mk, I am going to try this tomorrow! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm really excited to try it out.

I want to love running again, too! I remember my first 5k and how much fun it was because I was focusing on the scenery and how many people I was passing/how many were passing me. I was able to enjoy the experience. Now when I run, I'm so focused on my hips and worrying when they will start hurting...It just sucks the fun out of running. I can't wait to get back to being able to enjoy running again!

Fantastic Evel! Let me know how it goes please

Todays run
6 miles
1 mile repeats at Lactic Acid Threshold, or 10K pace (7:12min/mi)

1 mi warmup
1 mi @ 7:12
1 mi recovery @8:45-9:00
1 mi @ 7:12
1 mi recovery @ 8:45-9:00
1 mi @ 7:12

This kicked my a**. i have NO business running 7's right now. It was a great run.

Just got back from my experimental run!

I was able to do 2 miles before I started feeling anything. Instead of being bad and pushing myself until it was excruciating, I stopped and stretched good. Running without shoes irritated weird spots on my foot so I ended up putting them back on but still focusing on landing on the ball/middle of my foot. All-in-all I'd say it went pretty well! It did feel awkward, but practice will make perfect. Thanks for the suggestion, MK!

Evel-- your calves are gonna HURT tomorrow!! Good luck with that
prob at least for a couple days minimum.
Keep trying the barefoot thing...... go back to it agian, see if you can tolerate the irritation a little more.....were you wearing socks?

I was wearing socks and I was walking funny the rest of the day, lol. I don't hate my foam roller anymore. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it used to. Now it feels GOOD!

My next group 'long' run on saturday is 5 miles....I really hope I can do it.

maybe try changing up your stride during the5 miler...changing it OFTEN i mean, so it wont be so repetitive on your hip...you will take approx 8000 steps during a 5 mile run!

Try running short, shuffly steps for a 1/2 mile, then lengthen your stride and heel strike for 1/2, then run on the balls/mid of your feet for 1/2 mile....see?
Just keep changing it. Even the little changes (slightly shorter stride so slightly quicker) can help relieve building pressure

i woke up DEAD sick this morning. i dont know whats going on. Flu-like, naseaous (no puking though) HEADACHE, backache, body ache, and the FATIGUE. It took me 15 minutes to will myself out of my car.... the horror of having to conjure the energy to UNBUCKLE my seat belt was so daunting....

needless to say, no workout today.
and i keep burping up foul burps..... from last night? idk

Oooh sorry you are feeling sick, MK. Hope you get better soon! Unfortunately I will be in Estes Park over Memorial Day so I won't be doing the Bolder/Boulder this year...argh! wish I was! I guess I shouldn't say "unfortunately" because it's my birthday present from hubby... we have hired a professional photographer to take photos of the new ME...

Eve - I'mma thinking now maybe it's your shoes? Perhaps that's why barefoot running feels better? I agree with Megan's advice for the 5 miler by changing your stride. I have a naturally very short stride and I tend to have problems with my right hip (dominant side) because the short motion of going far up, far down, up, down with my hip makes it hurt. with a longer stride I can even out the distance that my hip travels with each step. If that makes any sense. Which it may not... lol!

Well as for me, I got in a fantastic 5 mile run over lunch yesterday. It was downright fun and awesome. I have a 10k race in two weeks down in Pueblo where I will try to PR.

Sorry you are feeling sick, mk!
I will try mixing it up like you and fp have suggested.

I kinda hope it's not my shoes just because I just bought them. They are Mizuno's and they feel great on my feet, but if they are causing this then that would be an amazingly easy fix.

I'm going to join you guys this month. I finished C25K the beginning of April and am now running close to 4 miles 3x a week. I plan on doing a run on Thanksgiving day here that is 9 miles and has one big hill towards the beginning. So, I'm just trying to build my miles up and add some hills in there to get used to them...

Welcome zephyr! You should try to find a local 5k race to do since you are already running 4 miles. You could get a pretty decent time! And 5k's are FUN. By the way, how's the weather in Pa? I'm missing my good old home state.

My calves didn't hurt too much yesterday, but this morning...OUCH! lol I'm trying for 3 miles today. Hopefully outside. The treadmill was BORING. It's still frigidly cold outside here, but atleast the sky is starting to clear up instead of being all grey and gloomy. I can't wait until it warms up! Summers in Idaho are pretty nice!

Happy running, All!

The weather here is awesome!! It's been in the 80's the last few days. I've been struggling running in the heat. It like to cool so much better. I actually did sign on for one 5k but not sure if I'll do it or not. It's a trail run and I went to check it out last Saturday and I'm not sure that it's something I can handle just yet. There is a road 5k coming up in my town in May that I think I'll check out instead.

welcome, welcome, zephyr! Your 9 mile race sounds fun (except for that dang hill!) Enjoy your nice weather! I woke up to a snow storm this morning.... ugh!

I did a speed session last night for 35 minutes/3 miles. Having a lot of fun with these lately. Apparently my 3-runs-per-week training plan that I made up for myself pretty closely resembles the FIRST training plan. Has anyone seen this? Apparently it works well if you stick to the training. It's relatively low miles each week.

Anyway, I also wanted to pop in and say I reached my goal weight this morning. Thank you, running!

Fatpants - YEEHAW!!!!!!! congrats on goal! You look fantastic

Mk - feel better soon.

zephyr - keep up the great work with the mileage and the hills. With warmer weather I've been running outdoors and it is hilly here, and, yeah, those hills will get you in shape fast. I definitely encourage you to check out the 5k scene...

Eve - So happy that you are running!

So, big news from me: I got up at 7:00 am and ran this morning. I've never done this before - always been an afternoon or early evening runner, but my race is at 7:45 am (and it's April 17, a week from Saturday) so figured I needed to get used to the morning running thing. Gorgeous morning, everything flowering, a few gusts of wind, but not windy the whole time, sunny but not too hot yet. I feel quite proud of myself - sitting here at my desk at work and knowing I've already gotten in my workout today.

One thing that wasn't great - I felt like I ran out of gas after about a mile and a half (it was 2.75 mile run) and I'm wondering if I didn't eat enough, or eat the right things? I don't usually eat after dinner, so no calorie intake after 6:15 pm or so. This morning right before I went out I had a medium banana and a handful or raw almonds, which I thought would be a good carb/protein combo, but somehow it didn't do the trick. Any advice on how to best fuel those early morning runs?