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!!!!

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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

soniak - 5k means 5 kilometers, or 3.1 miles.

Thanks for all of the warm welcomes, everybody!  I completed my second week 2 run today, and ya'll are right - it does get easier as you progress.  I'm so excited and can't wait til I do my third week 2 run tomorrow!  =)

Welcome to everyone new and Congrats missyrayn on graduating!

Sorry I haven't been around lately, been wrking alot and haven't even had time to run since wednesday :( Hoping to have time tomorrow, but may have some company and may have to wait til wednesday. grr. Oh well, one week off won't kill me :P

Thanks for the congrats everyone.  The challenge for me today was to make myself run the whole thing again.  Now that I know I can I would feel bad if I chickened out of doing it all.  I actually ran it in about the same time so I was happy.

sarah: Don't worry about missing a week.  While i was doing the program i missed a week twice because of busy times and it didn't really affect much.  Enjoy the time with your company tomorrow and get back to it when you can.

Cynthia :-)

OK ... I think I did it (but it's unofficial yet)!

Today my ipod's battery died about 1/3 of the way through my 25-minute run for Week 7, run 1.  So I figured I would run as far as I did Saturday (which was also a 25 minute run, about 2.5 miles).  BUT ... I decided to go just a little further than where I almost mugged the kid for the skateboard ... then kept going "just to the school", then "just to the corner", then "just to the gate" ... and finally pooped out.  I didn't check my exact start time, but I know I ran at least 8-10 more minutes than yesterday ... so that's about 35 minutes, which I HOPE is 5K!  But no way to prove it.  So I'll leave the "official" graduation for July 4th, as planned (I hope!).

I didn't find a "real" 5K around me July 4, but I did find one July 7 ... but it's being held by the Roadrunners club and I don't want to be the slowest one! :)  Plus they run at 5:15 am three times a week ... and I forgot that time of day even existed!  I am NOT a morning person.  In any event, I will run 5K on the 4th, even if it's by myself, and time it.

PS - I did gain back .8 of the lost 2 lbs ... but I figured I would.  And I ate really well, too, this weekend (and I REALLY felt it in my run today).  Maybe I should go back to the Fast Food Restaurant Diet to continue losing! (just kidding).

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missyrayn - congrats on your graduation!  I'll be joining you soonest!  Sorry I can't help with the getting up early thing ... I don't normally get up before 8:30 myself (but then, I don't have to be in to work 'til noon).

nikki08 - Good job!  Keep it up!  I can't believe I've only been doing this 7 weeks ... you'll be done in no time ...

deejb - HAPPY B-DAY A FEW DAYS  EARLY! :)

pozesara - I am a mosquito magnet too.  My family loves it, because they NEVER get bitten, and I get a gazillion bites when no one else even sees a mosquito.

inci - Wow, great starter tips!  Where can they be put to be of service?  Perhaps as an article in the library would be good, with a link in the original post?

sonia - 5K stands for 5 Kilometers.  1 kilometer = .62 miles, so 5K = 3.1 miles (approximately).

jillithan - don't despair.  My scale must be related to yours, and has only budged about 4 lbs since April, but I am ignoring it and focusing on everything else ... like the fact that ALL of my shorts are lose on me and look like potato sacks! :)

robink - please see a doctor.  You may have pulled something that requires more than just total rest, ice and antiflammatories.  Do NOT run if you continue to have pain!  It will not make it better; it will make it worse.

OK, all ... wish me luck for July 4! 

I nearly forgot again about the 5K (July 4th) run thing.   Maybe I'll do that tomorrow morning.  I could bicycle down to the track at the university and do the run there.

zarelha: Congrats on doing it "unofficially".  I know you can do the whole thing tomorrow.  You'll be awesome at it.  Just keep going.  The last 500m will be the hardest but you can do it.  It will be nice to celebrate another graduate.

HAPPY 4th of July to all.  Enjoy a day off of fun but don't forget to do the timed 5K for the CC Virtual run.

Cynthia :-)

OK! Im starting training for my testing day in September and was recommended this programme by night and i am starting my first session tommorow if my leg is up to it!

I am gonna do running every monday,wednesday,friday and Sunday to go with my cardio and i hope by the end of the 8 weeks i won't be a hopeless runner!

This is such a great thread thankyou D. :))))) xxxx emski

Well, i've been having a rough week...not only did I break down and have Taco Bell for lunch...I also had DQ on my way back to work!!! I KNOW! I'm good to go on calories for the day!!! Ha haha...ugh. I've just had such a poopy week i'm in a "don't care" mode. I've still been running 3x a week...i'm going to either double up on my walks on my days off or get on my elliptical and burn 300 cals.....either way, I think i'm at a point where I can't afford not to...
Anyway...i'm done throwing my little pity party. Running my 5k tomorrow for the ID5K. I'll just be doing it on my treadmill since there are no runs anywhere close to me.

omg yesterday was my first time trying this on a tread mill @ 9.5 mph or level or sum like that and i could barely do it for 40 seconds is this normal ? does it get easier am i going to fast. i am supposed to run as fast as i absolutely can right?

zarelha: Thanks and congrats on your unofficial 5K run. Tomorrow it will be official :). I don't know the library stuff, thanks for the suggestion though. Let's see what Dee says.

robin : i read you've said u had torn a muscle while running earlier. So you are not a total beginner. Did u check with doctor before staring this pgm ?

