Anyone fancy starting Couch to 5K on Monday 5th Aug?

Yes I'm due to run today but need to get working on my hydration as ive had two cups of coffee so far today and thats all.

I'm also really stiff, the fronts of my calf muscles ache as does my CS scar. I suspect I didn't do enough cooling down stretches after Sunday. I'll run W1R2 tonight but if im still in pain I might just put c25k on hold for a fortnight and power walk alternate days instead.

Wondering if ithers who run alone in the early evenings stay on main roads? It would be nice to run out of sight in the parks but I'm a little cautious

Massage sounds amazing! I just got back from w2r3. Missed my run the other day for no reason which now I think about it has really annoyed me! I found it a bit harder too, possibly because I missed the other day but also think I'm running too fast. Trying to get a further distance but realising I need to just worry about time and then as my stamina increases then worry about distance. Ellie xXx

Deep-tissue massage was fantastic! I want the masseuse to move into my house and just be at hand before and after every run. Going back next week for another treatment. If it wasn't so pricey I'd be there twice a week at the moment

So this morning I went out for W2R1 again. In terms of stamina I was definitely ready to move up to W3 but my Achilles tendon is still really painful and I seem to have pulled a muscle in my back which doesn't hurt at all except when I run, so I want to take it a bit easier. Hmmm. The deep-tissue massage has definitely helped me feel less achey but hasn't done much for the tendon so far. Will see what the week brings.

Listen to me! I have turned into an old lady boring everyone to death about my aches and pains. Good grief, is this what the future holds? Will go out and do another W2R2 on Thursday and W3R3 on Saturday and then am going to move on to W3 no matter what.

Anyone else venturing out today?

replied? relied!

Going for my massage later, thanks workatemylife, so will report back. So far I have a dodgy Achilles tendon on one leg, a sore knee on the other and my lower back is giving me grief. I don't think it helped that for the last three days I have been walking for miles - had lots of things on in town and was meeting various friends and going to different places all at opposite ends of the city. Should probably have replied a bit more on public transport but it's noce to wander through the city when the weather is good. What counted as rest days weren't very restful, though

I'm glad today is a real rest day - have never been so glad to sit at my desk and not move all day although I have been reading lots of articles on how this pain is actually A Good Thing and simply evidence of my strengthening muscles. They don't feel like they're strengthening, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Will start again with W2 tomorrow and try not to be discouraged that everyone is overtaking me . Well done everyone who is embarking on Week 3. Yay!

I didn't really struggle until the free style run at the end when I only managed two bursts of jogging - I needed a wee and was a bit worried about my pelvic floor!

But what I did discover is that my right thigh has even less feeling in it postCS spinal than I thought. Its as if when I run I can't even feel a part of the muscle stiffening or tensing.

Tinwe, i hadn't realised about there being fewer sessions as the weeks go by. Oh yeah! Agree, the runs in w1 seemed endless.

Update us with how you find w3r1 - prob far easier than me!

Well done redwelly!

Sorry for lots of little posts, I can't scroll on my phone when commenting to name check

Also Rosina, I've noticed the first runs seem harder than later ones too. DH says he always feels that way when running (ie starts jogging gently then builds to a run in his case) as it takes a while to get into your breathing pattern etc.

Rosina- someone up thread talked about the knee leading when running. I tried to focus on that tonight, maybe that will feel more natural than focusing on foot strike?

Well done RedWelly!

Well done Ilove! I've cheated and skipped a rest day to fit in with my schedule so my next run will be W3R1. I'm nervous about it but not as much as W4!

I've just realised something (probably obvious to you all) which made me feel a bit better when looking at the next week ahead- each time you move on a week there's less "cycles" to go through, ie 8 runs in week 1, 6 in week 2, 4 in week 3 etc. although they are longer runs at least there's only a very few more to the end! I remember week 1's sessions dragged...

Poor you Tally! I bet you feel thwarted in all your efforts. Hopefully it's nothing serious, enjoy the rest

here I come...

