TheRoseWithin~Shannon

Hi BMC! It is absolutely OK if you cannot run the full 5K. Focus on what you can do today, and "so what!" on the rest. AND GOOD JOB on pushing yourself to reach further - your son will see an empowering exemplar of perseverance! Keep at it. As Azatol shared above: "If you get out there and try, you've already won!" So, no need to scared, as the rest will come with practice, (your hard work and determination)! Very cool that you have a half marathon in your sights! I'm still quite far behind, yet I look forward to having this goal as well! Awesome!! CHEERS!

Ditto - thank you so much for your service! Ditto again - loved reading how your son motivated and inspired you! And thank you for trusting perfect strangers with sharing deeply personal information about weight. I have seen many share here about weight. Now, perhaps it is only me, yet in my opinion that requires a great deal of courage for women (and possibly some men). Bravo! Lastly, C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s on day 1 Teena! WayHAY to go siSTAR! I am looking forward to learning more about you and hearing about your C25K progress! You can do this! First for yourself, and definitely because your son inspires you to be your best you!!! CHEERS!

LOVED what Trish and Teena shared: Shoot for being healthy, (nutrition and exercise) whatever that is for you try not to worry about the weight so much, it will melt off overtime as you continue to exercise and eat nutritious meals and then lace those shoes up and get moving! Warmest of welcomes Bianca!! So happy to have you here! If all you do today is decide to exercise only ... that is a worthy; empowering life-affirming decision and goal! The rest (further goals set) naturally come as you stay with decisions that move you forward. Please keep us posted on your progress. I have experienced so much wisdom and inspiration shared here among members - awesome energy - confidence boosting get-up-and-go ooomph!! CHEERING you on from afar, yet near in heart!! YOU GOT THIS!

Hi Jlwill!! Congratulations on your weight loss (25lbs!!!!) and continued goal setting!!! What an exciting fun run to pick for your first 5K this year! Your happiness with what you have so far achieved is keenly felt, and is significant! When you shared that all that is taking place now (weight loss goals, discovery of the app, forums and decision to run a 5K) are perfect timing to keep you consistently moving forward and confident, likewise, I feel all this is perfect timing as well, AND have found all this to be highly motivating and confidence building! Then you shared you were feeling nervous, (I sensed nervous excitement). This hit home for me. I could clearly see your excitement in sharing, and can totally relate to being nervous. In the past, that kind of pre-excitement and nervousness kept me on my toes in a good way, and my tummy filled with butterflies right up until the starting gun went off. I am so excited for you, a long with being motivated by your energy; happiness and nervousness!! Like you, I am participating in a 5K in March (St Patty's) - so, I am cheering with you, from afar yet very near in heart, AND I am looking forward to freeing a few excited butterflies, (and nervous moths) ! I hope you keep us posted in regards to your weight loss and your C25K progress! So happy you are a member!! Cheers!

Right On! Picking up where you left off and moving forward! Cheers Tasha!!!

I noticed that too. I simply let it run quietly until it was caught up to where I was currently.

Thank you so much Azatol. Your experience is appreciated and I will act on what applies definitely! It was important for me to share that I appreciate that you do not come across in a 'It's worked for me. It will work for you" attitude. I've noticed, via many posts, that you recognize and acknowledge that we are each different. Your experience, honesty and humbleness, I deeply appreciate. Love it! You make it easy to engage and to absorb! Thank you!! I watched the video. I have not tried the leg exercise. It looks like it would hurt my knees - like it would place a lot of stress on the knee itself? I will try it out after this evenings walk - yep, I took your suggestion on walking. I have also committed to walking on my off days. About my knees (to give a bigger picture): I have a difficult time squatting down and then getting back up without pulling myself up via the counter, (so embarrassing to admit as I let myself go). Also, my son was here yesterday. I had no idea what planks were. Now that I know ... I want to try! I'm going to walk for now and add running as I can. It did feel a tiny bit better yesterday, so that's good. Achy even as I sit here. I'm going to look up how much walking strengthens knees later today - for support and encouragement. **** Update added: W3D3 - Complete!!

Right on Deb!! Keep it up, pretty soon, you will not be concerned with what you assume others may or may not be thinking as your confidence in self will explode within, and 'their thoughts' will simply be 'their thoughts' ONLY! You're out there! Congrats!

Sooooooooooooo very cool Azatol! Reading your above post gave me goosebumps!!

Right on Kelly! 18th: I look forward to hiking in the mountains eventually - right now that sounds so intimidating to me. LOL Great job! 20th: Congrats on W8D1 (C210K) ---- Awesome-sauciness!!! Can't wait!

W3D1 was challenging for me as well. Congrats on gettin' 'er done Gnik ... keep at it! Cheers!

