Learn to Run - Who wants to do this with me??

*** New People Always Welcome ***

Hey all! A few years ago I started a "learn to run" program at my local running store. About 1/2 way through I got shingles (nasty!) and I had to quit.

Now I want to start again. I am starting on Sunday, March 11 and would love it if anyone wanted to do this with me :)

It's an 8 week course. You should do it at least 3x a week so you're ready for the next week, & don't forget to stretch before & after.  (I actually really like 4x a week & it really prepares me for the next week's numbers)

Take your car & figure out a 3.1 mile or 5 km route & then run/walk for the minutes it says below until you reach 3.1 miles or 5 km.

Week 1 - Walk 3 mins, Run 1 min
Week 2 - Walk 3 mins, Run 2 mins
Week 3 - Walk 2 mins, Run 3 mins
Week 4 - Walk 2 mins, Run 5 mins
Week 5 - Walk 2 mins, Run 7 mins
Week 6 - Walk 2 mins, Run10 mins
Week 7 - Walk 1 min, Run 14 mins
Week 8 - Walk 30 seconds, Run 18 mins 

It also says for week 8, if you find that you don't HAVE to stop running after the 18 minutes, then by all means, carry on without the walking break.

Dee

Excellent Running Tips - Compiled by inci_vinci (from suggestions/experiences contained in this thread) on page 46, post # 913.  All new runners would benefit greatly by reading these prior to beginning. Good luck all!!!!!!!!! 

Oh and while you're at it, drop over to the Mission: Run Around the World thread & add your miles there!!!!

**********************

GRADUATION LIST: The following people have started this running program (or one similar) & can now run 5K (without walking), congrats to all of you!!!!

• nightc1
• deejlb
• punkybrew
• pozesara
• elagain
• shavenyak
• sarah_11235
• jillithan
• inci_vinci
• missyrayn
• zarelha
• sicknes69
• dhwebb
• bignate0100
• marneedear
• tabathar
• wxforecaster

Podcast week 6, day 1!  I was a bit disappointed that they took us back to running intervals again - 5 and 8 minute runs (I am so OVER those! :)) so I picked up the pace a bit instead.  I also am traveling, so I had to do about 8 laps around 2 hotel parking lots and 2 fast food places, so it was also pretty darn boring (although I did get a thumbs-up from a few men who were sitting on the front porch and saw me run by a few times).  I also realized how nauseated I get by fast-food smells.

But I do get to run 25 minutes on day 3, so there's that to look forward to - and I'll be back home, so I may run it in the park!  I am trusting that the cool runnings people have a plan.

The only other thing was that I seem to have found some Carolina allergies I never had before, because my throat kept wanting to close up, but I was able to work through it.

inci_vinci - No probs, run as much as you want.  I am doing my runs on my vacation, so I can hold my holier-than-thouness over your head. :)  I'm also on Week 6, run 2 ... so now you can catch up!

deejb - hope things are all healed up for you. I hate cricks!

missyrayn - way to keep your priorities straight!  Hope you bought something fabulous with the fiance.

bignate - if I tried to set my alarm far away from my bed to get up at 6:00 am I think my hubby would strangle me on day 1!  I do know what you mean about the running.  I love getting out of the house, and having the time all to myself, with no electronic doodads calling my name (laptop, cellphone, etc.)  I do use my ipod since I'm doing the Podcasts, but I zone out and it's just "white noise" while I think and work through stuff and talk to lizards and birds in my head! :)

born2bird - sorry about your injury!  My hubby had a torn meniscus (muscle around the kneecap) and the symptoms are very similar to yours. From the outside it felt like someone had poured a cup of water into his knee and he could move his kneecap around in it.  It hurt so much he couldn't walk.  Luckily he only needed rest, a knee brace, lots of ibuprofen, and ice and it went down in a week; he's had it before, and sometimes it takes a few weeks if he's being stubborn and refusing to wear his knee brace and continuing to go up the stairs.  He also just started taking Hyaluronic Acid (sp?) and swears it's done wonders for all his joints.

sarah_11235 - congrats on your new Personal Best!  I hope to be doing at least a 35-minute 5K by the Virtual 5K on July 4! 

katefafa - welcome back, and take it slow!  The worst thing is to have a relapse!

Have fun, all! 

Ah HAH!!!