Yay! Well done redwellybluewelly! I left a crying toddler with dh (I go running too, Mummy!) and set off for W1R3. I found that the first 3 runs (out of the 8) were hard today, but that was possibly because it wasn't long after I'd eaten when I went out.

I do run heel first, I think, so tried to run on the ball of my foot, but that felt all wrong, but thanks for the link for midfoot running Tinwe, I'll tyr and do that next time (although I imagine that will feel all wrong, too!)

Week 2 her I come...

Sorry that was w1r1

I DID IT

3.57km in 36 minutes. Got dinner done at 6, 3yo in bed at 7, left DH rocking the baby and out the door.

W3R1 this morning. I'm using the NHS podcast and Laura (the narrator) assures me if i follow the plan i'll run with greater ease each week. Really, Laura? Really? Today was tough. I can't seem to get my breathing right, prob cos I am so unfit.

Lurking, i hear you re: aches and pains. For me it's either age or the fact that i'm so unfit everything is stiff and not useLwt us knod to being put through it's paces. I'm hoping it will improve as the weeks go by.

Balls.

After my rubbish run the other day, I've now done something to my knee. It was fine when I went to bed Friday but Saturday morning it was twice the size of the other one :/ It's a little better today but I am limping about so no running for me :(

Hopefully it will be alright in a couple of days

I've paid £1.49 for the Zombies run app, ive also got map my run.

Oh thank you for your kind words, tinwe. I'm definitely not going to give up - just longing for the point when I can actually start enjoying it and not spending the whole run painfully aware of my body!

My app was one of the pricey ones - it cost a whole £2.99. I've just downloaded another one - similar but we'll see how that one goes. I like the ones with GPS so that I can look at the maps of my route and the stats of how slow fast I've run and so on. I'm going to repeat week 2, I think. Another week won't make much difference in the long run and I don't feel like I've really conquered week 2 so no point moving on just yet.

I think you're right about the stretching. I'm taking quite a lot of care to warm up carefully but am doing no stretching at all after it's done and that might make a difference.

PS I've got "Get running" and it's worked well so far but it did cost about £2.
PPS don't think your aches are age related particularly... don't give up!

Aw, sorry to hear you're having a tough time Lurking. I found myself really struggling with muscle pains and stiffness, embarrassingly hobbling around, even to the extent where it stopped a sneaked moment of passion between DH and me til we worked round it Determined THAT wouldn't happen again I had a proper rest day and most importantly made a big effort to stretch extensively straight after my run last time - must have worked as I've had no aches at all. Either the stretches or I'm building up strength in my muscles. Could you try investing a longer time stretching? I'm planning to try to do stretching type exercise in my rest days now, yoga or similar.

Which app do you have?

Aaaargh. Aaaargh. My app froze AGAIN so that's the second run in a row that was all over the place. I worked out early on that it had frozen, spent five mintes trying to stop and start it but nothing, so had to just use the stopwatch on my phone and do the walking and running thing. Very very annoying, especially since there seem to be so many good (and free) apps out there. I am going to uninstall the app and try a different one . It really put me off my stride, though.

Also, I am not having any trouble in terms of stamina and getting out of breath, but I am so so achey. I never really feel like I've warmed up properly. My legs are sore all the time, my Achilles tendon is starting to hurt and I have a muscle in my back that suddenly became really painful today halfway round and still is. I can't get into the runs for feeling stiff and sore.

Going for a sports massage tomorrow (ha! get me with the sports massage for the first time in my life) and will see if that helps but I am feeling a bit despondent today and wondering if I am too old for this. Surelly I can't be?? I am always reading about elderly people who run all the time and I have friends in their 50s who run marathons. What is wrong with me? [weeps]

I should be starting Week 3 on Tuesday but I think I will find a new app and then start Week 2 again while I try to loosen up my poor aching middle-aged body.

Well done every else who made it out this weekend. It is definitely better now that the weather is a few degrees cooler.