Couch to 5k- Cage your inner chimp and get started!

I did week 6 run 2 this morning. 2x 10 min runs with 3 min walk in between. Next run is 20 mins solid running it seems like only yesterday I was finding 1 min 30 of running hard work.

solveproblem my week 5 sounds different to yours as my first twenty minute run is at end of week 6 but so far I've found each jump hasn't been as bad as I thought. I ran for a total of 20 minutes today with just one walk but didn't find it too bad at all.. Beforehand I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. I find it helpful to have a little mantra that I repeat in my head while I'm running which distracts me from thinking "I can't do this, this is really hard..."

Hi, I hope you don't mind me jumping in here. I've been lurking non and off for the last few weeks.

I've just finished week four and will be starting week five tonight.

Week five scares me to death! It's such a jump, in the third run you're supposed to run for 20 minutes. I'm only just about managing five at the moment!

Has anyone been equally scared of week five and done it? Please reassure me Thanks.

Just done a set of the 5+ intervals.

I had no idea the rain was going to be so heavy tonight! It was fun though

Keeping my hand in the running. So so speak.

Hating the dark evenings :(

Well done for getting out there again Miranda, it's harder when you've had a break to get back into it! I'd say, from my stance as a relative newcomer to running but with many runners in my immediate family, probably get new shoes, or at least get to a running shop with the ones you have and see if they can advise. Someone with more knowledge may say different though!

Did w2r1 this morning with no trouble. Still pain in my hip, but it's not unbearable, will perhaps try GP tomorrow.

Been running for the first time in two weeks but did 3k in 17 minutes exactly so wasn't too bad. Plus I didn't check my time while I was running at all so was just going at that pace rather than speeding up when I knew I was going too slowly .

Am thinking about asking for some new trainers for Christmas as have been using the same ones that I got from eBay 4 years ago. Not actually been running all the time though so they haven't had 4 years of wear.

Ok, thanks for the advice. Strangely, my core has been the strongest it's ever been, but I do have a lot of back problems, which is what got me started on core training in the first place!

My GPs are so dismissive of anything like this though, with my recurrent back problems they just told me to go away and do Pilates. Didn't work, although the HIIT core exercises seemed to help a bit. I've lost the motivation for that though, I just don't know how to fit it all in at the moment (have a 2yr old at home and a 9yr old at school), and as I can manage a run early before everyone gets up, I'm opting for that at the moment. Went to see a family friend physio recently about knee problems and he told me to stop doing high intensity workouts and concentrate on cycling . My knee got better once I got the right shoes, I might add, so I don't really trust his advice anymore. Sorry for rambling! I don't have anyone else to talk to about this stuff and I've come to it a bit late in life so am clueless!

I would advise going to a gp.

I had hip pain when running a couple of years ago and went to my GP who reverted me to a physiotherapist. In case, my core strength was rubbish after DS was born and this had caused me to have lost back problems which I was feeling as pain in my left hip. I had to do lots of basic core exercises and after a few months my pelvis was less wobbly and the pain went away.

Hi all, hope you don't mind me joining. I've just done week 1 of the ct5k plan and loved it.

I actually lost a bit of weight earlier this year, through changing my diet and exercising, so decided to start running in the summer. Loved it immediately and slowly started to build up. Then I got this horrible pain in my hip around September time, which just got worse and worse, so stopped running. It never really went away and I desperately wanted to get back to running, so decided to do the ct5k and see how it went. Hip pain still there but not as badly. I'm also taking supplements on the days I run to see if it helps. Week two starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to get back out .

Appreciate any advice about the hip thing, if someone knows what might help?

I've done the wet foot test. Almost none of my mid sole is visible at all, it's all ball & heel. It's 99.9% underpronation, as suspected. New shoes it is.

Yes it's the NHS one I'm using whoever asked, it wasn't actually that intense just a sudden jump up from 10min to 20mins in wk 5.

I went out today to do wk6r1 but ended up not listening to the instructions at all I decided I felt fine so just carried on running until I'd done 4k which took me 27.22 mins which I was pretty pleased with

I'm going to find it difficult over the next few weeks to find time to go out so thought I might as well make the most of it while I could.

Thanks both. I had a quick chat with a work colleague (a tame orthopod) who suggested the wet foot thing and orthotics and/or new shoes. I'll try it out.

There's a running shop near me that does gait analysis for free if you buy their trainers, or £10 otherwise. I've seen recommendations on here to buy last year's colour online for significantly less, so I'm planning on doing that whenever I get around to going into town when the shop is quiet, and I can go through my intensive pre-running peeing protocol

Maybe. My trainers are comfortable and in good nick but this foot trouble suggests that they may not be that supportive in the sole for my foot shape. There's an excellent running shop about 10 mins from my house so maybe I'll drop in there. Have avoided it thus far because the shoes are £££ and you need to undergo gait tests and whatnot in full view.

Iwish I think that's pretty fast. I'm working towards 5k in 30mins. At the moment I can do about 4.25k. I ran for 35 mins today and did 4.6k.

How are people building up their speed? Just keep doing the same thing or using a specific podcast? The NHS C25K+ looks good.

NDP sorry about your foot. tbh I'd not run on it if it's that sore. Do you need to get new trainers?

Unfortunately, I've got some foot pain this week :(
It's weird though, localised to my right foot but in a very specific area (right at the back, outer edge of my mid sole, just before my heel -cuboid area but feels soft tissue-ish, not bony). Exquisitely tender, rolling it on a tennis ball last night sort of helped (in an agonising sort of a way) to massage it out but I'm a bit worried I've overcooked it.

I think part of the problem might be that I've got a quite high arches and so not a lot of my midfoot/sole touches the floor when I walk (obviously that is different under the high impact of running) and so there's a lot of pressure going through a small surface area (even smaller than usual).

My left foot is fine. I don't think I fit the criteria for PF, pain wise. Is it just enthusiasm ?!