Sounds good, yea, I love data. I did notice another blister after yesterday and I already got rid of it and I am healing. This time toe next to big toe. Right in the middle. I think I may have put on my kso's wrong as I sat on the wall. I gotta say I was injured more with lower back pain and strange aches and creaks before I started running. Overall I am pretty sure I decreased the amount of pain. I think a lot of people are afraid. They have friends and neighbors, family and random co-worker alike all telling them "you can't."

You can.

This is the door to a new you. It sounds super cheesy, but I just got up this morning at 5am because I wanted....needed...to see the sun rise as I bounded down the road. Every single mile so far has been on pavement. I have logged nearly 350 miles all on the road. I am about halfway through my story. The "Holy crap, look what I did" story. But already my co-workers are amazed. I actually did a presentation to the group about running after the weight loss group kept seeing me shrink. I am going to post it here. I think there may be enough new people that they might like it.

Here are my tips:

I am not a doctor; these are just tips I found in my life, you may want to talk to your doctor before starting.

1. Get running shoes at a running store, they will evaluate you and fit you for shoes specific

to your needs. Many injuries come from ignoring this. Usually $100 or so.

2) New shoes! Great! Get a few pairs of anti-blister socks. I use Wright Socks

      3) Use a couch to 5k app on a Smartphone to get from walking to running. 9-12 weeks.

4) Listen to your body, if you are in pain, stop, slow down or reduce speed/difficulty

5) Stitch in side? Breathe in on that side as you step. Slow down until it passes.

6) Oatmeal for race day food.

7) Can’t do couch to 5k? Start with walking. Walk 1 mile 3 times a week, then two when 1 mile is easy. When 2 are easy go to 3. When 3 is easy try couch to 5k again. This will strengthen your joints/muscles so you can run.

8) Never increase running distances by more than 10% each week. Math challenged? Multiply your current long day by 1.10.

9) Run long once a week, start with an every other day routine

10) 3 weeks = habit. FORCE yourself to do 3 weeks to get going.

11) It’s hardest at the beginning

12) Running in the morning is a great way to get the day started, watching a sun rise as you run down a lonely road is a very good way to live.

13) Weight lifting on off run days is a great way to keep your body improving

14) After running eat a recovery food like a bagel, a banana or chocolate milk

15) Do other exercises on off days like walking, swimming, biking or tennis.

16) Keep going. When you don’t want to go is when you MUST go. (Barring injury)

17) You must do this for a personal and important reason. “Doing a 5k” isn’t enough. You have to do it to see your child graduate or to be healthy or to finally take back your life.

18) Runners world is a great magazine

19) Enter races, lots of them, they are fun!

20) Nobody judges you at parks. If you feel self conscious, go to where other people exercise. You will likely get smiles and thumbs up.

21) Not quitting is a victory.

22) The weight will come off; expecting 10 pounds a week is silly. Try for 2, and don’t get discouraged if nothing at all comes off in a week.

23) www.runningintheusa.com and www.coolrunning.com have races in your area, most are about $25 and you get a t-shirt for signing up. All shapes and sizes run.

24) When starting at races start at the back on the side so others can get by you.

25) Dress like it’s 20 degrees warmer than it is to go running.

Apps: Couch to 5k, Endomondo, Loseit

I love your 25 tips! Thanks for sharing.

I just completed W1D2 and I a feeling  abit sore and tired. But I push on.

I joined endomondo... If anyone wants to be friends I am Jennefer Kielsmeier. Also welcome any FB friends. =^)

Awesome =)

I am happy you are out there! Another tip I found is that greek yogurt tends to curb appetite, that and water, so you can enjoy those within reason. 1 chobani = 120-140 calories and they have protein in them. Protein is good, it helps you build muscle. Muscle helps you lose weight. 3500 calories = 1 pound loss. Pair exercise with good food and you lose weight. Every pound over ideal weight = 6 seconds per mile slower. Lose weight and you can go faster. Go faster and you can log more miles and burn more calories per session. It's like a rock rolling down hill. Faster and faster you will become until you can bust through those hardships.

I would be much further ahead if I didn't really love beer and burgers. =)

Hi everyone! Haven't posted here in awhile but I've been keeping up with all the new people and progress for everyone; way to go on getting out and doing something positive for yourself! I have said it before and I'll say it again, this is the best place to come for encouragement and support; I'm running today because of this thread.