WE ARE ALL MOVING! Love it! Congrats on everyone's accomplishments up above! And Jay ... hope you decide to stay with this in spite of and because of your huffing and puffing! You'll continue to see changes physically, mentally and emotionally with time, patience and your determination. Ok humorous story ... A couple or so years after having my fourth child, I decided to sign up for a St Patty's Day run. I was not too terribly out of shape body wise, yet I did need a boost to my endurance. The run was a start towards me getting back on track. This run is held along the Columbia River every year - a lot of people participate as you may imagine. Opposite side are many apartment buildings/condos and a couple of nice restaurants. At the finish line there is a restaurant called McDougals - very popular back then. It had an outdoor deck which was loaded with folks this day, and of course their were scores of people visiting and lingering around the finish line. I was the very last person to cross that finish line - no other runner present save for me. Now, of course I was self-conscious ("everyone is looking at me; judging me!") about being the last one in, and the only runners I saw near me were the ones who had already crossed the finish line and were walking in the opposite direction - they cheered me on not surprisingly. Yay! Nevertheless, my self-conscious state remained, only to become hyper-aware when I noticed the police car escorting me towards the finish line. They were following wayHAY too close behind, so I slowed down, (as if I could go any slower) and I jogged alongside their window. I smiled, chuckled and shook my head (probably rolled my eyes too) and asked playfully, "Would it be at all possible for you to hang back about 1/4 mile?" They let out good-natured laughs, cheered me on and told me I was doing great. I laughed with them, at myself and continued on. Cool thing is ... they dropped a considerable distance back. Score! When I crossed that finish line it sounded as if everyone burst out cheering and clapping - lots of, WhooHooo's! and Way to Go's! ... it was loud! I was red - thank gawd that redness was masked from self-exertion. This was an extremely embarrassing and funny experience being the center of attention as I crossed that finish line. I imagined the whoops and hollers were not too different from what the first place runner experienced when he/she crossed the finish line - minus the embarrassing escort of a police car. Friends didn't let me live that down for a good while afterwards. And they shouldn't have! Certainly, I'll never forget that experience. It brought a self-reminder that people are more for me than against me. Most importantly, it was a good reminder to take myself less seriously - my assumptions of what others may or may not be thinking STEAL MY JOY! No one else was taking me seriously, 'cept in a good way. I'm still working on this/in this area today, (yada yada).

Hi Sparky! Congrats on losing 50lbs, and setting a goal to run a 5k! We are here ... with you heart and soul! Hope you check out Accountability 2015 boards and keep us posted with you progress! Cheers!

What is Diva Dash? <--link This sounds fun!! LOL Their home page motivates me to focus on more core strengthening exercises. So far, I can't step over a chain easily, (chain blocks entrance near apartments) - I can at the beginning of a workout, yet not after. I WILL THOUGH, especially as I stay with this. I'll be 52 in September ... bet I'll be doing a gig over the wire by then.

Hi Indri, Warmest of welcomes! Congrats on 10 minutes/2 months of exercise! You are staying with this in spite of and because of challenging weather conditions! Right ON! Although you are far away, I am with you; near in heart and soul! Please keep us posted! Cheers!

Hi Sado, congrats on choosing a healthier lifestyle!! I look forward to hearing what workout regime you discover that suits you perfectly. Awesome that you are including exercise - running, weight lifting or both? Like Trish shared, I too wish you the best of luck. We definitely have a phenomenal support group here if you needed!

Hi Ricky!! Better than luck ..... I am imagining your triumph! Your improved health, confidence, endurance, and a whole heck of a lot of fun on completing each step of the way. Please keep us posted in regards to your experience, and if you are seeking accountability buddies ... head to the Accountability 2015 boards. LOTS of support and encoruagement to be found! Cheers! Welcome to the boards!

Hi JacksonJo! Warmest of welcomes! Congrats on beginning! I look forward to hearing how you continue to do ... from W1D1 to W8D3! Please keep us posted! And yes simply beginning is a huge confidence booster! Imagine staying with this! CHEERS!

Hi Gr33ce! Congrats on past achieves and how exciting you are on your last week! I had the same question. Based on how well I am doing, I am going to do the same thing Trish suggested - skip ahead in C210K to where the app says to run 30 minutes and I'll pick up from there, (vs. starting at the very beginning). Early praise and encouragement for your continued success! Please keep us posted! CHEERS!

Congrats!!! W3D1 was challenging for me as well.

Right on JC!! CHEERS! "Holy bananas" LOL I may have to adopt this phrase!

How exciting Jc! And congrats on signing up. As silly as this may sound ... trust your gut. You know what your body is capable of. Trust it - be that pushing more or holding back. Either way, you'll nail that 5k - walking, walk/run or running all the way. On par is awesome! Celebrate! I like what Az shared ... you've nailed it so far. Keep nailing it ... over and over until you beat your best

Hi Elle!! Someone will answer, I promise. Hang in there, (it is hard waiting for an answer right! LOL). Also, congrats on completing week 1 in spite of and because of an injury!! Right on! Having broke my foot twice (playing football with peers and then again with kids) it is not fun waiting for this injury to heal. Ice helped (right after and then after my cast was taken off) and then time. Curious, how did you fracture your metatarsal?