C25K

I did W3 R1 today. I am barely making it to 2k. I don't think it's getting harder but it's not getting easier.

I'm not losing any weight so far, and didn't last time either I usually carry a small crossover bag with keys etc unless I'm wearing a jacket with lots of pockets.

I'm in. Just back from first run.

Wasn't too bad - I'm quite ancient but I don't drive which forces me to walk a lot, so I'm not too bad fitness wise to start with.

Heart health and hopefully some weight loss are twin goals. Ideally I'd eventually hope to lose 1.5 stones. I'm also cutting carbs and watching calories.

I'm hoping to cram the nine weeks into about seven as I'm going on holiday in June. We'll see.

How do you all carry your keys and mobile?

Just done w3r2 , still struggling with 2nd 3 min run but covered over 3km . Dd has a hectic week coming up so may have to go it alone.

FATEdestiny that’s really interesting re the times/distances. Thank you. I haven’t got a Fitbit but I could use mapmyrun to check how far I’m going.
Was supposed to do W4R1 today but I was up for hours in the night being sick 🤢 so will have to put that on hold annoyingly . May have to do a couple of consecutive day runs to get back on track.

W5R3 was my favourite run!

I ran W8R3 today. Start my 30 minute Week 9 runs tomorrow.

In terms of distance, I was working mine out during my run today. I cover 0.5K in the 5 minute warm up and cool down walks. At the moment cover 3.5-3.8K in the 28 minutes, so the total C25K podcast covers 4.5-4.8K.

When I start Week 9 and 30 minute runs, I'm hoping to edge closer to a 4k run, which is 5k with warm up and cool down.

My jogging pace is around 8 minutes per kilometer at the moment. So I figure if I can increase my jogging to 35 minutes then 40 minutes, I should be covering 5k whilst jogging, whilst keeping the warm up and cool down walk making the total distance covered 6k.

These figures are from my fitbit app.

Hey, how is everyone getting on? Today was the big day for me as I completed W5R3, the 20mim non stop run (after doing R2 last night too) it wasn't as bad as I expected, other than the last few minutes. Feeling really rather pleased with myself!

Anybody else been out today?

I have a book called Run For Life by Sam Murphy and that says that pace develops over time as your stamina increases. It stresses that it is important to start jogging slowly and that pace will naturally increase as you get fitter and stronger.

I like the idea of aiming for a park run. I’m thinking of finishing c25km then practicing the park run route a couple of times to get used to the hills before I brave it. Or maybe i will try and flatter one first!

Thanks. That’s a good plan - learning to run for 30, then work on getting faster. I think that’s a great thing about Parkrun- my DS does sub-20, my friend has done over 50 and pootles around in 40-45, so it’s really “your own” race.

Yesterday I did the run (so W5 R10 W3 R10 W5) and covered just over 3km. So at that pace I am going to be short of the 5km in 30mins.

But my logic is that you can always walk the last bit of a parkrun (or any bit!), it is entirely possivle that the thrill of the event might speed me up a bit too.

My plan is to learn to run for 30mins and then try to increase pace.

A 5km in 30mins is quick, when you look at the parkrun results.

Well done Dancergirl - I like music because the beat keeps me going. I have downloaded some songs that have exactly the right tempo for the pace of running that feels comfy right now as I have a tendency to go too fast and burn out very quickly and I can't keep going. I do think that ultimately whatever takes your mind off the hard work - be that radio, podcasts, existential poetry etc - is just fine!

Travellinghopefully2018 and JustLikeTheySaid - I'm doffing my cap to you two big time. I'd say that you two were proper runners now! 👏

Sorry, I’m knackered - I’ve worded the above really badly. Hopefully you get what I’m asking!!

Music - Jo Whiley or whoever you have, just butts in with instructions and your music dips in those bits.
Those of you running 20/25 mins now, do you also know how far you’ve run? I’ve put a Parkrun in the diary for week 9 - this is C25K with a aim to run 30 mins constantly. I get that but what if my 30 mins only covers 4K

You can do it just! I took it really slowly to start with then picked up speed after I had done half (when I was confident I could get through to the end )

W6R2 done so I'm one behind you Travelling!

Dreading the 25 minutes tomorrow!

Thanks all

Looking forward to W1R2 tomorrow!

A quick question - I didn't have any music on the first time because I wanted to see how it went. How does playing music work with the app??

Also, I prefer the radio to music - I have got the radio player app on my phone but will it only work with wifi?

Nice one dancer!

Just done w6r3, 25 mins, really enjoyed it although found last 7 mins a bit hard. I really need to branch out on my routes now as I’m going further but I’m scared of bumping into people I know or not coping with hills!

W3R3 done this afternoon. It was quite hard and I'm not sure I'm ready for the 5 mins in Week 4, but I felt that about going from W2 - W3. Will tackle it on Friday or Saturday.

Just done w3r1. Second 3 min run was hard, struggled with last 30 secs uphill. Dd was way ahead despite having already run a cross country 2k earlier.

W2R2 just completed. I think it was a bit easier. My very cheap Old Navy flimsy leggings kept riding down. I will wear my thicker ones on Thursday.

Skin itchy - running too quick. Slow down. Very slow jog!
You will manage it but it sounds like you are running far too quick. To start with try realyyyyy slow jogging!
I tend to run the exact same route because it helps me to pace myself and it feels good when my pace increases! I've added on little extras as I've gone a bit further the more I've run.

I'm currently sat on the sofa in my running kit eating chocolate rather than running... I need to go but I can't quite find the motivation !!

Dancergirl well done A minute is a really long time at the start. Stick to the programme religiously it really does work. I’m running 3 mins at a time now and it’s fine. I avoid hills, follow the same-ish route. Why not put a Parkrun in the calendar for the end of training as something to work towards?

I have done W1R1

This will sound really pathetic but I found running for even one minute quite hard Will I REALLY be able to do the whole programme??

Can I ask you experienced people where you run? And always the same route? We live in a cul-de-sac so I just ran round here. Also, should you stick to flat ground as a beginner? There's a few hills around here which I avoided. I'm thinking of maybe driving to a local park and running there next time for variety.

Also, my skin got really itchy, anyone know why that is?

Dancergirl I started in cheap primark running leggings (didn’t want to spend much in case I didn’t stick with it) but now looking to upgrade as they keep riding down. Will check decathlon out! Sports direct meant to be really good for cheap and good running gear too, a couple of people have recommended karrimor stuff from there.

I started out taking water but now I just drink afterwards. Got a running bottle that was easy to hold but just find it a bit distracting. I do get a bit of a headache if I’m running in hot weather though, think I need to try harder to drink more before a run (but not just before otherwise my stomach sloshes unappealingly!)