Morning All,

Yes it is a wonderful happy new start to the week!  I have been reading and staying up to date with the posts but have not had the time to respond individually.  I used to be able to but with school I just cant.  I do love reading about the long runs, races, triumphs and tribulations though!  Welcome to our new posters on this thread!!

Today is a DOR for me - got in a nice 9 miler yesterday that was one of those runs that just felt great.  The whole run was just a long conversation with my dear "fast friend" and we cranked out our final mile a minute faster than our first!  THAT's how good a run it was.  Thank you god for giving me a decent run for a change - it's been a while - remember me saying that Dan?  I sooo needed a good long run and there she was!

Happy - did check out the new recipe on the blog and yumsters that looks good!  I may try the mango scallop one as well.  Thanks for reminding us to look at the blog - you do have some great recipes there!!  3 weeks to go on micro - yay!  How did your final go?  Do you know how you did in the course yet?  We get our unknown organism tomorrow night so I have my flow chart ready to go to start running tests on it - now that I have my flow chart done I am kinda looking forward to figuring it out - it counts for 25% of our lab grade.

Bo - you are certainly embracing that FL heat - good for you!  I think I would be whining and complaining and/or making plans to move!!  LOL  I am not a big fan of summer running!

Enjoy your day, your runs and your AP's!!!

Lost  my first attempt at post when laptop battery ran out.  For the past week, I have felt as if I I could not get enough to eat. I  have been through all my weekly points and APs for the first ever time. I blame feeling weak from dehydration. or maybe it was the cortisone for thumb tendon... Anyway, I have been using the Wii Fit and staying out of the sun. Even though I have been doing walk/run after 8 pm in the shade.

Belvedere copes with the heat by passing out on the cool floor and snoring, and he drinks lots of water. He is out at night . He also loves to play in mud when we water the garden. Resulting baths cool him off.

Oh yeah, my Facebook username is pjbarnett. I need to put it down so I can remember it.

I have been sitting for an hour at my dd's OT appt & catching up on the posts from last week. I have not worked out yet today but planning a walk after dinner.

Aspins - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! a run on the beach sounds great. I'm loving the new update on the iPhone. Especially the landcape keyboard. I've opened a new email & typing my responses here & then cut & paste for my reply.  It's working so far

Darlene - wow you were fast for your 5k!!! I love that you ran for your BIL & wore his fav color. I have a lot of free apps on my phone. My favorites are facebook, shopshop, wordpopper & flixster. As for Twitter, I'm not a fan yet. Still trying to figure out why so many ppl use it. 

Shelly - great job on your race! You did wonderful & believe me, I have cried more than a few times during a race thinking about loved ones lost. WTG!!!!!!

Bo - I won't be home the weekend of the 4th but will be home the following weekend. Which weekend are you coming? Great job on the 12 miler. You rock!

Colleen - glad you got a good long run with your friend. Enjoy your DOR today. 

Klint - sounds like your running is going well. Hope the WI is good for you too. 

Pjbe - glad you can get workouts done in the ac & stay cool. 

Happy Monday All-

Woo Hoo - I'm posting before Wednesday this week - a true miracle.  LOL.  I ran 5-miles this morning and it felt great - one of those days when you felt like you could keep running - Colleen...you are sooo right...we need runs like that once in a while.  This is a step back week for me with my marathon training which was great after the race yesterday.  Speaking of which - ta da - my 'official' time was actually one second less than my Garmin time 27:10 AND I placed third in my age group - I almost fell over when DH told me that while we were at dinner and I was scarfing my face - must have been a hungry day for a number of us!  He was cruising the internet at the restaurant looking for race results since it took forever for them to be posted.  It was a busy activity week for me - five runs, one 38-mile bike ride and two strength training sessions so I decided it felt good to be so hungry after a race!  That's my story and I'm sticking with it - now we'll have to see what the WI says tomorrow...

Shelly - GREAT job on your race...you really surpassed your goal and with all the emotions behind the race - a true winner.  I hope this race becomes a tradition for you too and hopefully next year DH will be able to run too.  I golfed in Lisle the first summer we moved here from NYC - so I know where it is!  I agree with Melanie - emotions can definitely overtake us during a run especially when that run is in honor of someone.  Way to go...you rock!

Bo - You did really well on your 12-miler yesterday and I'm sure an ice bath was the name of the game afterwards!  Amazing how much liquid you can keep pumping into yourself and still need more - awesome time in my books with the heat, humidity and gas station stop!  I'm on a hunt this afternoon for a couple more running skirts - I only have one and really enjoy running in it.  I've been neglecting the oils lately too - so this week it is time to get back on that wagon!  Maybe that is why I was having such a hungry day yesterday...hmmm?  Good thing we weren't together - it could have been dangerous...LOL.  I think of you every day when I'm rolling those IT bands - man oh man, I let mine get wayyyyy too tight but it really makes a difference now that I'm getting the 'upper hand' on them.  How is your hip doing with the running?

Happy - I have a really strange burn today too!  I wore a sleeveless biking shirt on Saturday and although I applied Bullfrog 65 - couldn't quite reach all the way back (and didn't realize I didn't reach all the way back).  We rode for almost four hours and now it is 'ouch' time.  You can actually see where my hands applied the lotion - up to a point!  Sounds like you had a great restful weekend reading your book and cooking up a storm.  I hope you are able to get your feet sorted out soon - I feel so blessed that mine are doing so well 14-months after my injury.  Biking was one thing I could do pain free last summer and I think that helped my mental state as far as activity went.  Biking and the elliptical - does the yoga seem to help your feet when you do it on a regular basis?  It's a short week for me too although company just left a couple of hours ago and more are arrving on Thursday night - I'm playing host for the next several months.  Chicago is definitely the hot spot to be - no pun intended.     Mushroom risotto sounds really good! 

