I ran on the beach yesterday... it was not a scheduled run but it was fun... the night before Lauri and I did our scheduled run in the rain... FULL OUT rain run... it was awesome... we were soaked!!! Everybody has got to try a rain run!!!

My son is back from summercamp since yesterday (and apparently, we missed him more than he did us), and went running with me today. He'd like to run a 3K or 6K run in october, and I'm sure he will be able to. We ran W3D1 (start2run), which went very smooth... Nevertheless, I think I'll have to repeat at least W2 and W3: My best friend returns from vacation in a few days, and I think she'll like to (re)start running too... She was on a hikingtour, so she has some basic condition, but I think it's not realistic she starts with W4 of a 8-week program.

Hi everyone! I'm back from vacation and am trying to catch up with all the progress around here, whew! I repeated Week 2 while away, and it really was a great call on my part. It ended up being a sort of 'upgraded' Week 2. One day I ran on hills (crazy), so the second day I stayed on flat land ha ha. And the third day was a treadmill workout after I got home. On each of the three days I ran faster than the first Week 2, AND, I threw in a 3 minute interval for the last interval. In addition to that, instead of a 2 minute recovery walk between intervals, I kept it to one minute most of the time. And finally, I got to really practice my form and breathing. So it was all good for me! So I am ready to start Week 3 today! I skimmed through some great stuff here for a quick catch up, and everyone seems to be doing great! Cheers! Cyndi W3D1

The hill in the middle continues to be a huge mental block for me. I can run through it, but it is a great struggle to not stop and walk during the uphill.

It's going to keep getting easier, though. So, if you can , stick with it. I have a favorite trail that has some pretty serious uphill sections. It hurts and I have to run them really slow, but when I did my 5k a few weeks ago, I was able to call on those training runs up the hills to push me up the small hilly part of the course. Because I pushed through the hills in training, I had the confidence and knowledge that I could do it during the race. (Don't hurt yourself, though!!). Go as slow as you need and don't worry, it will get easier!

Hello, runners! Glad to see everyone in good spirits. Yesterday was hectic, so I decided to go for a morning run. Let's just say I'm a convert and will attempt to run early as much as possible. After The Run From Hell, I decided to change my route and just run. No worrying about distance...going back to why I ran in the first place - for the peace and the passion. I had biked around the area before and LOVED the hills, so I wanted to run them. There was some serious incline going on (I think it was something like 25 degrees or so) but I loved every second of it. Ran for about 32 minutes and I have no clue how much I covered. It was certainly more than 2 miles...straight. I'm so glad that run was just a fluke. Erendis, that's partially why I switched to my own music. Being told I'm only halfway there doesn't help me out. Besides, the music started grating on my nerves, and I like my own music.

on another note- what the heck is up with my weight gain? i've gained 3lbs each week this past two weeks and the analyzer on my scale says its all fat. i have been more hungry due to running, but not like pigging out or anything. what gives?

Body fat scales are notoriously incorrect. Have you been weight training? Are you near that time of the month? Eat a lot of salty foods?

Running Week 7 Day 1 tonight! A couple days behind schedule but Friday night after my run I was getting gas and out goes my ankle! I have weak ankles that give out once in a while, my knees do it too. I'm double jointed and need to strengthen them to keep the muscles tight or they give out from time to time, it's actually quite weird but if I don't rest them for a few days after it happens then it will get weaker and I'll dislocate or sprain the next time it happens!