C25K

Great advice FATEdestiny, I will be following it myself as I am still on week 1.

@FATEdestiny - fantastic achievement on the half marathon! I have been in lyme regis for a minibreak and so not run since thursday. will be going out tomorrow for W6r1. Got a niggle behind the back of my knee which is fine until I bend my knee back too much and then it hurts - sound familiar to anyone?? should I be putting ice or something on it or keep it moving or rest it? Came on yesterday when out walking in the torrential rain up a steep hill. (not sure thats relevant but it was knackering)

Don't start thinking about distances travelled @daphine2004. It will tie you in knots and is not relevant to C25K at all. You don't need to put any numerical values on your running (as in pace values, speed or distance) until after you have finished Week 9. Or certainly not before the long runs of week 7.

Just listen to your body.

Finishing is vital. Completing every separate run section in full is really really important. So it's not OK to give up and decide "I'll walk the rest of this section". That's not going to help, don't give yourself permission to stop.

Instead reduce your pace significantly - massively if needed. Find a pace that means you can finish, completing every run interval in its entirety.

I was on a treadmill and probably going too fast

I've never used a treadmill so don't know how it works. But I'd suggest finding your brisk walk pace and then going one or two "notches" (or whatever) up from that for the run section. See how you are going and maybe by the 7th or 8th interval you might feel confident to go up a tad more. Maybe you won't, that's fine too. But definitely start as slow as you need to.

• Your run needs to be a running action and not a walk. But it can be as slow as you need to, as long as you're running and not walking.
• your walk should be brisk and fast paced.
• don't stop in between.

Yep, I am as definitely going far too quickly. My brisk walk was 5km and the run was between 8 and 9!

Dd (11) can’t run as slowly as I go...she speeds ahead in a fit of giggles!!

Daphine I went out with dc4 who is 9 yesterday. He commented that I run slower than I walk - he was jogging to keep up on the walking bits then walking to not go ahead on the running bits

@FATEdestiny yes it was the NHS app, but I used my own music under the app.

I was on a treadmill and probably going too fast. I haven’t really used a treadmill before, but might do a run outside for the next one. I won’t be faffing with the paddle to slow down or speed up!

@daphine2004 well done on starting - that's the biggest barrier overcome already!

Are you using the official NHS podcasts/app from the NHS website? Because their are many copies and you won't get as good coaching and training tips as you do from the official one. If you're a total novice I'd recommend the podcasts over the app - the running music is then specially designed to match your expected running pace:

www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Couch-to-5K-running-plan.aspx

And on the subject of pace - slow down

Assuming you're doing the eight 60 second runs of Week 1, if you can't finish all of the runs then the only reason for this is that you are going too fast.

You are capable of running all 8 florets hose 60s runs in full - right now at your current level of fitness (or unfitness, if you think that way). You are not too unfit for it. Your body can do it and can do it fairly easily. Two things are in the way:
(1) your mind
(2) your speed

The next barrier to overcome is your mind telling you that you can't do it. Because your body IS DEFINATELY capable of running 8 lots of 60 seconds (and more). But you think you can't, so you give yourself permission to walk instead. You can do it though, you really can.

How? Slow down. The only physical thing that could stop up is that your run is too fast. You are looking for a very light jog. Do a running motion but take your pace right down. Go slower, plenty slower, than you think you need to.

Keep the run (jog) going for the whole of the 60 seconds but keep yourself going slowly. Keep all eight runs slow paced, but it's important that you run - don't walk - all 60 seconds of all eight runs.

The way to do that is to slow down.

Slow right down.

Go much slower than you think you need to. Light, light, slow paced jog. This is what you're looking for.

Morning, so I’ve finally completed my first run, if you can call it that. Where I couldn’t run I walked, so made sure I completed it. I think doing something like this is quite eye opening as I realised just how unfit I was. In all fairness I haven’t done much on a regular basis over the past four years and drive everywhere, whereas previous to that I would walk everywhere and spin daily.

So my next run is on Tuesday and I’ll be looking to run more and walk less, hoping by the third run I am so the programme as intended.

Hope everyone has had a good week.

Thank you for your answer FateDestiny. The idea of running 5k every day seems way beyond me right now, I have nothing but respect for you! Hope you are having a well deserved day of rest after your half marathon

Well done on your W5R3 20 minute run @CanIKondo, it's a brilliant achievement. And recognising your pace is out and amending accordingly is one of the key thing you need to learn as you run for longer, so great you managed it.

Did you consciously change your diet too (if you don't mind me asking.)

