillas seem to give me so much more energy!

So, I will trudge along and do what I can for the next couple of weeks

So far this week, I've logged 6 miles on the treadmill at a 10:30 min/mile pace - not horrible, but definitely not great!!

For those of you that use a treadmill, at what speed (miles per hour) setting do you use? I hope to start walking on the treadmill by this weekend. I know some people are faster runners than others, but I am just trying to get an idea of how fast is normal for beginning runners.

"normal" is a totally personal choice...

When I first started out running, I was at around a 5.3 on the treadmill and would end at around a 5.7 or 5.8 (I usually increase every couple of minutes or so) (fyi - 5.6 is just under an 11-minute mile)

Fast forward 8 months...

Now (that is, when I'm not low-carbing/high-proteining), I start at a minimum of 6.0 and get up to a 6.7 in about 6 minutes and then work my way up to 7.3-7.5 for about 6-10 minutes...then I start over again at around 6.1 or 6.2 and build up some more.

(Fyi - 6.0 is 10-minute mile, 6.7 is a 9-minute mile, and 7.5 is an 8-minute mile)

As far as walking, I'm usually at 4.0 (min) and walk anywhere up to 4.6...Cool-downs are 3.0 and lower.

If you have never run before, I would start at 5.0 (for running) and see how that goes. If it seems way too fast, go down to 4.7 or 4.8. If it seems way too easy, go up a couple (5.1 or 5.2)

I think it also depends on your height - people with longer legs tend to need higher speeds and vice versa for people with short legs.

Hope this helps - essentially, it's up to what you think your body can do.

Good luck!

Webweevil - I find that I need to start out a little slower, mostly because I'm short! I don't have a long enough stride to run at above about 4.2 when I'm starting out. I walk at about 3.6 and feel like I'm moving right along. Even when I was running regularly, I probably topped out at about 5.2. So I'd say it's a measure that accommodates both your level of fitness and length of stride.

Edit: Whoops, see that Emily said about the same thing. Well, then I agree with her.

Thanks Emily and Pat! I'm going to print your comments out as a guideline to running and walking speeds. By the way, I was way under-estimating walking speeds.

Ran my second 10k this weekend, and it was pretty fun. Even though I've been out of running for about a month, the time was the same as my first 10k race although a tad bit harder.
Today I'll start running regularily again, I'm thinking 5k/ four times a week, trying to cut my time by 5-6min.
How often does everyone run?

I run 5 days a week, but I'm training for a marathon and I used to run 3 or 4 days which was a lot more manageable!

5-6 days a week...but 1 or two of those are 2-or 3-milers.

Right now, only one long run per week - currently at 7 miles.

I usually run 3-4 days/week with one long run of 10-12k... the shorter runs are 5-8k...

today I ran the dreadmill but it went by pretty fast, I did 5k...

Well starting wk8d1 today. Need to get my run in tonight however fear that once again I will have to be doing it at the gym. I hate running on the treadmill. For me it is easier than running outside and even the greatest accomplishments seem so much smaller if I have completed them in the gym. But I have been so busy, using just about every hour of the day and running outside just hasn't been an option.

midwife - I sometimes get stitches when the weather is a bit cooler. Great job on getting up early...I am so not a morning person.

skinny jeans - sorry about your foot and your cough. I hate it when things interfere with my running.

ilene - I've been running on the treadmill a lot more lately too. My schedule has kind of forced me out of working out during daylight hours.

lucky13 - 6 miles is def not horrible...coupled with SB you sound like you are on your way to losing that last 15 lbs. I was looking at your speed suggestions and they just blew my mind. Then I read about the height consideration. I am 5'2 so now it makes total sense.

webweevil - I usually use between 4.5-5 mph depending on how I feel. 4.5 is completely doable even on an off day 5 mph takes a bit more oomph for me.