I HAVE TO BE THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD! I did it........ i finished week 5 day 3. I am soooo doing the happy dance!

I took my time doing it, but kept focus on finishing it. So it was a slower pace than normal... but heck who cares... i could not even run a straight minute before!


BGC- thank you for the strength training site. It is very helpful. I will be taking your advice and sticking to the basics.

Lisac- welcome back. The 8's definately feel good. I am looking forward to that.

Novaks- plenty rest always helps. We will be cheering for you.

ok... going to schedule my mani pedi reward!

Had a good first 8 min run yesterday. Picked up pace on the 2nd 8 min without difficulty but by the 4th minute (excuse tmi), my bowels felt like they would explode. I made the mistake of running only an hour after supper...never again.

I don't know whether to repeat D2 again or just attempt D3. Based on yesterday I feel like I could do the 20 minutes but could I be kidding myself?

This is my third attempt at this posting - I don't know what's happening.

I spent most of the week kayaking and there was nowhere to run except rocky trails. I was too tired to run anyway. I wasn't expecting to have a successful run after 4 days of avoidance.

Well, I ran W5D1 today and it was the best day yet (at least since Week 2). I was completely energized and kept and even pace. I think two things helped. I extended the warm-up walk to 15 minutes and then did the runs on a local school track. I was eager to start running when I got there and my legs were happy when I was done.

I'm looking forward to Day 2 on Sunday and I feel encouraged to run the 20 minute segment after hearing of the successes of others.

I did it!!!! And managed to keep my pace the same throughout-- went to mapmyrun.com and did it all at under a 12 minute pace!! I am psyched... the last time I "ran" was the Presidential Fitness Exam in highschool and was one of the kids at the back who was huffing and puffing and walking more than running- and believe me, that made me despise running.

Who would have thought that at 32 I would be doing this program and keeping up?

You are all a great motivation!

Lisac-- the fact that you have been battling shin splints and keep on truckin' is great.

Zimmrunner-- if you feel up for it, go for the 20. I'm sure you can do it!

Novaks-- everyone has an off day-- you can do day 3!

The weather is PERFECT here so I am going to go play outside. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Sunnygirl-I follow the Weight Watchers plan. It's the only thing that works for me as it forces me to log what I eat. Even if I go over the "points" for a week, I still write it all down. Have lost & kept off 10-11 lbs since the beginning of the year.

Newjertex-thanks for the encouragement! I am needing to switch to Sun/Tu/Th from MWF the next few weeks due to my work schedule, so I'm eager to get back on the W4 schedule tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Holy slapping asphalt, Batman, I DID IT! 20 minutes! Without stopping and with a big ole grin on my face! You can do it too.

To everyone who's managed to finish D3, Congratulations! Don't you feel like you can do anything, now? To everyone who's still sort of planning/dreading the 20 minutes: go do it. You'll be amazed that you can and will feel like you've just climbed Everest, but without the frostbite.

I was going to do the hamster wheel track around the lake, but they are having a parade downtown today, so I decided to do my rail-to-trail close to home. That was a happy decision since the trail is tree lined, asphalt (instead of concrete) and the folks on the trail are much mellower and friendlier than those at the lake. I highly recommend you find a place to do your run that you love - it will help make the time go by. Temp was about 63F this morning, I had cream of wheat 2 hours before the run so I was fed and hydrated. The air was just cool to the skin. On my way to the trail I passed a group of women training for the 3 day walk for the Susan G Komen event in Seattle - that's 20 miles of walking every day for 3 days. They wer 7 miles into a 14 mile training walk. We said hellos and they turned left at the trail, I turned right.

My warmup is normally 5 minutes, but I added another minute. I felt like I wasn't really warmed up yet or maybe I was still pretty intimidated. At 6 minutes I started my run. Tap tap tap was the sound of my shoes lightly touching the pavement as I headed towards the big street. Traffic noise increased and when I got to the road, I turned around and headed north. The birds are chirping in the trees and flitting about in the bushes eating blackberries, bugs, and seeds. Bikers and walkers are passing the other direction and everyone says hi or nods in acknowledgement. I'm keeping my heart rate at the low end of my training range and my breathing is regular, but not labored. I get to my starting point and allow myself a time check - I've been running almost 12 minutes and I'm feeling good. That's when I started to smile.

The next 5 minutes were up a slight grade (it's an old railroad bed, so no hill is very steep - they're just long). At the top of the grade I do another time check - only 3 minutes left to run and I'm feeling great. The smile turned into a big old grin! I was not only going to make it, I was going to feel great. Since the next bit of trail was down grade, I kicked up my heels a bit for the last 3 minutes. I could have run much longer, but I was still looking at the walk back to the car and I was starting to need to find a bathroom, so, grinning like a fool, I turned around and walked back to the car.

I can run 20 minutes, non-stop. 5 weeks ago, I could only run 1.5 minutes non-stop. Next week's long run is going to be a piece of cake because I've proven I can run 20 minutes (at a blistering 13:48 pace, no less).

You can do this. Do it at a comfortable pace. Do it while it's cool outside. Do it someplace beautiful. You will be amazed, but YOU CAN DO IT!

I'm so glad to hear everyone is doing great. I too completely the 20min run today. The weather was beautiful, so I went to the park. There were some hills that I thought would kill me because I'm used to running on the track. But I just slowed up a bit and made it through. When I checked my time, I had been running for 12min. Wow. The time kinda flew. My pace today was about a 13min mile. I guess that's pretty decent considering that I've never been able to run EVER. And yes, after today, I do feel like I can do anything. Bring on Week 6. But first, let me get in 2 days rest.