7K/4.3 miles in 50 minutes today. My pace is definitely not where I want it to be but at least endurance is building up.

Between advice I've received on here and a bit of research I've put together my 12-week 10k training schedule. I'm doing one long run (such as today), one temp or speed training (thursdays), and one easy run (fridays). Two days of ST, one day of XT, and one day of rest.

Is 3 days of running each week enough? I'm hesitant to run on back to back days (except for the easy day) and do 4x a week because of my knee. It still acts up about 4-5K into my runs. Icing it 2-3x a day.

I should be able to do 10K by the end of the month with no problem, but I definitely want to work on speed. I need to get <1 hour for my 10K. At this pace it looks quite doable.

Ran the most POWERFUL 5.4 miles I've run in a long time. Paying for it today though. Directly in back of my left knee cap hurt so much that I was tossing and turning all night! It's crazy, cuz I felt GREAT after my late night run, it's only AFTER the fact do I feel pain. I'm beginning to get a little discouraged because this has been going on for months now.

Something's gotta give. I CAN'T keep taking 800mgs of Ibruprofin after every run...can I?

I'm beginning to think that I may have to cut down my mileage from 5 to 3 miles. I would absolutely HATE that, cuz I don't even enter my "special place" until the 3rd mile!!! Ugggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Today I'm getting serious...time for weight training...heavy leg weight training. Will forego all the upper body stuff...don't need it...plus I think the pull ups (sporatically) are working guuuuuurrrrrrrrreat! Ok..this is the plan, 4 sets of deadlifts, 4 sets of wall squats, 4 sets of quad extensions. Sound good? Any takers?

Nice run last night. It was on the cloudy, cool side, which are my favorite conditions, but the sun peaked through and I saw some of the sunset just as I got near the beach. I ran on a different road which had these nice, rolling hills and hit that point where I felt like I could keep going forever. But I knew there was a huge hill awaiting me on the way home, so I finally turned around :-)

Mapped my route when I got home - .75 mi warmup, 4 mile jog. Had hoped it was longer.

indiblue, I'm aiming for 3X/week also. I don't like to run on consecutive days. I've felt some twinges in my shins and I just don't want to take a chance of injury. For my goals(4 miles to 10K by September, eventually trying to get from 11:17 mile to 10 minute mile) it will have to be enough.

jesus h. christ, third garbage run in a row this morning. Went less than 3 miles, that awful jog-walk-jog-walk thing. It's not just breathing that's hard, my muscles rebel and feel sluggish too. I noticed my violin practice has been subpar the past couple days as well, and I feel enormous. Bad place to be, hope something magically changes.

joyful-- how many REPS of each exercise? I would forgo the leg extension and add in lunges... why wall squats? why not regular squats? Just asking? also romanion deadlifts are GREAT for hamstrings.... as are glute/ham raises..... Single legged stiff leg, or romanian deadlifts are great, and i mean GREAT for building your butt! Its ALWAYS a good idea to add uni-lateral work along with bi-lateral work... for most of us, one side is stronger, and it over compensates for the weaker side. Doing a couple uni-lateral evercises, like lunges and single legged deadlifts helps correct the imbalances and forces the weaker side to work just as hard.

had a fantastic psuedo-longer run... was going for 13 miles (a half mary) but ended up doing only 12, cuz between the rain that fell during my run and my SWEAT, i was completely soaked, which resulted in SEVER CHAFING everywhere i had a seam rubbing against my skin! OUCH! i couldnt take the pain and cut it a LITTLE short...... forgot to put on my body glide ANy way, ive been really focusing on cementing my goal marathon pace into muscle memory (sub 8:20..shooting for 8:10 avg so it gives me a LITTLE time cushion during the marathon, like for bathroom breaks)-- and i think i have it down finally! i can quite easily fall into around an 8:10 to 8:20, subconciously, which has been my goal the past month...... it was just a pace i never used before, so my body couldnt maintain it... i always eneded up running FASTER, or zoning out and falling into a 9 minute mile, or whatever... but i did my 12 miles in EXACLT 98 minute...... an EXACT 8:10 min/mile avg....... it woulda been faster actually, avgin just UNDER 8 min/mi for the 12, except i had two brutal hills that left me with a couple of miles that took around 9 minutes to run. Anyway, like i said, IMTHRILLED that i nailed that pace for that distance..... woulda ended up right around 1 hr 45 min for a half marathon, whichis exactly where i need to be if i want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.... i guess now i have to startactually following a training plan.... i havent been getting up and running in the morning for a long time.... i get up and go to the gym, lift or do my cross fit class, but i always end up RUNNIGN at lunchtime, or later in the morning onthe weekends.... i need to start waking up and running before work though. ! hour is not enough time once i start doing mid-length runs during the middle of the week (8-12 miles)....sigh...... i just fell out of the habit over the winter...... i need to suck it up and get outta bed and just run in the morning!
Im apprehensive though, because ive ben having some issues (TMI WARNING) a medication i am on makes me have to use the bathroom a few timesin the am, and add to that the fact that running/exercise in the morning always stimulates me to, ah-- go...... well, im worried about being able to find places, and QUICKLY when the need strikes on an early run.... sorry for graphic image guys.... if i was trail running in the morning it wouldnt be an issue....... just find a bush or something and go... but running through neighborhoods..... i dont think anyone would appreciate me using their front yard as a toilet! HAHA... ok, iim done now

INDIblue---- 3x a week is fine for now... as your muscles get stronger, try and run 4X a week... but you have plenty of tome to ease into it...... if you have a gioal (and you do!) running 3X a week you have to make EVERY RUN COUNT, you know what i mean?

I can help you with paces you should be hitting on speed work and interval times and distances, if youd like.

ALso, quality, focused strength training can really help with your knee issues as well.

NICE MRKOYER!! What an awesome time! Way to push yourself and holy moly 8:10?? So impressed. I remember when I could run ONE mile in that time- when I was 14! Very very wowed

Glad you think 3x is fine, for now. Yes, as muscles get stronger and take work away from my weak little joints I'll feel ok bumping it up to 4x.

And I hear you on the advice to make every run count. I kept thinking that on my long run today, it was the motivation to finish the 7km. After all, I wouldn't get a chance to do a long run for another week, so I gotta make this one worth it.

Thanks for all your help and support!

15 reps x 4 sets = 60 reps total for each exercise.

The reason for the wall squats are because my knees HATE lunges and free weight squats. It seems despite my youthful looks , age is catching up with meh!

I will look into the single legged deadlifts...sounds like something I can use. My legs are ridiculously uneven (see below). My right side quads and hammies are outrageous...and while my left side quads are great, my left side hammies are pitifully undeveloped! Lunges make my knees pop no matter how good the form.

I do, however, own a squat rack, so I may add that in. Gonna try playing with it all tonight and develop a routine that will even out my quad/hamstring ratio on both sides. I think that my knees need serious HELLLLPPPPPPPPP!!!

Thank you for any suggestions you can offer. Not sure how long my session should be to get good muscle building results. The good thing is that my muscles grow fast...probably faster than your average woman, so like with anything, I just need to be consistent. Thanks again.

Indi - As other have stated 3xs is fine for a 10k

Joy - there was an article a few months ago in Runner's World that ibuprofen is not recommended after runs...I can't remember why, maybe a google session is in order. I take Alieve from time to time, not sure if that is recommended either. I've also started taking glucosamine chonjointen (sp?) w/ MSM. It for joint lubrication and maybe swelling - can't remember. It seems to help though.

MK - BODY GLIDE - it have been my savior for chafing at my bra line and bikini line in the summer months.

4 miles yesterday, it was ok. ST and yoga today and 6 miles tomorrow.

Hello! I never really post here because I don't really feel like a runner, but I'm hoping some of you veteran runners can help me out. I just completed c25k last week. I am able to run 5k in 36 min. My question is should I now try to improve speed or distance? I am really considering doing the bridge to 10k, but am not certain because it goes back to run/walk intervals.The walk intervals are very short though, only a minute, I think.

Thanks Ncuneo!!! Donno why I didn't think of MSM. Used to take it couple of years ago (think I may still have some) during my bb'ing phase! Come to think of it...my joints snap, crackle, popped alot, but after taking that stuff for a while...it stopped.

Will try and let you know if it worked.

*UPDATE* - Just played around last night seeing what hurt, and what didn't hurt. Did 3 sets of pull ups. TOM, so not as strong as usual, but able to do 7 pull-ups. Did 1 set of wall squats (this is DEFINITELY what I NEED to be doing...OOOUUUUUUUUUUCH!), squats (on rack)...that's all. Gonna do better during the week...getting serious may take me some time. Sorry..but I'm used to not having to work that hard for muscles...tee hee!

