Jeshi

Great job, Anne! Proud of you for strength training and then continuing the program when life gets in the way! You are doing great!

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! I loved how much strength I developed in my muscles with the weighted vest, but after researching, I've concluded that the potential spinal injury from wearing weights wasn't worth the muscle gain considering the degenerative disk disease that runs in my family. I'm going to hold off the weighted vest for now. 11/23/15 Monday W8D1 36 degrees outside. Brrr! As I got dressed this morning, my SO asked, "You're going running??!?" I replied with a resolute, "I have to." while inside my mind I was finding excuses to not brave the cold. I had the itch to run on Saturday and Sunday, but had to remind myself that rest days are important. No one is stopping me from running today (unless it rained because rain will keep me from running outdoors). I was slightly apprehensive starting Week 8 -- what if I couldn't do it, but I pressed on because it would be SUPER exciting to finish this app by Thanksgiving!!! It wasn't a goal I had in mind at all, but the timing lines up and why not continuing to push myself? Sometimes, I have to pull myself along. I pulled my hood over my head and had to keep my hands in my pockets in the beginning because it was so cold -- hey, it's normally 90 degrees here -- but I warmed up shortly into my run. I didn't have an urge to keep glancing at the clock -- it can be a downer watching the clock counting down from 28 minutes. Besides, finishing the interval shouldn't feel like a chore. It's a gift of time to clear your mind and not worry/think about anything else -- I'm a major over-thinker, if you can't tell. The amazing thing was focusing on my core, drawing my navel toward my spine, standing tall and keeping my chest/shoulders stacked on top of my torso. I concentrated on my breathing, which only got a little rough when I got warm. Guess what? My feet didn't hurt AT ALL!! Every time I thought about my feet, I drew my thoughts back to my core and then let them wander about daily life/hobbies. My feet knew what to do. They know how to "feel" the road and how to push off to balance myself. Running this way really de-stressed me, gave me a sense of well-being and helped me run my fastest (without feeling like I was pushing myself to injury). Since the later sessions in c25k are repeated steady-state running, my body naturally got faster with each session, even if only for a little bit. The best part of my run was when I passed by a man getting into his car with a slightly shocked look on his face. I smiled and waved and he said, "Oh my gosh, it's 31 or 34 degrees outside!" I replied, "Gotta get my run in!" as I passed by. He shouted, "Very brave, very brave!" It was a nice affirmation that I was doing something good for my body -- although I would have continued even if he hadn't commented. I hope I inspired him to think about his health. Looking at my running time, I think I shaved 7 minutes off of my 5k time -- if I had run 5k. When I complete this week, I am going to repeat and try to reduce my time so I can finish that 5k in the 30-40 minutes (with and then without warm up) so I don't run longer. If I get bored, I'll start up the 10k app. I cannot believe I ran 28 minutes!!! The trick to running for a "long" time is to run at a sustainable pace. Breathing and muscle soreness play a big part. I don't think like I am running a race, (hold my breath and power through as hard and fast as I can to cross the finish line, and then that finish line, and then that one.) Maybe that's helpful for sprinting/speed intervals, but for this endurance running/de-stressing, this "easy" maintainable run is perfect for me. Wish you all happiness and running success!

Go, Ruthie! Hills are sooo intimidating! There's one that I've mucked around a few times near the beginning but now I'm avoiding it because I am still working on endurance (and don't want to burn out my calves climbing the giant). Congrats on your success! My run schedule is odd. My Monday runs feel amazing (after the 2 day weekend), but I'm usually very tired/need recouping by on Tuesday (having run after a 2 day break). Then, I've been running on Wed, Thurs, and Fri with each run better than the last and feeling great. My body is weird

Sean, I generally run on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and either Tuesday and Wednesday for a total of 4 days a week. Sometimes 3 days a week if it's raining in the morning or when I first started out. Keep in mind that my sessions are under 2 miles so a 3-day run week is 6 miles/week and a 4-day run week is 8 miles/week for me. You're much faster and as Azatol said, if you're sore the next day, slow down during your runs. Right now, the runs should be getting easier and easier. After you finish the app, you can make them harder and harder

