DaveAkeman Member

Found it. I like it! I have a good friend who is a serious cycler, and is currently recovering from a cycling accident last week (while he was doing 25 mph, he totalled a BMW that pulled out in front of him with his body). I think I may tell him that, because he stuck with rule #5 so well, he is now officially allowed to…

Maggie, how did that knee work out for you? I've got a similar situation with my foot . . . just an annoyance, really, that I could easily ignore and live with if not for the running. On the one hand, it is probably bad enough to keep me from running a lot further if not taken care of, but, on the other hand, I am a little…

Very nice! I've also had to identify my excuses and work out ways to overcome them, one by one. What is cyclists' "rule 5", by the way? I'm not familiar with that, but it sounds like it might be a great tool!

Congratulations! Although you really shouldn't be concerned with speed, especially if you are repeating runs, sometimes it is these small victories that keeps us going. I will never forget when I was in about the same place as you and I was passed by a muscle-bound high school kid who was easily running TWICE as fast as…

Congratulations!!! I notice that you say you used to hate running. I used to hate running, too. I haven't run since high school, though. Back then I was being timed, and passed by all the jocks, and this was all happening in front of all the girls . . . lots of reasons to be miserable!!! Now I don't hate it. When I strap…

I've been hydrostatically weighed (the gold standard BF% measurement), and, considering that it is just a bioimpedance measurement, the Aria is surprisingly consistent with the hydrostatic weighing. I'm going to repeat the hydrostatic weighing sometime in the next month or two to compare them again, with my new body shape.

Mimi, you really shouldn't be scared of failing. Just try it. If you can't do what you thought you could, fine - now you have a goal. My bet, though, is that you will really impress yourself and be able to do much more than you think.

Why break up? (I haven't, and I'm doing great!) Before you go, plan what you are going to order. Even enter it into your diary, before you ever order. These days I eat fast food a couple times a week. Instead of a Big Mac, I get either a Whopper Jr at Burger King or a hamburger at McDonalds. No fries. The hamburger is 240…

I do a lot of hiking, and use poles only if I'm climbing something (600-1200 feet per mile), or if the terrain is EXTREMELY difficult. (And around me there are LOTS of opportunities for climbing hikes like that) I find that I can do much more climbing with the poles because the work is not isolated to your legs . . . your…

Thank you!!! I'm around 176 steps per minute (~6500 steps recorded on the FitBit for a 37 minute 5k), so that's right in there . . . I guess I'm right that the stride length is the place to work. And it makes sense that a stronger push-off is what drives that.

I really don't know, but I will try to chime in, anyway. I think whatever you do to get moving is a big step in the right direction. If jogging in place is what you're comfortable with, then DO IT! However, I expect that running in place uses a very different set of muscles than what you will use outdoors. You are probably…

Interesting question, and I'd love to hear what others with more knowledge and experience say. I think I use a fairly flat foot strike; when I have tried to think about running on the ball of my foot, I have found that I tire extremely quickly, or my calves get really, really sore. Sometimes I wonder if I'm 'speed walking'…

Nope - not Canadian. I may be able to translate, but it's only because I'm an engineer. I could never be a Canadian . . . I might be a generally polite guy, but I can't be THAT polite THAT much of the time!!! Regarding the encouragement - I'm just one fat guy who has fallen in love with running. And C25K did it for me. I…

You really shouldn't worry about your pace, but you're doing fine! You will get faster. And, you realize that 11.5 min/mile is several minutes FASTER than a 40 minute 5k, right? I know it's a little farther, but what I found is that as I increased my time/distance going through the C25K, my pace did not generally decrease.

Congratulations!!!

I would consider that to be extremely accurate. I've got to ask, though: how do you know? What are you using for a gold standard to compare it to?

It is possible. I have lost 74 in the past 4 months, and I know of many others who have done similar. However, I have significantly more to lose, and I am a man. Both of these worked in my favor. And it took a lot of dedication. Running 3-4 times a week. And REALLY cutting calories significantly. HOWEVER . . . I REALLY…

I LOVE this!!! Reminds me of a time a couple years ago (before starting this) when I went on a backpacking trip. About 4 miles in, up and over a ridge, to a beautiful lake. That wasn't so bad. But getting up the next morning and hiking back out, with a 200 pound pack on my back (not really - but it felt like it!) was…

Wow . . . that is INCREDIBLY consistent with your weight. I'm actually very, very impressed! Thank you for sharing!!!

I WISH I could get my son to run with me! I wouldn't worry about running 5k. In my area there are lots and lots of 5k runs that are advertised as "all ages", or "family friendly". And there are lots of kids who complete them.

^^^ YES! ^^^ I don't think I've ever heard it said so succinctly. Yes, sometimes it will be hard. These are the times that it is important to gather your strength and endure. These are the times that separate the quitters from the rest. I think I may have a new inspirational quote. Thank you! "Sometimes it will be hard."…

Thank you for the comments, @editorgrrl and @weird_me2. Definitely things to think about. @editorgrrl, looking at the data over the next couple weeks is exactly what I intend to do. I agree . . . that's the only way to really be sure. (In fact, I was just thinking that FitBit is acquiring quite a bit of data from people .…

I know this is an old thread, but I just ran across this because I was searching for the same question, and thought I would throw in my little bit of data for the benefit of future searchers: I have been running 3.1 miles (5k) with RunDouble. I run at about 12'15"/mile, and it says about 480 calories for the 38 minute run.…

Great job; keep it up! And yes, you were going too fast . . . keep that in mind. If you feel like you can't complete a run at any time (and it will happen again), just SLOW DOWN! Former (and still current) marching band geek here, too. (I've marched drum and bugle corp, marching bands in parades and competitions, and have…

I think a lot of it depends on your ability, and how you feel. When I did C25K the first time, I always skipped a day between runs because I had to. You're not going to get too far ahead of 3 runs per week that way. I suppose if you run on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday . . . in that case, as long as you feel up to…

Washington State. Mechanical Engineer.

Couch-to-half marathon by Labor Day? Wow . . . that seems pretty aggressive. That sounds like some pretty good motivation right there. Maybe you need to sit down and give yourself some interim goals to keep you on track for that. And those shorter-term goals might be better motivators. It really comes down to your…

Don't get too smug. I'm closing the gap! (Well, technically, I'm NOT closing the gap . . . but I'm pacing with you, just waiting for you to stumble for . . . 1100 days or so . . .)

I see this is an old post, so this is very unlikely to help the person who asked, but for the next person . . . I tried lots of stuff to help with day-after soreness. Hot baths, epsom, etc. I found the thing that helped the most was to just keep moving. I work at a desk, and whenever I started getting sore, I would stand…

Is check with a doctor, or at least a physical therapist. I had lots of Achilles pain when I started (from an old sprain), and the running actually helped it a LOT, but it was pretty obvious by my second run or so that it was getting better. I don't think most injuries act like that.