Hello gang,

Gosh, it seems like I missed a lot around here. I did day 2, week 2 last night and it was better than day 1. It felt great to get home and run. I was really looking forward to it. I'm excited about my progress so far (and all of yours too). Here's to a great week!

Idest - "What are you, Super Woman?", lol. I think I'll feel a little nervous with each addition throughout the program but I have faith and am approaching it with a this is what I'm going to do attitude. I did a 3 min jog last night instead of my final 90 sec jog and it was ok. So I am already feeling like next week will be doable. However, the five mins that are coming after that have me a little concerned. Oh well, one run at a time, right? I get a kick out of your talking legs.

Webweevil - Sorry to hear about your knees. I hope you are back to normal soon. You are wise not to take any chances with your knees. The doctor sounds like a good idea. I was a little concerned about my knees when I started. I use a treadmill and have not had any problems so far.

Pachyderm - Sorry to hear about your knee trouble. It's great that you are taking advantage of the open fields but until those farmers move their hay you are probably wise to run else where. You could really twist something awful running on the unlevel ground. Could you drive or bike to the track? I do really like that idea of running in the great wide open though. It sounds really beautiful and peaceful.

Softballmom - Congrats on finishing week 2. I think you are right that to much thinking gets in the way and makes it more difficult. It will happen.

We went to visit my parents for a week. I managed to keep up with my fitness plan, although the eating part was tougher. I missed you guys. I couldn't post because my mom only has dial up & it's too SSSLLLLLOOOOWWWW.


Anyhow, I'm glad everyone is having at least a little success as baby runners. I haven't added any time/distance but I have added two more intervals per session.

An idea for people with shin splints &/or calf problems: stretch both the shins & the calves after warm up & cool down every exercise session. My dr. told me the two body parts work together & that stretching both sides of the legs will help the most. Stay healthy everyone!

Good morning everyone.

Well, after a mighty battle with myself and some procrastination, I finally made the decision to give day 1 week 3 a try and I did it . I decided not to go on my usual route and take a flatter one, so I set off down to the village recreation ground/football/cricket pitch all ready to run round the field in circles. However, when I got there I found that all the cub scouts in the area had descended on the field and there were a lot more witnesses in the form of about 25 mothers sitting in their massive 4 wheel drives. I have to admit I chickened out of running there as i did not fancy having 7 year olds overtake me as I ran round the field!

So, coming up with a new plan, I decided to run along the flat ground alongside stream that started just past there. Ok it was flat, but the amount of dog mess... it was more of an assault course than a walk/jog course!

Anyway, I did it, how I don't know. After my restful weekend, even running for 90 seconds felt like it was going to kill me, and I certainly hadn't regained my normal breathing rate by the time it came to run for 3 minutes. It was very hard, but after about 2:20 I just kept going. God I hope it gets easier on wednesday though! My knees felt fine while running, but they are talking to me today, much in the manner that Idest's legs talk to her

Good luck to softballmom on her week 3 day 1 tonight.

Idest, thanks for the knee exercises, I am going to try them out. I hope your shin splints get better.

Hello again shrinking mama, it seems we all had a bad start to week 2, but it does get better...until week 3! I bet by the end of this programme we will look back and be amazed that we moaned about running for 90 seconds!

GenreGirl, I always find it more difficult when i stay with people, they just don't understand about my need to eat healthily, even though some of them claim to be on diets themselves. Good for you for sticking with the exercise plan though.

Webweevil, how are those knees. Will you be going to the doctor today?

Hello Ladies!

Just finished day 3, week 2. It went well although I dared to try it while the kids were running around and I just about got whip lash trying to keep track of them so they wouldn't get to close to the treadmill. I won't do that again. It's much more relaxing knowing my DH is watching them. I pushed my speed up to 4 mph and could feel the difference just in that little jump. I think I'm ready for the challenge of week 3. I can't wait to try it.

Genregirl - Good for you! I'll be going to my mother's soon and I'm trying to get a plan together. I think I am going to preplan my workouts and allow a certain number (maybe 3) of treat foods. I know it will be a real challenge.

Pachyderm - You should be proud of yourself for not letting those little scouts stop you from getting your run in. Way to improvise! I picture you going through the dog mess like you were running through tires on one of those obstacle courses. A lesser woman would have called it a day. You worked for that one!

Hi all,

I haven't posted on this thread before, but I would like to start if I may. I am on week two of C25K and I just finished day one, but I just realized I did it wrong!!! I did 90/90 instead of 90/120!! And instead of making a fool of myself in front of people, I run on a treadmill with my I-Pod just dancing and running at 5 mph lol.

Karen

Hello everyone and hello muffin. I run outside so I have no idea what speed or distance I am doing exactly, but 5mph sounds pretty fast so well done.

Shinking Mama, you are doing so well, keep going. I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself.

I went out for w3d2 today and alas my knees are hurting again. I went back the recreation ground and just ran around in circles (thankfully no scouts this morning!) which was quite boring. I pushed myself a bit harder on my last 3 minute section and I enjoyed it more. I'm now sitting with ice on my knees. Why is it that my body feels fine and my joints don't - it's not fair! (I know very childish, but just when I decide to do something proactive about my fitness, my knees conk out!) The pain is on the inside of my legs just below my knee joint which could be (look out, self/internet diagnosing about to happen) something called pes anserine bursitis, or perhaps not Anyway, as the pain is still pretty minor, I'm not ready to quit the running just yet. I'm going to follow most of the advice I've read, I'll be icing my knees 4 times a day for 20minutes, doing strengthening exercises and taking ibuprofen and only running on flat, even ground. Hopefully that will work. I've had this kind of pain from swimming before (apparently common in those who swim breaststroke) but I did not give up and the pain went away on its own so I'm hoping the same will be true this time.

