Loving that spring *appears* to be here. Hoping it stays. How is everyone holding up? I just came back from what is essentially W5D2 (the 8 minute runs). I have to say, I can't believe that I am at this point. Feels like I just started. I am ready to get the 20 minute run done with. It messed with me last summer and I'm ready to beat it. Slow and steady.

I finished my second round of W4 Thursday. It was easier the second time around. Yesterday I completed W5D1 and I was surprised I was able to complete each run. The sprinkles of rain felt good on my last run. I'm looking forward to W5D2 on Tuesday. I think I may be experiencing hints of shin splints. I made sure to stretch before and after my last run. I'll do a search on shin splints to find an exercise/stretch that should help. Good luck everyone. Have a good week.

I'm in week 6. I ran yesterday with my partner as a "free run", no times, no distance goals, no c25k strictness. I DID AWESOME. 1. I ran outdoors, for one. Historically, I suck at pounding the pavement. I've been c25king on the TM. And I usually get wiped out if there's any altitude change whatsoever. 2. Also, I didn't take my Zune, something I never leave home without especially when working out. It's a crutch. 3. I really tried to concentrate on "form" (I think I lean forward in my back when I run) and keeping a "conversation pace" (which was pretty slow, I think I could've walked faster?) but it's hard to tell how fast I was going since I didn't pay attention to when I left. So I ran .7 before stopping, walked .1, ran .5, walked .1, ran .1. It was a 1.5 mi loop of which I ran 1.3! It was a good day! My partner ran 2.5! I'm jealous but super proud of him. I'm starting to feel like 30 minutes isn't such a lofty goal. It was pretty nice outside, overcasty but warmish (65?). I also found out one of my coworkers is trying to get into shape so we're going to start meeting at the gym on Wednesdays and Thursdays. So those are two "whatever" days, I can work on c25k or just do the elliptical, whatever, weight train. It is nice to have people keep you accountable. So today or tomorrow I'll be doing w6d2. Can't believe I'm here already!

week 5 day 1 done! It was easier than I thought. I need to find a different route, this one is too short!

Wow, did I disappoint myself today. I'm on W5D2 and I couldn't complete the 5 minute run. I did so well on my last run that I expected this to be a breeze. Was it the rain? The stitch in my side? The fact that I didn't give my body enough time to recover from the last run? The fact that I'm NOT 20 years old any more? My shins are kinda sore. I came home and soaked in epsom salts. What a sissy. I can see I may need to repeat each of the weeks until I'm done. But if that's what it takes, I'm going to do it. I WILL run a 5k.

Wow, did I disappoint myself today. I'm on W5D2 and I couldn't complete the 5 minute run. I did so well on my last run that I expected this to be a breeze. Was it the rain? The stitch in my side? The fact that I didn't give my body enough time to recover from the last run? The fact that I'm NOT 20 years old any more? My shins are kinda sore. I came home and soaked in epsom salts. What a sissy. I can see I may need to repeat each of the weeks until I'm done. But if that's what it takes, I'm going to do it. I WILL run a 5k.

That may be JUST what you have to do and THAT'S okay! Personally, I have tweaked weeks 5 and 6 to repeat certain days, too. You do what you have to do and in the end, it will make you stronger!

I've been on week 9 for what seems like forever and now I'm just trying to decide when I'm done. Is it when I can run 30 min straight- which I can do. Or when I can run a 5k in 30 min- which I don't think I'll be able to do for a while yet? Any thoughts?

For me, I'm gonna keep at it til I can do the 5k in 30ish minutes. That's my personal goal. Then, I'll move on to One Hour Runner program. I think, if I could do it in 30-32 minutes, I'd feel good. I am still working on week 6. I attempted w6d2 yesterday...ummm...it went ok. I ran outside again, with trepidation. I didn't make the goals but I still had a good run. Ran 10 min (.9 mi), walked three minutes (exceedingly slow, .1 mi?), ran 6 min (.5 mi), died promptly. I was so wiped. It was hot out (78+?), I had new shorts on, blah blah blah, excuses. I'll try again today on the TM at the gym. Or tomorrow. I am really excited about this community. I love that I can commiserate/share my joy.

nauseousadrnalin- thanks for your input. Sushigirl -WTG on the 20 min run! It's amazing what our bodies can do with proper training. I stalled out in weeks 5-7, that's when I needed to repeat a lot and I also started listening to my own music and using the stopwatch on my iPod as I found Ullrey's podcasts too frustrating when he'd combine all the runs on one podcast. I've only recently started running for distance versus time. Some days I just run for a set amount of time & see how far I've gone. I am trying to improve my 5k time best is ~36min right now, which isn't great- but if I tried to run a 5k in Feb when I started this adventure- I wouldn't be able to finish! so I'm going in the right direction. I'm glad I got my run in this morning as it's currently snowing and doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon.