April 2017 Running Challenge

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Replies

  • ctlaws44
    ctlaws44 Posts: 182 Member
    MobyCarp wrote: »
    @ctlaws44 - I might also add that I'm trying to be quick to interpret twinges as a reason to retire shoes. Retiring shoes earlier than I need to is cheaper than keeping them too long and paying for physical therapy.

    JessicaMcB wrote: »
    As someone who has owned both the Guide 10 and the Kinvara I personally find the Guide to be the superior shoe for my serious overpronation on roads (Nomad TR beats them both on trail for obvious reasons). The Kinvara is very neutral so if you are more than moderately overpronated prepare to potentially roll in hard- I do every.single.day. #thestruggle


    @MobyCarp Good point about maybe the shoe causing some pain and injuries. This is probably also a good reason to have different pairs of shoes to diagnose if it's the shoe causing pain or injury. Thank you!

    @JessicaMcB Thank you for the comparison between the Guide's and Kinvara's. I have a slight pronation according to my local running store's analysis.

    I hope everyone has a great morning! Rain and 60's here. I plan on doing hills later with my running group.







  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    4/1- 15.23
    4/2- 3.14
    4/3- 7.07
    4/4- 3.69
    4/5- 9
    3/6- REST
    4/7- 5.12
    4/8- 17.58
    4/9- 4.05
    4/10- 7.13
    4/11- 3.79
    4/12- 9
    4/13- REST
    4/14- 17
    4/15- 5.11
    4/16- 4.06
    4/17- 5.71
    4/18- REST
    4/19- 7.14
    4/20- REST
    4/21- 3.69
    4/22- 15
    4/23- 3.15
    4/24- 8.1

    Total: 153.76

    Monthly Goal: Stay "healthy" and get in good marathon training
    Nominal Mileage goal: 191 miles.

    Today's notes: Today's assignment was 8 miles a E pace. I ended up with 8.1, but that's just because I set it so I could walk a little for cool down on the way back home. Run felt good. Ran it at 9:33 pace, and my average HR was 156, so a tiny bit high but not bad. This was the first run of a 50 mile week for me. I'm a little excited/nrvous about it, I'll set a weekly mileage PR and a long run distance PR this week.

    2017 Races
    6/16- William A Irvin 5k
    6/17- Grandma's Marathon (Full!)
    8/19- Rampage at the Ridge 5k OCR
    9/23- Ely Marathon (full)
    10/21 Wild Duluth 50k<- yeah, I'm crazy enough to go for it
    11/23- TBD 5k Turkey Trot
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    I just realized we're in the last week of April. May starts a week from today! EEK
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    Date Miles today - Miles for April
    4/1 20 miles - 20
    4/2 10 miles - 30
    4/3 REST DAY
    4/4 10 miles - 40
    4/4 4 miles - 44 << Daily Double
    4/5 6.2 miles - 50.2
    4/6 6.2 miles - 56.4
    4/6 4 miles - 60.4 << Daily Double
    4/7 REST DAY
    4/8 16 miles - 76.4
    4/9 REST DAY
    4/10 7 miles - 83.4
    4/11 7.5 miles - 90.9
    4/12 REST DAY
    4/13 8 miles - 98.9
    4/14 5 miles - 103.9
    4/15 14.5 miles - 118.4
    4/16 REST DAY
    4/17 6.2 miles - 124.6
    4/18 5.5 miles - 130.1
    4/19 5 miles - 135.1
    4/20 5.5 miles - 140.6
    4/21 4 miles - 144.6
    4/22 12 miles - 156.6
    4/23 REST DAY
    4/24 4 miles - 160.6

    exercise.png

    Upcoming races:
    UAH 8K - 3/6 <<< 34:33 3 in AG
    Oak Barrel HM - 4/2 <<<< 1:38:00 3 in AG
    Bridge Street HM - 4/10 <<< 1:36:33 3 in AG
    PEO-AVN Team Day 5K - 5/4 <<< 19:10 (2.9 mi) 1 in AG 5 OA
    Cotton Row Run 10K - 5/30 << 44:57 PR
    Firecracker Chase 10.2 miler 6/25 << 1:20:22 1 in AG & 15 OA
    Huntsville Half Marathon - 11/12 << 1:35:55 2 in AG & 25 OA
    Rocket City Marathon - 12/10 << 3:44:41
    Elkmont Hound Dog Half (unofficial) - 1/21 << 1:46:48 2 OA
    Elkmont Hound Dog Half (rescheduled) - 2/18 << 1:41:04 1 in AG & 24 OA
    Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon - 4/29


