I was considering the OHR program, but after I switched over to running distance for my last three weeks of Cto5k, my time out on my runs has increased considerably. I did a three mile trail run yesterday(which felt great), but was almost 50 minutes long. Heh. I'm almost a OHR already! Somewhere around these boards, I found this link: Run Injury Free - Intermediate And it looks like it's going to work for me. I'm going to probably tweak it a bit because I'm considering doing this with a Low Heart Rate approach to the plan as a whole. However, we are all at different places at the end of Week Nine. I had done some running earlier in the spring and I think that helped me a bit as I progressed through Cto5k. I'm running a 5k in September, but my primary goal is to build a solid base for next year. And to not get injured.

meewolfie: thanks for wealth of info! I looked at the website for the intermediate runner. Loads of info Meg: That is kinda what I thought I would do. Just increase a couple of minutes here and there until I get comfortable running. I do alot of running on the treadmill, so that will not be a problem during the winter. I'm on a weight loss plan so I don't want to lessen anything I do once I graduate!!! Running definitely burns the inches away Thanks for the words of advice!

I started the C25K in April, with the goal of getting up to running one hour at a time. I was pleasantly surprised to find the OHR plan on the C25K group page, since I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. I don't have tons of flexibility in my life for exercising, and I wanted to be able to get in a good work-out on my own terms, which is why I thought I'd see if I could work up to one hour at a time. This website has been immensely helpful in keeping me going, especially because I'm sure I would have tried to go faster and would have hated it as I've done every other time I've tried to become a runner. Instead, I'm just focusing on time, ignoring distance and pace. I hope I can eventually, slowly, get to the point that I'm running one hour at a time at least 3 times a week, with maybe a shorter run or two thrown in there on busier days. I don't really see myself working up to a marathon in the near future - I just don't have chunks of time bigger than an hour at a time right now in my life. I did a sprint triathlon last summer, and it was just way too hard to get all those activities in, especially since the running was horrible (too fast). If I can get the running to be easier, then I think I may try to add in the swimming and biking long enough to do the same sprint next summer. I hope by running consistently, slowly, my pace will eventually improve. But I'm happy with how it's going so far. Yesterday, I actually thought "oh good, I get to run tomorrow". That is the FIRST TIME EVER that I have had that thought. It's a major breakthrough for me.

it's good to plan ahead for "What comes after"- that was definitely the mistake i made last time i got into running. i finished the 4 week plan (it was that self magazine one month thing) and then petered out. this time i've already signed up for my first 5k at the end of september so i can't just slack once the 9th week is done. that intermediate plan looks cool- i was also thinking of doing the podrunner intervals "gateway to 8k" and then "freeway to 10k"http://www.djsteveboy.com/intervals.html since i've really enjoyed the interval training and using podcasts to keep track of time rather than being glued to my watch.