I started running about a month ago, three times a week. I’ve been really surprised at how easy it has been. I am following Stu Mittleman’s technique as described in Slow Burn, combined with a slower build-up described in a magazine I read somewhere and the alternating walk/run plan that I followed a zillion years ago when I used to run before. I dug out my copy of Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott, but haven’t re-read it yet.

I’ve adopted a very smooth, very slow (probably kind of silly-looking) running style and am now running a whole mile without stopping. That’s pretty exciting to me. I have no pain and I’ve been doing it long enough now that I’m looking forward to my running days. I’m not working on speed yet; I’m first trying to keep that smooth gait (to minimize injury) and to build distance. I’d like to be running three miles after about two more months.

I was given a heart monitor for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve been using that. However, my pedometer crashed about two days after that so I’m not able to increase by distance initially. It’s hard to measure my route by car. Maybe I can tell by time until I can get the foot POD that goes with my monitor.