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minxz - im with u on the issue of saving for shoes. GOOD shoes are the only expense you NEED to figure in. thats what drew me to walking then running. (orthotics too if u need them) its the only investment and so far its made a world of difference for me... as for the out of shape stuff, if I can start running at my age and lack of shape then almost anyone can. i hated HATED sweating and was anti exercise b4 my band. then i made a half-hearted attempt for a while walking. something clicked for me and im at a point now where i dont say i "have to" exercize... i say to myself..."i get to go for a run." slight shift in attitude... Mac and Kathy - can either of u explain to me what i should do when i go back to use the intervals for building speed? im on week 9, ran 35 mins on monday, and got a fill yesterday. being on mushies and all im not in a running mood energy-wise. planning on it tomorrow but today my knees still r giving me he** today. doing advil & icy hot to get them back in control so i have time tonite to think of strategies to get better by next month and my 5k. anyway do i go back to week 1 and work on speed? a different week? not sure how that works best. well TC Carol

thanks Tkl. already emiled them to find out something. i appreciate good leads. tc, carol

Suzanne, I take the huge ones and just suffer a bit till they disolve in my pouch...i have a liquid one but i hate it. its a very thick liquid that has an apricot flavor base. too sweet and mediciny. not sure it helps me much either. i got it at vitamin shoppe. ive taken the pills for a long time now but didnt think i should after my last fill, and i really missed taking them. was too achy without them. i just added the second dose that i should have been taking all along, but kept forgetting. making a better effort with all of the vitamins and supplements even though i always take my multivite, etc at nite. i need to space them out more thru the day since im getting a fill tomorrow and will have even better restriction i hope. Let me know if you want me to find out the name of the liquid i have. it was not carbonated at all it just made me gag. lol tc carol

20k - another slacker among us, Kathy? lol. NOT! Im very impressed. For once im not stressing about my runs this past weekend. I really want to try again tonite. that'd make 3x in a row, but i know i need to do it later in the evening or even after it gets dark. gonna make a concerted effort to get more fluid in just in case its that. also starting to take extra glucosamine/condroitin. now, instead of waiting to run, im tryng tonite since im scheduled for a fill tomorrow and i always give myself that day off from running, just in case im a bit tender from the fill. i get a bit bruised sometimes, and dont want to push it on those days. if i waited to run that'd push me to wednesday or maybe thursday. i dont want to wait that long, so im gonna try for tonite. my kids r home from a week of sleep away camp, so its back to the daily summer grind of work then picking them up from day camp then home, dinner, RUN, etc etc. Im making sure to schedule the runs. those are for ME. ttys, will post how i do. tc Carol

had a mixed weekend running-wise. last nite i tried to run. not sure what happened, but i couldnt do even 2 of the 3 laps. too much on my mind? too hot? whatever... so this morning, i i tried again. i did about a lap and a half, basically making up the difference. a little disappointed and trying to be philosophical about things, and see what i can learn from it. idk yet... but one other cool thing. a bandster friend of mine has been asking me for advice on running. seems he's thinking of giving it a go. im encouraging him to come and see what we talk about, makes me feel like im an experienced runner. lol. ive been telling him to get fitted for good running shoes, as his budget allows. I told him to get good running socks, too since one of my friends here advised me to do the same. it seems to help me. I hope he's successful and likes it. its a great way to feel successful in the health improvement departments of our journeys... I think i'll try again tomorrow nite. after the sun is low in the sky and cooler, i hope. ttys running buddies. tc Carol

OMG Mac. only doing 8 work outs a week...such a slacker...(rolling my eyes - lol) WTG on your tri!!! and good luck on the next one. Suzanne - thanks for the encouragement. Last nite, after my post i got some news about a friend that made me sad, (what happened really isnt important to share here) but b4 my first thought would have been to beat myself up or eat the saddness away. (and dont we former fattys know how we internalize everything to ourselves as the cause and as a result eat.) this time, i felt like i was really glad i had running as a release. and, if i hadnt just run id have gone out at 10:30 pm to do one. For now, im putting the sad feelings on a shelf and will take them down when i go for my next run. its called compartmentalizing. When i run im hoping to say a prayer for my friend and get it out of my system that way. i think my friend would be proud of my decision to run it out. we all make good and difficult decisions, and even though my friend made a choice that made me sad for a while - i really learned from it that im much stronger than i was b4 my band and even till i started running. so...yay me. my knees are giving me hell this morning from my 2.4 miles last nite. i may wait till saturday to run if they keep bugging me tomorrow. and uh oh last nite i remember coming home full of adreneline and sitting down to type out my post, and just now realized i didnt stretch much after the run.... that'll teach me. i'll be in touch. tc for now, Carol

