How did you get into running?

I started running last year - after 42 years of "hating" it. I hated it becuase I wasn't fast - I hated it becuase I didn't look pretty doing it compared to other runners - I hated it becuase I couldn't - I hated it for so many reasons, but I always wanted to like to run so I could/would run...anyway here's what happenend.

I decided to lose weight - which, by the way - was not going to include running. I was willing to walk. I had someone say to me - you should sign up for a 5k, then you have a goal to work toward. I said okay, cuz I didn't want to argue. So she said (this was in March) sign up for Dam-to-Dam (if you are in Iowa, near DSM, you might know it) and I said "Fine, whatever."

So I walked and I got the couch to 5k app and I looked at it for a couple weeks. All this on the treadmill at home, cuz what if someone saw me...And finally, one day I decided to try the first session of c25k. and if couldn't go that far I wouldn't, I could slow down I could whatever, but I would give it a full faith effort. So I did and I finished it. Was it easy? NOPE Was it fun? NOPE Was it a challenge? YEP so I decided I would do that program and I would prove that it would never work. So on my treadmill at home three days a week I did the program. Did I like it - not really - not until that week became easy and that was sometimes after the third time and sometimes after 4 or 5 times.

Then spring came and I thought - I can walk outside. So I would walk outside. BTW, it's important that you know I have two dogs that I walk with - one at a time - but one of them will be important to the story in a minute. I would run inside. Simple, no one could see me screw up when I couldn't go the full time or whatever. But Cooper didn't like walking. So I thought one day, when noone was around. What if I did c25k week one out here with him...I can do it - I did it at home. So I did. Was it easy? NOPE Was it fun? NOPE Was it a challenge? YEP (I didn't realize the difference treadmill and outside running had), but I liked being outside better than being inside. So I moved my runs to outside really early in the morning when noone would see me and Cooper and started week 1 of c25k with him. and I slowly started liking it.

I'm with you. I miss outside right now. I don't like running in 20 degree or colder weather and with the ice there is a safety issue. But I'm running on my treadmill now and trying to be ready for the thaw. Do I look pretty? Nope Do I run fast? NOPE Do people see me? YEP Do I care - not anymore. I'm not doing it for them.

Will this work for you? No clue. But I will also say this. Not everyone likes to run. Try it, give it a true try - if you like it - great if not, there are other exercises. and you don't have to do it cuz your love does it. If you do it for that reason, you'll never know if you like it.

I started running three years ago at age 52! I had insomnia and decided I need to just wear myself out. It was always something I wanted to do but, for some reason, always scared me. I did the Couch to 5K program and I was shocked at how fairly easy it was. Some of the music sucks, but I found the woman who did the program to be a really great motivator. After I got injured and had to basically start over and rehab my knee I found another program I like even better - it's the Runner's World 10-K program by Budd Coates. I think it's called Ease Into Running. MUCH easier than the C25K because there are less split intervals. I got a cheapie Ironman watch on Amazon.com and discovered Audible books that I load onto my MP3. I found when I ran to music it was harder to control my pace, e.g. I would run fast on fast songs, slower on slow songs. But with a book it's more engaging, the time flys by, and I can keep a constant pace. I'm still just a lowly 3 miler at a slow 6 mph pace but it's enough for me for now. I'm hoping that as I lose weight my speed with pick up and I'll be able to run longer.

I also have bad knees and high arches that give me terrible foor pain when working out.

An excuse

Uh bad knees are a reality for some. I have chondromalacia patella due to an old sports injury and if I overwork my knees, I'm sidelined for weeks.

So no, it's not an excuse.

I'm sure older people with arthritis in their knees are also using that as an excuse, right??

I always love telling my story to people who hate running but want to get into it. So here ya go!

I was never in shape in middle school/high school. Always overweight. I eventually dropped about 50-60 lbs at the end of my highschool career/beginning of college.
Then, the summer of 2011, I decided I wanted to run.

Mind you, I've tried to make this decision many times. It never panned out for me. Always started too fast, got frustrated and stopped.

This time, I did my research. I looked into the couch to 5k program. After reading reviews, I decided that I could make myself run 3 days a week for only 1 minute at a time. I mean, come on. 60 seconds? I should be able to do that.

It proved to be very difficult, but doable. I felt like a snail for one minute at a time, but the good thing was that I could check it off as day 1.

I kept at it-making sure to do it 3-4 times a week. Sometimes I'd skip some days, then just go back at it-doing other workouts in between cause I sucked at running.

Then, when I was about 3 weeks out from finishing the 5k program, a friend of mine suggested we run a half marathon together.

Me: Um yeah. Sure. Crazyy....