Also, yes you are going too fast too soon. I've never run at 9.5mph. I am not a runner, agreed. But i am not a fool either to start running at such a high speed. 10 mph is like 6 mile per min = about 18.5 min for a 5K. I don't think anyone here runs that fast. Please take it easy. Start with walk + jog and try to get the distance first. Speed will follow.

jillithan: Here is an article especially for you !

Here is another one

emski, I think you'll find the community here very friendly.  Keep us updated on your first and following runs.  I think you'll find it starts you out easy enough that you'll be able to do it.   Make sure you drink plenty of milk (calcium) and eat a banana (potasium) to help keep you from having any extra pains from the running.   And don't go all out on the running parts... just a nice steady jog is enough.

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my boss just came by and said "go home, enjoy your super long weekend" so I'm about to head home and I think I'll try to get the 5K for tomorrow done today :D

Have a nice rest of the week, weekend and of course independence day (for those in the US of A).

er... double post but I did my run today.  I got a route through my neighborhood then down the mountain to our church and back.  33:32 was my time.  I didn't wear a watch but I timed it by the tracks I listed to on my mp3 player.

Whew.

Did not run today. It was blazin' hot. I should've ran inside but instead walked the 5K with my dogs. Poor pups, soooo hot! I will run on treadmill tomorrow. It's only getting hotter all week - yay - but ucky for running outside.

I am picking up my Garmin GPS watch hopefully tomorrow if it's in. Can't wait. I didn't get one with a hrm cuz I already have one. I'm getting the 201 model. It's only $199. Not bad. There's even a virtual partner on there you can run with - funny! Will let you all knwo how I like it when I get it.

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inci- holy crap dude, those are quite the tips. I wonder if we can scale it down if we're gonna put it into the main thread. If not, we can just note in the main thread that it's on page 46, Post # 913. Would that work???
Can you edit your post as you get the info from night & pozesara? That way it's all in the same place.

Cynthia - about getting up early to run. I think if you just force yoruself to do it a few times, your body/mind will want to do it cuz then you know how great you feel when you do do it. Good luck, I know I couldn't do it.

night- running on the beach, how cool! I wanna try that in August, when we'll be somewhere with a beach. I hope it's long enough. I'll just bring my GPS watch I guess.
Have a great super long weekend!!

nikki- yay for it getting easier! way to go girl!

sarah- nope one week won't kill ya, just take it easy that first run back. I found I had to anyway, and that I was a bit slower than I was b4.

zarelha- sounds like you probaby did do it. yay!!! Let me know when it's official, I'd love to add your name!!
Hey, thanks for the happy b-day!!!!!

emskirooni- welcome!!!

jillithan- your eating sounds like mine lately! Let's get off this pitty party & start losing again k? I totally need to again. BEsides, I dunno about you, but I feel sooo much better & full of energy when I eat good. You'd think that' would be enough to make me wanna but uhm nope!

robin- omg! 9.5 mph!!! way too fast girl! Slow 'er down. Do the walking at a brisk place, and the running slower than you think.

Next run for me, tomorrow, July 4 for the virtual 5K!!!!

Dee

Thanks Inci-vinci! That's all stuff I know, but at times, I need to be reminded of it! It's just frustrating b/c i've really lost NOTHING since i've started this program. I know it's the way I've been eating...I'm really bad about if my scale goes down a few lbs, I eat what I want for a few days....so I just go up and down and up and down! GRR!

DEE- lets make a deal....after today...we get back on the healthy eating track...I know I feel better when I eat well...i KNOW I do...I just need to regain my discipline in my eating like I have in my running. Haven't missed a day yet!!!

Anywho! Finished my 5k this morning for the virtual 5k. Did my BEST time ever:) 38:36. I know i'm still not working at a blazing pace here or anything yet...but to me, it's more about completion than pace!!! Todays run went well because I didn't have to worry about when to do it since I was off work. I woke up, ate my cereal, let that sit for about an hour, and hopped on my treadmill...no distractions...it was great!!!

Anyway...Good luck to anyone else doing the virtual 5k!! Should be a busy day today!!!

I just finished my virtual 5K!  It was an early morning run followed by breakfast and a program so it was fun.  My stopwatch time was 29:24, not a personal best but better than I can get myself to push for when I run on my own.  The adrenaline and competition in an organized run definitely help.  If there were one around here I would join a running club so I could have that competition more often, alas I think my husband and I are the only people in our town of 4000 that run because I have yet to see anybody else running.

