Getting off the Lurkers couch

Hi ya'll
My name is Andrea and I had my revison waayyyy back in Nov. 09. I started at 190. I was the woman who made fun of people who ran(or jogged, really what is the official difference other than speed). Running had always been super hard for me. I am not sure what possessed me to give it another try. I guess I am just stubborn. My original goal was to be able to make it the 1 or so around my neighbor. Well I did that in less than 2 weeks. I upped it to 2, hard hard hard. So I thought my goal of 3 miles would take months. I achieved it well before Xmas. I run for me, not for any clock. I am dreadfully slow. Just because I am a busy mom and stuff I would like to get faster than my 45 - 60 minutes. I know that alot of ppl reccomend the c25k site but I think I am beyond that maybe.   I am also wanting to be in some of the local 5ks here in WA.
Wow it feels nice to not be on the lurker couch anymore!!

Andrea,

    Thank you for getting off the lurkers couch!!!! I hope you feel welcome and post often! I think it is awesome you are digging running, stick with it and let us know how we can help!

At this point, there are exactly 17 LURKERS who have looked at this post. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!! LOLOLOL Ironic

Hi Andrea and welcome to the board! Like you, I am a busy mom, but I am discovering that taking time for myself, is beneficial to my kids as well. They get a healthier mom and we have even run together; or at least started at the same time! LOL!!

I run for me as well & not against the clock. Practice, practice, practice is what I am finding, is the only way to get faster. You'll get there; enjoy the journey!

Jet

Hey there Andrea!!! Awesome job! You are right on the money by setting small goals. Now....I am no expert here, I just offer my opinion from experience. I also noticed you are from Washington :-) Seattle is hosting "Team In Training"  Marathon or 1/2 Marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Good luck! 

I don't think you can get beyond the couch to 5k.
I have used it over and over, each time I use it, I increase my speeds.
It is an interval system, so instead of walking jog, instead of jogging run

The first time I did it my fast speed was 5mph, and my walking was 3 mph
I'm doing it again and I use 5 mph my former high speed as my slow and I'm running at 7.5 mph.

You don't have th do the C25K program, but Intervals in general are a great way to add some speed and get a feeling of accomplishing something at the same time.

Good luck

Scott

Thanks for your new ideas on how to use the c25k program. This may sound like a dumb thing to ask ,but how did you find out how fast you were running?

You can do it a few different ways.
On a treadmill where you can set the speed
Run a set distance like on a track and time yourself
Using one of the GPS enabled watches like the Garmin or Polar

Here is a web site that you can use to make the conversions for mile or kilometers, or mph and pace etc.  if it take you X minutes to run that mile the math is pretty simple, but the online calculators make it even easier.

http://www.bx3.com/phil/tri/tricalc.asp


Good luck with your running.

Scott