Anyway, end of pity party. Hope everyone has fun with their running

First Muffin. Glad you joined us!

Check in now: I finished Week 3 Day 1 AND DID IT! Not too bad since I went in with my head games in check. Doing that 3 min run on the tail end of my last week 2 segment helped, I think. I was on an unused ballfield while my dd was practicing. Because of the uneven grass around the fence, I did my running on the diamond area (around the bases) where the ground was soft and flat. I learned last week that Day 2 is better than Day 1, and so on, so Thursday should be better. I'll have to take to the ballfield again due to practice schedule, but it's all good.

Best to everybody!

Well, I started day two of week two (90/120) yesterday and had to stop half-way through. When I ran on Sunday my shins really started bothering me-- so sensitive that just touching them hurt throughout the rest of that day. I'd hoped that a day of rest on Monday would help, but alas. So I think I have to give them a rest. I will also make sure I run on the track, rather than the sidewalk, from now on.

Shrinking Mama, good for you and congrats on your progress with week 2!

GenreGirl, welcome back! We missed you too.

Pachy, week 3! I'm so impressed with you and softballmom! How are the knees holding out? I'm really disappointed to have to take a break... I wanted to keep up with everyone, darn it!

muffin, welcome to our mini-support group! This is the place to be if jogging 3 minutes gives you the fear.

softballmom, CONGRATULATIONS ! ! ! ! And, oh my... now you start week 4... I want to hear every excrutiating detail!

webweevil, check in and let us know how your knees are doing. We worry.

Idest, I still have two more days for week 3. I did get stupid last night and read over next week's schedule. Okay, (mind the head games) it will be challenging! Sorry to hear about your shins. Please take care of them, I don't want you to bail out on us entirely. I really prefer the running track at the park. After hearing about knees, etc I was very careful last night in the uneven grass and took it to the diamond for protection.

Protect (ie rest) yourself and then join us again soon. Remember we can always repeat a day or even a week if we need to. This isn't a race but a training program.

Morning Ladies

Idest I feel for you and I am in the same boat. My knees have now become quite sore, and after reading about this bursitis thing and discovering that I could put myself out of action for some time if I continue, I am going to have to stop for a while too I am so disappointed. I was feeling such a sense of achievement for sticking to this running programme, and it was so cool that we were all at about the same stage of the programme. I will rest completely for a few days, and then at the weekend I will try cycling to see if that hurts my knees (swimming is out ) so hopefully I can keep up the fitness I've gained even if I'm not running, and hopefully then I will be able to get back into it more easily once the pain has subsided.

Everyone else, keep going. You will have to keep me informed so I can stay motivated while I recuperate.

Hi all! I am still in pain when walking (or should I say wobbling?). Who knew 25 minutes of running could hurt so long? I thought I would include a little information on my problem so that you are aware of this condition and can do what is necessary to avoid it.

Pes anserine bursitis involves the lubricating sac between your shinbone and the hamstring tendons at the inside of your knee. Just walking may stress the pes anserine bursa if you are obese, have tight hamstring muscles, have knees with a natural turnout, or have changed how you walk in response to another type of joint damage (such as osteoarthritis).

Runners are susceptible, particularly if they neglect to stretch and warm up properly, if they quickly increase their mileage, or if they train on hills.

Symptoms of bursitis include:
* swelling in front of the kneecap (prepatellar) or underneath the kneecap (infrapatellar)
* warmth and tenderness
* pain when you bend or straighten your knee.

Pes anserine bursitis may cause distinctive pain as follows:
* pain located a few inches below the kneecap, in the center of it, or behind it
* increase in pain when you climb stairs or exercise
* pain that radiates to the back and inside of your thigh
* pain when your knees touch as you lie on your side.

Bursitis is treated with rest, ice, and compression to reduce swelling. To relieve pain, doctors typically recommend an over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and others) or naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, and others).

You'll also need to avoid activity that aggravates the condition during the healing process, which usually lasts two to six weeks.

It looks like I'll be out of commission for a few weeks. Best wishes on your training!

Poor webweevil, we have the same thing!

I hope yours gets better quickly (and mine does too!)

Softballmom - Glad your d1w3 went well. I did d1w3 today and it was really exciting. I had such a rush when I was done. I also looked ahead on the schedule and that is quite a jump. We can do it though and just imagine how great it will feel afterwards!

Pachyderm, Idest, Webweevil - This is a real bummer! I hope you are all feeling better soon! Please don't go to far. Let us know how you are doing.

Muffin - Welcome!

So as I said above, I did d1w3 today and it felt good. It's exciting to think that in less than two weeks I'll be running for 20 minutes straight. I am no where near their pace though. I'm going to start adding a little speed each time and see how it goes.

Hey Shinking Mama, glad to hear that your first day in week 3 went so well. I hope that I'll be catching you all up again soon.

I laughed when I thought about running for 20 minutes, it sounded impossible! Glad to hear that you are thinking so positively.

Keep on running

I am so bummed that I cannot run for a while. I'm sure Idest and Pachyderm are feeling the same way right now.

Shrinking Mama, Softballmom, genregirl, and muffin0608 - enjoy your running! I am so jealous!

Pachyderm, are you able to walk around without pain?

Idest, are you still feeling the pain of shinsplints?