Wow you guys are RUNNERS!! So, I posted here a few weeks back, had just started jogging.
Now I'm popping back in to say that I just finished my first official race!! A 5K in Jersey City, it was BEAUTIFUL, along the Hudson River, in full view of the Statue of Liberty and the NY skyline. I did it in about 32 min, which is fine by me! Unfortunately, now my knee is KILLING me, i think i need to invest in better sneakers.

And, I just got back from watching the Boston marathon. Maybe that'll be me next year!

Some questions I have after watching the serious runners today -- why do some of the runners wear gloves? and knee socks? and if your nipples chafe so badly that they bleed, why bother wearing a shirt? God, I can't get the bloody nipple images out of my head! I was so horrified! Those poor men! I think that was all...

S

Hi all...I told you I was determined after last week's 5k to improve my 5k time and I ran another 5k (just on the TM) yesterday and got a 32:30! That's over a 3 minute improvement. I did have to slow down once for an entire minute, so I am not quite there yet in terms of endurance but it was much better than the last time. I am going to stick to the 2-2.5 mile runs for the rest of the month, then see how it is going up to 2.5-3 mile runs.

I am LOVING the calories burned on the longer runs. It's helping me get over the weight plateau as well as helping my self-esteem!

Lizzy, I can't answer your marathon questions. I do wear gloves sometimes myself, because my hands seem to be one part that just doesn't warm up when it's cold out, but that might not be why others wear them. Congrats on your first group 5K...I wish I could finish that fast!

Cakses, you have a great 5K time, too. I'm looking forward to the day when I can actually "run" a 5K. I can jog it slowly now, but running, I think my record is a little over a mile so far.

Congrats Lizzy and Cakses on your spectacular 5ks!! Way to go!

I wear gloves on cold runs because my hands are the only things that hurt in cold weather and never quite warm up, so I'd guess maybe some other people are the same? I noticed that during the men's Olympic marathon qualifier Ryan Hall wore arm warmers and gloves with his singlet (and he won in something like 2:09:01)! I guess his arms get too cold and uncomfortable, also.

This morning I ran a 4 miler, I'm in week 6 of my marathon training.

Lizzy and Cakses!

Tonight my HM clinic starts. There's a lecture and then we're supposed to do a 3K run, but I'm changing it a bit. There is no way that I'm doing an outside run today with high winds and snow drifts as high as my knees covering most of the sidewalks! I'm going to do my run on the treadmill and then keep my fingers crossed for spring to come back.

I'm feeling really happy today that my leg seems to be all better and that I've dropped 3 lbs somehow in the past week!

I'm a real wimp when it comes to gloves, I always head out with them on and then end up carrying them. In races I'll sometimes either throw them to a spectator I know and collect them after the race, or wear some old/cheap ones and just chuck them after a mile or two. I hate having cold hands.

In terms of the nipple bleed, it seems to be a problem men have. It can be sorted with liberal quantities of vaseline pre race, but it always seems to catch some of them by surprise! Some people wear knee socks because they're compression socks and allegedly keep the blood circulating better. I've never tried them so don't know whether they actually work.

I've been buzzing today - I had my best running club run for over a month last night, 7.2 miles at 8:14 pace. I went out with no real idea of how I'd feel and how far/fast I'd want to run, and just went with the flow. It felt so good to run a bit faster than I have been doing (before London I tried to take it easy to make sure I didn't make my leg injury worse), the girl I was running with had done London too. We got to about half way in 8:25 pace, and I said I didn't think I'd be running that fast on the way back - in the end we ran faster! I like running with her, we're very close in speed and we are both quite competitive. I've always been a tiny bit faster, and want to keep that record going, so if she speeds up I don't let her get away. And she tries to keep up with me because she wants to catch me. It gives us both a great workout, and benefits us both which is fab!

I feel far better now than I did 5 weeks before London so I'm feeling confident about Edinburgh at the moment. Fingers crossed my leg is now fine, and nothing else will crop up to throw me off course this time.

Helen and everyone else -- thanks for the answers! I guess the gloves are really just to keep warm (seemed warm enough outside to me but who knows) and I like your socks answer. Still freaked out a little by the sight of those blood-stained shirts, I'm not gonna lie. Ay ay ay.

MORE questions: when you say you ran at a 8:25 pace, what does that mean? and, any good tips on training? perhaps a good website with training schedules?

my knee is still hurting but it's better than it was. This weekend I plan to invest in a good pair of sneakers. I really hope that solves my problem.

good running, everyone!!

S

It means she's wicked fast! It means she runs each mile (on average) in 8 minutes and 25 seconds.

Your pace for your 5k was about 10:17 (if you did it in 32 minutes), so it took you, on average, 10 minutes and 17 seconds to run each mile (which is really good)! Here is a pace calculator: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/4/4_1/96.shtml

So check this out, Paula Radcliffe, arguable the world's fastest female marathoner ran the NY marathon (26.2 miles) in November in 2 hours 23 minutes and 9 seconds (2:23:09) for a pace of 5:48. DUDE, that's seriously FAST!

Oops, double post.

good tips on training...

most of the time run slow

get good shoes

you dont have to worry about nipple bleed if you wear a bra!
(although bras have their own chafe issues that can be cured with bodyglide...when you need it, you'll know well before the bleed stage)

Hal higdon is a pretty good site if you are looking to train for a specific event. The problem with a lot of training programs is they often start easier than you are currently doing. So it is good to use them as a skeleton, but adjust them...they arent gold.

Can I join this thread... I've been lurking on and off for a while. Josephine, you and I are challenging together...
My current and relevant challenge is that I am finding it really hard lately to get off my duff. I haven't hung out with my treadmill since thursday and I bailed on my run in NYC-- an easy 3.2 mile run b/w work sites. I have scheduled my dh to come home early from work tomorrow so I can take the time to do a five mile run in NYC-- work site to Pennsylvania Train Station. (I feel sorry for my fellow commuters when I take the train home after running-- )
I'd love to ask questions and check in with y'all ....

Yo, yo, yo Kitty! Nice to see you here, runner girl!

I've done 4 runs in my new shoes and I'm loving them! Did 1 mile this morning and 2 miles tonight. I wish I always had this much energy, but I went into work late today so I was able so sleep in so I know that's why I felt so good. I was a bit tired on the 2 miler but I guess that was to be expected, doing it at 7:30pm.

If I am feeling good, do I need to take days off of running? Like before I was always so sore and had so many (minor) injuries I was always taking a day or two off but now I feel fine. Is is ok to run 5 days a week even though I've only been running 9 months or so on and off?

cakses -- I think it is always a good idea to take a day off from running, particularly as you begin to build your weekly mileage. If you look at most formal training plans they will include a day off, plus often another day or two of cross training. Check out the plans on Hal Higdon's website for some good beginner running plans if you are looking for some formal guidance!

I'm following a marathon training schedule and it calls for: a complete rest day on Monday; runs on Tues, Wed, Thurs; cross training on Friday; LSD run on Saturday; and then cross training on Sunday.

I did a quick 3 miler this morning.

Hope everyone has great runs today!

I did a quick 3K on the treadmill last night to match up with the clinic run then I headed off to the lecture part of my clinic. It actually turned out that the lecture was only a very quick introduction and overview of the clinic then they were headed out for a run a few minutes later.

I had some pain again in my hamstring when I was running, which is frustrating since it was worse than my run on the weekend. I also felt totally intimidated and out of place at my clinic. Everyone else looked like these fit runners. Ugh. I started questioning if I'm in over my head, taking on a half marathon clinic after only recently getting back into running again and with so much extra weight on me.