Following a Beginner's Running Schedule

What a difference the correct information can make!

After the miserable run on Monday, part of me was ready to quit this idea of running again - who's great idea was this anyhow?! But there was also part of me that knew I wanted to continue. I also 'sensed' that if I was to continue running, help would come - didn't know what that meant or what it would look like, but just decided to wait and take one day at a time.
So when a friend at the Runner's Club found this Beginning Running Schedule this week, my interest was peaked and I realized that it could help me with both my lungs and my legs.

Here's the schedule for the 1st week - each following week the running time is increased.
Week 1
Mon. Run/Walk - Run 1 min, walk 2 min - Repeat 10 times
Tues. Walk easy 30 mins.
Wed. Run/Walk - Run 1 min, walk 2 min - Repeat 10 times
Thurs. Walk easy 30 mins
Fri. Run/Walk - Run 1 min, walk 2 min - Repeat 10 times
Sat. Run/Walk - Run 1 min, walk 2 min - Repeat 10 times
Sun. Rest

The combination of running/walking is how I began running when I first ran in 1994, but this time for some reason, I thought I could just jump right into running with walking breaks. I would walk to warm up, but then I would try to run continuously without any walking breaks.
I just finished the Friday workout and am thrilled with how well both my lungs and legs cooperated! I'm still playing with how fast my pace should be - today this workout equaled 2 miles. Tomorrow I'm going to try and pick up the pace a little.

So thanks to good information, I will continue putting one foot in front of the other and dream of that April Marathon Relay.

Exercise-induced Asthma

Running for me now (post-accident) involves different issues than it used to, but I found out on Monday night one thing that hasn't changed is the exercise-induced asthma I've dealt with since the day I started running in 1994.
I've been running indoors on my treadmill the past few weeks, but Monday night we had the first running club outside- it was cold (too cold) but there were 8 women ready to run, so we did! We warmed up with a short walk, then started running. Plans were for everyone to run out the road for 1/2 mile, then we'd turn around and each person could choose to run and/or walk back.
Well, that plan fell apart for me 2 minutes into the run - my airways promptly closed up and I could not breathe! I knew from years past, there was nothing I could do but walk until I could breath easier. After a few minutes, I was able to jog for a short time, then I walked again and finished with a feeble jog - I think I jogged just shy of the desired half mile.
Then we went indoors and did some stretching - throughout the stretches, I had 'coughing fits.' I think my lungs finally cleared up about an hour later - ugh! I was disappointed, but thankfully I know from years past that with proper warmups and training, I can still run successfully.

As for the other 7 women - they all did great! Each one ran at least 1/2 mile, with most doing a mile.