So I ran my first 10K today - at 8am! I don't even wake up at 8am!
I did it just in about an hour - my official time was 1.00.53 - though I think they were wrong - and my pace was 9.48 (again I think the time was a bit off - bc there were no chips or anything I don't think it was that accurate.) But I placed 5th in my category of Athena women - women 165+ - so my goal is to now place first in that category! (when I am 166 )

But The 2nd and 3rd mile were all on this steady uphill - not too steep, but to be on an incline for 20 minutes is intense - running down the hill felt so good, and I kicked about a minute 20 off my last mile (.2) to finish and beat the fit looking guy in yellow ahead of me.

I was like - B - you take 2-3 spinning classes a week - you kNOW how to sprint - if anything that is what it was for. And just as I was digging into my last sprint and about to give up some guy at the finish line totally yelled - go go - and gave me the momemtum to finish strong! yay!!!

my friend ran as well and he placed at like 46 minutes - 5th in his age group (24) - go him! now to get my time down to 50 minutes would be awesome!

-B

Wow, bida, that's awesome! Congratulations!

I went for a run yesterday, 20 minutes. I did 2 lenghts of the gravel road and a little bit more, only this time I was slower than during my previous run. Next one scheduled for tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed so it doesn't rain.

A strange thing is happening: I'm fine running along the road, but as soon as I finish the 2nd lenght, I feel exhausted and have trouble continuing to round the run up to 20 minutes... and that has happened three times now, irrespective of my pace and of how long it took me to run the 2 lenghts (times were over 19 min, 17.5 min and 18.5 min, and the 2 lengths is about 3k). I don't understand... :stu:

What has your other excersize been up to this? Is this your first cardio challenge? (or rather running challenge?)

For people that have not been running for a long time it takes a while to get into it. Also gravel, I believe, is not a stable surface, like sand (and the treadmill), thus it takes a different set of muscles (and thus tires you out quicker) so that you can stabalize and run at the same time.

If you can't run the rest, do you at least walk for another 4-5 minutes to round it up (plus a bit since you are walking?) make sure that you aren't walking really slow - but speed walking - and then maybe you can even, after a 2 minute or so rest, run the 2.5 minutes you wanted to finish up so you ran 20 minutes in total.

good luck - tell me how you do!

(today it was spin class for me!)

Bida, thanks for your reply.
I started running in December last year, worked my way up from just 3 minutes to three sets of 3 minutes with walking inbetween to 10 minutes straight and so on. I had a break in January, then started again in February (at 10 minutes and reached to 23-25 min by increasing by half minute each time), then had a bit of a break I think or maybe I ran a bit but not regularly, and then I was travelling for nearly a month and didn't run at all. I just started again, and now I'm running every other day (previously it was every day). The longest I ever ran was 37 min straight.

I'm a bit limited with other cardio right now (no gym access), so just stationary bike and walking over the last months. Normally I figure skate a lot, swim and go to all kinds of fitness classes.

This running out of steam at the end of the second lenght of the road is really weird and has never happened before. It could be due to the fact that the road is hilly and going "there" is a bit on an incline with 4 hills, while going "back" is slightly downhill with just one hill. Also, it's not really gravel - mostly hard dirt with some small stones on the sides, which I keep away from. I find it easier and much more pleasant than running on concrete, asphalt or grass.
I'm going to try a different strategy to reach my 3 lenghts goal - walking to the end of the road first, and then running, so that I end up only doing one lenght uphill and not two. That might make it easier.

Today was my running day, so I went out at 9:30 am. I ran 2 lenghts of the road in 17.5 min again, and again ran out of steam and gave up at 18 minutes. I usually walk for up to 20 min after running, and while I was walking I decided to run some more, and ended up doing nearly 2.5 lenghts in 22 minutes. I'm really happy about it, but can't wait to be able to do 40 min straight!
Next time I'm going to run elsewhere, on a flat surface. We'll see how that goes.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Well it has been a long time coming but I finally got my wk2d2 run on my c25k program. Being that I have been such a slacker I boosted my mph up by one so that I would feel it tomorrow. I love feeling sore after a good workout. It motivates me for the next one. I forgot to take your advice and stretch before...I could tell I missed it when my calves started talking to me. The program I am doing calls for you to run 3 X per week but I am a little behind because of work, do you think it would be alright if I ran 4 X this week? I know you should usually give yourself a day off after running, do some other kind of cardio strength etc...what do you ladies think?

bida - congrats on that great place hun. I envy you, I will get there someday I hope. Running uphill *jaw drops* that must be sooo hard, I am a treadmill girl or I wuss out when I do run outside and do it on a flat track.

sushi - That is weird about your exhaustion...think it might be mental? I know sometimes I really have to focus on my beathing when I start to get tired...maybe you need more water or something. Don't ask me lol I am just a baby runner.

Hey hi
Guess what - I ran for 45 minutes today and covered some 7 km...
I went to this trail along the river, as I knew it was 5 km, and told myself "that's it, Sushi, you're doing it." No stopping, no walking, no turning back till you get to the end of the 5k. And when I got there 32 minutes later (I reckon that's not a bad time!), I thought that this wasn't enough running for the day and did a few circles around the cricket ground. It's nice to officially know how long it takes me to run 5k.

