I've had to scale back on running this week. I read Galloway's book on running and I think I pushed myself too hard at the end of Couch25K. I completed C25K on Monday and I am very fatigued. I think the last 2-3 weeks I've been feeling down. Yesterday, I spent most of the day in bed and wasn't able to do much at all. Following Galloway's advice I'm going to scale 30%. I went down to 3:1 run/walk intervals for 20 minutes today. Tonight, I went for a 1/2 hour walk. Friday, I'm going to do the same thing. Next week I'm going to do three 30 minute runs but with run/walk intervals. I think I was on the path to getting hurt soon if my body hadn't shut down on me. I loved saying I could run for so and so minutes without walking but at what cost? Given my history of asthma and 42 yrs. of inactivity I think the end of C25K was a bit much for me. I love running and I'd like to do it for a lifetime.

I'm not experienced enough to plan for the whole year. I plan to run a second 5K next month and I may do one in March.

Thanks! Let us know how it goes if you do it. If you can get past 30 days you might get hooked and not care about any excuse. I am so excited on my running days.

Thanks, Heather. I so understand what you mean when you say you HATE the summer heat. I lost a mole this summer due to the summer heat. May the mole RIP. I got a heat rash and I think I was scratching my neck in my sleep. I came in from a run to take a shower. I scratched the heat rash on my neck. When I took off my sweaty shirt blood was running down my chest. I had scratched off a mole! It was a very bloody event! I just checked to see if it grew back yet. Nope. Ha ha. Yep, C25K is a gentle program. I turned on my iPod and then the Couch25K app on my iPhone. A lady tells you when to run and when to walk. I think it was $1.99. I like your description of running away from it all. I don't feel like that because my children usually join me for part of the run by running, riding their scooters, or riding their bikes.

I'm sorry your m-i-law passed away. :grouphug: Become my WTM friend, Free Indeed, and drop me a line when you start. I love running talk. :) The C25K forum was of great help to me at coolrunning.com. You can join a thread with folks who start 'round about the same you start the program. It's so encouraging to go thru others who are start with you and end with you.

You're welcome. Melissa that sounds like a great idea. Sarah Palin was recently interviewed by Runners World magazine. Palin is a short distance runner. She grew up in a running family. It was an encouraging article. I think you would enjoy the article, regardless of whether you like her or not. The picture that Newsweek magazine used was from a photo shoot with RW magazine. I really enjoyed reading the article.

I'm envious of your weather as well, Tammy. But I guess the grass in not greener on the other side, eh? Ha ha.

Lynn, maybe give yourself a little reward here and there and make a goal for yourself. At some point I bought cute wicking running shorts, wicking tops in colors I liked, a colorful watch, one song from iTunes a week for my OntheGo running playlist. At another point I threw away all of my fat clothes and bought some new outfits. Being a Christian, when things got real tough I would say this scripture out loud, "I can do all things thru Christ which strengtheneth me" Phil. 4:13 KJV. Running is all mental. You have to replace the ugly voices and lies with something pure and noteworthy and of good report. If I can do this with crappy lungs you probably can too. Thanks pack of fun. I sure didn't start out that way. lol ~Karen~

I completed Couch 25K today in sweltering heat. It's 81 where I live and feels like 89. Yucko. My story began when I attended a homeschool convention in May 09. A couple of days after I returned I felt like I had wounds all over my legs and thighs. I was completely out of shape. The distance from my hotel room to the van was about 1/2 mile round trip. A couple of times I left something in the van. I must have walked a total of 10 miles that weekend. I decided to start walking to get in better shape that week. I walked one hour a day no matter how hot it was or if it looked like it would rain or whatever. I went back in the house to check on the kids every 15 minutes. I live in a circular development that is 1/2 mile. If anyone had an argument or complaint their consequence was that they would have to walk with me and keep up with me. If it was blistering hot I would let them ride their bike. My child who tends to be the most challenging only suffered the consequence three or four times. :D I lost 14 lbs. I started my boys running laps in July or August. I didn't want them to every be in the pitiful shape that I was in. In September I noticed I stopped losing weight and that my heart rate was not raising any longer. I decided to run and I ran for about 20 seconds a couple of time. I felt like I was going to perish. When I got home I felt great and very high! I was hooked! I started Couch 25K on 9/14/09. I did have some complications as far as asthma. My asthma doctor recommended that I use my bronchodilator inhaler 1/2 hour before I run and to let him know if that didn't work. That only worked for two or three runs. So now I also take Singulair at bedtime. I had to repeat some weeks and finished the program in 13 weeks instead of 9 weeks. Whatever. Who cares? I don't. I've never been in shape. My mind is more clear. I got rid of a lot of clutter in my house. An injury to my ulnar nerve improved. I think running facilitated that by improving circulation to that nerve. I ran a 5 K slowly on Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to run another one next month. My 10 y/o son runs the 5Ks with me. Fun! I'm more confident now. I was the girl in P.E. who watched everyone else and wished I could be more athletic. Exercise induced asthma probably slowed me down as well as just not being in any kind of shape. I'm not as afraid of the very sick patients who come involuntarily to be admitted at my job either. I work as an admissions nurse in a psychiatric hospital. I know I could still get hurt but I'm not as afraid, you know? My next goal is to increase my distance and to become a one hour runner.

