DONE FINISHED COMPLETO FINITO (sorry, I got carried away) I have finished C25K! I'm so excited. I ran my 30 minutes, and covered 2.43 miles. that is pretty exciting, because if I can keep up that pace, I should be able to finish the 5K tomorrow in under 40 minutes. So, this is the first real thing I can remember for a long time that I actually finished. I'm feeling very good about it and glad I stuck with it. I definitely can say.... "I am a runner"..... And it feels good. Everyone is doing awesome! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't....because you can...and should ***Countdown to 5K ~ 24 hours****

Congrats, ernsberger!

OHR W9D3 - 54 minutes This was the long run and I was really hoping to do 3 things: 1) run the distance of an 8k 2) keep my pace under control 3) not die I had in my mind that an 8k was somewhere around 5.1 miles, so I figured if I ran something between 10:30 - 11:00 m/m, I'd be close enough that I could sprint at the end. To make sure I did that (an achieved #2 above), I kept my SportBand on pace display for the first half of the run so that I'd be sure to not overdo it. Unfortunately, this made me too aware of pace and I went faster than I probably should have. The good news, though, is that I felt good and could still talk. Only after I got done did I find out that an 8k is only 4.97 miles, so I def hit that mark. Ended up with 5.37 miles. ernsberger - congrats

Runswithdogs, I understand what you mean about the dog waste. It always seems to take forever to get back in the groove after stopping to take care of the dog's business. Luckily he almost always eliminates near the end of the warm up. The other thing I do is not feed the dog for at least 2 hours before a run. Do your dogs eat at certain times of the day or is there always food in the bowl? Yesterday I got a call from my wife because the dog ate her prize apple tree, but other than that he pretty much eats just two times a day.

I feed the dogs like I feed the cats - food out all the time. I know I'm not supposed to, but neither is overweight and it's easier. Yesterday I made a PB &J sandwich, got distracted and left it on the counter. A few minutes later I had to make another PB&J, because there wasn't any sign at all of the first one.... hmmm. Running with both of them on the leash is always an adventure, since together they outweigh me by a good 40 pounds. They are pretty well behaved, but certainly not perfect! We are so lucky to have these trails to run on most of the time, where the only people we meet are other people with their off-leash dogs (and usually we have the place to ourselves). This weekend is my first 60 minute run. wow. I'm a little impressed with myself, which is a new feeling...

Today I ran what most runners dread: The Run From Hell. It didn't bother me that I had a pain in-the-mammory-gland, and I wanted to get another 2 mile run under my belt during the recovery week. Well, it all came crashing down when I couldn't complete 1/4 mile. For someone who could eek out 2 at a time with effort, this was disturbing. I walked it out for about 1/8 mile and tried to start again. Same thing happened. Now I started to get angry. I said "Okay, then I just walk it out and jog a slow mile." Happened again. I ended up walk/running the last 1 1/2 mile, and I couldn't have been more disappointed. My shins hurt, my lungs hurt and I just wasn't having it. I have no clue where this Run From Hell came from, but I never want to endure it again. I was surprised that I didn't HTFU like I usually do...I was not happy with my lack of discipline there. I think it might have been because I didn't eat well the day before. I couldn't help it - I usually cook at home and I visited my grandma who just had surgery and had no choice in the food I ate. I also didn't get the best night's sleep. I'm just not happy at all with how this went down. Runswithdogs, you should be impressed with yourself! PolePole, as long as you're enjoying the program, I will continue to enjoy hearing your progress...even if it takes 9 years.

Ran W5D3 of C25K this morning with Copper. There is a fairly long hill right at the middle of my run and all I could think was to stop and walk but I made it. HTFU indeed.

Moonstar - how horrible for you! I hope you mend up quickly and better than before! Chup - congrats on running the hill! Goddess - sorry about the run from hell. Sometimes our bodies know best. Hopefully you'll get some good sleep soon. Ernsberger - hope the run went well! I look forward to hearing about it! Everyone else (there's just soo much to read!) congrats on your runs and well deserved rests! I managed to get my Day 1 Week 6 done! (My program is a bit different that the C25; same idea but over 13 weeks...) I tried to do it last week but couldn't. I did Days 2 and 3 (Day 1 is the hardest each week) and then re-started Week 6 today and I did the whole thing! My pace is actually up a bit and it was my longest run to date. Have a nice weekend!