And so it is another new month. Hope spring is here for most of us and we are on the road pushing to new goals! Report it here all month!

My half marathon/pre-marathon(?) training starts this month T-2 weeks to increased milage. I'm a little nervous as I've been a little burned out and injury plagued (my own fault) lately; but excited to finally be training and have a goal. I'll also be making my final decision regarding running a full marathon during this time. So I think I'll be doing a little relaxing (lower milage) during the next couple weeks before the training is in full swing.

I also need to get my nutrition back up to par, I've been slacking some and need to get my sh*t together because the excess lbs on the scale seem to no longer be water weight. Luckily it's only about 5 lbs, so time to find that balance, which would be hard to do while training so no better time than now.

Happy running in May everyone!

Just checking in to get the thread on my subscriptions list.

I took my dd to get her some new trainers today - she is starting the C25K with me tomorrow. It will be the first time I have run since the Marathon but my foot feels much better and I have had no pain for three days so I think it'll be OK.

Good run today, I did my LSD on the race course for the half I'm doing May 22nd. I'm happy with my time considering it was a training run, 2:14. It was cool outside but I still drank more than a litre of water! Looking forward to tomorrow's recovery run and some yoga!

Hello!

As of yesterday, I've finished the C25K and have decided I'm going to keep running. I don't know that I would use the word "runner" to describe myelf, but I really like running, even though I'm slow as molasses in January.

I'd love to join y'all here, add what I can, and pester you for advice at times.

On the advice of a couple of running friends of mine, I've decided I'm not going to try to up my speed right now, but instead focus on (slowly!) building up distance. I'd also like to add another day of running to bring it up to 4 days a week. My goal for the moment is just to continue to let my body adjust to running and build up some miles.

Thank for letting me join you here! Happy running!

Hello, fellow May runners (thanks for starting the thread, ncuneo!)

I have officially registered for my first ever Half Marathon this fall. The longest race I have ever done is an 8K, so I am nervous but EXCITED to start making progress with training!

Got new sneakers today, just for the occasion.

Any and all tips welcome, and looking forward to chatting with you all/picking your brains!

Happy Running,
FPSJ

Runs have been pretty steady these days. I do three 30-min/5K runs a week and strength training the other days. I'd like to mix things up a bit though and incorporate intervals and such into my routine. I'm not training for anything specifically, I'm just working to increase the length and speeds of my runs. Do you more seasoned runners have recommendations?

I ran my 2nd half marathon this morning. It was cold, windy and rainy. I tried to come up with a million reasons not to do it, but I carried on. Race officials made us stop in a huge pavilion at about mile 10 for about 12 minutes. They thought hail was coming wrapped in a storm at the time. I finished in 2:21. 3-4 minutes slower than my first half at the end of March. However, that was with the 12 minute forced stop added in. I would have beat my original time by at least 10 minutes if not for that.

I am happy with that time. I finished strong, and with brain surgery only 2 weeks behind me, I'll take it. I don't have races scheduled currently, which is odd. I am going to be training to run a full marathon starting in August, however I need to keep my fitness level up. So, I should probably investigate some other races.

Good luck to everyone with their running this month.

I'm going to subscribe to this thread because I need the accountability ...

I weigh the same but I feel fat and I know that's because of lack of exercise...

I ran 5k yesterday, at intervals of 9:1 it was very pleasant, it was cool and sunny, my favourite kind of weather ... I only do 5k anymore I'm really not interested in going longer or faster I just want to burn calories... Most of the time I burn 310cals per run... I'm happy with that...

In for May!!!! Have my doc appt later this morning to find out the results of the MRI I took Saturday of my left knee...here's hoping it's no torn meniscus!

Plan is to run at least 4 days each week and FINALLY drop these last few lbs and GET TO GOAL!!!! Will GET TO GOAL by the end of this month by HOOK or CROOK...take ur pic!