  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    4/1 - 7.7 miles in sunny San Diego
    4/2 - Travel day
    4/3 - Rest day
    4/4 - 5 comfortable miles.
    4/5 - 4.4 miles.
    4/6 - 5.05 miles.
    4/7 - Unplanned rest day.
    4/8 - 6.31 super hilly miles.
    4/9 - Too many hills :-(
    4/10 - 5 miles.
    4/11 - 4.93 miles of track/speed work. Then upper body weights.
    4/12 - 4.5 miles.
    4/13 - 4.9 miles. Some hip soreness that I am going to have to keep an eye on.
    4/14 - Unplanned rest day / life day / holiday prep.
    4/15 - 9 mile group run. Hip not perfect, but improved.
    4/16 - 5 miles. Ugh...too much buffet.
    4/17 - Planned rest day.
    4/18 - 4 miles of track/speed work. Then upper body weights.
    4/19 - 5 miles.
    4/20 - 5.1 treadmill miles. Trek class. Humid at the Y today!!
    4/21 - 4.20 miles in honor of yesterday's "holiday"
    4/22 - 10.2 mile group run.
    4/23 - Rest day.
    4/24 - 5 miles.

    exercise.png
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    Nice tapering @Stoshew71 only 5 days to go! you're doing great!
  • garygse
    garygse Posts: 896 Member
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    I did compare. His was very similar to mine. His was158 average and 187 high 11:48 average pace, while mine was 163 avg 180 high, 12:03 average pace. He literally ran circles around me several times.

    I changed my activity setting back up, I figured a higher activity level may be a lower burn if you're "conditioned". Which I'm not, but maybe it'll help with a better calculation. I just put a fudge in mfp so I don't eat it back.

    ETA- I don't think​ HR is used in the calorie expenditure calculation anyway.. unless something changed or I missed something.
    Heart rate zones and max heart rate will also play into things...two people could do the same run and both have a HR of 140, but if one person has a max HR of 150, and the other has a max HR of 200, then they're running in entirely different zones with entirely different levels of effort.



    My run this morning was with the group rather than the usual longer solo run I would normally do on a Monday. I have an annual checkup with my doctor later this morning in order to get the biological equivalent of a car inspection sticker, and as I need to be fasted for the appointment, the plan was to run easy so that I won't be starving later. It was a good plan, but I got to the meetup point after a few warm-up miles only to find that a) the group would be running 30 minutes late, and b) only the two faster runners would be making it. So I got to run for an additional 30 minutes, and then run faster than planned for an hour. No biggie, except my appointment means I can't eat yet; not for at least another couple of hours anyway. And I'm really rather hungry right now.

    03 - 13.37
    04 - 9.59
    05 - 13.39
    06 - 10.75
    07 - 13.36
    10 - 10.73
    11 - 9.27
    12 - 8.16
    13 - 8.89
    14 - 2.33
    15 - 13.14
    18 - 11.37
    19 - 13.51
    20 - 8.89
    21 - 5.46
    24 - 12.95

    Total: 165.16 / 175 miles
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited April 2017
    garygse wrote: »
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    I did compare. His was very similar to mine. His was158 average and 187 high 11:48 average pace, while mine was 163 avg 180 high, 12:03 average pace. He literally ran circles around me several times.

    I changed my activity setting back up, I figured a higher activity level may be a lower burn if you're "conditioned". Which I'm not, but maybe it'll help with a better calculation. I just put a fudge in mfp so I don't eat it back.

