C25K

I hope so....

You probably won't need to repeat week 1 PetraDelphiki. The jump to week 2 isn't all that big. You may not think you can do it, but I bet you will be able to. It's about trusting the program and giving it a go.

it doesn't get easy until you move on and look back. For example you won't find Week 2 easy but by the end of it you'll look back at Week 1 and realise that actually, running for only 60 seconds is quite easy.

It's the same all the way through. You won't find any of the weeks easy, at all. But you'll look back at what you were going 2 or 3 weeks previously and realise that you now find that really easy. I guarentee you that if you carry on with the C25K program, in a months time you will find running for 60 seconds very easy.

W1r3 done...away now until Thursday so will prob have to redo w1 when I get back. Could have sworn this is supposed to get easier!!!

FATEdestiny I'm en route to Cornwall but have packed my running stuff !!! Week 4 starts Monday !

Well done Alicatz66, week 4 next week!

I did a 10k run today, first time in a few weeks because of the summer hols (so my children are off, hence less time to run). Took the dog with me, she's also not run long distance in a while due to the heat. We both coped really well and enjoyed it!

Life after C25K. I graduated from the program at the end of April.

Week 3 Run 3 for me tonight ! I feel quite proud !!

I have a boy dog who seems to want to pee on everything! Plus he’s very small so I suspect if I make it into later weeks I’ll be leaving him behind!

I run with my dog PetraDelphiki, we learnt to run together through C25K too.

I found that with time, my dog got more routined (for want of a better word) with her toilet breaks. I think it helped that we always went at the same time and we went every day.

After a while, my dog would always do her poo within the first few minutes of being out. This was almost always within my warm-up walk, so doesnt affect my proper run. Her wee is often 5 or so minutes later so thar often does need a pause in my running. But at least a wee is a quick pause that doesn't require me to clean up.

W1r2 today...at least the first 3/4 run bits felt almost like running rather than shuffling...just irritating to have to keep stopping for dog to pee!

W7R1 done and I feel fantastic! I started off thinking, when will I feel like this lark is easy, and half way through I suddenly thought gosh I'm speeding up a bit, nothing is hurting and I can finish this!

I've rewarded myself with pizza and wine 😄

Cedar my 10 year old DD came out with me on Saturday for a walk, and we did a small jog at the end. She laughed at how slow I went! Start slow, you can always speed up towards the end if you feel able. Hope your next run goes well.

Thanks, Fate - will give that a go on the next run. I probably was trying to keep up with my DS!

Sore ankles and shins tho -any suggestions?

It could be just lack of fitness.

Make sure your trainers fit properly, especially the toe box because your toes spread out more when running compared to walking. I go up a whole shoe size gorgeous trainers for this reason, but ensure they aren't lose around ankle when tied. You don't need expensive trainers at this point. Just ones that fit well.

After that, I think it'll just be fitness. At so soon into starting running, you won't have injured or hurt yourself just from running C25K Week 1-4 type distances.

Do you listen to the C25K NHS Podcasts or app? Because you get basic bits of training throughout the program that will help you develop good running form to avoid injury.

Try not to slam your foot down flat when running - that will send shocks up your shins and ankles. You want to land lightly and that's best done with a 'rounded' foot fall.

Imagine you are riding a bike and your feet are doing a similar movement to when on the pedals. Bend knee, raise foot and move it forward through the air, put foot down in a rounded motion (heel down to flat to toes only down) then push off your toes you move forward.

Look ahead and stand tall. Try not to 'bounce' up and down with your head and shoulders. Feet should land below your hips, don't stretch too far in your strides. Make sure you land on the middle of your foot, not to the left or right.

UndertheCedartree - you will definitely be going too fast in your runs. The single, most important thing in C25K is to finish every run section in full. How fast or far you go is completely irreverent.

So it doesn't matter if it's a very, very slow shuffling hippo (like PetraDelphiki ) - finishing every interval is what matters. Best to start off the first few 60 second runs ridiculously slow, to ensure you manage all 8 intervals.

Don't worry about it though. Just re-do Week 1 Run 1, much slower. It can be tricky for some people to run with others, because everyone has a slightly different pace they are best at. You definitely won't have the same pace as your 11 year old (you wouldn't have the same pace as anyone) so if you run together you both need to agree to match the slowest persons pace. I can't run with other people for this reason, I like to be able to go faster/slower depending how I'm feeling on that particular day. But lots of other people for C25K as part of a group, so it's definitely doable.

Thanks for that dropzone - will bear that in mind on our next run and see how we get on!

Welcome cedar and petra

Cedar - it sounds like you were running too fast on the 60 second runs. It's a light jog, not a sprint, possibly not actually going much faster than a brisk walk. But the jogging movement is what you are getting your body used to. Go slow, but keep going!

