Oooh, internet at work is currently working, so I'll just say that the run is a 10K run in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in North Oxfordshire for Cancer Research UK.

Lou, hope you get to the gym tonight. How's your running coming along? Will your programme get you to running 5K before the race?

Shrinking Mama, glad to see you are stubborn, but I hope your next run is better.

well... jen was workin @ home this am...

went to find another parking ticket on the car... (2nd on in 2 weeks.. how i love london.. ) there is never anywhere to park apart when we she get in form work (about 8pm... later if we go to the gym) so parked on a singe yellow.. and forgot to move it...

shes sooooo tired, stressed n fed up... i took the car keys so she cant go to work n set her to bed... i hope the police thng will work out for her.. get her outa there... cant afford for her to not work ... our mortgage is tooo big!

oh yeh shes not allowed any holiday either coz she has lots of projects launching soon blah blah.. however the boss is on her 2nd of 2 week hols as we speak!...

so i hope to get to the gym... but will see... grrr...

not sure we will be @ the end on the programme but the hyde park run... but should be fun anyway.. and will be doing more running than we were a few months ago.. so another bonus i guess....

anyway i supose i should try n get on wth some work .. as i should be in today grrr

Shrinking Mama, to answer your questions, no, I hadn't been able to run the 3.1 miles straight on the treadmill so I knew I was going to walk some of the time. But I really wanted to see how I'd do so I signed up anyway. I wasn't, by the way, the only one who did the run/walk thing.

I'd kind of heard this before, but you do get caught up in the pace of the pack so I think you tend to run faster than you normally do. I have a wrist monitor (it's a GPS--kind of cool) that tracks my pace, and I've started to wear that on my training runs. It really keeps me focused on going at a pace where I can run longer. I'll probably wear it at the next 5K to make sure I don't get caught up in all the activity. It was interesting to me how even slight inclines seem like monster hills when you're nearing the end of the run. The cheers of the crowd at the end helped to motivate me to run up the hill (yes, they had a hill at the end!!) to the finish line.

After the first one, I immediately signed up for the next race in town so even if you can't run all the way, it's fun. You meet nice people there, too, who give you lots of kudos for running your first race, which is gratifying.

I'm excited to hear how you all enjoy your first 5Ks.

My leg is feeling a bit better today, Still no running for tonight but should be in the clear for tomorrow *fingers crossed*

Sheila - I kind of have a smilar problem with my body being ready to go but not being able to finish a full 3 mi running. Mine is just being stubborn though not my lung capacity. I would agree with the lady from your gym about adding to your overall time a little bit at a time until you get there. And just remember even the best runners take walking breaks. Your story about the 5k is great, very motivating

Pachy - Wow w 10K? Lofty goal but I know with a little hard work you can do it. I know what you mean about being competitive with your sister, unfortunately I think I am that way with the entire female human race. hehe

shrinking mama - I am so jealous of you treadmill runners because you can tell exactly how far you ran...I am too broke at the moment to buy a chronograph to keep my mileage but I do have a treadmill in my home. So tempting to just stay in...

lou - have fun at the gym tonight.

Sorry about your leg Stephie. My fingers are crossed that you can run tomorrow.

Pachyderm - when you start something, you jump right in, don't ya? With your motivation, I have no doubt you'll do great at the 10k run.

Genregirl, muffin0608, & Idest - check in you guys. We miss you!

I had a early meeting, so I didn't get to run in the morning. I've found that I prefer morning running over running in the evening. As soon as I got home I ran week 4 day 3. Since I have only completed the expected running times 2 of the 3 days this week, I am going to stay with week 4 for another few days.

I've noticed that my legs have felt tired the last few days. My knees seem to be okay for now. I should note that I did have a slight ache in my right knee but I think it will be fine by Wednesday.

Hello runners!

Stephie hope your leg feels better and you can get your run in today, but don't overdo it, nice gentle runs are good when you're a bit sore.

Webweevil you go girl! Hope your knee recovers as expected. Maybe if you are a bit tired you should take a couple of days rest before moving on. I'm thinking of doing that myself.