I ran intervals on the treadmill tonight. 1 minute fast, 1 minute regular. I ran the fast parts anywhere from 6.0 - 6.3 mph, and it felt a bit slower than what I was running last time on the track when the Nike+ was still thinking I was running 11:20/mile. Which means that as I get faster overall, I will probably need to recalibrate the Nike+ regularly to keep it accurate on the long runs... and I will need to keep doing any intervals or other varying-speed training on the treadmill if I want accurate numbers.

Oh well, that's life. At least I have super-accurate calorie counting now!

Good Morning!!

Well, I went to the doctor yesterday because my knee was huge and I couldn't bend it and steps were impossible. I feel like such a wuss!! I have to go for an MRI to make sure I haven't torn my ACL and of course no running until I get the results. Once the anti-inflammatory drugs kick in I will start walking and I hope to get to the elliptical tonight. It feels a bit better this morning and the swelling isn't nearly what it was yesterday.

Sarah, thank you! Congrats on the 33:29!! That is fantastic and you should be super proud of yourself.

Shavenyak, thank you, that makes me a little more hopeful that I am not going to have to start from the very beginning again. I could not make it to the gym last night but I hope the anti-inflammatory drugs the doc gave me will start working and I will be more comfortable. I am going to get there tonight one way or another!!

Kate, you are having a tough go yourself. That bronchitis just won't go away!! I hope you are 100% soon. Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I wish I had access to a pool. I will just have to be creative.

Zarelha, It sounds like you made the best of a crappy running location. Good for you! I am going to Orlando in July and scouted out a route on the hotel grounds so I will be good to go if my knee cooperates. I hope it is just something that will heal itself in a few days. I am glad your hubby is doing well. I looked into  Glucosamine (sp) to help my joints but am going to wait until I am off the prescribed stuff.

Have a great day!!! 

I am gonna try this!!! thanks for posting this info...anyone using a treadmill....can you tell me what speeds you are using and what % incline? Thanks>:)

 Oh...Born2bird...I hope you did not tear your ACL>< GL sugar.

Cata~

I've been slacking in my posting...sorry:( Now that i'm not really doing a plan, I don't feel like I need to update everytime I run...now that i've done the 5k, each run just seems insignificant....One thing I love is that my iPod tracks my calories burned....get this...9,389 calories burned in 20 runs...WOW! I couldn't believe that:) But, it's great to see.
Things have been really crazy latley....i'll try and get better about posting.
I see we have new runners! YAY! Just take one step at a time!!!

Happy Running.

born2bird I pray for quick healing for you.  Sometimes set backs can seem like we have failed when we haven't failed we only need to learn what we have to do differently or what our bodies are ready for.  I pray for quick healing for you.  Be courageous, but please don't pull that leg.

zarelha It's always exciting to me to run because for that brief period of time like it feels like you are running away from everything that ties you down.  Cell phones, I-pods, computers and even people.  Strange to think that way maybe, but it's healthy to have that alone time.  I can't believe you are already on week 6! Doesn't it seem like the time is just flying by!?  Congratulations.  You are getting very close to graduation! Yesss!

catalizt Welcome aboard.  It's a fun new world.  I have been having a blast the past few weeks.  I was not as courageous to try this earlier in the year, but after quite a few weeks of reading posts I just decided I am going to do this too.  Good luck to you! 

jillithan It's good to hear from you again!  9,389 calories burned in 20 runs!  Amazing!  I hope that the runs still have some purpose for you though.  I mean for me I can see that okay this week this is what I have to do to get by, but then after all the running is over.  After the graduation then what's the next step?  I see where you are coming from.  I just hope you keep us updated to kind of give us that post running syndrome feeling.  Congratulations again.  I am excited to be in your shoes in another 4.5 weeks!

Well tomorrow morning I plan on running again!  I will let you know how that goes.  I just thought I would pop in because I don't know I know I have not seen faces of the people I am talking to, and I have only seen screen names, but here it's almost like family.  The aches and pains of one person are almost like the aches and pains of the entire group. 

I am now on week 7 people. I did my first run yesterday and it was a breeze. I have to run today and on Thursday. I can't wait until next week!

jillithan, I too am feeling a bit on the disconnected side of things.  It doesn't help me either that I'm limiting my time on this site now just to this forum so I have less reason to even come to this site.

