Couch to 5k 2011 Part Four: Post even if you haven't run!

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Yet more space for us to talk about our progress on the Couch to 5K programme, the stuff we wear, the music we listen to, the gadgets we use and our nail varnish.

New runners are warmly welcomed - come and give it a whirl, you know you want to! There has been a lot of success on this thread, both in the UK and internationally, moral support is abundant, and there is always a kick up the arse for anyone who needs one!

Some of us are on our second time round now, so don't worry that you will be behind, just jump in whatever stage you are at.

Oh hello Jelli, well done on your run home, you deserve to be in PRSP, running through snow! We've not had any yet but we live in hope of school being shut.

re broken nails! I hate it when that happens but you are right, they do grow back to live another day. And yes, lots of nail varnish talk from me, and very little running, so feel free to tell me to shut UP, TOWIE style when I go on and on ...

Off to bed now to read by torchlight as NSDH doesn't like me having the light on grrr. IHBU?

Night everyone!

Love the nails, Nell - as does DD2. I don't know what she was doing in the night, but the polish has survived on only three of her nails. It must be the lack of top coat... Which was the top coat you recommended? I'm using Rimmel atm (well I was, until it went AWOL), which I'm quite happy with, but am always on the lookout for new nail products.

What is NSDH? Non-smoking DH? Mine doesn't like me reading in bed either, i.e. having the light on when he's trying to sleep. I insisted on reading for 10 minutes last night, claiming untruthfully that I hadn't read all day, and then MNed on my iPod under the covers.

Btw I've just been invited to join the Pinterest page on FB. Or perhaps I've been invited to join the app. (Am highly confused by all things technical.) At any rate, the page looks very interesting.

There's really no need to feel bad, Jelli - I'm not absolutely certain that it was the Shred that caused my problems and even if it was, it's my own fault for failing to wear trainers for the first 3 or 4 days. (I'm sure it wouldn't have caused anything, anyway; it's more likely to have exacerbated an underlying problem.) And well done on running uphill and in the snow - you are a proper runner!

• good to see you posting again!

I thought Nell's NSDH was perhaps Not So DH, but I could be wrong...

Jelli, don't worry about the Shred, like Linzer says, my knees were dodgy to start with and have been since I started running. I was a very sporty girl in my far away youth, did lots of gymnastics as a child, and played lots of squash in my 20's, neither of which can be good for the knees . Well done on your snowy run!

Linzer, sorry you are still suffering

Whoknows - well done for getting out

Kristina - you MUST do a Parkrun. They sound fun.

I did my jingle bell jog this morning. It was great fun - as soon as I got to the subway station I spotted other runners, and as we got closer the train was filling up with Santas and elves, people with reindeer hats and so on. I was late for the start but it didn't matter, since there were over 5000 people running today, so it took a while to get everyone through the start! I ran all the way (6k), and my time was just over 38 minutes . There were loads of families and kids out, as it was to raise money for the New York Road Runners youth programme. According to the results I was 3916th overall, 2078th woman and 138th (out of 243) woman in my age group. Like Kristina, I'll move up an age bracket in January (sadly not before my half marathon) which will make me appear to run faster.

Have good weekends everyone!

Well done on your jingle bell jog, Shredded; it sounded like a lot of fun. Impressive time, too.

I've just remembered what probably caused the problems with my knee - about four years ago, I fell downstairs in the middle of the night (no alcohol involved, honestly ), banged my knee really badly and couldn't walk for about a day afterwards. That would also explain why only one of my knees is affected. I'd completely forgotten about it until I wrote earlier that I probably had an underlying problem and was wondering what it could be.

My top coat has reappeared! And China Glaze for Audrey is still looking good so it shall be my varnish of choice for the Danube cruise tomorrow.

Ohhh the Jingle Bell Jog sounds very jolly shredded, I would love to see a subway car thing full of elves and Santas! Well done on your time too!

And you're right, it's Not So DH. I love reading in bed. He hates it. at Linzer MN'ing under the covers. I did that the other night too.

Glad the For Audrey is holding up and you've found the topcoat. I use Seche Vite as a top coat, tis very glossy and dries superfast. If you need me to send you a Pinterest invite, pm me.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend.

Ooh, Danube Cruise Linzer, that sounds nice!

