Any Couch25K new starters?

btw, the Aldi offer doesn't end today - they seem to keep it on the shelves till it all runs out. I went today - I had to visit 3 stores but got everything I wanted (running jacket, long-sleeved running top, a running vest-y thing and gloves).

Strandednomore - you are me!

I have also lost weight on WW before, but really could not face doing it again. I felt like I needed a real change instead of just denying myself nice food for a few weeks, and then putting the weight back on afterwards.

I do eat quite big portions, but have changed what I eat (a bit!). I always have salad on my plate, and lots of it where possible. I then add a portion of food to my plate, but slightly smaller than I used to have. It works for me, I am usually really full after a meal because of the huge salad. I try to snack on fruit, or home-made rice crispie cakes where possible, and drink lots during the day - water, squash or tea.

I also pick off my DD's plates - in fact just yesterday I enjoyed half a baked potato with cheese this way. This is a tough one for me to break as I'm always starting to get hungry at around their dinner time.

But I do feel great finally doing some exercise and getting fitter week by week.

The 20 min run is definitely a psychological shift, and that is all. You can definitely do it. Just don't over think it, and go really slowly as Laura will tell you too :)

vanimal - thanks for those links, will have a look. I have previously lost weight on weightwatchers and it has really worked so I know if I did that and running it would be even better, but I am so sick of dieting! I think I must just try and be sensible and eat no cakes, no biscuits and smaller portions. I don't eat a massive amount but my weaknesses include picking at the dd's food while I am preparing it (have just had rather too much cheese that way) and eating their left-overs, as well as eating too many carbs.
Wolef - congrats on your run, and Febes brilliant congrats on your weight loss! Must feel like a real sense of achievement.
I did week5R2 today - two lots of 8 mins, which was fine but I honestly have no idea how I am going to do 20 mins straight next. It's a mental barrier, right? Tell me I can do it!

strandednomore are you me in disguise? I have not weighed myself since I started C25K in August, as I didn't want to be disappointed with any lack of weight loss. I still haven't dared to.

But I have gone down one belt size, and have had two people tell me I've lost weight. My jeans still fit the same, but I don't have the occasional too-tight days I used to have previously. The biggest benefit for me has been noticing the change in my fitness levels, and not feeling fat anymore, even though I am more or less the same size. My bum is definitely less wobbly tooh.

I was also eating more, thinking I can because I am exercising, but I have cut back down again and am trying to eat sensibly - same food, but slightly smaller portions, and cutting out snacks in the day when I can.

In terms of keeping warm - I have no idea! I was freezing when I began my run on Monday, and I am now dreading tomorrow's run - I run at 6.45am, and there was ice on my car windscreen at that time this morning! I am thinking of getting a running jacket, Aldi have an offer on running stuff at the moment, which ends today.

Mapping runs - I use mapmyrun.com, but they have an android app if you don't want to do it online.

Febes you are amazing, 5stone 5 is a fantastic loss, you must be feeling great. And good luck with the dualathon, I feel faint just thinking of all that exercise!

Wolef well done on period-running, it sucks. And congrats on your upcoming wedding, how exciting!

Urgh, w8r2 today. Was really hard. I slept badly, overslept my alarm but decided to go out anyway as I realised I'd feel even crappier if I missed out on that lovely post-run buzz. It was FREEZING when I started and I felt quite wheezy - then no sooner had I warmed up than my period started so I ran the last 15 minutes with horrible cramps.

But I did it!

Febes, am really impressed at your weight loss. Amazing! I'm aiming to drop a dress size over the next 6 months or so as I'm getting married next year and want to look my best. But it just doesn't work for me if I set a weight or appearance goal. I can only do lose weight by setting a fitness goal and shedding the spare tyre as a side effect. Odd, how the mind works

I have lost a stone since starting c25k but I'm a low carb diet as well and I've lost 5st 5 altogether but running has definately toned my thighs, bum and legs. I'm 13st 13 now so still overweight but really happy with my progress. I feel less wobbles when I run now compared to when I started. I am definately planning on keeping up the running when I finish this week. At least 2 or 3 runs a week mixed in with cycling and Jillian Michaels DVDs depending on work and kid commitments.
My triathlon has turned into a duathlon for the first 2 events as the pool is closed for maintenance this term. The first event is in 2 weeks on sunday It should be fine but I'm hoping for no wind!!! Its 1k run 10k cycle and 3k run

I'm not sure if I'm losing weight stranded but I'm definitely toning up. DP commented the other day that I definitely have more waist than I did when I started, and I have a couple of pairs of trousers that definitely feel less snug than they did. Probably doesn't need to be said but when you start exercising you gain muscle weight, and as muscle is heavier than fat you can seem to be gaining weight even if you're losing fat. So that's my excuse for preferring the jeans test to the weighing scales...