Monday, I ran my first 2 miles ... stop watch on as usual... then it hit me just how bored I was out there running.  Yes I love the exercise but it's not really any fun.  Having people on the same plan helped a great deal... but without  a real true plan I picked up the pace and ran full out... then slow ed after passing 2 light poles... and decided to just run a ser ious HIIT style program to work on speed.   I love going fast e ither while on wheels or by my own fe et.   So for the next lap and a hal f i pushed myself.  Walked past the n ext pole... jogged to the next pole (l ight poles line the track at regular intervals) then took o ff running at a blistering pace till I past two more poles.   Now th at was fun.   Oh and i turned off t he stop watch, didn't bother to really  care how far I actually had run... and I actually kind of enjoyed  it for a change and the mystery of not really knowing.

I think speed training will help me out.   Even without following a real program, this atleast is more fun than plodding along going longer distances.

If anyone wants to find a good program out there that focuses on running faster and start a thread... I'll give that a shot.  This seems like the logical next step instead of aiming for longer distances right now.   I'd start the thread myself but I have yet to find a good program without making one up... and I'd rather not make something up and then try to get others to do it with me.

i did my week 5 run 1 y'day. Again the power tripped at the Y when i was about 2.9 miles into it and the treadmill wont start when the power came back up. It was darn frustrating. So i moved to a working treadmill and ran 0.3 miles. I lost the count of time but that wasn't as much cause of irritation as the power outage.

BTW, i don't feel that energetic after a run, rather tired. May be it would be diff after few more weeks. I am happy that the hip pain was just a short visitor.

catalizt: Welcome to the thread ! i run on the treadmill. When i started this pgm i used to keep the speed between 5 and 4.5 mph. It depends on what speed u r comfortable running. Normally a speed of 4.2+ is considered jogging/running and lesser is brisk walking.

zarelha: so you are a week ahead of me ! Good job running on vacation. 'thumbs up' :)

sickness: Congrats. You are so near the graduation mark ! on target for 07/04.

jillithan : Wooooooow !!

born2bird: Take rest, don't push yourself. i hope you wud be back on the track soon.

night: You know i had forseen this will happen to me, so i rushed to get the graduation. Now that i know i can run 5K, I am free to experiment. I found the runners here after graduating try to add distance by pushing 0.25/0.5/1.0 miles to their runs. I believe it would be better to mix walk and run to build longer distance so i would expand the learn to run from 3.1 miles to 4 miles for first 2-3 weeks then try to run full 4 miles. Next wud be 5 miles and so on. As i am still on week 5, i would follow week 5 for 4 miles. There is no rule that it should work only for 5K. It might be boring to again add 'walk' to running, but my intent is to increase speed and walk slowly, which should help build speed and it would again be like HIIT (though not exactly). Also, i am going to replace one run with HIIT at least once a week. I would keep watching if you start a thread.

Hey hey me again!

Todays run went pretty good. Tough and I pushed myself but I did well. Again, new personal best: 32:47! Haha, thats the best thing about running, the more you do it the better you get. There's basically no limit of improvement.

So as I'm running, on about the 3rd km, one hot runner guy whizzes by me. I don't mean slowly passes me, I mean if he wanted to run circles round me he would've had to slow down. He flashed me a gorgeous smile on his way by and said "hey" I dreamily sighed a hello at this running God, and I'm pretty sure I sounded quite stupid. Either way he winked at me and fatasies kept my thoughts occupied and away from how terrible I was feeling for the last couple km. haha. Just thought I'd share my story :-P

Jillithan - I'm sure you're doing fabulous! Why not work toward a faster time or a 4 mile run.. that seems to be what most ppl on here have done. If a 5k run is awesome think how amazing you'd feel after a 10k.

Bignate - yup we're one big happy running family. Hell, I talk to you guys way more than my own family. lol

Sicknes - Week 7 already? Wow time flies! And you're breezing through way to go. You're almost done!

Nightc1 - I've been contemplating starting a similar HIIT type thing for one run a week. I think I'm going to wait a few more weeks to do so though. Its good that you're switching it up some and I hear HIIT is really good for improving your fitness.

inci_vinci - Damn. I hate interuptions when running. Some people asked me for directions a few weeks ago. I kindly gave them directions but I wanted to scream "why didn't you ask the people walking 20 feet ahead of me?!" haha. Oh well, I like to think maybe they didn't see the otehr ppl...

