Hey all~ Love all the 'energy' around here...I had a GREAT 28 minute run for starting Week 8 last night...actually I ran 29.5 minutes by accident ha ha, but it was all good and feels much better this week then last week! Goddess - So cool with the hydration belt! I have that on my 'list' of things to get....one of my blog friends refers to this stuff (magazines, water bottles, lace gadgets, 'snacks' etc.) as 'runners porn' lol. Dani - Congrats on finishing! What a great accomplishment and good to see you've got a plan going forward. I plan to work towards the One Hour Runner program for now, unless I find something else. I want to run a 10K in May, so I'm not sure if the OHR plan is right or not. Anyway, great job and I'm right behind ya! Sushi - Don't worry about your pace. I am very slow too, but I get a little faster 'naturally' every week! To finsh the 25-28 minute runs, I slow it down because I want to get through it all without stopping.I can run faster 1-3 minute intervals, but my longer runs average 12 minute miles still. I'm more concerned with running the full time that is scheduled and not worry about how far I actually go in that time. It's about endurance right now. Speedwork comes later. If I can do my first 5K in October in under 40 minutes, I'll be happy! I ran at a solid 4.2 mph for 29 minutes last night. That's not very fast, but it was comfortable, I still broke a very substantial sweat and my lungs felt good, and my heart rate was right where it needed to be for good fat burning and aerobic conditioning. Olivia - We are in the same spot - Almost Done! Woo Hoo! It's a great feeling of accomplishment isn't it? Littlefrog - I agree with Meg, stick to the plan - your body will thank you later! (knocking on wood) Here I am almost 41 years old (next week!) and still about 23 pounds overweight, and I made it through the program injury free and without needing to repeat weeks. I use a fourth day to go for a long 3 mile brisk walk. Let your body rest when the plan calls for it and you'll do great! Cheers all!

Hi all! After two weeks offline (it nearly killed me - I don't know anything without google!) I'm back. I took it easy running-wise last week since I had a killer work week with 5 overnight shifts to work in between my other part time job. Plus, I didn't realise how much I relied on reading all your stories to motivate my behind off this sofa! But it's a new week now and my run yesterday felt great. I was worried that last week's pause would be the end of my running (I've a history of lapsing) but it definitely wasn't. I'm also glad to hear that lots of you are in this same limbo between programs. It's interesting to see which paths you all choose after completing C25K.

Goddess - So cool with the hydration belt! I have that on my 'list' of things to get....one of my blog friends refers to this stuff (magazines, water bottles, lace gadgets, 'snacks' etc.) as 'runners porn' lol.

HAHAHA...that is so true! I love it. Isn't it nice to know you can run for longer if you wanted? So, the belt makes me feel invincible AND it frees up my hands. Just watch out how you drain those bottles...it might create a weight imbalance and make you feel like you're a little off on your stride. That's the only down side. I'm hopping out for a run now but happy running everyone! Keep it up. ETA: I finally got my "fitness" back, and I'm sick, too! 27 minutes of running...much much better than the 10 minutes and then run/walking I've been doing. You know what the problem was? I was going too fast! I kept telling myself to start moderate and stay that way, no matter who is around me/passing me/behind me, and even though I felt like I was running slightly faster than a snail, I did it! That snail pace actually ended up being about 13 minutes/mile, so that means I was probably starting out at a 10-11 minute mile pace and the former pace is about par for me for multiple miles. I'm glad. ^^ The only bad thing about losing weight while running is that the smaller you get, the less calories you burn per mile. I used to burn 370 calories doing 2.5 miles, now I might get 320. 50 calories is a big deal!

Yay!!! Finished Week 5 and did the 20 minute run! It wasn't as bad as I thought. Kept a light pace, no real pain. I did stop for a sip at the water fountain, hope that's okay and then we tacked on another 5 minutes on our way home. Yay! I really was skeptical 8 weeks ago that I would be able to do it!

Just did my 3rd run of the week. I was planning on going at least 3 miles but only made it 2. Oh well. I've decided to not push myself if I don't feel like it, at least for now.