I've definitely noticed that since I started I crave protein more than I did. I'm eating more meat and less starch, which may well mean I end up losing weight by accident unless I just scoff cheese all the time

As for gloves, I haven't thought about that yet. Perhaps we could take the kindergarten approach and sew elastic to them, then thread them through our sleeves?

Hi - thanks for the welcome! I did week5R1 yesterday and although I found the middle run quite hard, I was fine with the third and could have gone on - which is good news as I think I have to do 8 mins tomorrow. I will stick with my old trainers for now, although see how serious I get! How many of you are going to keep going after the end of the nine weeks? I am nervous that I will give up!
More questions I'm afraid! Are you all losing weight? I haven't dared weigh myself as I don't want to be disappointed if my weight is the same or even....gulp! gone up. I am worried that I am not watching what I eat as I keep thinking it doesn't matter as I am doing more exercise that usual.
Also, now that it's getting colder have you thought about how to keep warm at the start of the run, especially hands? I can't imagine going out without gloves in the winter but once you get going it's going to be too hot to keep them on. Pockets I guess?
Finally any tips on measuring distance, apart from doing it on an online map?
Well done to all those who have completed good runs this week, idealism you must be really chuffed!

Yes - idealism - I demand that you stick around for a few weeks to give pep talks to those of us who are still puffing and panting along.

Oh - and meant to say earlier, welcome strandednomore ! We're all at different stages and cheering each other on

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! Well done idealism, that is just fantastic! AND you mastered the 5k distance already, that is unheard of!

Don't leave the thread just yet, we'll have you as our motivation to finish too :)

Is it too early for ?

Well done you!!!!! Congratulations! And 5.03K is awesome - I'm a bit off that target yet, but hopefully in a few weeks I'll be there too...

DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was smiling like a cheshire cat for whole run!! Totally determined to do it 3 times a week for next few weeks, then will see you guys on a graduates thread soon i hope! Did 5.03k in 30 mins, so not too bad!

My favourite running songs have been: Lisa Marie Exp - Keep on jumping, Jay z and Alicia - New York, Underworld - Scribble. My best moment - today. My worst moment - having to find a bush to do a wee behind in the forest! All time super proud moment - putting on my favourite skinny jeans and them feeling loose around my tum! GOOD LUCK GIRLS XXXXX

vanimal Glad you're enjoying the runs again and the stretching is still helping. IMO 'No Pain, No Gain' has limits

I've done W8R1 and found it quite enjoyable - I'm actually looking forward to W8R2 tomorrow, which even now seems kind of mad.

I looked at my route on MapMyRun and it looks as though I did about 4.5K in 28 minutes. So I'm still a bit off the magic sub-30 minutes 5K but not too far. My plan is to get through W9 and then spend a few weeks mixing steady runs with interval running at a faster pace, to get my aerobic wossname strong enough to run generally faster so as to make the magic sub-30min, then do the odd Parkrun and see how I do among a pack of scarily fit other runners.

idealism Did you do your W9R3 yet? How was it? Did you sprint the last 60 seconds in slow motion, in the style of Chariots of Fire?

W6R1 - done :)

Ventured out this morning, and it was SO cold! Ran W6R1 again, to see if my shins liked it, and they did! Woohoo! Lots of stretching was the key, and it made my first run (5mins) seem so much easier.

I am loving running in the cold, and in the dark - it feels like I am running in secret cos no-one can really see me :)

strandednomore, I'll take back what I said about needing new trainers, as my legs are fine today in my old, good quality Nikes. I guess you could see how it goes, and if they become uncomfortable then you could go get some new ones?

febes, how is your triathalon training getting on you crazy woman?

Wolef, thanks again for the stretching tips, how are you finding week 8? 28 mins running is amazing, you are almost at the magic 30!

idealism good luck for W9r3 today, come and let us know how it feels to get there!