Everyone - You're all doing amazing. You are all improving your fitness a ton and well on your way!

Okay!!! I tried it today...and because I have built endurence I decided to start it at the week 3...walk 2 run3...Problem is I did it for 40 min and only made it 4kilometers. So I did the eliptical for 40 min and ran for 40 min pluse my upper body strength training><

  I think these treadmills are in KM/hr because they do the distance in KM..I am running at 6.5 and walking at 5 no incline yet...I have no idea about the speed of that but I had my heart rate up...so La~ I think I am going to do the HIIT+F thing in a couple weeks. I am so loving this!!!!!

Thanks so much for the welcome and the info>:)

Cata~

whatsup guys,

i just signed up. read a thread on swimming and realised this site has some valuable info and its community could be quite an asset. i noticed this thread and recently went to my doc to talk about running because of one main problem i found - BACK PROBLEMS.

im fairly tall - 6'2 and quite lean. i have a small flab on my waist and hated so began running. after a few months i could do a 5 in just over 22 minutes....

sadly in the mornings i could bend over to put my socks on..... yes, yes, yes your all saying - STRETCH.. i did. alot. before and after.. all sorts...

so my doc basically informed of of the importance of core training for running. if your core isnt jacked - your body cannot facilitate th imnpact and strain.... and he also steered me in a new direction - SWIMMING....

so my point is - if your gonna run - make sure your core is jacked. and you spend atleast a 1/3 as much time working your core as you do running... and secondly,. why run when you can swim? so much easier on your body and sooo much more fun and refreshing - not too mention it has all around toning effects while getting your rate up...

anyways, theres my rant - hope its some insight for some of you diving into running (no punn intended) , just beware- its tough on the body! real tough!, and theres an easy subsitute...

dbru, I'll bite... but this will be a lengthy response!

"Why run when you can swim?"

That's easy.

1. I can run during my hour lunch break at work and still have time to eat lunch and clean up.  I couldn't do all that in an hour if i went swimming.

2. Running is free, swimming is not.  There's not a free local pool around here and right now even if i wanted to pay most every local pool is full of kids out of school enjoying their summer.

3. Swimming is boring.  Water water water and more water.  With running i can go somewhere, see some stuff like other people and animals and the grass and sky... it makes me feel more connected to life.  Sure not having a running program can lead to boredom but now that I'm graduated to being a runner, I can find another program somewhere to help me get more focused again.


You don't need a tight ripped core to run.  That's a myth right there.   I have yet to see anyone use swimming to go from fat to having a tight core.  Most people I know that do swim either are already thin and get more toned in swimming or are fat and despite years of swimming they haven't lost the weight or toned up except in their arms and legs.   I have seen people start running though and progressively get thinner.   I'm one of em.

With running, you don't just start out running.  That leads to BACK PROBLEMS, knee problems and so on.  Expecially if your overweight.   This program paces things out to prevent injury.   Taking a day off between runs is also as important as the days you do run.  Some people overtrain and get injured running due to just not knowing enough about it.

I'm all for cross training... but to me swimming is just too boring a thing to do for exercise.   Yes it's fun to go swimming and play in the pool with my kids... but to do it with the intent of getting laps in seems an aweful boring way to spend time.

Riding a bicycle, now that's something i can do for fun and exercise.  Running faster (now that i can run) also is fun.

I was around 218 pounds (6' tall man) when I started this program in early April.  Now I'm a 195 pound man (15 from my target of 180).  Counting calories, running, bicycling, stair stepping, weight lifting... it's all been great for helping me lose the weight and tone up.   I don't have a super tight ripped core, yet I can push myself upto and slightly beyond 10mph.  Not bad for a fat man.... and i have yet to be injured by running because I let my mucles get into running through this program that paces the running out to build and tone the appropriate muscles for running.


One last note...

Swimming, Running, Bicycling

If you were alone in a parking lot and some thugs came up to mug you which would benefit you?

Running for sure!

So by default we are all getting a skill that's useful in the real world.  Other than weight lifting so you can carry more groceries, there's not a lot of practical exercise out there with a real world use for it (other than looking/feeling better).

I know I've had times where i wasn't in danger, but needed to get to my car quickly and i ran.   There have been numerous occasions where that has happened already.   The only time the bicycling is going to help me is if I don't have a car, yet the bike is available, and i have to get somewhere nearby fast.  A pretty rare thing.   If I fell overboard a boat, swimming isn't going to help as much as treading water will unless there is a nearby shoreline... and even if there is a shoreline the undertoe could make it nearly impossible for even a great swimmer to get back to the beach without waiting for the tides to change.

night : Whoa !! You give me all the more reasons to run. On a lighter note, you should become an official ambassador for 'Learn to Run' thread foundation :)

sarah: you got dishy guys for ur company.. hmm COOL (or hot:) ) I do get to secretly compete with some hot chicks (lol) in the Y, sometimes. I am going to try to improve my personal best of 34 mins, tonight. BTW you (at 32.47) are well within my reach .. lol. But i run on treadmill so i should count like 1 min more than my time.

catalizt: 5 mph = 8 KMph. 6.5KMPH = just about 4 mph. I would say try for 7KmPh if your heart rate permits. Also you can walk brisk in the Walk part if you can't run at higher speed to save time. This way your heart rate won't fall too much. Just by raising speed by 0.5 mph (0.8 KMph) you can save 3 to 4 mins of your total time. That means you wud not be bored running :)

I did a mini HIIT session (only 2 cycles of 1 min Sprint at 8.5mph and 1 min walk at 3.5 mph) yesterday post my workout session. And i was dead tired. I did rowing just before HIIT and that might have taken away all the wind from my sails to do HIIT. Next HIIT would be on Saturday and would replace my Sat run.

inci_vinci, it's crazy how some people just have to put down running.  I have a friend which I've mentioned before on this site (probably in this thread) that previously lost a lot of weight through running (no calorie counting or anything) then after packing the pounds on again over another 10 years decided to turn back to running to lose weight.  He didn't follow any program, just got out and started pushing himself as hard as he could and as often as possible... he has bad knee problems now.  He started running at about the same weight as I did on this program.

There's always going to be someone that has a bad experience doing something.  Most often it's related to doing the activity wrong, not hydrating your body enough, not eating good foods that help restore what is taken during the exercise (people need calcium & potassium if they serously bike or run), not eating enough, too much heat exposure... the list goes on and on.

I guess that's why there are still sceptics about counting calories as well and the limits one should go to.  It burns me out to see people complain they aren't losing weight when it's obvious they aren't eating enough.

On a brighter and lighter note...

Dee is the official Learn to Run spokesman.  I'm just one of the satisfied customers giving my testimonial :)

Congrats myy c-c stalwarts. I am very proud of this committed group-

I have had a lot on the plate, our beloved dad was hospitalized for one overnight observation march 2 and with a series of hospital mis-management died there 2 mths later.

Traveling back and forth to FL from MA, plus needing to find a job, kid home from 1st year in college etc,  have all added to the challenges...and I neglected effort. (still walked the treadmill a bit)

As I slowly try to get back on track, I will be committing to this group again! need some rotuine... need the support!

keep up the good work

med

week 5 run 2. [I know i should stop giving week's references to my runs, it's just a personal checkpoint]. Total time = 32.10 mins. Add 2 mins to offset the treadmill advantage it comes to about 34 mins. Sarah, you win :).

I haven't ran a lot yet, so i am a bit cautious about upping my speed and i know for sure i wont make it all the way if i start sprinting. I ran the first mile at 6mph and continued till i had to bring it down to 5mph then 4.5 for 30 secs, i upped it soon to 5.5 and ran the last mile at 5.7.

med: Welcome back ! I am really sorry to hear about your father and the other challenges you are facing. I joined this group 5 weeks back and i am quite grateful to everyone here. One of my colleagues who ran Boston marathon 2nd time this year, said he started running to get rid of the daily stress of life. He says running is a great stress buster. I am sure you would find the same and besides this group is always alive and kicking !

night: 2 of my close friends owe their weight loss to running. One of them goes to gym, plays tennis and swims but the other didnt even do strength training and no other sport. He told me that an year ago one day his trouser's belly button came off due to his bulging paunch and that triggered him to start running. He now runs 5 miles a day without a sweat and he's become incredibly lean.

