Fitness Friday...Two Days Late :-x

Well, I finished week four of the C25K program. Which amounts to 16 minutes of jogging and 5.5 minutes of walking, with 5 minutes of walking before and after as a warm up/cool down. When I saw on the program that I would have to jog for 5 minutes straight, twice in one run, I freaked out a little bit. I won't lie. I don't think there's any point in my life (besides running around outside as a small child) where I was able to run or jog for 5 minutes straight. But I can now. The first time a five minute increment came up, I was even running uphill...which sucked. But I did it.
This week, each of the runs is different. On Friday, I will be jogging two miles with no walking. 20 minutes straight of jogging. But I can do it. If I can jog 16 + minutes with short bursts of walking, I can manage 20 minutes.
I am starting to notice some benefits, too. I'm not losing weight as fast as I'd like (probably because I'm adding muscle), but my pants are getting looser, which means I'm losing inches:) Huzzah! And, even if it's slow, the number on the scale is going down, which is a major improvement over all the bouncing around it had been doing the last few months.
I am pleased with this program so far. I am being careful, since a lot of people who start running later in life (as opposed to starting in middle or high school) seem to suffer injuries more easily. Two people I knew in college started running and have injured themselves, so I'm being wary. (I don't want to have to make friends with an orthopedist :P) The temperatures are falling and they're calling for a wet, cold winter, so I'm enjoying the fall weather while I can. It will be harder over the winter, since using the elliptical is relatively boring compared to running outside. I'm going to have to download some audio books or something to make the time go quicker :P
The good news is, there is a 5k to 10k program, 10k to half marathon program, and half to full marathon program. I don't think it'll get that far, but there's always more to do;) And, in the spring, I'm going to sign up for my first 5k:)