Knee feels good this morning. Officially ending my relationship with Ibruprofin and treating my knee pain holistically (natural herbs, remedies). Will run 5+ miles today. Enjoy your day all!

Just got back from my walk/run. 32 minutes.

I'm happy to say that I might already be gaining stamina. I noticed it a couple days ago when I did my first DVD in weeks, and was able to go through it without a lot of breaks (I usually have to take tons of breaks on almost any dvd, because I get out of breath or my muscles hurt). Yesterday I did Jari Love's Ripped dvd, because I want to incorporate weights into my routine (Wow, listen to that .... My routine. LOL), and I did it a lot better than I ever thought I would. Sad to admit, I really don't give myself much credit. I did take some breaks in the dvd, but it wasn't nearly as much as i thought I would (I viewed the dvd a while back and already told myself I wouldn't be able to do it just by looking at the moves and reps). I went in only planning to do 30 minutes, but I kept going and did the whole 54 minutes.

Also, today, on two of my running intervals, I didn't realize I went over my 20 second mark (one was 27, one was 25).

So, I'm getting there! It may be slow, but I'm feeling positive.

I have always wanted to try glucosamine. I'm only 25 and have never been overweight, yet I have always had intense joint problems. Ncuneo you recommend it? I am trying fish oil right now but I haven't noticed a difference yet... perhaps it takes a few months to take effect? Anyway I'm up for switching to glucosamine if people seem to have success with it.

Congrats on your exercise, Serval! Glad to hear the stamina is building up

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ST today. I did what felt like a shorter routine today (squats, bench press, lunges, lat pull downs, calf raises, wall sits, abs on the stability ball) but my legs and arms were shaking by the end so maybe it was more intensive than I thought it was. That or my body was just out of wack today.

Bad news: right hip has been hurting all day today .

Good news: my first speed training tomorrow!

I'm really bad about being consistent with taking my vits and supplements, but yes I think I do see a difference when I take glucosamine consistency. My knee pain is pretty recent, since maybe April or so, not sure what's causing it. It's kinda weird. At this point I'm just trying to be gentle, run on pavement as opposed to sidewalk whenever possible, rest and be consistent with the glucosamine. I do also take Alieve when it's really bugging me. It was both knees, then just my right (that one I think was a minor yoga injury which seems to have gone away) and now it's my left. So I'm not possitive what the deal it. It's not bad enough to cause me not to run or see a doctor at this point.

6 miles this morning. I thought I was going to tank it. I didn't get much sleep last night and didn't feel like running when I got up - but I made myself and it turned out well. I was relieved. This new training program is starting to kick my but. I'm starting to exceed my normal weekly milage and it's a challenge. Worries me a little with my marathon plans and knowing that me weekly milage will be in the 30s and 40s as opposed to the 20s it's in now. But that's the point of this training schedule - it's kind of a build up.

The only thing I need to figure out is what to do the 10 weeks between my half and the begining of training for my FM. MK - what do you think, cut back (18-20 mile weeks) and rest for 10 weeks, continue at upper 20s or start to build...

So I am finally running now that I have a new treadmill in my garage. I work out constantly, was a former athlete, but HATED running. I'd get this knife pain in my side and just stop. So about 3 months ago, I decided I was going to have to suck it up and be a runner because I was not getting as "toned" as I would like. I'd been working out every day since July, but alternating Elliptical machine and 30 day shred. So my DH is a runner and ran track, and one day I went with him. I got that pain, but kept going and then it went away!! So we got a treadmill for 50.00 to add to my elliptical already in the garage (SAHM right now so I can't make it to a gym). Anyway, I was getting good, and that sucker broke! So two months go by, no running. Well, a couple weeks ago we got a new to us machine from a used fitness equipment store. So I'm back to running. Did 30 minutes total, and I run for 20 minutes at 4.5, work my way up to 5, which to me is hauling ***! LOL!! Then I do a speed walk at 10 incline and then cool down. Of course, DH can kick that sucker up to 10 and run on it and for him 6 is a leisurely jog!! So I am doing the treadmill MWF and circuit training T,Th. Today was the 2 time with the treadmill. So far, so good!