Petra - shuffling hippo is fine! Well done for W1R1, keep going . There's info on the nhs website about running pains here:
www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/knee-pain-and-other-running-injuries

Started today too...quite surprised I made it although it was more shuffling hippo than running ...plus some halts when dog decided to poo! Sore ankles and shins tho -any suggestions?

My 11yr old and I started today! I couldn't manage the whole time. We did 5 min brisk walk and then 10 minutes walking/running. Sweating like anything!

Has anyone else had to start at less than the whole time?

Finished week 2 ! Onward to week 3 tomorrow .. loved running in the rain today .. lovely and cool

Keep posting DropZoneOne. I'm here and I bet you there are a load of lurkers looking to you for inspiration that it is possible to do this.

Well done! You're definitely a 'proper runner' now. Such amazing progress. The last 3 weeks shouldn't be too difficult for you, then only challenge is making sure you get your trainers on and start the run. Once you're going, you'll nail it now - since you are now a real, proper runner

The wind and rain were horrid

Oh I'm the opposite. Definitely a cold weather runner. Give me rain, wind and low temperatures any day over hot, sweaty sunburnt runs. It was cooler yesterday for my run and I loved it. Then this morning it was not only cooler and overcast, but also raining so even better! Been able to take my dog with me these last two days. She's not been able to run with me for the last few weeks because of the heat so that was nice.

Good luck for Week 7!

Is anyone else still doing this? I'm a bit conscious I'm posting a lot It's accountability as much as having a bit of support.

Anyhow, a wet W6R3 - 25 mins and I did it! And it wasn't even that bad. When I think back to the wheezing mess I'd be after 90 seconds, and I just ran for 25 minutes.

I am still the slowest thing out there, but I can keep going. The wind and rain were horrid, I had bits of twig landing in my hair, but I did it 😁

Week 7 and proper running, here I come!

I've managed the w6 runs 1 and 2 this week. 1 was hard - was on Sunday only an hour after dinner because it was getting dark, so I think I hadn't left enough time. Run 2 was yesterday, before dinner and before the rain hit!

So run 3 next - 25 minutes!

Fate I just use the app, I only have an Alta so no inbuilt gps. I know it doesn't like being paused, but it also seems to not like being in my leg pocket so will try a waist belt instead.

I'm not too fussed about the distance, just would be nice to record that I'm making it a bit further each week. I do like a graph

Yeah, you nailed it DropZoneOne, well done!

My fitbit GPS is temperamental too. Do you just use the app for tracking or your watch? I have the Charge 2 and it's supposed to GPS trachea from the watch as long as you carry your phone. But I find it best to have the fitbit app tracking on my phone as well as my watch. I can then see at a glance of my watch if GPS is dropping out and sort it quickly (it usually just needs location services switching off and back on again). Mega annoying, especially when it's an important run.

When I finished C25K, I found I was covering about 5k if you included the 5 minute warm up walk and cool down walks, so about 4k for the 30 minute run.

But honestly, distance and speed at this stage do not matter. I can't reiterate that enough. Finishing and completing every section of the run is what's important, not how far or fast you go.

A word of caution for week 6. It's not uncommon to struggle in week 6 due to a bit of overconfidence. Going back down to 5 minute splits may seem like a backward step but it's not, you need it to build up your stamina. It's very easy to go out too fast in week 6 and so struggle to complete the sections. Go slow. Alow down and pace yourself from the beginning - you can always speed up towards the end if you feel you can. But make sure you start slow.

Well done! Fate is pretty inspiring .

Add in your warm up and cool down walks and you may have travelled 5k (3.1 Miles)

My phone goes through phases of shutting down half way. Thanks, Apple! Frustrating but doesn’t change the achievements.

Congratulations

@FATEdestiny

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, it really helped me through. W5R3 NAILED IT!

I was slower than a hedgehog, I swear I can walk quicker, but I ran NON STOP for 20 minutes!! I have never managed that before in my life, not even as a child (I was always the last in sports day).

The first 8 minutes were fine, I knew how far that would take me, the next 2 minutes were a bit of an unknown so I picked a spot in the distance and hoped I would get to that point, which I did just as the half way bell sounded. It was starting to get a bit harder at that point, and I kept saying to myself "I am fit, I am strong, I can do this" (and out loud a couple of times too).

The only bit where I thought uh-oh was at 17 minutes when my left knee twinged. I twisted it a few years ago in a zumba class, and for most of my runs last year it hurt and I had it strapped up. But none of my runs this year have hurt at all, this was the first niggle. I slowed down even more and thought, I will have hit 20 minutes by the end of this song, so I can just keep going gently and it will be fine. And it was!

The GPS on my phone keeps cutting out though (linking it to Fitbit), so I've used Google Maps and I reckon it was around 2.6 miles from start to finish.