very new newbie

karrieando

Hi there,
Ive just started some power walking and a little jogging , a year ago next month i gave up my favourite bad habit..smoking , 20 a day! Before you all congratulate me on this achievement may i just say i miss my smokes so much every day, i still want one several times a day , i am totally aware of their adverse effects on my health as i was nursing for several yrs ....but i still miss my smokes... i had lost an incredible 4 stone weight and was thrilled with myself , however, since giving up the cigs i have inevitably put on weight so i decided to do something about it i started running and walking a mix of both to begin with as instructed by my fitness friends , i took to it like a duck to water but then dropped it back and got lazy again for a couple of weeks but thankfully ive just started again last week , i am currently doing 30 to 45 mins of power walking and running/jogging 2 or 3 and sometimes 4 times per week, my friend has a wrist monitor and we have been doing 3k in 28mins inour first week ..I cant do this everyday as i also horse ride and keep my own horses so I dont always have the time , can somebody give me some tips on how to keep it up, also how i should progress and is this sort of time frame good or bad !! I really am a newbie to all this and exercise is something i now enjoy hugely so i want to get fitter and fitter my aim is to run in a local womens marathon in september , is this totally unrealistic?? Anyhelp or advice is very welcome. Cheers and thanks.