Deb - cOnGrAtUlAtIoNs!!! What a great boost! OK, now I'm definitely going to look for a race to register for. It is such a great feeling to cross that finish line.

Mel - Congrats to you for sticking with this with the baby and kiddos. It was so hard for me to fit fitness in, and I only have 1 kid!

Maree - I'm with you on getting another week of ~1/2 hour runs in under my belt before moving on to week 9. Glad to have someone to do this with!

My plan is to run 35 minutes today.

Still on a bit of an achievement high today. Celebrated with a sleep-in and a normal dog-walk.

Yes, the crowd did induce adrenaline, and I must have run at a faster pace than before. I wasn't listening to any app or reading off Runkeeper, and the course only announced halfway, but my time was faster. I did start off sensibly, that is not running fast like a idiot, until it felt like I was in a good rhythm for the distance. The weather was cool/cold, especially because it was early evening, and there were some slight hills.

The scariest bit was at the beginning, when I worried that I hadn't done my five minutes of walking warmup, and you spend a bit of time just standing around waiting to start. As there was music, I jigged around on the spot to keep warm, and get my heart going a bit. I was also nervous when running around people and prams that I would trip or something clumsy, and break my ankle again. One of the reasons I put on weight is that I broke my ankle twice, two separate times, about 3 years ago. Other than that, I really just focused on steady breathing, good running technique, and my own race, for my own self.

I finished feeling proud for running the whole way, passing lots of walkers, passing people younger than me, and completing my goal. And I immediately thought of you all, cheering me on. Thank you.

What's great about an organised run, as opposed to cranking out 5km on the dread mill or the pavement, is the sense of validation. You've done it in public, random people may applaud you, and you get a t-shirt (LOL).

And if we all lived in the same area, we would be planning a celebratory drink in a local pub somewhere. I must say, it sounds as if everyone is ready for a 5km run right now. It can feel like a big leap into the unknown, but from what I'm reading, you're all up for it.

Let's go, team!

Congratulations, Deb! That is an awesome time! So happy for you!!!!

Maree and Kim, good for you both on training for the 10k. That is admirable, but not something I can do right now. Maybe one day! I'm just going to keep working on my 5k for right now.

I didn't get week 8 day 3 in Friday, and then Saturday was super busy so it didn't happen again. But today we took the kids to a park that has a great trail and I ran until the guy came to lock the gates. It was my first time running outside for c25k and the inclines threw me off a little. I managed to get 3 miles in 42 minutes. I found it difficult to keep a pace without the treadmill doing it for me and I knew I didn't want to go too fast and burn out early. I think I'll try to run outside again next weekend and then the next weekend is the 5k with my sister. I have one more week and I'll be finished with c25k!

I think we should all head to Aussie to celebrate with Deb!

Well, it snowed a FOOT (30cm for Deb) over the weekend. I kept looking outside at the sideways blowing snow before cuddling back on the couch. This is the time of year where we typically get these snow storms, but everyone is ready for winter to be over. Anyhow, on the spur of the moment I looked up the weather in the next town over: partly sunny, 40s F and no rain expected for another couple of hours. My husband and son were out skiing, so I grabbed my stuff and drove an hour to that same trail from the other day. I stomped it this time! I knew what to expect and it wasn't "hot" LOL. I ran a good 40 minutes, much of it up hill. I felt so fantastic even though I was going slow enough for walkers to pass me. So ... Week 8, Day 3 is officially done for me (it was supposed to be 35min, but I kept going through the cool down).

More snow expected tomorrow night ... we'll see what I can do. I won't be able to leave town since I have a heavy work week. I should mention that I study snow for my job! We don't have a regular gym in our town, but the school gym is available. It is a basketball court, plus a little section with some free weights, an elliptical machine and a couple of stationary bikes. My son loves to go play there after school, so that might be a big part of my exercise the next few days.

Hey y'all!
Kim, that is amazing. Where do you live again? As our days here in Sydney start to get darker (no more daylight saving and a little cool -- but not like Melbourne where it is crisp and cold!) we really don't know our luck when it comes to weather.

Deb, how are your muscles? All good?
Airangel, bugger about the toe.
Mel, how is it going>
I did weights this morning, and this evening I did 5ks on the tread, using the Nike + running coach that focusses on 5k running. Today's program focussed on 1.6k warm-up; 2.4 k fartleks at 3 minutes each (basically faster, then slower) ; then cool-down. Was interesting that I finished the 5ks at 41 or so.
I am wanting to do 10 x 5 ks and/or 35 minute runs over the next fortnight to keep me on top of it...... I might go back to week 9 in the next part of the 5 -10k then.... I think if I tried to keep going without consolidating, then I might have droppped my bundle altogether. All's well here. Happy to host a MYF 5k Aussie run!!

Hey all,
Maybe I am becoming a runner - a slow, temperamental, ambivalent runner..... I find it hard to believe but my partner and our kids (late teens) are on holidays for easter and staying at an apartment with a gym and I can't wait to maintain my 5ks when I am there.
I am enjoying it -- not that much whilst I am doing the run -- but I am loving the after feeling, and I am enjoying trying to get to the 5ks below 40 minutes.
As I said, my plan is to get quite a few 5ks under my belt so that I normalise it whilst at the same time I start trying to run this outside. Such a great feeling!!
I am going to do the second part of my app -- the 10k part which is another five weeks I think -- in a couple of weeks time (maybe start the first week of May?) when I feel confident with my 5k runs.

Happy Easter all.

Just checked in after a long hiatus from the board to see how everyone is doing. Sounds like we have some real runners on our hands -- congrats, everyone!! I was embarrassed that I slacked for couple weeks early on, but I was determined not to quit. So I regrouped, and I am proud to report that I just ran my last week with walking intervals and am about to start week 7. I have never been a runner so this is huge for me ... A little nervous about these upcoming longer runs, but I did the 20-minute and it's feeling more and more natural each run. :-)

Hi everyone,

So great to read that everyone is checking in with progress and updates. It's getting nippy here in Melbourne, making it easier to go running. I've run a couple of 5kms again, just to consolidate, but now I've got a sore hamstring (very annoying), so I've backed off to walk/run routines with the dog. Lots of gym work and Pilates classes as well. I've got 4 kilos to go to reach my goal weight!

Let's keep it up, team.

Hmm. Hope it was just my recovery but I couldn't get beyond 10 minutes in terms of sustained running and it made me lose my mojo a bit! I think I need to try and just do a gentle run to get back up to 30mins without stopping and not worry, look at m distance, my pace or time.
Hmm. just when I thought I'd cracked it, the mental push of maintaining the running without not stopping has gotten into me.
Ah well -- got to build up that mental strength....
Cheers
Maree