Colleen - Yippee for your 9-miler!  Makes you remember why you run in the first place, right?  Good luck with the unknown organism tomorrow night.  Have a great DOR - well deserved DOR to boot.

TexasKMO - Sounds like you have your week cut out for you with your running - good luck with the WI today. 

PJBE - Ugh - I hate it when my battery dies...it doesn't give me any warning, does yours?  It will actually show I still have battery power and then - just like that - the screen goes blank.  I have a toshiba and wonder if it a toshiba problem.  Ouch for the shot of cortisone - that could actually be part of the reason you have been hungry - steroids have a tendancy to do that.  Hopefully the thumb is feeling better and the hydration is in check too.  Once when I really hungry I actually ate an entire can of sauerkraut - believe me, I wasn't hungry for a lllooonnnggg time!  LOL.

Aspins - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Great way to start the day with a run on the beach - may the rest of your birthday be as wonderful as you start a new year full of blessings. 

Melanie - I have Facebook too - other favorite Apps are: The Weather Channel (I LOVE that app - it gives me hour by hour stats), CTA bus and train tracker, Points Calculator, Remote for my I-tunes on my computer (way too cool), MapmyRun, AIM, and WWMobile.  By the end of the year AT&T will be available in the subway system here.  I like the way you are using the cut and paste option today!

Jenchele - Welcome and good luck with your training for your first marathon in November.  Congratulations on losing your weight and maintaining for the past two years.  I lost 42 pounds and just celebrated my third anniversary at goal.  I ran my first marathon in May of 2008 and will run my second in October.  This is great place to stop by for all kinds of support, information, etc.  Come back often.

Have a great afternoon and enjoy all those APs!

~Darlene

Jodi28 - Congradulations on completing your first 5K!!  That is awsome!  I am lost without a training plan.  If I don't see it in front of me I will "forget" about it.  There are some great websites that you can go to that have basic or generic training plans.  One place that I have been is Hal Higdon's web site.  just google his name and check it out. 

  As far as where to go from here - WHERE EVER YOUR FEET TAKE YOU!  Set your sights on a 10K.  That's what I did.  I entered into the Boulder Boulder 10K in Boulder Colorado.  That was the best thing  I could have done for myself.  I have ran many 5ks (not races though) just to stay in shape.  I got tired of the same old runs so I pushed myself.  I realy just wanted the free t-shirt!  But anyway, I got a 10k plan from Hal's site and a few months later was completing my first 10K ever!  It was a blast. 

  So, go to your local running store and check on any new local running events, maybe even ask if they have a running club.  Enter in another 5K and use that as one of your training runs twords your next race - - A 10K!  I am so excited for you!  I love the energy at a race!  Makes me want to go run right now.  Hope this helps, look forward to future posts of successful race completions!  Once again, great job on the 5K DON'T STOP RUNNING!

- Chris

hello from soggy Florida! it's been a rainy day & I'm glad I got my run in this morning before the bad weather arrived. I ran 3 miles with my friend and I don't think I would have gone that far if I didn't have company - it was so humid at 5:45am. I did walk last night, did 3.6 miles which took much longer than my 3 mile run today Food has been ok today but had a little incident with some jelly beans. The bag is empty now so the temptation is out of the house.

jenchele - welcome to the group! congrats on your weight loss & your running. Have you started your marathon training yet?

Darlene - woo-hoo on placing for in your age group!! I have TWC on my iphone too - I like it because it has the humidity & the "feels like" plus weather alerts too. I've also got the points calculator but always feel bad telling others about it because you can't download it anymore. It's so useful & I really do use it a lot. Gonna have to check out WWmobile - is that part of the etools?

Happy - I actually tried quinoa last night... funny thing is that I didn't know what it was when I was eating it. Tried out a new 90 second Uncle Bens rice flavor (I'm such the chef! ha ha) and my DH is like "what's these black things? cricket eggs?" so he looked on the package & I was like "oh! I know what that is... Happy always cooks with it"

Jodi - welcome to the group & congrats not only on your weight loss but also your first 5K! a lot of people go onto a training program for a 10k. Here's what I found online at www.c25k.com You should be able to google any of these & find free plans.

After C25K; 10k and Beyond

Podrunner Intervals

If you enjoyed DJ Steveboy's First Day to 5k podacsts, you'll also enjoy these for moving beyond 5k: Gateway to 8K and Freeway to 10K. Both series were designed especially for us by running coach, blogger, and bestselling author Jenny Hadfield.

Hal Higdon Novice 10k Program

This looks like a really sensible training plan to get from running 5k to 10k in just 8 weeks.

Training Programs

Preparing to run your first 10k, Half Marathon or Full Marathon calls for specific training programs for you to follow. Here I have listed four of the most popular training programs; there is a lot of debate about which is best, my advice is to review each one, see which suits you, and then stick with it.

Hal Higdon Programs

Programs online for 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Full Marathon. Appears to be very popular.

Jeff Galloway Programs

Jeff's programs call for regular walk breaks both in training and during races. Many swear by Jeff's methods.

FIRST Training Programs

Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Training programs. The "run less, run faster" approach. I used a FIRST plan for my second marathon.