well Kathy i followed your advice about running as far as i could. i did 2.4 miles (4k) in 34.18! was crapping out then saw how close i was to the end of my 3rd lap around my lake. so i sucked it up and finished the lap. then added up the time of the songs on my mp3 player. i have that runners high. i know this cuz i am so flippin proud of myself ive been giggling like a fool. im going to do that and more and i still have a month to train for the 5k in july! Thanks! tc, Carol

yay Mac! u go girl!!! TC Carol

welcome Jane. I did the race for the cure here in west palm beach, fl in january. was the coldest freakin day for a race. great goal and if you are already an athlete you will be able to train very nicely. i need to add wt training to my regime, but for now im only concentrating on the running. look back a few pages to Kathy's post to Machelle she listed the podrunner series link. its been systematically helping me to improve my stamina. will look forward to seeing posts from you as you get closer to your training goal. tc, Carol

wow kathy - thanks for the advice. im seriously considering what you suggested. as a matter of fact, i did go past the 28 mins tonite. i wanted to make it to 4 whole laps around the blocks in my neighborhood that i usually use as my course. thats just a hair under 2 miles. by next weekend i should be ready. tuesday im supposed to go running with a girl i know and she does about 30 mins. so i'll go with her then. the only other hold up is that my old computer died - the one with all my music and playlists... if i can figure out how to copy the stuff on my mp3 player to the other puter then i can do what you suggested. if not then by saturday for sure. now, for your NSV, Kathy...WOO HOO! now u can be the measure for your family to say - "I want to be as small as Kathy!" very proud of you! thats an excellent accomplishment. you are close to correct about me being cautious. but im not so much cautious, but methodical. I figure if someone has gone to the trouble to study the science behind the C25k program then its based on good info. But i really trust you and ive seen that info b4. so thats y im considering your challenge. will let you know when i am ready to be there. but tonite was the first time i felt like i didnt feel every step and ready to stop after the first lap. lyn and ktork good to hear from both of u. everyone else... have a great week! TC, Carol

1.9 miles in 28 mins! sooooo close to 2 miles i can almost taste it! will do 28 mins 1 maybe 2 more times for the conditioning. i get about 1/4 done and feel like quitting. but i dont!!! knees a bit sore, but not bad. keep y'all posted as i go. im sure that when i do up my time to 30 mins i will be at the 2 miles, but i want to be faster, too. i have about 6 weeks to bring it up to 5k. im hopeful but not sure how i'll do by my race in july. Kathy - Im leaving room for being able to do it. Even if i do it in 45 mins. more if necessary. my time in January was 52 mins + i think (its on my signature-lol im really shooting for a run of 45 mins. if its 50 i wont be upset. hey all please remind me of that if i need it. I'm rambling... tc, Carol

Malissa nope im doing my race on the 18th i think...(its on my signature) here in west palm beach. mine is an evening run too. and dont u dare cry...lol as one of the ppl who used to post on here regularly named Whosya. he started running VERY heavy and just kept at it. and a little over 1 1/2 yrs after banding he ran a 1/2 marathon. He taught me so much and introduced me to the ppl here. He says there are no bad runs...cuz u get something out of each one. i try to remember that and find a learning experience from EVERY time i run. I tend to report every run either that day or shortly after it. im very proud of myself and feel like i want to share it. Id love to have a running buddy for a race sometime. we can look for something in between tampa and here. tc and best of luck! tc Carol

Malissa, wow i planned to come here and offer my support too. Congrats on making the decision to get healthy and using running to do it. Im right there with you. The ppl on this site are wonderful as you can see from the support youve been given already! I use several of them for guidance and support all the time. But....then i saw that you registered for a 5k in July and that you live in FL... Im in FL too. I wonder if we're doing the same 5k. and if you live near me? Im in south FL (boynton bch to be exact). Let me know if you live near me. Im only a few weeks ahead of you if you decide to do the C25K program that Kathy posted. I took extra time on several of the weeks for the extra conditioning. let me know if you want to chat. you can contact me here or if you feel comfortable i can give you other ways to contact me as well. Kathy and Suzanne, thanks for the support! I'm definitely using your examples for inspiration as i get closer to this race! tc, Carol

Note to self: Carol - do not run when stuck. The other day i learned this very valuable lesson. so with the friends visiting and the aborted attempt at running when i was stuck, i didnt run for a week. well 6 days, but close enough. i did run tonite but the day started out rough with a tummy ache. got better enough to run... but mannnnn...was i slow. I managed to do the whole 28 mins, but got only a little and i mean a little farther than when i did the 25. gonna keep plugging away at it. not sure if i'll be ready for that 5k mid july, but im gonna try. tc all, Carol