Thanks, Anne and Ruthie. Since I've ballooned up, it is seriously difficult for me to achieve yoga posses. The flexibility isn't really an issue. It's things like my stomach getting in the way. When I bend over to tie my shoes, my lungs are compressed on my thighs making it seriously difficult to breathe and I'm gasping for air at the end. This isn't the way I want to go down! My coworker is trained in tai chi and has offered to train me, but hasn't had the time to practice himself. We'll see. 11/19/15 Thursday W7D3 So, I don't know what craziness prompted me, but I've been playing with the idea of wearing a weighted vest throughout the day to increase my weight and muscle mass passively (in addition to the running, sleeping, eating better/less regimen) just to see what it's like. I wore my friend's 10 vest yesterday and by the end of the day my shoulders were aching. When I took it off, I thought, "Wow, I couldn't believe I had all that weight on a month ago!" My friend asked if I wanted to run with it today. I agreed to try it. I strapped the vest very loosely so it wasn't pressing on my lungs. This caused the vest to wobble a bit when I started running, but I soon didn't notice. It was tough, but I felt the gratifying weighing down and my muscles working a bit harder. My lungs had a much easier time than yesterday. My pace ended up fairly well even though I felt like I was going slower at times due to the extra weight. The only negative thing that occurred was my left instep rubbing against the shoe with 10 minutes left. I tried to run on the outside of my left foot to not put pressure on the instep, but it still rubbed some. I'm not sure if that gait will cause issues further down the road. I'm so happy I was able to complete W7D3 with the 'weight' I started with. Today, was much easier than a month ago, even at shorter running intervals. I'm grateful for how much improvement I've seen/felt. Next week will be a bit of a challenge. I could push myself to run M-Th in order to get 4 runs earlier in the week. The problem is: when I take 3-4 days rest in a row, my next run really suffers. I'm not sure how I'll handle the Monday after Thanksgiving if I don't run on Black Friday. I may have to take my weekday rest day per normal and bring my running clothes with me during Thanksgiving holiday to run on Friday.

dlsacks, I would repeat it. After finishing the session, start it again. When the app asks if you want to overwrite the saved data, tap 'yes.'

I believe the only data the app saves is the date of completion. Since the timer just runs through to the end, I think the app saves whether you completed the session or not. On iPhone, you can swipe right to see past session completion dates.

I fixed my shin splints with this running form: After switching my running style, I avoided the excruciating pain in my shins. For several weeks into the program, my feet/calves/shins were still sore as my body developed those muscles to support my weight during impact. Remember, pain is your body telling you that your body is out of alignment (suggestion to go to running store to have them analyze your gait). For soreness without pain, your body gets stronger each time you run and you will get to the point of not being sore.

