C25K we are in it for the park run (6)

Well done fudge! You are now running more than walking which for me was a big achievement! I have nights coming up soon and have no idea how I'll manage exercise too.

Done. Was so hard going. But to be fair to myself i did do nightshift sat, so its probably the after effects of that still . Glad i made myself do it as thats week 3 FINISHED yas!!!!!

Good start to easter monday i think

Aw skoda im overweight too and i find it tough going. Im on week 3 now though and cant believe it. Never got this far before!

I am so SLOW. At the moment it takes me just over 30 mins to cover 2 miles at a slug like pace

But i feel so proud of myself when its done. My tip would be to slow down. If you think you going to fast then slow down, then slow down again.

Although i have an app that records time for each km that pour over, I don't worry about the time. Speed will come, im just glad i start and finish each slug-like jog. Just about to head out now. Will report back soon

That didn't last long I promise! After a few runs I was actually looking forward to it. I have more energy now.

Thanks for the encouragement. I dropped into this thread because a relative did a parkrun recently and was evangelical about it. Sorry for the hijack, OP.

I'm not bothered about being fast, and I know if you're heavy the trick is to do lots of little steps rather than jarring big long ones. I just want to be one of those people who loves to exercise, I want to feel lighter and energetic, and I need to feel like I'm trying. Hope that makes sense.

Bloody hell, Kilmeny, that's fantastic progress. Don't fancy the almost vomiting bit though.

Skoda, I'm overweight and very slow. In January running for 60 seconds nearly made me cry it was so hard. I thought I was going to vomit. As of about ten days ago I can run for twenty five minutes at a slow steady jog without needing to stop and if I can do it then I promise you can. I don't go fast, I sweat a lot, but I never ever dreamt I would be able to do this. I found that gel insoles in my trainers (£3 off eBay) have helped a lot. The hardest bit is getting started.

Good luck Skoda- if you are finding it hard the best advice I got is to slow down! I run barely faster than I walk, feel a bit silly but it's more important to me now that I get to 30mins non stop running than going fast. I'll work on speed once I get to 5k (which at my current pace will be 37mins).

Oh lord, I'm very overweight. I'm dreading it but I have to do something about my health and fitness levels. I'm hoping that if we're doing it together and can see some improvement we'll be able to keep going.

Yes it's fine to repeat weeks. The first time I did c25k (several years ago) I was recovering from a nasty injury and it took me 12 weeks to get to running 30mins. I started off very unfit (and quite overweight I'm afraid) this time but I never got quite as sedentary as before- been out pushing buggy/carrying baby in sling a lot and am always on my feet at work- so I think I've found it easier for that reason. I am looking forward to having a rest day tomorrow though- I don't usually do two days in a row!

Thanks Rince, I think we will need to walk for a while! I guess we can just run as much as we can? So if the app says a minute but we manage 20 seconds we just keep repeating week 1 til we get better?

Wow Rince you're doing brill!
I did w4r3 yesterday- still full of cold but the fresh air felt good so did the sweating strangely
Week 5 starting tomorrow I hope, the school near me are on easter hols and I used the athletics track which was good but a bit dull.
Fwiw I use Zen Labs too it's been good. I think they vary slightly in the changing proportions of walking/running from what I've read on here but they're all designed to build you up. I could also barely keep going for a minute when I first started!

I don't think it makes any difference at all, it's the same programme. Try not to worry, the programme is designed for the very unfit. If you don't think you are up to a minute running try starting with 30mins brisk walking 3 times in the first week and then start the runs the following week.

Thanks for the suggestions. Does it actually make a difference which one we use? We're both very unfit so unlikely to manage a minute of running.

I actually use a really old podcast that I used years ago when I first did c25k. I find the same music motivates me!

I won't be able to go running tomorrow most likely so I used the buzz from Easter chocolate to spur me on to w5r3. 20 minutes done! I found the first 10 minutes tough but by the end I felt I could have gone longer. Average pace is about 7.5mins per km though so it's very slow. I'm going to finish the programme and then focus on getting to 5km before I try going to 10km.

Skoda I use the Zen Labs one.

Thanks Doreen

I am about to do the W5R2 but I did my heel in this week and am a bit worried...maybe this evening or first thing tomorrow.

The NHS one Skoda.

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx

Sitting here with a similarly porky friend slightly bewildered by the number of couch to 5k apps. Can someone please direct us to the right/best one?

Can I join? Just did W1R1 this morning in the pouring rain. Feeling quite smug! First time running since I had DD 13 months ago but actually felt pretty good. I have done 5k before years ago, my best time being 28 mins but I'm a long way off that. Reckon I'll probably only manage 2 runs a week for a wee while but I'm determined to keep plodding through it.

Posted too soon! Or doing it on the same route I've been doing which is very hilly.

W5r2 done, found first 8minute run tough, second more manageable. 4.6km total including walks. Dreading the 20min run now. Planning it on Monday. Fuelled by some Easter egg I think! I'm trying to decide between going to local football field and running it there (pros- it's flat, cons-it's boring).

W3R2 done this morning. Was really hard going. Went a different route that was more hilly. And i just did two long crazy days in work that were non stop. So todays effort was very slow BUT i did it so thats all that matters

Week 1 Run 1 today.

I didn't make it to the parkrun last year though I did manage 5k in 30 minutes for a couple of weeks. Then my right foot mysteriously started dragging and I had to stop running to rest it and by the time it was back to normal the weather had turned grim and I decided to stop running over the winter.

It was great to be out in the sunshine with the Voice of Laura again. I am horribly unfit and I'm just glad it starts nice and gently.

Here's hoping for a parkrun this year! Good luck to all runners and recoverers.

Did w5r1 today. Didn't find it too hard and thought I was doing great until I realised I was way slower than last week, I'm blaming the rain, and tired legs from 2 long days running around my hospital.