I usually do 2 miles aday for 5 days and take the weekend off. This time I have been doing it since November. Couch to 5k is a good program. I know I did it last November and it was helpful. Good luck to you on that. Judy

I will see what I can do tomorrow, I took the day off because of shin splints that have been bothering me. Nothing like running and then 30 minutes later barely being able to walk.

I've been there, I got a shin splint last time and used it for an excuse to quit. This time around I have been making sure I warm up and cool down and stretch. I got up at 4:15 ran my 2 miles , then after about an hour I did an hour of yoga . The yoga stretches me out. Judy

Good Morning All..

Hey Judy.. notice you're from Port Orchard.. not far from me at all.. I live near Lake Chelan!

I completed day 2/week 5 yesterday morning of cool runnings... and am very happy with my progress.. really had no problems.. I need to continue to do my running in the morning.. thats when I get the best results.. and best on my body after a nights rest. I had some leg pain.. but not bad.. and during the second round of 8 mins.. pain left completely. I will be on week 5 another week.. then next week, hopefully will be ready for week 6.

Scott.. I am sorry for your shin splints-- I SO know how you feel.

Judy.. so you find that the more you stretch.. the less you have to worry about shin splints-??

I sure get alot of good info here.. not to mention being able to share my progress here with others.. going thru the same stuff..... thanks to you all!!!!!!!!

Have a great day everyone... and keep running!!!!!

Hey everybody!!

I just got my cardio done for today. It took a lot out of me. I worked up to 15 minutes of running and then opted to do 15 more minutes on the stepper because it's easier on my body for some reason. I just have not built up the endurance to last very long as far as running is concerned when I am doing a low carb diet. I'm not doing a very low-carb diet anymore. It is somewhat modified. If I want a little more carbs I will have some. Because of the weight training I do 4X a week and the cardio 4+ times a week, I feel my body craves the extra carbs. I havent seen much difference on the scale as of late, except for the gain I had last week, but my body fat has decreased about 2.5% so I'm happy about that! I do need to take another pictures, but I am scaaaarrreeeddd LOL! Have a good day everyone!!

Saw this thread and just stopped by to say you are doing great! I want to run but I am sooooooooooooo out of shape I don't know if I will ever get there. I run just alittle (20-30 sec ) during my walk alternating between the two. I get so out of breath! My legs hurt too. I am going to keep plugging away though because when I was young I loved to run.

Keep it up everyone!!!

Didn't run this weekend....................I kept letting the time get away from me. Anyways, here's my info for today:

Workout:
Walk 2.5 miles
Run 1.75 miles
Stairs 1 times - (super busy day at office, never even left it)
2 sets 100 crunches

Well I could only run a mile tonight before my legs were on fire. I plan to get back on the diet today, and I will push myself one way or another to 2 miles by the end of this week. I know that the long layoff that I had because of the flu is partly to blame for the shin splints, but I have to stop using that as an excuse to not reach my goal. I am rededicating myself to the goal I have set, and I want to run the entire 5K that is coming up in May. I have to get busy, I have been stalled at 1-1.5 miles for a while now.

Scott could the shoes be needing to be replaced???

Just a quick update.

Okay.. did my run this morning, day 1/week5- Cool Runnings- (I am repeating week 5) at 4:30 this morning.... it went okay.. and I felt terrific afterward..but it was really hard pushing myself at this hour!! But, hey, I did it. I am now thinking that my right lower leg pain is due to my new shoes.. my right foot seems to be up too high in the arch.. but only in the rt shoe-??? Will figure it out... I am pretty sure now tho.. it is NOT shin splints.. which is a good thing. On a positive note.. day 1 seemed easier than last week AND I didn't need my flashlight.. I had the light of the glorious moon.. it was awsome.

Scott.. yes it does sound like you need new shoes... just make sure you select the right ones.. which is hard to do.. I am thinking I need to make a trip to Seattle to one of those running shoe stores.. where they really know what they are talking about! Do you stretch good before and after also-??

I loooove running! gets those endorphins pumping. Especially with the stereo (in on treadmill) or iPod (if outside). Music gets me pumped - something tough like Barry White. lol

Hi all I didn't make my 2 miles yet, but plan on taking a run this afternoon. Yes I find that if I stretch and warm up and cool down I have alot less injuries. I don't know why that is, but it seems to work. Preteach3 hang in there. When I first started running before I did the couch to 5k plan I started walking, eventually that turned into speed walking, then I walk/ran, eventually I was able to run a mile and I was so proud. It is like when your young and learn to walk, you have to keep practicing. I don't think I'll give it up again because it is too hard to get going again. Judy

I do stretch before running, I have a feeling my weight has something to do with it. I might need new shoes for just running so I will look into that. My shoes are Nike Air basketball shoes, so more than likely I need dedicated running shoes. Thanks for that suggestion. I have caught another bug I believe, this one has me with a sore throat and chest congestion and feeling a bit weak. I ran anyway tonight, barely made it .4 miles so maybe it was not the smartest thing to do. I think I will take tomorrow off from running and just lift a small amount of weights. I thought it was allergies at first but allergy medicine has done zip. I then remembered that at the start of every allergy season I catch a cold, so I get to go through being sick again and have it hamper my progress. Oh well, nothing I can do about that I guess.

You got to take it easy when your not feeling well, I also found that out the hard way. Did my 2 miles this morning and will probably do yoga this afternoon. I've been trying to shake a cold for about 6 weeks already. Everytime I think I'm over the worst it comes back to haunt me(LOL). I'm not sure what kind of a day we have today, it's kind of cloudy out right now. Have a good day. Judy

Yeah, I am going to rest for a few days. I have a chest cold and a slight fever. I plan on getting some better running shoes in the meantime and hopefully be back at it Friday or Saturday.