Does anybody run?

[KiaKat]

I haven't gone out in about a month. Pneumonia, crap schedule, and no energy combined to make an unscheduled pause in my workout.

2.14 miles, 25 minutes. Not bad for my first day back. A little slower and not as far as I'd been going (had gotten down to 10.45 pace over 5mi for my basic run), but overall it felt pretty good. And that was forgetting my inhaler, which was just a stupid move.

Side note: Amanda Palmer's new album, Theater is Evil, is an AWESOME running tool.

[KiaKat]

Holy crap.

2.72 miles, 32 minutes. Could have gone MUCH longer, but I was limited on time, and had to get a delivery out before work. I'm going to try for 35 minutes on Monday and see if I can hit 5K (3.1mi). If I can, that's going to be my base run, and I'll try adding on a long run once a week, working towards 10K.

The awesome thing is that this beat my recent personal best, in terms of time, distance, AND pace. My first-mile pace was a blistering (for me) 10.28, which I haven't done since HS, and my overall pace was 11.01. If I can hold an average pace of around 11, then I can do a 5K in 35 minutes, and eventually drop it to under 30 (my HS best was around 27 minutes).

Goal is to be able to do a full half-marathon (13.1 miles) in around 2 hours. That requires working up to just about a 9 minute mile. Date of goal is Presidents' Day weekend. I might actually make it.

[BookstoreEscapee]

My friend is doing a zombie run at the end of October too (in Baltimore, I think).

I keep starting a program (couch to 5K, or Runner's World's Run Your Butt Off, which is similar) and letting myself get derailed. Hurt my shoulder a few weeks ago, and anxiety and stress have been getting to me ever since (which is all the more reason I should do it, but it prevents me instead). Frustrating.

I have a podcast by Robert Ullrey called Podcasts for Running that's available on iTunes. The music's a little more techno-y than I would like (and sometimes drowns out his voice when he's giving cues to switch between walking/running) but it's not too bad. I've also put together some of my own playlists with songs of the appropriate length for each interval (one-minute songs are tough!). Sometimes I just run as far as I can and walk until I'm recovered enough to run some more and don't really keep track.

[ArcticChicken]

You can use this thing to make playlist. Basically the way it works is you put together a playlist, and then give the name of that playlist and the intervals you want to the thingy, and it sets the songs to end at the appropriate times. (i.e., you have a song that's 3:49, but you only want to run for a minute, you tell the thingy that and it goes into Itunes and sets the song to end at 1:00) You can also use it to undo that.

[BookstoreEscapee]

You can use this thing to make playlist. Basically the way it works is you put together a playlist, and then give the name of that playlist and the intervals you want to the thingy, and it sets the songs to end at the appropriate times. (i.e., you have a song that's 3:49, but you only want to run for a minute, you tell the thingy that and it goes into Itunes and sets the song to end at 1:00) You can also use it to undo that.

Oh, very cool...I will have to try that out. Thanks!

[Tanasi]

If you see me running it means a few things have happened:
1. I've run out of ammo.
2. I've broke my knife.
3. Whatever that is after me is really big and scary as I'm too old and fat to run I'll just stand and fight.

[Amina516]

SO, I meant to come back to this thread sooner, but I pretty much SUCK at keeping up a continuous communication.

Im still at it!!! Im on week 7 of the couch to 5k which means Im almost done (Week 8 is the last week). I had to do week 6 over twice. I just could not successfully get the 10 minute runs done. But by the end of the 2nd week 6, i was kicking ass. Ive run a continuous 15 minutes! That doesnt sound like much, but when you take into consideration that when I started running, going for 2 minutes was a huge accomplishment, I know Ive made progress!

Kia, i hope youre feeling better!!!

Arctic, thanks for that link!

If you see me running it means a few things have happened:
1. I've run out of ammo.
2. I've broke my knife.
3. Whatever that is after me is really big and scary as I'm too old and fat to run I'll just stand and fight.

Teehee. That is still my motto BUT at least if I have to run now, Ill be able to.

[Amina516]

I ran for 25 minutes!!! No stopping. That was about 2 miles! Im almost done with couch to 5k and I can not believe it. Thinking about my progress amazes myself. And really, if I can do it, anyone really can. Im still overweight, but my cardiovascular system is alive and kicking. Looking forward to the Zombie 5k next weekend as long as my work schedule allows (which I hope it does b/c ive already paid for it!).

[Luna Baby]

What you have accomplished is absolutely wonderful! Keep up the good work. It feels amazing, doesn't it?!? I've still been running about 3 days a week on my own and then also participated in 3 5K runs the last 3 weekends. Of those 3, I pulled out a 3rd place win in my age group in two of them! Keep up the great work!

[Amina516]

The 5k is tomorrow! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I've officially finished the couch to 5k program. I'm scared about tomorrow. It's a 5k obstacle course and there's zombies. More importantly, I can run! And I've never been able to run like this before. I'll be running through water and I'm trying to figure out which clothes are less likely to get heavy with water while still providing a modicum of warmth .

I'm so nervous.

[ArcticChicken]

Good luck!! I wish I could have done that this year. Hopefully I'll be fit enough next year.

[Luna Baby]

The 5k is tomorrow! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I'm so nervous.

Congratulations on getting to this point! Don't be nervous about your run, instead, have fun, laugh, enjoy it. It will be the first of many!

[KiaKat]

I know this is too late for tomorrow, but FYI: Neoprene is the best option for any mud or water events. It's warm, wicks water away from your body, and will dry quickly. Fila has some nice shirts, Danskin has great running tops and pants, and if you can find trail- or water-ready shoes, that's the best. Merrill has minimalist running shoes designed for trail/water, and if you go up half a size, you can wear socks (which in the winter is a necessity, no matter how overheated you get). They're great, and once you get used to them, your feet and legs and knees and hips and back and shoulders and neck thank you.

I made the mistake of running road today. Ow. Ow ow ow. Ow. *cough hack wheeze* stupid sidewalks.

[Amina516]

So, I did it. I hurt and ache. But I'm alive!!!

My friend did a wonderful job of buying me all my gear ( I paid her back). I had some compression pants with more pants on top. A neoprene shirt and a t shirt over. She even bought me gloves which came in handy for the climbing obstacles. The 5 k was a zombie editon mudder, so not only were there obstacles, I had to dodge zombies who were stealing the flags off my belt.

Did i Mention it was like 40 degrees? We were crawling in mud, and standing water. Sliding down mud hills. It was intense. I ended up falling off the cargo net ( ) and falling into the mini lake we had to wade across. But guess what?! I FINISHED! And was rewarded with free beer afterwards, as the race had been sponsored by flying dog beer.

After I got changed into some warm dry clothes, I ate a banana, some chili and a sandwich...and can I just say I have never had food more delicious than that.

My friends are all training for the Tough Mudder in June ( they're all pretty hard core), I'm not ready for that but there are def more 5ks in my future. The muddier, the better.


I'm on the left, and no I didn't finish with any flags, but neither did anyone else in our group! Damn you, zombies!

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[Amina516]

Good luck!! I wish I could have done that this year. Hopefully I'll be fit enough next year.

Fit is a state of mind! Lol. But really, I did the couch to 5k in a span of like 9 weeks and while I didn't fully prepare me it gave me a good baseline. Try that program if you can. I definitely need some upper body strength. Damn cargo nets.