For the first time in my life I ran outside in the real world, with the intention of running, and with a running buddy! It was amazing, we really ran, this wasn't just some slow walking, we kept up a steady jog pace up and down grades AND talked! I felt great and the only part of me to conk out were my lungs and throat which felt like they were sucking ice shards, otherwise I felt good. And ... we did 2.75 miles!!!! The most I've done alone on a tread was 1.5!!!! My running buddy is a former personal trainer and is in excellent shape and she said that I did really well. yay

Yay!! That's an awesome NSV! I can't wait until I'm back into good enough shape to run myself. I ran track in high school and I can remember loving the time I spent on the road alone in the early mornings. I'm so proud of you and happy that you enjoyed the run!!!

Congrats!!! Very awesome!!!... I can hardly wait to run!!!

And the best part is that when we stopped I realized that if it weren't for my throat and lungs, I could totally have kept going. My muscles and body were doing just fine! Now I truly can recognize and cannot deny the positive changes in my body. As much as I have forgotten or want to forget, I distinctly remember how exhausted I felt just walking up a short flight of stairs, how my knees trembled. Now I dance all night long, twist myself into a yoga pretzel, and run alongside a very fit person and the differences between us aren't stark. =) =) =)

GT... you've made my day! I am in awe! I just don't have the courage to jog outside... and I so wish I did! I am working on the mental aspect to do it but it is taking a long time!

To run with a personal trainer, keep up and TALK is fan-bloody-tastic!! Good job my lovely!

I am also impressed that you are recoginising the positive changes that you've made to yourself... the NSV has more than one level my friend! x

<3 <3 Coops!

Wow, good work! Running is frickin hard!

Good job! I only run long distances if chased by an ax murder.my trainer makes me run In 5 minute intervals, and I hate it.

It's fun to me because I've turned it into a game; when I bought my shoes at a specialty running store I got a lot of great knowledge from the sales dude and he informed me of the ideal running gait which is 180 steps per minute or 90 pairs. It's so easy to get lost in the counting of the steps and establishing my rhythm that the first few minutes breeze by and now that I know what 180 feels like, I can do it without counting and it is almost hypnotic. Also, I don't know about you all, but one of the hurdles as I've approached goal has been to drop my mind sets as well as the pounds. I had a knee-jerk response to running, that it was difficult and embarrassing and would feel horrible physically and emotionally. I reassured myself, said hey, it's okay, you can stop if you want. And when I automatically started to stop one day on the treadmill because I had been on for 30 minutes, I said, wait a minute, LISTEN to your body, are you actualy tired? How do you REALLY feel? And I realised, I was perfectly fine, I wasn't about to collapse, far from it. That was the day I pushed ahead and went a mile and a half. It's a cliche but, sometimes, we really don't know what we are capable of! =)

Update: I went running Friday with my buddy, we ran up hills, through sand, and down trails and did 3.3 miles!! It was interspersed with walking, but still!

GT... how did you take the first step? was it just a case of saying 'balls to this' and just doing it?! I really want to but for some reason something in my stupid head is stopping me... grrrr! x

@ Coops - the short answer is, yes! I got on the treadmill one day and told myself, "you are NOT ALLOWED to stay on this treadmill for longer than a single minute, I don't care how much you are enjoying yourself!" (A bit o reverse psychology), so, for one minute, I ran properly. Then I got off and went about my regular workout routine. I did that for a few days and then switched it up to 2 minutes. After that I switched from minutes to distance and told myself that I was not allowed to go more than a quarter mile (about 3.5 minutes as it turned out), then half a mile, then .75, before I knew it, I was purposely not looking at either the clock or the distance and just going by how my body felt and when I needed to stop and walk I looked down and I'd done a mile and a quarter! As far as running without stopping to walk or slow down at all I am still "only" at 1 mile on the treadmill, out in the real world like I said in the prev post, we did 3.33 miles but that was the sum of bursts of running and walking, not pure running.

As they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. <3

Fair play GT... you got it sorted there with the running... I like the way you think. How did you go from treadmill to the real world?

I can jog on a treadmill from 30-50 mins when I was doing it reg back last year - before my back/groin went - but for some stupid reason, I can't transfer that to the outside world as much as I want to! I've even imagined myself jogging a long the route that I set myself to do!

Do I just have to GET THE HELL OUT THERE AND DO IT!!!??? xx

The way I did it is I just sort of took the decision out of my hands, I made a date with a friend for running, the fitness phd friend by the way, and that kept me from backing out of it. She has damaged her own ankles a lot over the years so she is also cautious and since she has been a personal trainer, she let me go at my own pace but also nudged me along. I definitely could not have gone it alone for my first time! We now have a standing run date every Monday and Wednesday and because someone other than myself is involved, it makes it more difficult to bail. She of course can keep up a chatty conversation without breaking a sweat while running which I can't quite do yet but I manage to talk a little, which makes me put forth even more effort.

New fitness NSV's - My buddy and I ran for over 3 miles again, she said we were around a 5K. Also, I ran a mile by myself at the gym on the treadmill and it was no big deal, I wasn't even winded and part of it was done on incline! And my third fitness NSV - I did a crossfit class and it was awesome! I wish it wasn't so expensive or I would become an immediate devotee =)

And my third fitness NSV - I did a crossfit class and it was awesome! I wish it wasn't so expensive or I would become an immediate devotee =)

Yaaaaay! Don't worry, I was saying the same thing last year....then I finally became hooked enough to pony up the $100+/month, lol.