First of all,

Thank you to everyone for all of your input regarding what i should train for!
Ive decided i want to Boston Qualify !!

SO my plan: for the next month im going to start ramping up my mileage till im back to ryunning at least 35-40 miles per week. I also need to start running long again, but im not in a hurry on that, so throuout the month i will gradually get back up to 13-15 miles for a long run.

Most importantly though, this month, i need to do a LOT of speed work.. and by speead work i mean tempo work. I have to run the marathon in 3:40, which is approx an 8:20 min/mi avg for 26 miles. My problem is that an 8 :20 is a very ACKWARD pace for me......just not a natural pace, not too fast or slow or anything, i just dont ever run at that speed so i need to learn it, and INGRAIN it into my muscle memory.....
ill be immediately jumping into a more advanced training program ---- It allows high(er) mileage, but also doesnt jump immediately into 20 mile long runs.... aLOT of mid week, MID length runs though (8-12 miles). What i like most about it is that it has a lot of long/mid-long runs AT Marathon tempo, whereas other plans want you to do it 20-30 secs slower than marathon pace...which scares me. anyway, an 18 week program, so i will be starting it officially at the beginning of June

Ncueno, youre doing the FIRST program, correct? ive heard nothing but great things about the program, except it is HARD. Because you only run 3X a week, every run is very hard. i used a modified version to get my 10K down from 48 min to 44 min. HARD HARD HARD.

When is the LA Marathon??

River-- thank you for the compliment about my times!

Re: smoking
ughhh... i quit for almost a year, then picked it up agian, than QUIT AGAIN, and then started falling into a clinical depression and started smoking again. I NEED TO QUIT if i want to BQ. S**T i could run a marathon now smoking a cig the whole way, but it wouldnt be fast enough haha

Of course, along with quitting comes....... THE WEIGHT GAIN. EVRYTIME. GRRRR... THAT slows me down

Yay, May! Summer is nearly here!

I'm still not running (stupid leg) but I did sign up for a local 4.5km with the kids at school. Kids are running at 9am, teachers at 10:30am on 15 May. I thought I could test my 5k pace out because it is a week before the 5k race but we'll see if my quad is better by then. I felt it a bit when I was doing breaststroke in the pool today, but front crawl was fine (damn! always the hardest option!).

A few more days off to let it rest and then I'll have a test run on it. I hope it is OK for the 5k/10ks I've got coming up. I've decided 2011 is the year to get times for all distances on my chip, and the only one I've got so far is 1/2 marathon.

In other news, requested a doctor's appointment to talk about bunion surgery (thanks to the other thread), so that could put me out for a few months as well. Bloody ****, 2011 is not my year!

milmin Well done! 1/2 marathon in the wind and rain, yuck! But good for you and great time considering the conditions

Where can I find a good plan to start running on? I'm am still very large and much running might be a stretch but I would love to do a 10K run in 2011. I need to lose a bunch of weight still but the run would be a huge milestone for me if I could get there.

It would be a lot of walking to start but I want to move into some running.

sjdawg - many people here, myself included, started with the C25K.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

There is a special C25K runners thread knocking around here somewhere and I can highly recommende it.

-----

I took my 9yo daughter out this afternoon for her first C25K session and she really enjoyed it. She started it last year as well but gave up after about three weeks. I am hoping she will stick with it this time. Week 9 will take her to our local Race For Life 5K. She did run it with my last year - she actually kept up woith me for about half the way but then had to stop and walk/run the rest. She is hoping to run it all this year.

And my foot behaved itself, which was good!

What's the FIRST program? I will be googling that! I'm running 4xs a week for my training.

LAM is in March, sometime in the middle, can't remember the exact date, but registration is usually in July.

Ncueno-- its the "run less, run faster" program... for some reason i thought i remembered you mentioning it...... nevermind then.... so you are basically thinking of doing a full in less than a year? the MArch 2012 Marathon? thats a fantastic goal!! How warm is LA in march, usually?