I came across an article that I thought you'd appreciate, Wideguy, if you haven't seen it yet:

http://podiatrytoday.com/blogged/transitioning-runner-flatfoot-deformity-minimalist-running-shoe

More food for thought for those considering transitioning to barefoot or minimalist running shoes; it can be done, almost regardless of where you're starting from, and there are significant benefits. I've stopped using orthotics entirely after being in minimalist running shoes for the last year and a half; just did my first half marathon of the year (9th total) in some Brooks Pureflow, and I love them--lightweight and very easy to keep a forefoot/midfoot strike.

No matter where you're starting at, know that you can do this if you keep at it and learn to listen to your body. I started out two years ago at about 235 pounds and walking more than running (my "run" pace was a 15 minute mile--walkers would pass me when I was trying to run). Now I'm down to 147, averaging a 10-minute mile, and getting ready to do my first Ragnar Relay this summer.

Tom I like what you say about changing eating habits.  I recently started a food journal and it's been amazing to see how horribly I've really been eating.

My main problem is this: I always seem "on the go", get up, get the kids off for school, go to work, go home, get both girls to soccer/softball practice.. By the time I get home it's after 7pm and I'm just whacked, and still have to make dinner. Do you plan your meals out ahead of time? Food is actually not a forethought in my mind, so I'm usually grabbing something quick wherever we're going. Yes, HORRIBLE. And on top of that, I'm a Celiac, so I should be eating gluten-free and I'm not.

Don't mean to vent, but just wondering how everyone out there changed their habits. I've tried, but it's turning out to be REALLY hard...

Hello everyone!  I'm a newbie and honestly can't believe I'm "here".  I never in a million years would picture myself even attempting to run.  But, I'm so fed up with being overweight, gotta do something.  I'm 45, 5'4" and 225 (ack).  I listened to a couple coworkers talk about running all the time and it started to sink in that maybe I would really like feeling a runner's high!  I haven't been following the c25k so much, kinda been doing my own thing for about 4 weeks now.  Not too much progress but I don't push myself too far to the edge as I know that's a sign in my brain to give up.  I'm currently walk/running 1.6 miles.  I do 4-5 two minute runs during that time, which equal .6.  Where would I start on the c25k?  Week 2?  Week 3? 

I wish I could listen to music but my dog goes with me and we live in the boonies so I need to listen for cars, etc, coming up on my.  Never know what animal is gonna come bounding out of the woods into the road, lol! 

How can I get myself past a two minute jog/run?  It's my breathing that totally slows me down...2 minutes seems to be the limit.  I can't breathe out of my nose (well, I can but I don't get near enough air) so I'm doing all mouth breathing.  I try to keep it slow but the closer I get to the 2 minute mark I start panting!  I've been using jogtracker to track my jog/run portions of my walk. 

Thanks for any tips, etc you can offer! 

Really love Snerb and Guayquilwriter's suggestions so far.

Wizardmom- I hear you! I am soo lazy when it comes to cooking dinner. It's a big part of why I too often resort to fast food. Combination of being unprepared, letting myself get hungry, and being too lazy to make something healthier. Even when I was making dinner at home wasn't always the best choices like things that would bake in 10 to 15 minutes and be easy to eat but high calorie, high fat, and just nothing that would leave me feeling too good after.

I feel like this is always a work in progress for me, like I always learn a little more. I had taken to drinking a protein shake for breakfast then eating a protein bar for lunch at work. I also had been jogging on my lunch at work. Combine this with a cup of black coffee in the morning and I wasn't having appetite problems. The protein is certainly filling. But I can see how having a bunch of packaged food during the day is not the best healthy option either, though it was working for me. Now that I'm jogging after work I find this isn't working as well, probably because the jogging was partially suppressing my appetite. So I'm planning to get some easy to eat and low calorie fruits and veggies to have as snacks, like others have said I try to make that part of my grocery putting away routine every week.

For dinners I am really liking my grocery store's bags of frozen veggies, many of which can be cooked stir fry style. I use maybe 1/4 cup of 1/2 cup of rice or pasta, then half a bag or more of veggies. Sometimes use a little soy and garlic powder, or sometimes a little salsa for flavoring. Thinking of playing with other variations of this, but it's nice and quick (5 minutes to cook the veggies, 10-20 for the rice/pasta that mostly cooks itself while I can be doing other things).

Am looking forward to hearing other folks suggestions on this as this is something I really struggle with. I hear yogurt and string cheese make good protein filled snack options but I'm lactose intolerant so not an option for me.

-Miles