Tis indeed very nice, Shredded - lunch on the boat is followed by a cruise up and down (or maybe down and up) the Danube while the children are entertained by a puppet show and a magician before Father Christmas magically appears at the end with presents for them all. The only thing we have to pay for is drinks, and I must admit I do find a glass or two of wine quite helpful when I'm socialising with people I barely know.

Seche Vite - that was it, Nell. I thought I'd bought myself some but maybe I was just thinking about it, as I definitely didn't see any when I was hunting for the Rimmel. Quick drying is always good.

Am now going to attempt to read in bed without DH pulling the covers over his head in an exaggerated way. (It's only 9.15 pm and it's the weekend, so he can't be desperate for sleep.) I may report back on my success if I get the chance to MN later.

at Linzer's NSDH and his exaggerated cover-pulling. I think we must all be married to the same man, or a variant of him . Mine is away until Weds so I am luxuriating in untidiness, bed reading (and eating - I will change the bedding before he returns) and eating cereal, followed by nutella straight from the jar, for dinner every night .

Linzer, there's nothing like a medicinal glass or two of vino to help when socialising with near-strangers. Have fun, and I hope the DCs enjoy it too.

No running or exercise news from me today - i have been a total slug all day .

Shredded your Jingle Bell Jog sounds like great fun, and you did a good time too. I, too, would have loved to have seen the subway car filling with Santas, elves and the like! Were you a santa, an elf or perhaps a reindeer?

DH is away at the moment but he is an exaggerating cover puller too! He grumps if I don't go up to bed with him and if I do i have to turn my light off when he does. If I don't turn my light off then and carry on reading anyway he then grumps because I turn the pages over too noisily! If I read the kindle instead of turning the pages over he grumps because the clicking of the button keeps him awake! I mostly just ignore the grumping bless him! I just think he's funny which rather spoils the effect of the grumping!!

Anyway on the whole i enjoy being able to decide when to go to bed when he is away - it's almost like being an adult apparently.

I'm afraid I wasn't an anything today - I didn't want anything to distract me from getting around the course! I did wear my shoe bells, and felt a bit daft walking home from the subway jingling away (they were attached with one of those plastic tie things that you can't undo but have to cut off).

Not sure if this will work? These are some of the pictures they've put up on the NYRR FB page - there's also chat on there about "did anyone get a picture of the 6 foot snowflake - unfortunately I didn't see him!

That looks great shredded, I love that lady's stripey tights! Not sure my little fat legs could carry that look off though ...

It would seem all of our NSDH's have a thing about turning pages and reading with the light on - mine harrumphs a bit and moans but I try to ignore him until I am forced to switch the blooming light off. My old phone had a wee torch in it which was fab for sneaky reading, but we still had the noisy page turning issues. Tis luffly when he is away and I get the bed to myself, well me and the cats that is. I am turning into a Mad Old Cat Lady.

The Danube cruise sounds fabulous Linzer, hope you have fun. I too find socialising with people I don't know much easier after a glass or two.

Jelli - no running or exercise news from me today either.

Slug day here too, need to get out and run tomorrow. My Dh is the opposite, he tends to come to bed later than me (or rather I make sure I go earlier so I can get to sleep before the snoring starts). We stayed at a hotel last night for my work Christmas do and so went to bed at the same time, he was asleep and snoring loudly within about 30s, so not only did it take me ages to get to sleep, I was woken by it several times too (always much louder after alcohol). Grrrr.

Oh yes WhoKnows, I recognise that too . But DH is still not as bad as FIL, who can be heard from one end of the house to the other (one of the reasons we haven't stayed overnight with him for over 10 years ).

I went out and did a chilly and and slow 5-miler (sticking to my half marathon training plan). Once I got it out of the way, I perked up a bit and ran/walked the three miles home. My garmin went a bit bonkers while I was having coffee and a toasted bagel at Starbucks to warm myself up - I appear to have teleported several miles around the city as the poor thing was trying to find a fix

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with a cover-pulling NSDH. Sympathies on the snoring, WhoKnows - DH gets a sharp jab in the ribs if he starts, although he'll then complain that he can't get back to sleep (to which I retort that I can't get to sleep if he's snoring). Podcasts are invaluable for drowning out any light snoring, however.

Nell Yes, I look forward to DH going away just so that I can read in bed without feeling guilty. However, with no DH around to remind me that it's bedtime (because he can't sleep until I'm in bed too ) I then end up pottering around for hours and am far too tired to read in the end.