Well night, Dee must be the president and you the spokesman :) I am sure she wud be delighted to have you as the speaker.. :) :)

Dee and pozesara : Not seen a post from you in long time?

it's been a week since Jillithan and myself graduated. The list has stayed there. Next week is the ID week and I hope to see many graduates. I've enrolled in a 5K on 07/07/07 at York, PA (about 30 miles from my place) and i have a long way to go to really 'compete' in the race.. lol. But i m not bothered @ that.

Good luck guys !! Keep running

Darn!  I had this awesome message and I accidentally erased it.

SO here is the short of it.  I ran over 2.5 miles without stopping today.  It took me about 25 minutes.  My iPod said i ran a 9:37 mile.  I'm positive that when I go for my run on saturday I'll run the whole thing.  I want to be on that list SOOO bad.  I'm just going to set my iPod for 5K and run till it says I'm done.  I'm SOOO excited. 

THANK YOU EVERYONE!! Your support has helped me to push for this even when it was hard.  Seeing that graduates list made me want to finish even more.  ANd for those of you still working on it ... trust me you can do it too.  If I can ANYONE can.

Taking some ibueprofen and going to bed.

Cynthia :-)

Podcast Week 6, run 2 yesterday!  Another parking lot run, and it was not a fun one ... for the first time in a long time I couldn't wait until it was over.  My one milestone was that for the first time, a drop of sweat fell from my brow to the pavement.  Since I rarely sweat much, I thought it was raining!  Hehehehe.  Oh, and I saw a cardinal (or some other red bird), so that was fun.  Haven't seen one in a while.

I'm sure it has a lot to do with the horrendous way I'm eating this week (although I stayed within my calories all but one day, McDonald's, Wendy's, Hardee's, Bob Evans and Shoneys do NOT give you a lot of food for the calories ... there are only so many days I can eat a grilled Chicken Caesar Salad).  We were driving around about 80% of the time, too, so my activity level was also below normal (it's kind of a working vacation).

Can't wait until I get home tomorrow. I'll run on Saturday on my regular route ... and I'll be at a 25 minute run, so it should be fun.

born2bird - you must be a guy, because you sound just like my hubby!  Unless something is almost literally falling off, he refuses to admit anything is wrong and is stubborn to boot.  Please don't start up the exercise until you heal whatever is torn ... it really can lead to life-long problems in the joint.  Stick to upper-body until you know what's what.  BTW, hubby is also taking glucosamine/chondroitin, which is more of a long-term thing; but he says the hyaluronic acid made his joints feel TONS better in about a week - he hadn't been pain-free on his uninjured knee for a very long time before that.  Just letting you know.  And it's pretty cheap, too, at Walmart.

catalizt - welcome!  use your own speed and incline; it really depends so much on your height, fitness level and weight.

bignate - what I can't believe is that I stuck it out this long, and am loving it!  This is the longest I've ever committed to a fitness program in the past 20 years.  IF it only takes 21 days to create a habit, then 60+ days should truly ingrain it ...

jillithan & night - it will be fun to hear you pop in periodically.  Nightc1, I'm sure you've seen this, but here's the link to coolrunning's speed workouts: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/99.sh tml.  They have 3 levels, to increase speed. Perhaps when I get to the 5K I'll try these myself.

inci_vinci - the Y seems to have this recurring problem ... all YMCAs!  This is not the first time I've heard of power outages there.

sarah_11235 - congrats again! :)  And whatever works for motivation, I say!

sickness - keep it up! let us know when you get to 5K!

dbru - to each his or her own.  Personally, I don't like swimming, and love running, and other than a minor heel injury on week one, am quite pleased with the results I get from running.  I hate getting wet to exercise, especially my hair, and the only pools available to me are very short, so no fun to do long workouts.  Plus, I can take my running shoes anywhere (I'm traveling this week and haven't missed a run yet).  I second nightc1's post.  Enjoy your workouts! 

med238ley - I am sorry for your trials. I hope the running and this thread will give you time to find some peace.

missyrayn - I'll think of you on Saturday while I do my longest run - 25 minutes. Hope to catch you soon!

Keep on running, all!

inci - 32:10?? Oh no, I gotta speed up! lol. I'm gonna start running treadmills in the fall and I swear I'm terrified I'll fall off and get tread burns on my face. lol. Amazing time though. But... I'll just have to somehow figure out how to shave about 40 seconds off my time next run :P