Hiya, I'm in a somewhat similar situation.

I've always been fairly active (taekwondo is my thing) but I had a baby 10 months ago and during my pregnancy I basically sat around on the couch a lot. I put on weight and lost fitness. So I decided about 9 weeks ago to run a marathon next July.

I've been training approx 3x per week and am aiming to get up to 20km long runs by January 1st. My first run was 4.5 km and I walked half of it, so I've come a long way. My most recent run was 17.8km. Just a regular 3x to 4x per week works.

I'm not in college but I hear you  because I work and have four kids, so juggling time can be tricky. Sometimes I've trained 2x per week and one week I didn't train at all.

I started a blog http://mumtomarathon.com to encourage parents or any other busy people to make sure they too find time for them selves and their pursuits.

So I'm basically going from unfit mum of four to someone who can run a marathon. That's the plan.

I'd be happy to be a virtual running buddy with you. Do you have a blog or FB page or are you tracking your progress here. You can follow my blog & send me links to your updates.

Cheers

Brooke

Hi JayBot324,

SSL

Hey Jay, there's some good stuff here. I've got a bit of a different take, so indulge me a bit.

Excuses - yes, they are easy to make and hard to overcome sometimes. And some of them are probably not excuses as much as solid reasons for your not getting out there. There might be some underlying stuff going on though that makes just doing it hard.

The Physical Game - Since you are having some issues with pain, shin splints, sore and weak muscles, there are some things going on here. Do some searches on this site on shin splints. There is a lot of good info here, especially from Lenzlaw. See if you can find it and do what he says. Likely you are overstriding. Shorten up your stride and try to land with your feet under you, not ahead of you. Also, consider slowing down a bit (not due to the shortened stride!) so try to keep the run enjoyable. You should be able to talk while running. If you can't, you're going too fast. With conditioning, you'll be able to increase your speed in time. If you address the physical issues to try to make the run more fun, then you might find the excuses start going away.

The Mental Game - Running is mostly mental. That's one of the hardest things to overcome. Your brain, for some odd reason, thinks it needs to tell you to not do something that you know is good for you. When you don't feel like running and you start focusing on all the "bad" things you're feeling, or start thinking about all the other stuff you could/should/would be doing instead, then your head is not into it and your body will surely follow that. Usually the first 5-10 minutes of running is the hardest. Your brain tells you your legs are like lead and you're breathing harder than you should and it's just not feeling right today, it's best to stop and do it another time. Well, your brain is usually wrong. If you can make it past that period (remember...running too fast can really make it seem like the brain is telling you the truth!) then usually it's all good from there. There will be days when you're just not feeling it. Unless there is pain, I will slog through for a minimum of 2-3 miles. I slow my pace and just get it done. I try to figure out if maybe I'm coming down with something or maybe my diet hasn't been very good. But usually it's a temporary thing, just that one day, and on I go, leaving it behind.

There was a time that I really didn't enjoy running that much. I didn't actually enjoy it until I was finished. Then I felt good, energetic, and full of a sense of accomplishment. Things are different now, I actually enjoy the sensation of running an dworking and the challenges I overcome when I'm doing it.

Make it fun, make it painless, and you'll find that it's easier to get out there and do it than it is for you now.

Good luck!