[Zhgrlpil]

I'm doing it.

I'm into week 8 now and while I have no problem running the time, I don't cover the indicated distance so I usually run an extra minute or so.

8 weeks ago there is no way under the sun that I could have ever even dreamed of running non stop for 30 minutes. It killed me when I started this to run 60 seconds.

My loss is certainly due to the diet and exercise but I'm so glad I found this around the time I started the diet. I hated running as an adolescent as I was overweight and never did very well with it. It was easy to stand out in a crowd when you cross the line last at a track meet and the rest of your team is waiting on the bus to leave. Now however this is truely exilerating. Patty's quote is so right. It is all mental as far as I'm concerned and I seem to have the knack to really push myself while at the same time not overdoing it to the point I don't enjoy it.

I'm looking forward to entering a 5K race when I'm done the program. My first forray into running will be on July 14 when The Running Room is having a 20 minute running challenge. YOu get a free hat if you participate thus my interest. After that I'm going to look for a 5K race to enter.

As soon as I'm done the 5K program and I'm able to run 5K in a reasonable time, I'm going to look for a decent 10K program.

My next task is to quit smoking. I'm sure that'll knock a few minutes off my time.

Anyways I'm rambling but in summary, this is a great great way to get into running. Looking at it as a non runner you think that the last weeks will kill you and the first don't look so bad. It is the opposite. Week 5 was the absolute worst for me. After I got through it however the rest of them were simple. Most weeks since I have almost doubled the actual scheduled running (6 days instead of 3).