My son dropped my Kodak camera on cement too. I mailed it away for repairing. It was only two weeks old. My son handed it to me and let go too quickly. :( It worked for eight more months and then it stopped working. I paid $69 for the repair. They returned the camera to me in a bout ten days. For me, it was worth eight more months since it was a brand new camera. Now I have a Cannon. :)

What an adorable video. I ran my first 5K with our 10 y/o this Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed it. He had a little trouble pacing himself. It was his first race too. He was running too fast and running out of steam. He never complained. He would walk for short periods then run to catch up with me. We finished with the same exact time. I know one day he's going to leave me in the dust. We are looking forward to another 5K next month. The next race has a Kid's Fun Run that our 5 and 7 y/o plan to run.

Angie W., what is better about the Wii Fit Plus?

Oh, Chickenpatty, I'm sorry about your foot. If I couldn't run I would be devastated. Today was my first time running since my first 5K on Thanksgiving. I was so glad to get out there. I have some tingling on the left side of my face that started on 11/15/09 and I am off balance a few times a day. I was so afraid I might miss my first race. Thankfully, though, I feel fine when I run. Keep us posted. I hope your foot heals soon. I wonder if you need new shoes. What do you think?

I thought that you might say you were doing that daily. I'm a novice runner, only running since September. I've done lot of reading on running in books, a running forum and & in magazine articles. All of the experienced runners say speak against daily running. Your body will perform better if it has a day off to recover. Your body needs some time off to repair itself from the trauma of running. It would be better for you to swim, do strength training, or bicycling on your off day. I recently read a similar situation on a running message board. There was a lady running 3-4 miles daily with some back pain. She was advised to allow for done off days. You don't want to get hurt. I think you might do better if you follow a specific training schedule that allows for some off days.

How many times a week are you doing this?

There was no rain this morning. Yay! My 10 y/o and I finished our first 5K this morning. It's a good thing that my husband is a planner. He helped me to figure out what time to wake up and what time we ought to leave the house. I'm not good at that. I hardly slept during the night and I had a ridiculous dream. In my dream I was interviewing for a job as a nurse for cats and dogs who would receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The interviewer crouched behind a chair as she interviewed me across the room. She just peeked at me every now and then. Ha ha. I explained to her that I thought I was applying for a job taking care of humans and not animals. I told her I was not a dog.person.at.all. and that I loved cats but was allergic to them. Upon awakening.I had my usual pre-run cup of green tea and drank 2 glasses of water. When we made it to the race site I realized I forgot my inhaler. I switched from the passenger's seat to the driver's seat and sped back home. My husband doesn't like to drive when we're late. Note to self:The night before a race I must put my inhaler in the van. That way I can't leave it. We warmed up by walking for five minutes and running for ten. We walked to the back of all the runners and did our penguin run. After 38 minutes I looked at my watch and decided that I felt bad and since I had never ever ran for 38 minutes I ought to stop running. So I walked for approximately five minutes. Then I told my son it was time for us to run again. We saw the finish line in sight and I told him to sprint to the finish. It's a good thing we sprinted or else we would have lengthened our time even more. I'm a little disappointed in our time but I must realize that I haven't completed the Couch 25K program yet. I still have two weeks left and I'd only been covering two miles in 25 minutes at home. We have our eyes on a race in January and we hope for a better time then. Until such time we will be content with today's time of 43:16. We have no photos of our crossing the finish line. My husband thought the battery was dead on the camera. The truth is that he had the camera set on playback instead of point and shoot. :-/ We had a great time! My ten y/o and I both ended up with the same exact time. The highlight of the race was the man who sped past us in his wheelchair. Boy was he fast!