I think the mystery of running out of steam will be solved the day after tomorrow... it might be the incline that the road is on. I'll try doing 3 lenghts but starting from the far end, so that I only have to do the incline once, and I'll see how it goes.

i'm kinda annoyed. april 3rd i ran an 8K with almost NO training. i wasn't really even working out 3 weeks before it. well, i just tried to run today (after doing 3.5 miles on the elliptical) and i could barely run a mile! and i've been working out! i wonder if the momentum of the race made me able to run, but i have not been able to run without pain since. i can do the ellipical for hours, but running....nothing. grrrr. i'll keep on trudging along and hopefully one of these days things will fall into place.

Chicagoposter: I found some good tips for starting out called www.coolrunning.com. You may have just overdid it to your body when you ran that 8k, and mentally you over-ran your actual physical capabilites.
Running is really hard on your body, so take it slow....eventually you'll be running a 8k again!

great job sushi! See u could do it! no reason to beat ureself up over it - sorry i was away so long - darn finals I am finally done for the semester though - that is the great news!

Stephie - to answer your question - I know there are people out there that fun every single day! Like EVERY SINGLE DAY - and they have been doing this for 10+ years etc - so to put it into perspective - if your body is great - its prob just fine to do 4+ or 5+ - you are asked to do that when you train for a marathon.

I do not though, because I have to be careful of my knees - I think i'm in for it with arthritis if I do - which I why I do more cross training then running (spinning 2x a week) - going in a few minutes in fact! - I had an acl operation - and am missing the cartelidge between my left knee bones - so I just am careful that I don't stress it out too much - since I basically don't have any shock absorber.

Chica - good job on the 8K - running in a group is a huge motivator - perhaps you like that group activity to keep you going? when I started to train for the marathon I ran with a group (from road runners) and it was really great for training and for keeping me motivated. Maybe you want to try something out like that again?

Side note - I have not worked well with just one other running parther.

Ran again today. Kept at the higher pace I set for myself yesterday. Was winded at the end but again such a sense of accomplishment. I can feel it in my calves and my knees tonight. I think I should take tomorrow off. I am officially back on track as far as the c25k program is concerned. Tomorrow I have a **** of a day busy busy busy but I should be able to make it to the gym tomorrow night. Hoping to put in some time with the spinning bike.

sushi - thats great that you finally know your time. Why dont you keep running the trail along the river? Maybe you just need a change of scenery.

chicago - I could see being more motivated to run in the pressence of a race and other runners. Have you considered going on a running training program. I am similar to you...I can do the eliptical or cross trainer forever but running is so hard for me. I think for me it is mental. Being on a program tricks my mind into accepting I can run past a certain amount of time...build me endurance.

spill - what week are you on of the c25k prgram? I am just entering week 3. I fell a little behind.

bida - Well I took your advice and ran again today. I think it would be wise for me not to make it a habit though...I can feel my knees a little more today. I think I will also be taking your advice and doing spinning on my off days to build my endurance.

I got myself a proper stop watch today!
After the battery in my boyfriend's watch died (why? because Sushi ran too much! ), I've been using my cell phone, and it's a flip one, so it's not very handy for running. Hopefully the stop watch will be ok... last time I took my iPod shuffle with me, and it kept on bouncing, so I had to carry it in my hand all the time... hopefully the stop watch won't bounce... :cross:

I'll be testing the new gadget tomorrow, as long as weather is good. Please please please for good weather please... :cross: :cross: :cross: today was horrible - rain, wind, cold... And very timely indeed - just last night I had a question pop into my head: what am I going to do when it's just plain impossible to run outside? I don't have a treadmill or access to a gym...

Re - running along the track by the river... I could, but probably not every time, since it's not as close as the road where I usually run. Maybe I could do it right now, but surely not once I start working (which will hopefully be soon...). And I do like the dirt road where I usually run, it's very beautiful there and the hills are probably good for my endurance.

I jogged/ran 1.5 miles yesterday.
Not sure if that counts.

Sure it does Maja

Well, after an awful, gloomy, rainy day yesterday, today was lovely!
I went for a run along the dirt road and expected to see lots of walkers, dog walkers, runners etc., but there was nobody! I enjoyed having the whole road to myself.
The new stopwatch is cool, but it bounces, so I have to keep it in my pocket or carry it in my hand if I don't have any pockets.

As planned, I first walked to the end of the road, and started there. And I did do 3 lenghts! And felt quite good at the end. So it was the incline that was the problem, and that means I have something else to work on: conquering the incline!

stephie: I'm not following a program now. Just listening to my body. I was following a running to five miles program I found in my Shape magazine...but it started out with running 3 miles 3times a week, and I was almost handicapped(couldn't walk straight for a few days after that week)

so now, I'm just listening to my body, and trying to run as much as possible, without over doing it. My ultimate goal is to run five miles.

I just finished week two of the c25k program today, starting with week 3 monday!

Stephie, it sounds like you're in about the same place, maybe we can help keep each other in check here

You gals are all so inspiring, thanks for posting your progress!