Thanks, runner pat. Week 4 is only 3 days, but I guess it’ll be good to start back up slow. It’s all I can do to not go right this very minute.
Guess I won’t be finishing up by my birthday. 
– Chomps-at-the-bit-much!
I’m back on my feet. I haven’t been limping at work at all this week. Felt like I could go out again on Tuesday, but decided to give it just a few more days. Today, I couldn’t wait any longer and I completed W4D1 (again!) with no limping, no favoring and only some aching two miles in. Finished up at 2.41 miles. I’m sitting here with a cold pack on it and took some naproxen after the run as a preventative measure.
I believe your advice, runner pat, to go back a couple of weeks was right on. Despite the fact that I initially thought it was a bit too conservative. The fact is, I didn’t want to let my eagerness contribute to poor judgment, which may have been what got me injured in the first place.
Thanks, again!
B-E-G, you’re very welcome. I learned long ago that an extra week coming back is better than losing weeks or months from pushing too early.
Completed week 5 this morning which was a 20 minute run with no walking! I didn’t think I would be able to make it without a break but managed it even though I did feel like death warmed up at the end. Since it was a single run with no intervals I didn’t use the C25K app and just set Nike GPS on a 20 minute run, did 3.95km in the 20 minutes and set a new personal best for the mile, yay!
So it has managed to rain on me 4 out of the last 5 runs. I don’t mind too much, except for the wet feet. Today was quite chilly running in the rain though.
I do not seem to be progressing - I may have to change my plan. My doc wanted to see me do more shorter runs, but I seem to think I did better at less longer runs. I will give it a few more weeks before I decide.
Was a good strong run today. My legs felt much better, especially the calves and ankles.
Been off running for about a week now, went on holiday for a long weekend so didn’t do any running then and have come back with a case of man flu so no running until I get over it. Think I might have to repeat a week when I get back to it.
Just finished week five again today. Got a new pair of runners and am truly enjoying the cooler weather. Now, I get to switch between my FiveFingers and Brooks Green Silence. I could get totally addicted to new running shoes.
Yesterday was a very good run and probably the best of the season. Today was poor and as far as I can tell the only difference was the mental attitude. I woke up grumpy, didn’t feel like running and wanted to quit throughout the run. I finished, but my time was poor.
You may have been a bit fatigued from your good run or you may have just had an ordinary bad day. Happens to all of us.
The running bug has bitten Mr. S! He went for a few 5K-ish runs over the past few weeks, then joined me on a 5K and a 10K this past weekend. And he beat me both times – not sure what that’s about! He’s 11 years older, and I’m the one who’s been running all summer!
Anyway, let’s talk about ME some more. 
This weekend:
5K: 32:32
10K: 1:06:something (official clock on the fritz)
Both of those are improved times over my past official races. The 10K was a bit more of a hard run than I would have liked, but I know I need to get out more and take off the rough edges. Still, I managed to run the whole way at my granny pace with no walk breaks (which is more than Mr. S can say!).
Upcoming races:
10/16: 5K
10/23: 5K (with Mr. S)
11/28: 15K
Our semi-local (closest one, but it’s 60 miles away in my hometown) running club hosts several runs every month, and I hope to hit some of those as well, depending on my schedule and the weather. They hosted this weekend’s 10K, and we met some nice folks. 
I’m using an iPod app called “Get Running” and I am through W5R2. The next run, according to the app, is supposed to be 20 minutes, or, according to a C25K chart I looked at, 2 miles.
Ain’t no way I’m anywhere close to covering two miles in 20 minutes. Should I keep plugging away on minutes spent running, or should I be concerned about the actual distance I’m covering?
I am on break this week, as I am on vacation and cannot find an appropriate place to run. I brought my running gear expecting to run, but was disappointed.
Go with the 20 minutes. The 2 miles only comes into play if you can run it in less than 20 min. as the aim there is to not overload you with distance.
Sometimes I think I am regressing rather than progressing. Today was a difficult run - I was begging to quit at the half mile mark.
I think perhaps I set a pace that was too quick. I say this because, despite stopping to retie my sweats, I still finished within 20 seconds of my usual run. Although I didn’t time the retie, I believe it took longer than 20 seconds.
On the plus side: Since I started running again, I have lost more than an inch around my waist!
Congrats, Khadaji!
Yesterday, I did W8D2 (28 mins) a minute faster than W8D1. I shaved 27 seconds off my average pace and managed to keep it pretty consistent for the whole run. Funnily enough, I had the feeling that I was going to quit in the first mile. Probably because my pace was slightly faster than usual, but the important thing was that I was able to maintain that pace for a lot longer than usual and didn’t fall off in the last mile when I start to get tired.
I’m so excited. Not only am I running further, I am running faster! 6 minute mile here I come! (yeah probably not this year, but eventually, I hope)
I have a 6.66 mile race tomorrow. Even though I’ve done longer distances, I’m a little anxious because I still have bad days when even going 3 miles feels tough. I haven’t had one of those in a while so I think if I eat breakfast and warm up, it should be fine.
I also have my first half in 2 weeks. This one I’m more nervous about. My longest run so far was about 9.5-10 miles last Sunday and it took me an hour and 50 minutes. Since I’m doing the race tomorrow, I won’t be able to do another long run until next weekend. That will be my last long run so hopefully it goes well. I’m going to try to do 11 miles. The training schedule I’m loosely following ends with a 10 mile run so in theory I should be able to do 13.1 miles. I hope that Sunday, Nov 14 also turns out to be a good running day. If I run 12 minute miles it should take me about 2h35m to finish.
Also I need to get new shoes. My toes start going numb after about 90 minutes.
After the half, I think I’ll stick to doing 3 mile runs with maybe a 6 mile run during the weekend through the winter. I’m looking forward to it.
That happens to everyone, i think.
I run 5 miles (8 km) a day, 5-6 days a week. I don’t always time myself, but when i do, it typically takes about 37 to 37:30. Some days, every step is a struggle and i can’t wait until the end of the run. Other days i feel like i’m floating and the whole thing seems to take no effort at all. And yet, despite the good days and bad days, i usually still usually finish no more than 30 seconds or so either side of my normal time. The fastest i’ve ever done it was just under 36:30, and the slowest (at least since i actually got a bit fit) is about 38:00.
Not only that, but there’s often no relation between how i feel when i start the run, and how well the run goes. I went out for a run yesterday evening, and i really didn’t feel like going. I was feeling lazy and lethargic, and i knew it was going to be a painful exercise. And yet, within the first half-mile, i was feeling great, and the whole run was really good. Other days, i set out feeling awesome, but then run out of steam and have to really struggle during the latter stages. It’s all completely inexplicable to me, because none of it seems to bear any relation to how busy i’ve been, what i’ve been eating, how much other physical exercise i’ve done, etc., etc.
I’ve concluded that, as a runner, i’m just inevitably going to have good days and bad days, easy days and hard days.
I’m slowly learning this to be true. I need to etch this into my brain.
Very, very true. I’ve lost count of the bad days in my running career.
it happens, don’t worry about it.
It does not mean you need to train harder.