    ETA- I don't think​ HR is used in the calorie expenditure calculation anyway.. unless something changed or I missed something.
    Heart rate zones and max heart rate will also play into things...two people could do the same run and both have a HR of 140, but if one person has a max HR of 150, and the other has a max HR of 200, then they're running in entirely different zones with entirely different levels of effort.



    That seems intuitive, but Garmin says:

    "...The Garmin fitness device uses this (activity class) information along with gender, age, weight, height, and lifetime athlete settings in order to calculate the calories burned during a given activity...."

    No mention of HR.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    One thing I have noticed in my training, and can't say it works for all, is when I do a steady build over 3 weeks to new mileage compared to just running my new target mileage for 3 weeks is that I feel better at the end of that 3 week period when I do the target mileage over the 3 week period than when I steadily build. I have a theory why, but it's just my observation. The first week is the most tiring, but your cardio adapts and by the 3rd week it is easier than the 3rd week of a slow build, as each week building up you have to adapt again. I think your strength gains are better off also as you get 3 weeks at that effort as opposed to 2 lower weeks and one at target.

    This in no way means it is for all. But I have experienced it and for whatever value tools like Sport Tracks provide that show your fitness adaptations and fatigue, the results on those tools seem to back it up.

    The trick is to know how to build up the right amount and not just jump into too high of mileage that the first week at new mileage is more harm than good.

    Of course, much is to be said with going with what you know will work and you are comfortable with. I know I'm comfortable with my plans and have seen them work, but what works for one may not work for others.

    Just thought I would put that out there because I'm not sure it has been discussed here before, and I have found it pretty interesting. I'm not saying it's right, just thought I would solicit others opinions.

    This is actually the method that Jack Daniels suggests for increasing mileage.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEI8MPVOas
  • Brumley2005
    Brumley2005 Posts: 7 Member

    exercise.png

  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    garygse wrote: »
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    I did compare. His was very similar to mine. His was158 average and 187 high 11:48 average pace, while mine was 163 avg 180 high, 12:03 average pace. He literally ran circles around me several times.

    I changed my activity setting back up, I figured a higher activity level may be a lower burn if you're "conditioned". Which I'm not, but maybe it'll help with a better calculation. I just put a fudge in mfp so I don't eat it back.

    ETA- I don't think​ HR is used in the calorie expenditure calculation anyway.. unless something changed or I missed something.
    Heart rate zones and max heart rate will also play into things...two people could do the same run and both have a HR of 140, but if one person has a max HR of 150, and the other has a max HR of 200, then they're running in entirely different zones with entirely different levels of effort.



    That seems intuitive, but Garmin says:

    "...The Garmin fitness device uses this (activity class) information along with gender, age, weight, height, and lifetime athlete settings in order to calculate the calories burned during a given activity...."

    No mention of HR.

    Garmin may not *say* that HR is used to calculate calorie burn, but I've observed that when I have two very similar runs from a weather, pace, distance, and terrain perspective Garmin will say I burned a lot more calories on the run where I forgot the HR monitor or its battery died than on the run where I have HR data.
  • greenolivetree
    greenolivetree Posts: 1,282 Member
    I woke up with a sore throat today. Boo.

    @Brumley2005 Good luck with your 5k training!

    @RespectTheKitty Great job with the early morning exercise!
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I just realized we're in the last week of April. May starts a week from today! EEK

    Yep... and I know I won't make April goal. I go back and forth about how I feel on my knee recovery, but I'm certain the next 2-3 weeks will be tough. Anyway, I'll add up mileage from my recovery plan and see what it looks like for May. It will definitely be lower than the 70 miles I'm not going to achieve this month anyway.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    A rather nice 8 mile run today with my HRM running on new batteries. My pace was maybe down a bit but part of that was because I was 100% honest on my effort, walking as soon as the high alert chirped and walking until the low alert chirped. Normally I might start running early if going downhill for the added pace, or might push a bit further to get to the base of a hill and start walking up it. Not today! Which meant lots of downhill walking and running uphill. This is a good thing, I should probably do that more often.