Lou did you get to the gym yesterday. I'm sorry to hear that your gf is having a tough time at the moment, and about the parking ticket


Well I went out for my 2miles last night which I took at a more gentle pace because of my heels and finished in 23 minutes. I did take one 30sec walk break though. I don't quite understand how it happened. I was utterly exhausted after running for 15minutes, and the thought popped into my mind that I could take a walk break, and before I knew it I was walking! It was definately hard to start up again, and the last 5 minutes I was really having to tell myself to keep going (especially as it was all on a slight uphill gradient), but I made it and I didn't let myself collapse in a heap in the hall, but went straight out into the back garden and walked around in circles until I had calmed down. I think if I had sat/lay down I would not have got up again! It does seem to be getting harder rather than easier, especially as it was pretty cool last night. I'll see what happens on Thursday, but I might take a couple of days off and see if that helps. I definately ran better after my injury break than before it, I had a lot more energy.

Hope everyone elses running is going smoothly

Did Wk6 D1 which was 5/8/5 minute intervals. And it was hard - why? This should have been like kindergarten stuff since I've managed two 20 minute runs the last two weeks! I also did in AC, so can't blame the heat. I will be doing two 10 minute intervals tomorrow night (prob in the AC since we're still under the same blasted heat wave everyone else has either experienced or is experiencing now). Then it will be a 25 minute run for Saturday. ugh! Need to take control of these head games.

Hope everyone else is doing well. I love to see the achievements that we've all made in these last couple of months - let's keep it up!

Hi all! Thanks so much for everyone's responses!
Genregirl: I'll definitely check out coolrunning.com. Thanks
lou1978: I'll check on girlsruntoo.com
Also thanks to Webweevil, softballmom , stephiewilliams, and shrinkingmama. I appreciate all of the support. This is a really wonderful thread.
I have walked a total of 32 miles and jogged 3 miles so far this week. Most of my walking is to walk videos, as I don't have a indoor jogging track or threadmill that I can jog on. When it cools a bit, I'm going to go to the park more and start increasing my jogging. I also joined a gym that is schedule to open the middle of the month. They don't have a track, but they do have treadmills that I can jog on.
Anyway, thanks so much to everyone for the support. I really appreaciate it.

Good for you equisitern, keep it up

Sheila - Thanks for sharing your 5k story. It's great to hear about different experiences. It sounds like a lot of fun and it is pretty easy to get caught up in the moment. Good for you!! When is your next one?

Today I did week 8, day 1 and it was kind of hard. I ran 2.59 miles in 30 minutes. I'm starting to put more focus on distance because it dawned on me that I'm only a half mile from the 5k distance. I find that so exciting, now if I could only get faster than 5.1 mph. I agree with Pachy that it does seem to be getting harder instead of easier. Maybe it's just not supposed to feel easier at this point. Hmm....

It seems like a few of us have hit some hard spots. Keep up the good work. We're in this together!!

I'm not exercising enough and i've always admired the people out jogging- so i regisered at the coolrunning site and am gonna start eh c25k program tonight! There will be bouncing and giggling but i'll just have to live with it!

Welcome Susie Sunshine! We're all bouncing along with you.

thanks webweevil!

Susie Sunshine - Welcome! Glad you're here! You can do it!!!!!

Hi Everyone! I hiked Monday morning- lots & lots of spiders on that trail. Uck. I love the outdoors, but spiders & I disagree. Tuesday & today I took as rest days. Tomorrow I plan to get over to the park early & get my workout in ASAP.

Webweevil- Thanks for the encouragement.

Exquisitern- Feeling better?

Lou1978- Bummer about the parking ticket. I hope Jen feels better. Did you get to the gym or go for a run?

StephieWilliams- How's the pulled muscle?

Sheila53- Congratulations on finishing your 5k!
About the burning lungs, DH taught me rhythmic breathing- inhale & exhale based on a certain number of strides each. For example- he taught me to breathe on the left stride every other stride. DH was in the military at the time & used to sing me cadences to help me keep track of what I was suppsoed to be doing.Sounds odd, but it works well for me & I rarely get side stitches or achy lungs unless I'm off rhythm. I also have a runners power yoga DVD that has breathing patterns on it.

Pachyderm- I'm so impressed with your determination to run a 10k. You can make it, just keep training. Is it still hot in the UK, BTW?

Shrinkingmama- How ready do you feel for your 5k?

Susiesunshine- Welcome to our little circle! Join in anytime!