5 days a week, I throw two cups of greens (rotated between Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and Romaine hearts), 3 cups of fruit (banana, pineapple, and mango), 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, a few drops of grapefruit seed extract, and 2 cups of almond or rice milk, totaling around 600 calories for breakfast/brunch. I hardly had any fruits or vegetables before I made these smoothies. It's given my body the much needed nutrients, energy, and helped my digestive and skin health as well as clear my mind. Stress has been building up for the last few weeks and I've been experiencing many of the symptoms. I didn't realize it was stress (and therefore wasn't able to manage it) and couldn't figure out why my mental disorders were popping back up. I had a breakdown yesterday and had some severe chest pain, racing heart, and was in a low mood. I couldn't taste anything I ate even though I was eating some of my favorite foods. I had to shove some food into me for dinner just so I could meet the day's minimum. That is very, very odd for me as I love to eat. Since I've been running, sleeping, eating healthier, I'm not really sure how to reduce my stress other than avoiding or minimizing my stress triggers. Pardon me if I'm a little off right now as my body/mind are in a weird place. 11/18/15 Wednesday W7D3 Wow. Did I just do Week 7 Day 3? Am I really near the end of the app? Did I really just start this app 8.5 weeks ago? Telling someone who's never run in their life, someone who hated running for 20 seconds, someone who thought that running "just wasn't for them" that she could run for 25 minutes straight without ragged breathing is just insane. Insane and wonderful. I started my monthly this morning and there was some struggle in the run, but the beginning and mostly throughout had a kind of bounce and bounding forward energy. I felt a little pressure on my left arch because I was almost bounding up and down (thinking about a dog lopping forward). I went so much faster today than yesterday and Friday (okay, so much faster is a relative term, but it doesn't matter to me. I am happy!) Since I generally run at the same pace and run the same route, I reach the same place when the cool down timer starts. This time, I had 6 minutes left on my timer when I reached the spot. It spurned me on (even though a 25 minute run is 3 minutes longer than the 22 minute run, so I really was only a minute faster, but I felt good about it, so no harm). The only downside is I wanted to continue running, but it's a weird grassy area, so I had to slow down through it. I want to increase the distance on the part before I turn around, but it's a giant hill and I want to practice lesser inclines right now so I am going to have to find a new route. I love that every time I repeat a session, I feel it's easier/I get faster. It's a great feeling. I'm not sure if I want to repeat Week 7 for the rest of this week or move onto week 8. Once I finish Week 8, I'll have a lot of repeating to get to get my time down. My first goal after finishing the app is to complete 5k in a session (warm up and cool down included). My second goal is to run 5k (not including warm up and cool down). This is really exciting. I hope I can find better ways to manage my stress because I don't want to become sidelined.

Welcome, Mat! Keep us updated about your session progress. You can post it here or create a new thread in the accountability session. You owe yourself and your kids to feel great and have the energy to keep up! All you have to do is take one day at a time for 3 days a week and you will amaze yourself.

Way to go, Linita&i! Glad you listened to your body for your limits and didn't get down on yourself. It's so true that you're body gets stronger quickly, letting you meet your goals. Keep it up!

Ruthie, how did your W5D3 run go? Were you able to get shoes? Looking forward to your updates!

Sean, whenever I take off 3 or 4 days, the run after is really rough. I bet your shin pain was related to that. When I did w6d1, my calves and feet were very sore. The first time I did Week 6 was when I first had serious pain. It was the first time doing c25k that I had doubts. I was afraid I'd have to stop or quit. Thankfully, when I repeated Week 6, it went much. much smoother. Don't get down on yourself if you experience a bump. Just focus on your breathing in the moment and keeping your core tall. When you repeat, your body will enjoy the ease with improvement.

Sean, I think Azatol's signature shoes that he started c25k in January, ran 5K in March, and 10k and half marathon at the end of October this year.

Great job, on W2D3! I'm glad you were able to adjust your breathing to make it easy for you! Glad about your shoes, too! Keep it up!