Thanks everybody! It's raining cats and dogs tonight too. My dh doesn't like surprises. He's a planner. He wanted us to take a look at the course and I was taken aback. The course looked daunting. I wish he hadn't wanted to see it beforehand. I've been running around in the 1/2 mile circle where we live for my training. I still have two weeks left in the Couch 25K program and being the penguin I am, I'm only up to 2 miles in 25 minutes. :) Brenda, I look upon that day years ago fondly. It's true. I'm totally different. Praise God for his grace and mercy. I remember asking you if you were going to homeschool J or put him in a preschool. lol You, Marissa, Denise, Kristy B., Debby B., Jeanette L., Barbaranne, K., Toni B., and so many others are all took part in who I am today. Cyrena, thanks for the keepsake idea. ~Karen~

Thanks for the do well wishes. My only memory of running in the rain is trying to get home from school gasping for air. My lungs didn't like what was in the rain. :)

I've been doing the Couch 25K program since 9-11-09. I had to repeat some weeks again and again due to asthma symptoms. I'm on a particular medication regimen now and I've completed up to Week 7 Day 3 which is running for 25 minutes without walking. Tomorrow is my first 5K. I'm so excited. I am feeling very fatigued today though. I did a ten minute kickboxing workout for the first time yesterday, some biceps and triceps curls. According to my Lose It iphone app, I am drinking enough water and I had enough calories yesterday. Now I wish I hadn't done that kickboxing workout. I am planning to go for a 1/2 hour walk today, if it would ever stop raining. I hope it's not raining tomorrow. I've never run in the rain before. ~Karen~

No way. lol. I'm training for a 5K. I wish I had seen this thread when it was posted. The Garmin just looked very pricey. I would have purchased the Nike+ipod Sports Kit. I don't really like wearing watches. I will let you all know how it goes with this Timex watch.

I'm waiting on this from Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020J1GW/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Astrid, Go for it. I walked for 3 months before I started the C25K. I lost 14 lbs. from walking. I've only lost one pound since starting the c25K but I have lost fat and gained muscle. I have asthma and had to repeat many many weeks since starting C25K on 9/11/09. Next week I hope to participate in a Turkey Trot 5K. I was very out of shape. I've never been in any kind of shape in my life. Now I'm up to running 25 minutes with no walking intervals. Skinniness is not a condition of successfully completing C25K. There are skinny people out there who are very out of shape! Take a look at this motivational email I received: <<One of the main struggles that people have in their early running days is the feeling of being self conscious about being seen by other people. Many people don't even start running in the first place, or they give up easily, or they don't do as much running as they would like, because of this negative feeling. The question I want to ask you is: "Are you too self conscious to run?" Does the fear of being seen by other people outweigh your ambitions of reaching your desired weight and improving your life? If this is a fear that either prevents you from running, or stops you from running as much as you'd like, then remember this: You have absolutely NOTHING to fear! It's easy to think that people will be looking at you and that you're somehow on "show", but the reality is that the vast majority of people will just see you and carry on with their own lives. They aren't really interested in what you're doing. Most of the people who see you run will have forgotten you even existed shortly afterwards. The majority of these people think positive thoughts like "keep it going" and "well done for putting the time and effort in". Many also wish they had the motivation to run, just like YOU. Rather than criticise or ridicule you, people actually admire what you're doing. So you should be proud and confident about your running rather than being fearful and weak. I admit that some people may say things as you run past such as "get your legs up" or "run Forest run". Is this so bad? Don't let it bother you, and don't think that it's because you're bigger than average or a slow runner. Everybody who runs hears comments like these no matter what their size or running speed. Is it worth hearing a few tiny comments occasionally but being able to lose your weight and experience the benefits of a much improved life? You bet it is! So confront this fear and conquer it. Keep getting out there running and the feelings of being self conscious will fade away. You'll soon see that it's not so bad and that you had nothing to worry about all along. People aren't going to stop what they're doing, drop everything, and laugh. Your running isn't going to be a hot topic of conversation throughout the neighbourhood. People aren't going to throw tomatoes at you as you run by. What will happen is that people will carry on with what they're doing and respect you for what you're doing. There's nothing bad about that. In fact it's good. Your simple act of running will actually motivate other people and make them think about how they can improve their lives, just as you are doing. So believe me Karen when I say that YOU have NOTHING to fear. Don't let this fear be an obstacle or an excuse that prevents you from reaching your desired weight and improving your life. The massive physical and mental health benefits that running gives you, and the effect this has in helping you lose weight, is far more important than the unjustified fear of what people think. -James Porter http://www.RunningandWeightLoss.com>>

Awesomeness!

Nifercoo, call around to running shoe stores in your area. The running store I bought my shoes donates old used shoes to Africa.

Congratulations. I shed tears when I saw your photos. It brought up a lot of emotion for me. I started walking one hour a day the last week of May 09. The last week of August I started C25K. I've had some setbacks from asthma. I'd been running 3 times a week but with fair endurance and unable to get past week 3 of the program. After seeing my asthma doctor & following his advice I was able to do tge week 3 run easily. I will be able to move up to Week 4 next week. I am looking forward to a 5k Turkey Trot next month. I never thought I would ever be in any decent kind of shape ever. I've always shied away from cardio and running. Your success and photos just brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing.