Hi everyone. I was over at CR and noticed someone mention this site. I LOVE it and I even found my way here to C25K. I'm so happy. I will probably go back to CR but I imagine I'll find more help here. I was in my second week of c24k when I experienced a huge drop, as in no willpower or motivation to run. I ran once this week on Wednesday and I actually could only run for 60 seconds and not the 90 that I should have been running. I did find the motivation both at CR and here so after work today (yes some of us are lucky enough to work weekends YUK!!!) I will get my tired butt to the Y and get in my second runt this week. I look forward to meeting everyone here and I'll help motivate as much as possible. A little more about me: I'm starting late in life. I'll be 50 this year but I think it would be an awesome goal to run a 5k this year. Last year I walked in a few 5k events which made me wonder what it would be like to RUN in these events, hence the goal. About 3 years ago I got a bicycle for my birthday so I ride a bike when it's warm. I had a cycling friend teach me some training tips on the bike this week which will also help with my running. I do my running (can I call it running at this point?) on a treadmill at the Grove City YMCA. I'm a ilttle intimidated by all of the people running but I make myself get up there on that treadmill with my kmart mpe player and I don't even know they are next to me. This week I purchased an Ipod Shuffle just so I could download the podcast from Ullrey for the c25k. Have a great weekend everyone.

Hi, Nancy. Glad you made it over here. I wiill sometimes get a drop in motivation when I'm running... I'll go through a week or two where I just plain don't want to work very hard when I'm running. Instead of stressing out about it, what's worked for me is to take that as a signal that something's out of balance in my life or my running... and that it's okay to take it easy for a little while. Every time that's happened, in another week or so the feeling's gone away and I've been able to keep on. You can call it running if YOU think it's running. There's a whole nasty debate about what makes a runner vs a jogger. My best advice: stay far far away from any debates about it. People end up with hurt feelings for no good reason from those "debates" and nothing gets accomplished or decided. Something you should know is that every runner was once a newbie... and a surprisingly large number of them started out late in life, out of shape, smokers, etc. I was and 210 pounds when I started. (Now 165-ish.) And something I've personally found is that there are a lot of genuinely nice people out there... and the vast majority of more experienced runners WANT to help you succeed and are very supportive of new runners' efforts. As with every group there are a few bad apples, but the overall attitude I've found is very supportive. So... that said, where are you on the program now? Still in week 2? There's absolutely nothing wrong with repeating a week of the program... and since your stated goal is to run a 5K "this year" you shouldn't feel any time pressure. Just keep trying and you'll get there! Please join our weekly threads - the more the merrier!

Nancy - Nothing wrong with repeating a week. It took me about 20 weeks to get through a 12 week program, but I did it! And it makes those running milestones all the sweeter! When you reach a 3 minute run (you will!), celebrate it! When you reach a 10 minute run, celebrate it! Non-runners will think you're nuts, so celebrate with us runners. Two things are concerning me right now. One, you say that shin pain is waking you up in the middle of the night. Two, you called your shoes "tennis shoes". While it's pretty normal to feel SOME discomfort when starting a new routine, it should not be severe enough to wake you up in the middle of the night. First off, for the shins, you're doing the right thing in not going on to the next week in the program. Really, I'd suggest taking a few days off of running. Really. Just a couple. 2-3. If you don't have any allergies, drug interactions, ulcers, or other contraindications, you may want to consider taking ibuprofin during those days too, to help any inflammatory process calm down. Ice for 20 minutes at a time (longer gets counterproductive) several times a day. We runners are prone to specific kinds of injuries. Among them are shin splints and stress fractures. And the most common reasons for those are either increasing running too quickly or... improper or old shoes. Since you're following the c25k program and are willing to repeat a week... and... since you called your shoes "tennis shoes," I'm guessing that a likely source for your pain may be found in your shoes. The easiest way for you to NOT be a runner right now is to get hurt when you're starting out, lose motivation, and quit. Don't do that! With carrying around extra weight, you NEED good cushioning under your feet. You NEED the proper shoes. Running in just any-old-shoe is a recipie for pain, injury, quitting, and being back on that couch where you don't want to be. People's feet tend to do one of three things when they run. A lot of people pronate when they run. This means that the ankles roll in towards eachother. This predisposes you to one set of knee issues if it's not corrected with the proper shoes. Some people supinate. They roll to the outside. They have a different set of knee problems if not corrected... and need the opposite kind of shoes. Lucky people do neither and can wear "neutral" shoes. It's really-really-really hard to see what you're doing with your feet and ankles when you run. Generally speaking, flat-footed people tend to pronate and people with high, rigid arches tend to supinate. But the advice most often heard is "get thee to a running store and have your gait analyzed." That doesn't mean to go to the shoe store at the mall that sells basketball shoes, coasters, sandles, and a little bit of everything. They hire anyone who applies and chances are the sales reps don't know very much about RUNNING or RUNNING SHOES. Instead, for at least your first pair, go to a running specialty shop. Have them look at your feet. Have them look at how you're walking with your shoes off. They may have a treadmill you can try the shoes out on. They WILL let you at least run around the block in them. (If they don't, take your business elsewhere!) The shoes should be comfortable from the outset, not rub anywhere, and be large enough that you're not going to hit the ends of them when you're running. (You'll probably need a larger size than usual.) Tell the sales rep that you're a new runner and need help picking out a pair of shoes that'll work for you. Expect to spend between $90 - $130, depending on what you pick out and where you are. Then, armed with a few days rest and your new shoes, try that w2d1 again. Gently. If something hurts in the middle of the night, that's a big red flag for you that something's wrong. If a few days rest, ibuprofin, and ice doesn't stop your legs from hurting, get thee to a sports doc 'cause it could be a stress fracture, which is more complicated and needs medical treatment. Good luck and keep us posted!

I have been told that running shoes lose their cushion after about 6 months... and cushion is very important right now. Miles you get out of shoes varies too. Some lucky people get 600+ miles out of their shoes. I start getting injuries when my shoes have about 300 miles on them. So I have to replace mine twice as often as they do. You may want to start noting in your log what shoes you're wearing on your runs. RunningAHEAD will automatically track shoe mileage for you, and sometimes it's nice to look back and see... "Yes, I was wearing shoe XXX when that happened..." Definitely don't worry about keeping up with anyone else... it's YOUR body you're training, not theirs, right? If you're not already there, also check out our Masters Running group. It's for runners over 40 and is VERY active.

WINGZ!! Thank you. I WILL get knew RUNNING shoes. Thank you for those links. I did not know about the Masters and those articles look great. On one of the other discussions I said I will go back to CR but I meant to visit. I'll use both forums while I'm in the c25k. I like the info I get from both sites and YOU have been MOST helpful and supportive. Thank you so much.