Well gotta run to the parade, my husband will be in it with his fire crew and engine so I promised the kids we will go.  Will be back later!

Just ran the 5k today.  It was great, but really humid.  I don't want to say h@te so I am just going to say strongly dislike.  I strongly dislike running in humidity.  I ran my 5k in 32:59.  I added 2:59 onto my first run of the week.  It's just so humid I had to slow myself down.  Oh well better to live free than die hard.  Sorry I had to throw that in there.  Running in the morning really gets me energized for the rest of the day which is why it's so hard to run at night because then I am up forever.

Robin_K I would get your  leg checked out  by a doctor even though it may seem just a  little uncomfortable and doctors  seem  like  too much  money sometimes  when there  might not be anything wrong it  is always better to  take the precautions  and be safe than to  regret  the  consequences that come from throwing caution to the wind.

nikki_08  I am glad it is getting easier for you.  Keep the energy going.  It pays off.

YAY!  Thanks for all of the encouragement everybody!  I completed my third week 2 run yesterday.  I have one more to do and then I'll move on to week 3!  =)

Happy 4th of July to everybody!  Have a GREAT day!

OH MY GOD, GUYS!  I am such a freakin' dork!

I ran my "Virtual 5K" today.  And I was about to ask for the "slowest 5K award" (actually, I still can ... but wait).  It took me 44:35 and I'm thinking, WOW, I must have been so totally out of shape ... how can it take me almost 45 minutes when missyrayn can do it in 29:38, pozesara can do it in 28:30, and night can do it in 32:11?????

So I just checked my route on www.gmap-pedometer.com (excellent, by the way ... it gives you a satellite view, so you don't have to stick to actual streets but can cut across the park or the parking lot and still count it). 

I started runnin about 1/2 a mile earlier than I should have!  I forgot to take into account my warmup route.

So I ran 5.55KM (3.45 miles) instead.  Which is still a very slow 3K (from what I can figure, about 12.89 mph, or about 39.9 minutes for the 5K)  But it's better than 45!!!!!  And not too bad for a 5'2", 42-year old former couch potato less than 2 months ago!

If I had it to do over, I would have done this program instead of the podcasts (or along with it) ... that way, you know you're doing 5K already, and just working on speed and endurance.  The podcast way is time-based, not distance-based, and as is obvious, the 30 minute final run on the podcast was still NOT a 5K for me.

The good news ... I know I can run 45 minutes without stopping now!  And I'm only on week 7!  Now I just have to work on my speed.  AND I'm a graduate! YAY!  Do I get extra credit for the extra 1/2 mile???

The better news ... my hubby told me today that my butt looks better than most people's faces! :)  Yeah, it's making a difference.

Once I finish the 5K "for real" (I'm going back to the podcast for the next two weeks ... just because I want to say I finished it), I think I'm going to go for 10K.  I think I like this distance thing.  I found my pace really easily, and after my second wind, neither my legs nor my lungs were begging me to stop.  I probably could have run further, if I didn't think I was timing myself!  :)

Anyway, good luck to all of you, and I'm sure most of you will smoke me on the time ... but I'm so happy!

I'm gonna be running my virtual 5K in about 1/2 hr. Right now it's pretty hot out so I'll do it on the treadmill. I'm gonna try doing 4.1 miles too.

My Garmin 201 should be in tomorrow. Can't wait to try it out!

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jillithan- DEAL!!!! Let's do this. It's a shame for us to work so hard running & execising, only to negate it by eating like crap. I'm with ya girl!!! I'm starting today but I understand the whole 4th of July thing for you guys, so I'll be waiting for you tomrorow!!!
Congrats on your best time!!

pozesara- I soo wish I could do the 5K sub 30 mins! I envy you! Way to go!!!!
Hey, maybe you could start your own "Learn to Run" club in your town. Just use this schedule & put a poster up at the stores in town for people to call you to sign up.
That would be sooo fun!!! The running store I did it with just did it as a group once a week & then we had to do it on our own the rest of the time during the week. So you'd just have to pick a day like Saturday mornings. I think we did ours at like 8 in the morning.
Do beware though, many many people drop out b4 it's over. I guess that's just to be expected.|
What a great difference you could make in your little town!!
I coudl always mail you a copy of the booklet they gave me too if you want.  Oooh this could be so exciting!!!!

bignate-hey with a time like 32:59, are you running it straight through? Do I need to add you as a graduate?? let em know k? Great time btw!!!

zarelha- yay, you're a graduate!! I'll add you straight away! WAy to run soooo long & far!!! wooo hooo! Kinda makes you wonder how far we could go if we didnt look at time & distance?
Love your hubby's butt comment, hilarious!!!!! You must have a great looking ass! lol!

Dee