    Looks like I met my goal this month. That's really due to the change in plans to acommodate the Garmin Half Marathon last weekend. Instead of a down week last week I extended my base building period from 3 to 6 weeks. That meant crushing my initial April goal. Hopefully this just means I set my sights too low initially, and am not aiming too high late in the month! :smiley:

    4/1 - 10 miles
    4/2 - 4 miles
    4/3 - 4 miles
    4/4 - 4 miles
    4/5 - 4 miles
    4/6 - 4 miles
    4/7 - rest
    4/8 - 10 miles
    4/9 - 4 miles
    4/10 - 4 miles
    4/11 - 4 miles
    4/12 - 4 miles
    4/13 - 4 miles
    4/14 - rest
    4/15 - 12 miles of death by hills
    4/16 - 4 miles
    4/17 - 8 miles
    4/18 - 4 miles
    4/19 - 8 miles
    4/20 - 4 miles
    4/21 - rest = insanity
    4/22 - 13 miles (technically 13.1)
    4/23 - 4 miles
    4/24 - 8 miles

    125 of 120 miles complete


    exercise.png


    Upcoming Events:
    5/20 - Running with the Cows Half Marathon
    6/3 - Hospital Hill Half Marathon
    10/21 - Kansas City Marathon
    10/28 - Some 50k, can't remember the name, ask 7lenny7
    11/12 - Gobbler Grind Marathon
    11/19 - Pilgrim Pacer Marathon
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
    @WhatMeRunning great job making your goal! I''' be right up to the line on making mine.
  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
    Good luck with couch to 5K @brumley2005 I didn't use it, but have heard nothing but great things about it!

    Track meet Saturday almost killed me this week. ha ha Got Skip to meet at 7:00 because they moved her first race to first and the start time to 8:00. 7:45 POURING rain, my girl and one girl from another team out on the track all alone warming up for their event. She said she figured she would get wet anyway. They delay until 8:15 slows down but starts up again big time during her race. I had to laugh the race director said to me "no way sprinters would run in this, but those XC kids live for this type of thing" ha ha! She had a so so meet, for some reason she was really nervous and it showed. 3200m 14:05 not her best but her best this season, 800m 2:54 again not her best but her coach forgot to put her in so they added her to a heat with all "no time" runners so she beat the second place girl by like 10 seconds. I think in a heat with girls her time she would have done better. She looked strong and finished strong. She was a nervous wreck by the 1600m and bascially let her head take her out with a 6:50, like 40 seconds slower than her PR and she was not happy with herself. I think coach will only put her in the 3200 for sectionals and she's ticked off that she didn't improve her times to run her other events.

    I signed us up for a couple of 5Ks and a 8K that I love to run.
  • ddmom0811
    ddmom0811 Posts: 1,881 Member
    I am back from my vacation and there were over 400 messages to read. I won't have time to read them on my lunch but I did search and find the @mobycarp and @lporter229 race reports! Thanks for sharing! Congratulations to both of you!!! Does anyone know what happened with @ohhim? Did he run it? Remember him? He qualified sometime last year.

    Anyway, on my trip my daughter and I ran the Thames and Seine Rivers in London and Paris. Those runs were amazing! The temperatures were just so perfect and we could sightsee while running! We did a lot of walking too. Our feet were so tired at the end of each day. Then two days of flight cancellations and delays on the way home, meant very few steps. But it was still such a great trip! I had planned to run almost every day except for the travel days but somedays it just didn't happen.

    We ate so much I was expecting I would have been up a few pounds, but I was only up .4 and I expect that I'll be down tomorrow because I am always up 2-3 pounds after flying. Although I was good about drinking a ton of water on the 8 hour flight from Paris to NYC.


    I really need to confirm the dates/mileage on strava because I got rather confused when I went to add to my list. What's today? Did I run this day?