Love the pics Shredded - and the thought of you walking home with your shoe bells jingling. Mmm, Nutella straight from the jar... I always used to treat myself to an open Nutella sandwich (more Nutella than bread, plus a few extra spoonfuls straight from the jar for good luck) when DH was away, but am trying to wean myself off the habit.

The river cruise was lovely and I limited myself to one glass of wine - although that was mainly because a) I'm not good at midday drinking, and b) it seemed to exaggerate the slight rocking of the boat. I spotted several runners running along the banks of the Danube as we made our way to the boat and was slightly (although it was very cold so I wasn't as envious as I could have been).

Can't decide whether or not to go running tomorrow. My leg is much better but not completely twinge-free; perhaps I should rest it for a few more days...

Jelli I think my problem is not being adult enough to decide when is a sensible time to go to bed when DH is away.

My FIL kept NEXT DOOR awake when he came to stay once when DH lived in a semi before we were married ! I almost feel sorry for MIL.......

Linzer I am another one who needs DH to remind me that it's bedtime . When he is away and the kids aren't here either, I can easily stay up till ahem, not so early o'clock despite needing to get up for work in the morning. I did it a couple of weeks ago quite a lot bit and have given myself a cold, purely through lack of sleep. That's why I hadn't run for over a week.... How old am I? Shouldn't I have learnt by now .

Happy running everyone! I will need to do something this week as I have two christmas meals out to enjoy!

No running today as DS is ill so hasn't gone to kindergarten. I'm starting to think that maybe I should give my leg a complete rest before Christmas and start again in the New Year, but that sounds a bit like an excuse, doesn't it?

Jelli I always end up getting a cold when I'm sleep deprived, but somehow I never seem to learn either.

Morning all,

Linzer - hope DS is better soon. I'd be in the same dilemma as you over that knee, to be honest, if you give it a rest till after Christmas and then start again you will still probably be far fitter than you were a year ago and you will get back up to speed quickly, just keep posting on here for motivation (although it doesn't seem to work for everyone ).

Well done on your run Shredded, your Garmin obviously didn't want to stop for coffee. My phone did a weird thing to me the other week, the app I use records speed data over minute intervals, all of a sudden in the middle of a 5k run I had an interval recorded at 183km/hr! Right in the middle of the high street. I wish!

Well, PRSP for me today, it is a sunny but very cold and quite windy day so I set off with some trepidation and managed my second best ever distance in half an hour! Which considering I've only been out about once a week in the last month is pretty good. I decided to change the way I run a bit, having watched a few other runners on the same park as me, so I did very small but fast jogging type steps instead of longer strides, it felt a lot easier to run at a consistent pace that way and I enjoyed it. Weather forecast is very bad for the rest of this week though, so not sure when I will get out again.

Just a quick one -

Jelli - at FIL's volume, and your comment about MIL - took me a while to work that one out

Linzer - hope miniTorte (does that make him a cup cake?) feels better soon. I would rest until the New Year, to make sure you had healed properly, and because it will be so hard to fit in running over the next few weeks anyway. I'm regretting signing up for the wretched half marathon because of Christmas, New Year and all sorts of plans that running will need to be squeezed around.

WhoKnows - well done on your run! Hope the weather stays dry and bright. at you reaching take-off speed in the middle of your High St!

I shall take your advice then, Shredded and WhoKnows, as I was hoping you'd agree with me you both talk a lot of sense. I wouldn't have been running when I'm back at my parents' for Christmas anyway as it's hardly worth taking my running shoes with me just for a week, and it's only just over 1.5 weeks until we fly back.

Shredded I must have x-posted with you last night as I missed your post; I had to laugh at you being teleported round the city. And at your supersonic speed, WhoKnows - I have visions of you soaring above the crowds in the high street.

MiniTorte is definitely not his usual self; he has been lying still on the sofa virtually all day. Still is not a word I would normally associate with him.

For Audrey is starting to chip. DH has whisked away my mini OPIs to wrap as a Christmas present, so what to go for next? I'm in the mood for something festive, so maybe red.

Well I disagree Linzer you slacker. Don't listen to them, just get out there and get on with it like me. Stop making excuses. They just won't wash. I'm disappointed in you.

at silly cyber friends!

Evening all you lovelies.