Yes, changes to my diet are the main driving force behind my 7 1/2 stone weight loss @fishfingersandketchup. I don't run for weight loss. I mainly run because my aim is to "be healthy" and as well as being a healthy BMI, being healthy also means exercising regularly. So I run very day (just 5k usually) for my heart health.

Wow Fate. You are amazing and an inspiration! I only hope I can do half as well. I managed the 20 mins run today, so thanks for all the encouragement on the thread. I think I went a bit fast at first and was tired 5 minutes in, but listened to all the advice and slowed down and proud that I didn't give up.

Wow that is amazing FATEDestiny! Very inspiring for someone like me who is just starting out on my C25K journey. Did you consciously change your diet too (if you don't mind me asking.) I need to shift some weight as well as improving my zero level of fitness!

That’s incredible @FATEdestiny and very inspirational as I start out! I’d love to be in a similar place in eight months!

fate you can indulge yourself as much as you like -that’s an amazing achievement and you have been so Incredibly helpful to everyone! Have a glass of wine from me - congratulations!!!

You are an inspiration - we'll done, what a fantastic achievement xxxxx

Would you lovely ladies allow me a quick self-indulgent post? I finished C25K on 30th April 2018. Less than 5 months on, I ran a half marathon this afternoon!

I'm so proud of myself. I know this isn't strictly in the subject matter of the thread, but I'm so desperate to share my achievement (Sorry!)

On 1st January 2018 I weighed 17st 8.5 with a BMI of 43 and I was unable to walk 5km, let alone run. Today I have a healthy BMI, I cardio fitness score rated excellent and I can run for 21 kilometres. I can't quite believe it!

Thanks for the clothing advice - lots of good suggestions to take a look at!

That's really reassuring advice about the distance/time thing Fate, last time I didn't track distance but this time I have an iPod nano and it tracks how far. I'm doing between 3-3.5 km and can't see me getting up to 5k by the end of C25k.

I'm on the phone app so can't scroll back for names but well done to I think fish finger for starting. I'm only 3 runs on from you so happy to be your running partner

Can't remember who was asking about running gear - I have 3 pairs of leggings, 1 long and 2 3/4 length. I find the long ones much comfier, I think because I'm tall the cropped ones end at the fattest part of my calf and dig in! All of my stuff is Decathlon except socks I got from a sports shop locally and bras which are about 12 years old! I could do with getting a new one but there's limited choice down here in Cornwall and I'm loath to buy without fitting because I'm rather large of nork (38Gish)

@whencanisleepagain

Do you have a Decathlon near you? I am completely kitted out in their running gear, it's well priced and does the job - but sizing can come up small. I spent £50 on trainers, leggings, top and bra! Enough to get me started on C25K, and I've added bits as the weather changed.

Thanks fate

sleep look at sturdy by design for workout clothes...they have fab patterns and seem really good quality!

Hi @FATEdestiny that is encouraging to hear! I have just done my 2nd run and plan to go out again on Monday to complete week 1. Its going OK but my legs and hips are very achy, presumably because I am overweigt and also unused to exercise But I feel determined to do this, I really want to improve my fitness levels before I get any older/fatter!
Loads of great tips and support on this thread

@CanIKondo - how was your 20 minutes? W5R3 is The Best run of them all. Take it slow, much slower than you think you need to go, and then be MEGA PROUD of yourself when you've finished!

@fishfingersandketchup - I was similarly in my 40s, overweight and unfit when I started C25K. Have you finished Week 1 yet?

eatyourveg How's W6 for you? It's not uncommon for people to struggle going back to splits after the elation of the W5R3 20 minutes.

@PetraDelphiki I'd finish C25K first, before you start thinking about getting to 5K. Your pace naturally increases without any effort as you run more, so you don't know where you'll be by the time you finish Week 9.

Once running for 30 minutes, the Plus programe helps you extend to 35 minutes and to start thinking about pace in a structured way.

After that I stretched first to a 40 minute run. Then I aimed got a 45 minute run but got to 5K just under 43 minutes the first time.

Once I knew I could run the 5k I changed my focus to running 5K regardless of how long it took me. It was very quickly under 40 minutes without any conscious effort to speed up and within weeks under 35 minutes.

The only time I had to actively try to run faster (rather than increased pace coming as a natural consequence of running more effectively) was when pushing to get my 5k time from 32 minutes to under 30 minutes. That was months after finishing C25K.

Haven't posted in a while, have to say how much I love this group!!
Huge well done to everyone!
3rd attempt at c25k here, ran wk1r3 yesterday and managed to run 6 minutes straight at the end. So happy. Keep remembering how long that minute was when I first started, and can't believe I'm at this stage now.

(Posted my other thread in weight loss - maybe posting in exercise would have been better?)