Despite my best efforts, I’m out. Only for awhile, though. I began a new job and have no energy to run when I’m kid-less. 
And I went 5 mph the whole way. 2.09 miles running. Oh my goodness. I keep surprising myself.
I’m still waiting for that runner’s high, though.
In my experience, the “runner’s high” doesn’t occur (at least for me) until about 30 or 40 minutes into a run. And it’s not (once again, for me) any great joyous sensation or anything. It’s just kind of a feeling of being in a groove and being able to maintain a pace forever. I’ve heard others describing it in much more euphoric terms, so this is definitely a case of YMMV. I’ve heard others saying they’ve never experienced such a thing. For me, it’s very subtle.
I’ve been running since 1976 and I very seldom have felt the “runner’s high” high. That “in the groove” feeling-quite frequently.
Another question for people who have been running longer: Is my weak point now always going to be my weak point? The thing that prevents me from running faster and longer is my lower leg muscles. It’s been them consistently since day one. Will it always be my lower leg muscles or are they eventually going to catch up with the rest of me?
Weak point in what way? A persistent weak point will respond to extra work.
I did my W3D1 yesterday. That’s the one with the alternating 90 seconds and 3 minutes. Yay me!!! I’m so glad I listened to y’all and went ahead and tried it. It was tough, but I got through it, and I didn’t die afterwards! I have no idea how fast I’m going. I don’t have a treadmill (yet) and am just circling the major rooms of the house. Occasionally the cats decide that I’m really playing a game with them, and they chase me a little bit. Today was a down day, so I get to do W3D2 in the morning. I’m oddly looking forward to it. :dubious:
Week 5 is done, and I don’t quite know how I did it. But I’m thoroughly chuffed about it. In the end the 20 minutes didn’t seem any worse than the 8 minutes. If Gmaps Pedometer can be trusted then I did it at an average speed of 5mph which seems ok. I felt I was going very slowly. Today I shall rest as I managed to give myself a blister right on my insole.
I still haven’t been able to complete week 5 yet. Yesterday I ran for 12 min… then walked, ran 4, walked a bit, ran 4. So I ran for a total of 20 min, just not in a row.
I’m getting there though… just gotta keep building up. I’m still running at 5.4 which I don’t want to go any slower than that. I’ll give 20 min a shot again on Wed & whether I make it or not, I’ll do it again on Friday. Then I can hopefully start week 6 on Monday.
I’m not discouraged at all, and in fact I’m feeling pretty good about my progress so far.
Well, today would have been a good run but for my miscalculation. I’d gone about 12 minutes and gotten to the point where I was planning on turning around and adding some extra doglegs on the way back to make up the extra time. At that point you can turn around, you can go right and go past my high school (but I’ve learned I really don’t like running on that road - I feel really exposed, and it goes through some areas that I see runners in all the time but they make me a little nervous with no people around - I’ll have to get used to it when I start running longer, because you gotta go somewhere) or you can go left and go down some serious hills until you meet another pretty big road. I was going to do that and take that road back. I thought it had sidewalks.
It doesn’t. It was very busy. No way.
But the hills! Huge hills - I remember they scared the shit out of me when I had Drivers’ Ed in high school. I mean, not Pittsburgh hills, but big hills for a South Carolina midlands runner. No way could I run all the way back up them, so I walked up the hills and figured I’d start running again when I got back to that intersection, but I just couldn’t keep running after that. I think I wore the backs of my legs out on the hills and couldn’t manage to convince myself to keep running.
So I gave up, stopped TrailGuru, walked for a while, and then “Chariots of Fire” came on the iPhone and I figured, hell, it’s gonna take me forever to walk back, so I ran for a good long while just on the strength of old running movies. 
Oh, and about that “running in the cold and then getting hot” thing - I try to follow what they say with the “dress like it’s 20 degrees hotter”, but I still have that problem. It does help to have those running pullover shirts with the long zippers that you can undo, but I don’t think to do that until I get really hot. Today when I unzipped my zipper halfway down my sports bra, my boobs were steaming. Whee!
It was like when a football player takes his helmet off in the cold, only more boobular.
Week 5 Day 1 done. I measured one of the 5 minute runs - I did a bit over 2 laps, so the speed was about 10 kph or 6.2 mph. A bit faster than I expected, but then again I tried a bit harder on that run as I knew I was measuring it.
Probably no running for me today, as I plan to donate blood this afternoon. Hope to be back to it tomorrow, though!
I did W3D2 yesterday, and again didn’t die. This not dying thing is becoming habit now, it seems. 
I had to make a run to WalMart yesterday afternoon, and while I was there I found myself admiring the treadmills they have. I don’t have a treadmill. I’m not yet ready to subject my neighbors to the sight of my “running,” so I’ve just been circling around the major rooms of the house on these workouts.
But yesterday it was like I was in some kind of a dream and woke up to find myself standing next to the treadmills. There were only four, but they were whispering their siren songs to me, saying, “Take me home…I’ll magically make your thighs firm and your butt shapely. Take me home…and I’ll make it so you can wear your “thin” clothes again. Take me home…and we’ll leisurely stroll our way together to fitness.” I was sorely tempted, let me tell you. I mean, just look here! This one has a FAN! A fan that you can use while you’re running so that you can stay nice and cool and fresh! Ha! And here’s another that has a built-in program that will tell you how many calories your fat butt has burned while slogging through the never ending torture of - Uh, pardon me. It can help you keep track of the calories you’ve burned so that you can stick to your exercise goals. And here’s a third that has a built-in 5K and 10K run! Built in! I wonder, does it also hand out tshirts and awards when you’ve finished? I want a cheering crowd as well. Is that extra?
I think I’m going to need some help picking out a treadmill. I’m most drawn to the Gold’s Gym 550 model they have at WalMart. For those of you who use treadmills, can you please give me some advice about what to look for and what to avoid and maybe which brands are good ones and which brands aren’t? My budget is really, really tight. Meaning, very little money. I really want to stay below $600 if at all possible. And I would really prefer something new over something used, since I wouldn’t be able to tell the first thing about whether the condition of a used one was any good or not. So, treadmill owners, can you please help me out and give me some advice?
Thank you so much! Oh, and please forgive me if you feel this a hijack. I’m really not trying to hijack this thread. I’ll be happy to start a new thread if y’all would prefer. And one last “Oh,” this time back on topic…W3D2 in the can! Woot! Finishing up W3 on Thursday!
Clothilde, you might want to start a new thread, not because you’re hijacking this one (you aren’t) but just so people who aren’t following this thread can answer your questions.
What I learned from treadmill shopping was “Buy the biggest motor and the biggest belt you can afford.” I bought my treadmill as the display model from Dunham’s Sports. If there’s a sporting goods place near you, see what they have on the floor for you to try out.
Yesterday I did Week 5 Day 3 for the second time. It’s still a bit shocking to realize that I ran for 20 minutes without stopping. No shin splints, no lingering muscle pain, no other ill effects. I haven’t lost any weight but clothes are fitting better.
I’m still waiting for the day when I enjoy running. So far I’m liking the way I feel after I’ve been running and I’m seriously considering running two days in a row and then taking a day off instead of the current three days a week. But I don’t actually like the running part.
Soon I’m going to have to start picking up the pace a bit. I think I’m covering a bit less than 2.5 miles during the 30 minutes. Not very speedy but better than I ever expected.
Week 2, Day 2 and I almost fell off of the end of the treadmill. I was switching from my first two minutes of walking to my second minute and a half of running and wasn’t quite being mindful enough of the speed change. I survived though.
Today, overall, I felt less coordinated. I don’t know if I’m tired or what, but I felt like I was having trouble moving in a straight line, which is an odd experience on a treadmill.
An odd thing I’ve noticed is that changing from running to walking makes me feel a little winded. I’m okay while I’m running and I’m okay about twenty seconds into walking, but those first few moments after switching are rough. I think I need to be more mindful of my breathing towards the end of my running blocks. I imagine I’m unintentionally holding my breath while I count down to the time to walk. Does this happen to anyone else?
I started the push up challenge yesterday. That kind of sucked. I’m now officially sore all over. For people who work out regularly, is that a constant state of being for you? I’m hoping that it will eventually get better.
[red leader voice] al. most. there… al. most. there [/rlv]
Still trying for that 20 minutes in a row. Today I made it 15 minutes, walked 2, then ran for 6 more. Hopefully Friday’s the day where I finally finish up week 5. (3 weeks late)
That’s me exactly. I love the feeling of having had run. I even like the anticipation of going to run… “I feel great today, this is going to be a great run”… but running itself still sucks. I does suck a little less though, so I have hope that someday it won’t suck.
No run today… high chance of rain (I walk to and from the gym), messed up left arm.
I was not able to donate either. Low iron levels… I wanted to give blood!
Yay everybody! High fives and butt slaps all around! I don’t think I’ll be able to get in a run this week. Maybe tomorrow night after work, but I have to pack for a weekend away. Where I’m going has not fitness center and I’m a little dubious over street running in an unknown area. I could run on the beach, but I might step on something icky. Or sharp. Or sharp and icky. shudder If I don’t get to run before, then I will on Sunday when I get back.