Kathy - the site doew look really weird, looks like theyre doing some work on it maybe... I havent started week 8 yet between friends coming in from out of town and the evening rain, ive been a real slacker this week. thanks for checking on me though it helps to motivate me to run tonite if the weather holds so i can impress my friends. hope i can do the full 28 mins. do any of you use a stopwatch? im thinki8ng of looking for an inexpensive one since the nike+ is not in the budget. im thinking that id like to use my own tunes for the longer runs... any suggestions to monitor my time/distance? tc Carol

wow renewed its really good to hear from you again. congrats on the 2+ mile run. I ran almost 25 mins again. I guess im done with week 7 though. todays slightly abbreviated run was not my fault. one of the ppl in my neighborhood from the other side of the lake, had his dogs and one caught him by surprise when i came around the corner and the dog pulled the leash out of his hand. He has a hard time controlling them on a good day. at any rate they were jumping on me as i rounded his part of the lake, and i really had to stop cuz the more i moved the more they jumped. these dogs jump on their sliding glass door when ever ppl go by walking or running by the house too. a few times i thougth they may even go thru the glass door some day. ugh. was a bit disappointed to not get the whole 25 mins in, but im counting it anyway. it was a nice run, and i enjoyed running in the constant but light drizzle. kept me a bit cooler, though id have appreciated having a tiny bit of air moving around. without the sun beating down, i was able to do a somewhat earlier run, so i feel like i accomplished something. next run may be delayed a bit due to having friends visiting this week, but i plan to move up to the 28 min run. hope i can feel good about adding 3 little ole mins. tc and ttys, Carol

yes, kathy, its memorial day on monday. i can imagine your frustration though. it took me waaaay too long to sync my new mp3 to include the podrunner series. i got my songs but not the series whenever i tried. I still dont have it set into files right, but at least i can listen to the sets on it. i ran last nite very late. (i spent most of the evening trying to load the mp3 and getting psyched up for it.) i had a hard time getting motivated but i managed to get out there just b4 11pm. I made a promise to a friend and hubby. the set went well till the rain started just after the 25 min run. I discovered that even though im on week 7, i like the music slightly better on the week 6 run. and since they're both 25 min, i just did the week 6 run. i think i may do this week a few more times for the conditioning. every time i do the 25 mins, i am very sore going up the stairs to my room for a shower. but after 3 advil and sleep, i managed to wake up not totally achy today. and, the breathing is doing somewhat better too. i still feel congested in my chest when i do a long (long - for me that is) run. so, progress again. :wink2: still looking to run the 5k in July, i hope i'll be ready. if not, i'll still do it but may have to walk some. tc and ttys, Carol

I had a good run too today. 1.75 miles in 25 mins. not too shabby for me. my run the other day didnt quite complete the full 25 mins. so its motivating me to do 2 more days at 25 mins b4 moving on to week 8. those 3 additional minutes intimidate me. last few days when i run i feel a slight rattling congested feeling in my chest middle to the end of the run. as if theres something loosening up in my chest. my lungs arent burning as bad when im at the beginning of the run as much. so progress! feels good but sore. (a good sore ) TC all - talk soon Carol

Mac the rest time between runs...1 day or can it be 2? dont know that anyone saw my ? the other day. i was dragging my feet a bit last run. distance was shorter by about a tenth of a mile and so i gave myself one extra day to rest b4 the next run. anyone think this is a reasonable idea? ive been bummed though about my wt. I know ive done all the rationalization...muscle weighs more than fat, etc, but im still bummed ive been at a plateau since my slip in october. same 5# bouncing up and down since then... im gonna try to restructure some of my eating to put the concentration of proteins in different times of the day. we'll see if it does anything. ktork - what i see of your new pic here looks great. i'll run for u tonite (25 mins) i appreciate the way you described the running. what a way with words. :rolleyes2: fanny - site? what kind of site? i dont understand. also, i have 2 banded friends in perth. if u want let me know and i'll be glad to introduce u, but you may already know them. tc all, Carol

wow Suzanne! sounds like a great running partner very encouraging...but he had awesome material to work with!!! i'm very psyched for you! well i did w7d1 lst nite. my distance was shorter for some reason. i did feel my feet dragging a bit during the run. it was kinda weird though. I felt more competant with the run ...less winded and definitely not as lightheaded at the end. so mixed results i guess. im actually looking forward to the next run on Sat i hope. Or, should i take 1 additional day to rest, wondering if i need a little extra time to recover??? anyway had a revelation of sorts last nite too. after i run i have a hard time with my band when i eat. it seems that every time i run i get stuck badly very soon after i start eating. and yes, i was following the band rules for eating. i called my bari nurse ths morning and she said that since the stomach/esophagus are muscles, i should drink something warm before eating, again following my doc's band instructions regarding drinking/eating. she said the warm liquid can help relax the esophagus in particular. then she gave me a very nice NSV. she really complimented me on running and gave me lots of encouragement! tc, Carol