Quote Originally Posted by Jo-n-NY View Post
Anyway, I went on the treadmill for 30min last night, run 2 minutes, walk for 2, however the speed of 3.0mph was very slow. I think I will speed it up. I honestly do not think I can run for 2 minutes at a faster speed, but like the books says I will do whatever I can and go from there.
JoAnn -- I don't have my book right here, but does Bingham really say to run at 3 mph? Are you sure that's not for the walking phase? (Or maybe I am misunderstanding you?) About the slowest I can run is 5.2 mph, and that is a slow jog. It's actually harder to run that slow than a bit faster, I think.

In any event, as you say, you can certainly speed it up! You don't have to go slower than what you're already going in order to follow his "plan". In other words, you don't have to start on 'week 1' if you're already beyond that in your abilities. Jump right ahead to 'week 4' if you're there (or wherever).

Deborajen -- thanks for your comment about slow/fast -- you're right that we need to stop apologizing for our paces, altho John "The Penguin" Bingham says he's slow, unapologetically; he celebrates his slowness! I like that. And I too have seen "beginner paced" club runs advertised at a 9:00 pace -- that kinda pisses me off, because for me, that would be a sprint! Not gonna happen! It's strange to me, because bike clubs have beginner paced rides at 10-12 mph; maybe the true slow runners don't join group runs, so there's just not the demand for a slower-paced running group. We're all out running by ourselves, I guess. I like running alone, but I expect time would pass a lot faster with a group, just like riding.

Emily