    4/1 - 44 miles biking
    4/2 - 40 miles biking
    4/3 - 3.7 miles
    4/4 - 4.2 miles
    4/5 - strength training
    4/6 - 3.4 miles
    4/7 - strength training
    4/8 - 10K Zombies Chunnel run
    4/9 - 28 miles on bike - but like a rest day
    4/10 - 4.5 miles
    4/11 - 4.6 miles
    4/12 - travel day
    4/13 - London - walking
    4/14 - London - walking
    4/15 - 5.2 miles London
    4/16 -- 5 miles London
    4/17 - London walking
    4/18 - 5 miles London
    4/19 - walking Paris and bike tour
    4/20 - 5.2 miles Paris
    4/21 - walking Paris
    4/22 - 5.3 miles Paris
    4/23 - travel day - or supposed to be but flight cancelled after 5 hours of waiting!
    4/24 - travel day.


    exercise.png
  • garygse
    garygse Posts: 896 Member
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    That seems intuitive, but Garmin says:

    "...The Garmin fitness device uses this (activity class) information along with gender, age, weight, height, and lifetime athlete settings in order to calculate the calories burned during a given activity...."

    No mention of HR.
    It could be down to which Garmin product you have then. I have the FR 235 which uses Firstbeat's algorithms to determine calorie burn.

    https://www.firstbeat.com/en/consumer-product/forerunner-235/
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    @ddmom0811 - @Ohhim qualified for Boston 2017, but not by enough to make the cutoff. I believe he qualified for Boston 2018 with a greater margin of safety.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    @skippygirlsmom - Hope you and Skip have a great time on your events!

    @ddmom0811 - I was noticing on Strava that you were posting runs on the Thames and Seine. Very cool!
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    April Running Totals (miles)
    4/1 – 18.19 paced run
    4/2 – 3.90 easy 30 minutes
    4/3 – rest day
    4/4 – 10.75 tempo intervals
    4/5 – 6.85 group run
    4/6 – 8.18 tempo intervals
    4/7 – rest day
    4/8 – 12.07 paced run
    4/9 – 7.83 almost easy 60 minutes
    4/10 – 4.51 easy 30 minutes + 4 strides
    4/11 – 7.81 warm up, speed work, cool down
    4/12 – 3.81 easy 30 minutes
    4/13 – 5.45 easy/MP workout
    4/14 – travel day
    4/15 – 4.12 easy run along the Charles River
    4/16 – 2.61 20 minutes on last part of course
    4/17 – 26.43 Boston Marathon
    4/18 – travel day
    4/19 – rest day
    4/20 – 2.12 recovery run
    4/21 – 4.20 easy/MP
    4/22 – 4.18 paced run
    4/23 – 5.00 easy
    4/24 – 5.10 easy

    April total to date – 143.11

    Nominal Challenge Goal – 150 miles
    Real Goals: Run Boston. Finish healthy. Recover well.

    Today's notes – My left quad is a bit better today. It let me do my Turkish get-ups this morning, though 4 reps of squats with 55 lbs showed it's still not 100%. So I did 20 paces of body weight walking lunges, and called that good. That got me thinking that 5 easy miles might be about right for today.

    Near perfect running weather this noon, 49º F (9º C) and sunny with not much breeze. Set out to avoid hills and explore a residential area I hadn't run in before. Mostly ran to the heart rate, making myself slow down when it got above 130 or sometimes when it was in the high 120s. The left quad was a dull ache when I started, but that faded as I warmed up. Got back to my driveway a bit before 5 miles, ran past, ran back, finished at 5.1 miles without the quad complaining at all. Average pace was 7:40, and I only spent 27 seconds in HR Zone 2. Average HR 120, max 134.

    Other than the cognitive dissonance from an easy HR and an average pace a smidge faster than what I think of as the fast end of easy, it was a really nice run. A bit short, but pushing for 6 miles can wait for another day.