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! It seems like MapMy apps track accurately, even if you turn around on the same route. I noticed I was having a lot of spacing out/concentration/depression/anxiety issues and have been doing much better on the b12. 11/16/15 Monday W7D2 "I wish every running day felt like a Monday." As long as I'm consistent during the week (run Monday, Thursday, Friday and either Tuesday or Wednesday), the following Mondays are awesome. I slept soooo much yesterday and just felt like this 25 minute interval I did today was an easy effort and I went a little faster than usual. I hit the left toes numb thing with 4 minutes left. I'm going to attribute it to some medical conditions and not worry about it if it doesn't get worse since it pretty much stops after I end the run. Non-running updates below: I've been trying to maintain a calorie deficit. It seems that near the end of the week, I start getting very, very hungry. I let myself have more on Friday and Saturday (more, but a controlled amount, not a binge). I felt much better. I spent almost the entire day Sunday sleeping except for waking up to eat a little. I am going to allow myself more calories towards the end of the week for energy. I've been reading a lot about fat loss. I'm seeing changes every few days in the mirror and am getting worried about having a lot of excess skin after I lose (I really don't want to consider surgery). I'm torn between the mindset of wanting to lose weight slowly or not at all and loosing as fast as I can safely. Here's why: a couple of friends and I had prepaid a boxing gym membership together. This gym is filled with heavy bags and the workouts are heavy bag work (boxing and kickboxing) and other exercises (jumping jacks, push ups, lunges, etc.). There's no sparring involved in my training. While I've been a member of this gym for over a year now, I never lost weight (in fact, it increased, in fat and muscle). I felt strong punching and great about it, but I had no stamina (cardio endurance). It wasn't until I started c25k that I learned to breathe while exercising (I used to hold my breath and would get dizzy and light-headed) and improve my heart and lung function. Well, when you lose weight, about half is muscle, half is fat. Sure, you are loosing weight and getting smaller, but your body composition (muscle to fat ratio) likely stays the same. The only way to change that is to build muscle (mostly through strength and resistance training). I'm a beginner who had no stamina (no cardio capability). Even though I was heavy, I always felt strong, I could comfortably move 60 lb boxes, I could throw my weight and hit hard. During the week I had my monthly, I'd feel so weak. I'd struggle to lift the lightest 10 lb weights. I really hated the feeling of weakness that week. I'd just want that week to be over. I've been loosing weight recently. When I went boxing on Saturday morning, I was so weak that the bag was swinging all over the place and it was really hard to pop the bag. I hate feeling weak, hungry, and spacey. Whenever I'm experiencing that feeling, I'm going to add more calories to the next day. I'm also going to try to add in more core/large muscle group strengthening to try to maintain my muscle while loosing fat. I'm okay with the scale staying if I don't have to suffer feeling weak. Sorry for the rambling post today.

HRCJ, put all the running jargon and gear out of your head. I second Wendell in recommending a running store fitting. I hated running my whole life. I had the false notion that people fall into one of two categories: can run and can't run (with myself in the latter category). This is completely UNTRUE! I started this program able to run for about 30-45 seconds. I'd have horrible, horrible shin splints, side stiches, dizzy, and gasping for breath afterwards. Following the sessions one at a time in C25K and repeating any sessions I needed, I was able to increase the amount of time I can run. It's not fast. That's ok. Speed work comes later. If you use this app 3 times a week and listen to your body (adjust posture/stride if you feel any pain, slow down your running so you can talk, etc.) you WILL see improvement. If you have any moisture-wicking pants to run in, use those instead of jeans. If you don't, try cotton pants (if you're on a budget). I actually found performance capri pants on clearance at Sears this time last year. They were originally ~$40, but I got them for $7. Put your faith into the first workout. If it's too difficult, try again tomorrow and see if you can complete more of it. Let us know how Week 1 Day 1 goes for you.

Yay, Sean! We have all come so far! Good job, everyone! You all, rock! Ruthie, I second you creating an accountability thread. It's very gratifying for yourself, and fun and encouraging for everyone else.

Anne, if you want to use MapMy apps to track your shoes, you can just choose a model and give it a nickname, and then choose that one each time you use your shoes (were you the one with Reeboks?) That way you can easier get a general idea when to change your shoes. For your speed, don't worry about it. Run at the pace that's comfortable for YOU to talk. You will speed up at the end; just focus on increasing your endurance.

The end of the 5k app is further along than the beginning of the 10k app. So you could move to the 10k app and choose where you want to start.