I am wearing old but good quality trainers and they are fine. I found every week hard and thought I couldn't do it but every run I went out there and listened to the lovely Laura and did what she told me and felt awesome afterwards. I amazed myself and you will too!!

Hello strandednomore, I am at the same level as you- I'll be doing wk6 again towards the end of this week. Please join in, it's a great motivator having this thread.

Week 5 was tough, but I have also found every week tough and thought I had reached my limit each time.

I have been running in some old trainers, but they have been fine. Having said that, my sore shins are making me re-think this at present. If you can afford to, I would go to a running shop and get your running gait analysed, and invest in some decent trainers to prevent injury. I intend to do this at some point

idealism - wooohooo! WELL DONE! Massive cake and perhaps some ?

Hi - can I join in or am I too late? I am on week 5 - meant to be doing the first run this evening as long as dh gets home on time! A little apprehensive as I did find week 4 quite hard, ie at the end of the 5 mins I thought "cripes not sure I could do another 3 mins" but as my dh points out I seem to do this every week! VERY worried about the 20 mins on Sunday...
Can I ask a question? Do you run in ordinary trainers or do you have special running shoes? I see to be ok in trainers but do find my calves are painful whilel running and wondered whether better shoes would help? I have had the trainers for a LONG time....

well done and vanimal - almost there! I'm going to do week 9run3 tomorow - my that went quick... Need to think of a really good treat for achieving my goal - MASSIVE cake methinks!!

Week 8 Well done guys! How are you both feeling? It'll be sad and great to reach the end, even though I am a way behind you.

Wolef, I am of an average build really - 5'2" and 10 and a half stone--. But I have chunky legs, and quite stiff calves, so I will definitely be taking care to stretch properly before runs.

DH wants me to stop running altogether because of the shin pain , so I now thinking of training for a 10K once I have mastered the 5K run ;) !

Go Febes! I just did W8R1 this morning and really enjoyed it. Still can't believe I can run for 28 minutes without needing an ambulance

It's funny though, how your body gets used to running for a certain time - at 24 minutes and 45 seconds I could feel my body saying 'OK, so this is where we stop running, right?'. It felt as though I was really tired and my legs wanted to slow down, but then when I carried on (and speeded up to a decent run for the last 2 minutes) it was actually fine.

Vanimal - so glad those stretches are helping. I've no idea what your build is like, but I'm very sturdily built (the lightest I've been as an adult was 10st and then I was really underweight) and find that I have to be meticulous about stretching my leg muscles out or I get strains and problems really easily.

Sympathy as well for the period. Mine is, um, abundant as well and it's grim. Hope you're not too cramped

Finished week 8- bring on week 9!!!

Morning all! Thanks again Wolef, I have been doing the exercises you suggested over the past few days, the pain is a thing of the past!

I am still skipping today's run though :( I'll do a few more stretches, plus I am on my period, which is super-heavy (tmi!) and means I don't think I'll get through a run without needing to visit a loo halfway through. I am going to use it as a break for my shins to recover and strengthen up, and will start up again later on this week.

I saw an FB post from a friend of mine this week - this time last year, she could 'only' run a few miles at a time, but this year, she has just completed her third half-marathon. How impressive is that!

Vanimal - you're the best judge of how your legs feel. When I had very sore legs I decided to repeat a week of the C25K and skip runs if necessary. On the day of R1 of the repeated week, I got up and flexed a bit but was still sore so decided to skip the run and just do some targeted stretches and leg strengthening instead.

I stretched and flexed whenever I had a few moments over the next couple of days (got some very looks on the Tube) and felt ok for R2, so did it ver ver gently. After that I read up a bit on running downhill, as that seemed to be what caused the problem to start with, and (touch wood) have been ok since.

JelliBelli, thanks for that link. I might have to get myself an £9 running top - bargain!

Thank you so much OHugeTheWerewolef, this is great.

Did you continue running after your shin pains, or did you take 2 weeks off (!!) as many sites seem to recommend?

I am thinking of maybe taking this week off and just doing lots of stretching,a nd then starting again next week. I'll then maybe repeat W6r1 and w6r2 before moving on.

Ristretto, no tips I'm afraid, I get quite wheezy breathing in really cold air, but I have no idea what to do about it. Good on you for running the morning after drinking though, I wouldn't get out of bed :)