For those who are thinking beyond the 5K (CHARGE!!!), here’s Cool Runnings schedules for speedwork, 10K, half marathon and marathon.
What I want to be thinking: “Cool! Another goal to eventually shoot for!”
What I am thinking: “yipes…” 
Thanks, pat. I have been looking for something to do when & if I complete the current program
I decided to take at least a day, and maybe another week off to recover from what I think was a shin splint. My leg doesn’t hurt that much, but I can still feel a ghost of the pain when I walk up and down stairs, and I don’t want to aggravate it again. Am I being too conservative? It’s killing me to not keep going.
Absolutely no shame whatsoever, missy. You are to be congratulated. Repeat week 1 if you need to, but the big thing is…you are not giving up!
And can we have a standing ovation for MsWhatsit and all our other former couch potatoes! You guys are awesome!!
No problem at all, it’s always best to rest a possible injury before it gets to be a real injury. I’ve lost count of the number of runners I’ve known who ignored the warning signs and lost weeks and months rather than days.
If you really feel the need to stay active(YAY), cycle, swim, elliptical, do something that doesn’t aggravate your shin.
Congratulations all around! This thread has been great for keeping me inspired and accountable with my running.
For those of us who’ve gone into C25K to lose weight and get healthier and are going to continue to run past the end of the program, definitely look into those training programs on Cool Runnings. I know I need a plan to help keep me on track. Don’t get scared by the distances you see there. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.
Also, as the summer winds down and we enter the season of Eating Holidays, I’m looking forward to having several 5Ks to run to keep me fit and resist the temptation to gorge myself. I find the more I run, the less
I ran 4 miles on Saturday (51:14), have registered for a 5K over my vacation (!), and am going to train to do a 15K in November. With two 5Ks under my belt, I’m well on my way to achieving my goal of running one 5K a month.
I’d also suggest the plan set forth by Jeff Galloway (jeffgalloway.com). His philosophy of more rest (than typical plans that have you run 5-6 days per week) and taking walk breaks can do wonders for preventing injuries to those who are building up their distance.
And then, once you get competitive, there is the whole world of heart rate training - VO2max, VDOT values (Jack Daniels running formula), mile repeats, lactate threshold training, cardio zones, anaerobic zones, etc, etc. Good stuff
The lingo used there frightens me, perhaps unnecessarily. It just sounds too technical (except where it says Jack Daniels and coke).
ETA: “Intimidates” is probably a better word than “frightens”.
It’s not as technical as it sounds, the basic principles are pretty easy to grasp. Besides, you’ve got silk and I to guide you through.
ETA: the calculator at McMillan Running uses Daniels’ program.
So this topic comes up everytime I read the dope, and well I decided to start it today! I really hope I can stick with it. I’m hung up on the fact I’ll look like a moron running, and have had a great respect for those that can run. (Picture the scene from ‘Friends’ where Phoebe is running with Rachel.)
I’m a sahm to 2 little girls, and hoping I can keep on schedule. I want to be one of those people that I see running around. Doing it to get fit, and try something new. Just be able to put on a pair of shoes and go. I love biking and swimming, but just not doable at the moment, and this seems a bit more fam friendly.
Not sure why I started the C to 5k during the hottest months of the year in FL 
Today did feel GREAT though!
It’s tough in Florida this time of year. I found early morning works best for me, but I don’t have two small kids. How old are they? Can you take them with you or find someone to watch them for an hour? You might come to relish that hour of sanity.
It ain’t much better in Mississippi. 
Welcome to the club!
I have a 2.5yo and a 6month old. The older one is in daycare m-w mornings, and the younger usually naps shortly after we get back from dropping her off. Don’t have a jogging stroller, but we’ll see how our regular one works out. May need to do a session in the evening when the kids are down and hubby can watch over them a bit.
Thanks!
Won’t work, I’ve seen it first hand. Jogging strollers are built with much bigger wheels, air-filled tires and heavier bearings plus features to keep the wee one in place. It rolls over bumpy roads and it won’t shake and wobble at speed.
See if you have a running club in the area, there may be a family who have outgrown theirs.
I’ve been getting up at 5:30 am to get a run in before my husband has to leave for work. Although if I still had one in the infant stage like you, I would definitely consider a jogging stroller. I always thought those things looked cool. It is kind of a PITA to try to schedule exercise around childcare responsibilities, but I justify it to myself by telling myself that when I get exercise I am in a better mood and yell at my kids less. Which is true.
Congrats on finishing Day 1, too!
As far as my ongoing training, I’m thinking about doing the Hal Higdon 8K training program to prep for my 5-mile race on Thanksgiving, although the program is only 8 weeks long and I have a lot more than 8 weeks before T’giving, so I need some filler, probably on the front end.
Judith Prietht (have I ever told you I love your username?), I find the same thing, regarding wanting to eat less when I run more. It really helps with my caloric goals. And also, that is part of my ulterior motive in scheduling a 5-mile race on Thanksgiving morning. (The other part is being able to lord it over all of my relatives, of course. I.e., “Oh, a second piece of pie? Well, I did RUN FIVE MILES this morning, so I think I will have one, thank you!”)
runner pat - I hadn’t actually seen that McMillan page before - looks real handy and a little bit more information that runbayou.com. Thanks for that link!
lunar elf - welcome to the club! I wouldn’t be surprised if this thread migrates to a new one (not sure of the protocol - since the starter, mswhatsit, has finished - is a new thread created for those who may just be starting up? Or is a new thread only created when the existing one totally dies down?)
Also, MsWhatsit - another thing if you are going to be looking at doing longer distances - running form. Check out this video for a good summary of how you should be running to land in the mid foot and not on the heel. It is very common for adults to run with the same mechanics as they use when walking (heel strike with a roll to the front of the foot), which is incorrect for running. Mechanics and form is a subject large enough for an entire thread in itself - and there are many different ideas out there, but they all pretty much agree on these two basic concepts:
- land mid-foot
- land with your foot under your center of gravity
The first two C25K threads were started by jsgoddess, the first went 750 posts and she started the second as the first was getting unwieldy. The second faded out at 488.
Hey, thanks for the link, silk1976!
As for this thread, I am perfectly happy for it to keep going as long as it is manageable and people are still interested. There are several people who are still in the middle of C25K or even have just started it, and the supportive environment is really helpful IMO.
I just did the first run of week five, I had(still have) a bit of a chest cold and didn’t feel up to running last week, today wasnt to bad, “only” three 5 min runs…but I am kind of concerned about the 20 run at the end of this week, but I am doing okay so far…
yay me!
and Yay those who finished it!
Yay’s for everyone!
I was considering starting a new thread because **Ms. Whatsit **finished her program, but I’ll chime in here instead (BTW, why would Ms. Whatsit have to run at all? Couldn’t she just tesser wherever she wants to go?)
I’m planning on starting Week 1, Day 1 next Monday. This is a pretty big deal for me because a few years back, I started running and increased my distance so drastically (percentage-wise) that I injured my knees very badly. Four years, a knee surgery, and a lot of pain later, I am getting back on board.
Here are my preparations so far:
[ul]
[li]I bought a new pair of sneakers from a running store. This store gave me pretty much exactly the same guidance as a store I went to once before for running shoes I could use for walking, so I am pretty certain that the style of shoes is correct.[/li]
[li]I’ve been mowing the lawn and trail-walking the dog for months to hopefully add to my knees’ stability.[/li]
[li]I’ve been on Weight Watchers and have dropped about 13 pounds. That should reduce my impact, although I still have quite a way to go.[/li]
[li]I downloaded the C25K music-free audio and will add my own music to it.[/li]
[li]Also, I was prescient enough to marry **silk1976 **a few years ago.[/li] [/ul]
My goal is to do a Turkey Trot. By starting C25K on August 10, I will have a little over six weeks slide time. The extra time will be used to rest or repeat weeks if my knees go bad, or to increase mileage at the end in case my 30 minutes doesn’t add up to 5K.
My plan is to run with a heart rate monitor to keep my pace slow. I’ll be stretching on running days, and will try to do my physical therapy exercises on off days (I’ve been extremely bad about them since I got done with my ‘official’ PT).
If my knees start to hurt in the same way they did when I hurt myself before, I am all done. I’m not going through a lateral realease on my other knee. Nope. Not gonna happen.
Because I’m doing Weight Watchers (calorie restrictive), but also have a little bit of a blood sugar issue, I will bring almonds and water with me on the runs - just in case I run into problems.
I’m still trying to decide where to run. My neighborhood is quite hilly, which can be harder on the knees. There is a track on the other side of town where I can bring my dog with me, but I don’t know if adding the time overhead for getting there will derail me. I’m way to clumsy to trail run, so that’s right out. I might just wind up mixing it up a little for a change of scenery anyway.