Needless to say, I looked up the Hal Higdon running plan. I finished the c25k program, and then I started the beginner program for training for a half marathon.

The biggest thing was that my friend biked next to me on my first long run of 5 miles. She made me do the entire 5. If I stopped, she made me turn off my GPS, rest, then go right back at it. I couldn't let the miles run out while I was stopping.

After that- I was completely hooked. I could do 5 miles, why not 6? why not 7? And then 12 weeks later, why not 13.1???

This all happened within the span of about 3-4 months. I had never run before in my life.

I recently am coming back from a foot injury/falling out of shape- and I'm going to start back up running today. The biggest thing for me is I have to almost start from square one again- which is annoying, but doable.

You CAN do it.

It IS possible.

Just start slow... and stay motivated. Stick to plans. That's the best way, cause then you don't have to think. You just follow a schedule.

Feel free to add me for any motivation/stories/questions/anything you need! I'm a big person on research, so I know how to do things right/what to do to run a half marathon after never running before in my life

GOOD LUCK

I started because like you I wanted something I could do with my husband. We signed up for a turkey trot together 3 years ago. Got in a huge fight on the way down (he said my 10 minute mile pace was so slow I should just be walking). Stopped talking to him but kept running. I have found my love for longer distances. It doesn't get easy or comfortable for me until after the first 3 miles...then I hit a zone. Ironically my husband has stopped running.

i hope you bet him to the finish line. my hubby loves to joke he can run faster than me (if i come home and say i ran x miles in 45 minutes he'll say oh i could have done that in 30) YET he has never run a day in his life! i keep telling him i'm up for the challenge but he never accepts. LOL!

At 45, I started running (Couch to 5k) out of anger, really. Relationship dissolution... every step was on his face! I have knee issues as well and have found that running has actually made the muscles surrounding my knees much stronger and seriously reduced the pain/weakness of the knees themselves.

I started slowly and did my first 10-miler last fall. This summer will do my first Half Marathon. )) Running has made my life SO much better!!!

Oh, and I live in Minnesota. Ice/snow/cold are not issues unless you let them be. "Screw shoes" and appropriate layering solve those problems.

I have an elliptical and a treadmill, but I prefer to run outside. It's cold and snowy here too so currently I'm not running outside. I don't think the elliptical is even close to running outside or on the treadmill. Running is a lot harder than using the elliptical, in my opinion, and I don't think it prepared me for running.

I have high arches and back problems and I still run. My knees hurt when I first started running because I had no muscle built up in my legs, plus I was heavier than I am now. But if you stick with it, the pain goes away. Just ice your knees after your run. No excuses! Just get out there!

There are so many different ways to run. I had never run before last April. I am oldish (44), short, with a really tiny stride, a jiggly middle and big boobs. Not real comfortable for running and those were my excuses. I love being outside and walking got boring so I decided to strap in and start 'jogging'. It took a while to find the right bra, stride and shoes, but I got there.

When I got bored with running on the roads and it wasn't getting any easier or faster no matter how hard I thought I was trying - I started to hit some of the hiking trails near my house and that's when I fell in love with running! Through the woods (way cooler in summer) from Spring to Fall - up and down the hills, over the rocks and roots. It really makes you feel like a kid again. Winter in NH can be pretty brutal, but I found that after a season of running outside, I can actually take those same trails in the winter - with snowshoes on! It's the coolest thing to jog through the quiet snowy woods. I don't worry about how fast - just how long I can run, how steep the hills are and how much my breathing has improved - and that makes it more enjoyable for me.

please don't say you're oldish! i'll be 41 in april and i don't feel oldish. 40s are the new 20s. LOL!

It was just something I always did. Unfortunately, I was hurt in a car accident and had to stop for 4 years. Started again, ran a 5K, then tore an ankle tendon. It was repaired with a few surgeries but still hurts any time I try to run. GAWD I miss running!

I didn't plan to ever run, not with the things I have going on with my body & my chest always kept me from doing it (thank you for advancements in large busted bra's that have real support). I was walking daily for four months and I was started getting these urges to do more, to go faster & burn more calories... so I'd just jog a little in the middle of my walks and each day I'd do a little more of the jogging until it turned into running. I can still remember my first full half-mile and my first full mile. From that point, I somehow was doing an average of 3.5-4 miles/5 times a week in just a few weeks. I even did a few 7-8 mile runs not even realizing it. There is an incredible feeling you get from it - something I can't even describe. Then you get this "need" to do it and you feel really bad if you don't. I think I became addicted to it, that is until the cold weather hit and my fibromyalgia kicked in and my legs started freezing up. Then the snow came and the sidewalks are covered.... I'm craving that feeling again & can't wait until I can run again!