    2017 races:
    January 1, 2017 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) Finished in 50:45
    January 7, 2017 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) Finished in 1:32:40
    January 14, 2017 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds Park 5 mile) (Spencerport, NY) Finished in 33:42
    January 28, 2017 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) short course, finished 4.88 miles in 32:50
    February 4, 2017 USATF Cross Country National Championship Masters 8K (Bend, OR) Finished in 35:39, team won the 60+ Men's cross country championship
    February 11, 2017 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY) sat out due to training schedule
    February 25, 2017 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) short course, finished 4.34 miles in 27:51
    March 11, 2017 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY) finished in 33:25
    March 18, 2017 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K, Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 30:59, PR for 8K
    April 17, 2017 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:49:42
    April 30, 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship (James Joyce Ramble, Dedham, MA)
    May 21, 2017 Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY)
    June 9, 2017 Charlie McMullen Mile (Rochester, NY)
    June 18, 2017 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY)

  • NikolaosKey
    NikolaosKey Posts: 410 Member
    Hello fellow runners!

    Aim: 130k

    4/2: 13.1k -casual run-
    4/3: 1.5k -cause I am lazy, that's why-
    4/4: 4k -as c/d of leg day training-
    4/6: 5k -after gym-
    4/7: 8.5k -intervals-
    4/8: 9.1k -various surfaces-
    4/9: 12.5k -trail-
    4/11: 4.5k -c/d from strength training-
    4/13: 9.7k -intervals-
    4/14: 14.8k -various surfaces-
    4/19: 2.5k -c/d from strength training-
    4:20: 4.1k -c/d from legs day-
    4/21: 1.5k -w/o for upper body strength training-
    4/22: 7.6k -casual run-
    4/23: 12.5k -trail running-
    4/24: 8.8k -casual run-


    119.1/130k

    Stay free of injuries!
  • NikolaosKey
    NikolaosKey Posts: 410 Member
    Hello fellow runners!

    Aim: 130k

    4/2: 13.1k -casual run-
    4/3: 1.5k -cause I am lazy, that's why-
    4/4: 4k -as c/d of leg day training-
    4/6: 5k -after gym-
    4/7: 8.5k -intervals-
    4/8: 9.1k -various surfaces-
    4/9: 12.5k -trail-
    4/11: 4.5k -c/d from strength training-
    4/13: 9.7k -intervals-
    4/14: 14.8k -various surfaces-
    4/19: 2.5k -c/d from strength training-
    4:20: 4.1k -c/d from legs day-
    4/21: 1.5k -w/o for upper body strength training-
    4/22: 7.6k -casual run-
    4/23: 12.5k -trail running-
    4/24: 8.8 -casual run-


    119.1/130k

    Stay free of injuries!
  • skippygirlsmom
    skippygirlsmom Posts: 4,433 Member
    @ddmom0811 welcome back! I hope you have a few pictures to post of those runs, sounds like an amazing time!!! Sorry for the cancelled flights, the only thing worst than cancelled flights at the end of vacation is cancelled flights in the beginning of vacation.
  • Mari33a
    Mari33a Posts: 1,258 Member
    edited April 2017
    01/04 4.04 miles
    03/04 3.10 miles
    05/04 3.51miles
    06/04 4.14 miles
    07/04 3.10 miles
    11/04 3.01 miles
    13/04 3.52 miles
    14/04 4.06 miles
    15/04 4.12 miles
    16/04 3.54 miles
    18/04 3.60 miles
    19/04 4.09 miles
    20/04 4.09 miles
    21/04 4.60 miles
    24/04 3.53 miles

    @ddmom0811 - Glad you enjoyed your holiday. When your home it's fun to look back on your runs on strava or garmin.


    exercise.png

  • 9voice9
    9voice9 Posts: 693 Member
    https://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wreAL77/exercise.png

    I am new to running and am hoping to run the color run with my family which is 5K on June 24. I am currently overweight and my three boys ages 10 and twin 8 are embarrassed due to it. This will be a major achievement but need motivation to get me there. I am currently using the couch to 5K running program and am hoping in 8 weeks ill be able to achieve my dream goal.

    In 8 weeks, whether you've reached your dream goal or not, as long as you've put in consistent work, you'll be a LOT better than you are today. Be smart, be realistic and be active. Change is difficult, but doable. Your boys, and more importantly, YOU will be proud of the person you'll become.