3-4 years ago my iron was fine (haven't measure since then). I do eat spinach about 5 days a week (except this week when I'm rotating my vegetables). 11/12/15 Thursday W6D3 Didn't get a chance yesterday to post about my run, so here's a quick update. I felt great doing W6D3 (22 minute interval). It was WAAAY easier than last week. Remember my post about numb left toes? When I reached the same area of road, my left toes went slightly numb again, but it was very slight this time. I think it's due to the road (see below). 11/13/15 Friday W7D2 I was originally planning on repeating W6D3 today and then start Week 7 next week. I have this fear of starting a long run on Mondays (being more or less rested on Monday is a hit or miss). I was even planning on running W6D2 on Monday and then Day 3 the next session and finally get into Week 7 later in the week. For some reason, I just started Week 7 this morning. I looked at the session and thought 25 minutes? I can do it. It wasn't until I was in the warm up session that I remembered my plan. I did not want to redo the warm up so I just went with it. I started out really rested, energized and slightly springy. I checked in with myself periodically. With 7 minutes left, I had a major downer, but pushed through it. I was fine after that. Unfortunately, in the last 4 minutes, the instep on my left foot really started hurting. It felt like a blister was developing; that the skin was rubbed raw. I really didn't want to stop, so I pushed through it. I tried to run gingerly to minimize the rubbing, but it continued. When I reached the infamous numb spot on the road, my left toes got a little numb. I was almost at a walking pace with running form as I passed that section of road. So, now I really think that section of the road is something to watch out for. The road is grooved vertically, banked to the outer side, and there are divots and such in the road. So numbness not much to worry about, I hope. As far as the instep is concerned, I think these are the contributing factors: I wore my socks from yesterday to sleep because it was cold and ran in those. They were moist when I pulled them off my feet (wetness + friction = blister). I will change socks if I sleep in them next time. I felt the inside of my shoe where the instep hits and there is a ridge. I could be proton-ating at the end of the run due to compensating for the banked road and my instep hitting the side of the shoe causing an issue. I did jumping jacks on Tuesday and my arches hurt (the large forces in plyo tears up my feet). I stopped my jumping jacks pretty early, but I still tore up my arches. Lastly, my feet have been getting smaller with fat loss so my running shoes may not be too big. I tie the shoes as tight as I can and they support my arches from the tops of my feet, but sometimes I feel the bottoms of my feet sliding around my running shoes. I know I should go to a specially running store and have them analyze my gait and size me properly, but I already have other expenses coming my way. All the shoes I rotate on a daily basis have holes and need replacing. One is 18 months old and the other one is over 3 years. The 18 month old shoe was soled with bullhide leather so no tread. The 3 year + shoe has had no tread for more than a year and the entire shape of the sole has been ground down at a diagonal line (a neutral stride would be supinating because of the angle of sole now). I really need new work/daily shoes. I'm also looking to purchase from a company that does leather/"barefoot" styles as my experience has shown it has the most improvement in my foot muscles, ground feel, proprioception, balance, and comfort. They are relatively pricey. /sigh Does anyone know if MapMyRun/MapMyFitness measures accurately if you run a route halfway and then run backwards on it? I run halfway down a route and then run back to balance my leg muscles.

Are you using iPhone? On my app, I swipe to the right to bring previous days to the selection box.

Pushin60, feel free to repeat any day. Each time you repeat a session, you will get noticeably stronger. I know you'll be able to finish Day 1 soon. I understand that your weight is making you uncomfortable, I am currently 76 lbs overweight. If you train consistently and listen to your body (adjust your posture/stride if you feel pain, slow down to a pace where you can talk, etc.), your body WILL get stronger, you WILL slim down, and if you eat a calorie deficient (eat less calories than your body burns), you WILL lose weight. It took me a long time before I started loosing weight (even though the inches have been coming off) because I was reducing my calories very gradually. Pushin60, you can do this!

Welcome, Karlaeliz. How is your progress? @Natcatvet, wait until you finish the 5K app, then do speed intervals. Choose your interval time and run faster or sprint on the quick interval and slow and easy run on the slow interval. An example would be going back to Week 1 Day 1 and sprinting during the 60 second runs and running during the 90 second walks. Please wait until you finish the app first. Get your endurance up to at least 30 minutes before you work on speed. Of course, if the above technique is too challenging, you can try sprinting for 15 seconds, and run for 5 minutes or whichever pattern works best for you!

Welcome, ChicagoGirl! I have no doubt if you train consistently with the app and listen to your body (adjust your posture/stride if you feel any pain, slow down to be able to talk while running) that you'll be ready for that 5K. You go, girl!