Really want to run

Agree with needing to learn now to run. Just checked my records and I was over 15 stone when I started C25K last spring , having already lost some weight at that point.

First session really wasn’t promising and I felt sick but I kept at it, pausing for a couple of weeks after week 3 to have my gallbladder out. I got decent trainers and bra as felt good support at my weight was really important. The secret to it is to go really really slowly, dog walkers were faster than me to start with! You want to be going slowly enough to have a conversation. Speed will come later, to start with it’s about gradually building stamina.

If a run doesn’t go to plan then it’s a practice run. Someone I was talking to the other day who is very athletic looking and you would think would be a natural said it took her 3 months to get through it. It takes as long as it takes. I find running music helps. I listened to it whilst walking briskly, over time my body associated it with faster movement and it really helped me. Others I know don’t like it so an individual thing.

What you realise when you get going is that it’s a psychological thing as well as physical thing. The strategies I learned from C25K I use in other areas of my life when things get a bit stressful, it teaches you to push through barriers.

Parkrun is great and you see people on mine doing C25K. I’ve gone from going out first thing to avoid people wearing baggy clothes to go8ng out wherever, whenever as don’t give a shit. It has become a bit of a social thing to my surprise, that’s good as it helps keep you motivated.

Long distances aren’t ever going to be for me . I have done 10k once to prove to myself I can do it but am happy with 5k. I don’t think I’m going to get any faster than I am now and a 5k under 30mins will forever be elusive I think but I guess never say never. I’m over 100lbs down now and onto my last half stone and feel much much better than I did, despite having perimenopausal crap and a large fibroid going on.

It really has made a huge difference to me and I wish I’d done it years ago instead of being a touch scathing about it. DH has started too and we still laugh about the fact that we doing it and kept going through the winter in minus temperatures.

hallie you CAN do this.
I weighed 14 stone 9 lbs at the end of December. I started running in Jan and built up REALLY slowly. I had run before many years ago but had no execrise for about 5 years.
I now weigh 12 stone 8 lbs - yes still got about 3 stone to loose but its a start! and I ran a 10K race a couple of weeks ago and have another 2 coming up. I am now running 3 rimes a week and managed an 8 mile run on Wednesday!
Just start gradually. as others have suggested c25K is great. and done even worry about pace to start with.

Can I ask during your C25k did you ever do two runs a day?

I have run every day and always covered a minimum of 5k, walking what was left of my route after I finished my C25K run.

In the very early weeks of C25K, when runs were just 1 minute, 90 seconds, 3 mins etc I covered a really small distance (like 1-2k). I'd walk my cooled own 5 mins and find my heart rate back to normal and still having 2k+ left you walk. So there were several times when I'd decide to restart the podcast straight after finishing and run it twice, or at least half of it again, because I had the distance to cover anyway (my dog had to have the longer walk anyway) and felt ok doing it.

I never really counted that as an extra run, just that I added to the run I was doing that day. I didn't religiously stick to any of the repetitions. I repeated a run until it felt ok and achievable, then moved on. Sometimes that meant only 2 runs (especially early weeks) other times it might have been 4 or 5. Some days I would take the dog out twice, so do two runs - this was mainly in the easier early weeks though. I finished all 9 weeks in 25 days.

Also, if you're doing couch to 5k, don't be afraid to repeat a week. And go slow. I walk faster than I run at the moment.

It was torture at the start but keep at it. It does get better. I'm getting back to it after a baby and every run is really hard but I know from experience that it's worth sticking to it. Couch to 5k fan here too.

@FATEdestiny I’ve noticed you post on a few threads about your amazing progress. Can I ask during your C25k did you ever do two runs a day?

OP I’ve got 5 stone to shift. Couch to 5k is slowly changing my life. Take it slow, repeat weeks, sometimes don’t run when she says, just walk faster. It’s great.

I am too overweight at the moment

I was about 14st 8 (at 5 foot 3 tall) when I started Couch to 5K. 8 weeks on I now run 5k at a non-stop running pace every morning.

I was 17st 8 on 1st Jan 2018. You're size us not an excuse to not run. Attached is my progress over the last 5 months.

Lots of fab advice on here! Couch 2 5k has helped so many people. And parkrun isn’t as scary as it sounds! ALL shapes and sizes go running. Next time there’s a 5k/10k/half marathon/marathon in your nearest town go along and watch. You’ll soon see that there are all shapes and sizes taking part. And not everyone will be running all of it either. Go for it OP you won’t regret it.

If you can walk 5k then parkrun is avaliable. The person at the rear is now called the Tail Walker because it's so popular for parkrun to be part of the process of learning to run rather than being the outcome.

C25k worked for me too. I was utterly hopeless at school, but using the podcasts slowed me down and gently built it up. Trying to get my fitness back after pregnancy/ SPD/ birth injury, I did it gradually and repeated runs where I felt the need.

There is a running style known as "Jeffing" where you strategically alternate running and walking. C25k does this to build up, but some runners favour this style longer term.

It's good to eat something light soon after completing a run for recovery. Consider what your calorie burn was and factor it in to your general eating. Even if the calories balance back, the improvements to your muscle tone/ metabolism/ cardiovascular fitness and general wellbeing far outweigh being the same weight on the same balance of dietry intake.

You’re doing the right thing by walking to start. If you do a walk/run couch to 5k plan you’ll be fine.

I get the massive hunger thing...often it’s thirst really though!

I hated running when I started, felt so unfit and just wanted to stop whilst doing it but then when my fitness levels increased and my distance did, I felt a great sense of achievement and it spurred me on to keep going. It takes running about 2k before your properly get into it but once you've got through that barrier it feels much better. I'm back to square one now and only running about 2.5k trying to building things back up after having a baby. Good luck, keep at it and make sure you have the right trainers.

That's exactly why you need a programme like C25K

It starts with a 20 minute walk with 4(?) 90 second jogging breaks which you can do as slowly as you like. And you can keep repeating that day until you feel ready to try the next one. It works best when you walk/run 3 times a week, but you don't have to keep moving on to the next run each time - moving through the programme at your own rate is totally fine

C25k is the way to go - you run for such short times to begin with and then walk normally so it is much more manageable than trying to walk really fast for longer. You'll also possibly run slower than you could walk which is fine. Its about managing your breathing and teaching your body to run.

I was a total lifelong non runner, picked last at school, cross country hiding type person. At 40 I decided to do C25k and found I'd just never learnt to run. Not that I was suddenly fast (and I'm still not), but each week I could run a bit more - and then I could do 5k. And then got to 10k. Then a half marathon until in 2015 I did a full marathon and it was like I just couldn't believe that this was me, she who couldn't run, out there doing it!
So get a great sports bra and follow the c25k plan and you will be able to do it, I promise. I know ladies (and gents) of all sizes who run

Have you tried the couch to 5k? It's hard work of course but very doable even for people bigger than yourself. There are several threads on here if you want some moral support.

If you live near a 2 lap Parkrun, you could do just the first lap as part of building up distance/stamina. When you're ready. Which if you walk it, with just a few jogging intervals, could be pretty soon (if not already).

And don’t worry about your size. I know runners of pretty much every shape and size! I was a size 18 when I started

What Stella said!

Parkrun you can walk it if needed! The bonus is your only competing with yourself so you can watch yourself getting better over time

You can walk Park runs though. It’ll just get you in the habit of going and you can jog bits of it as and when you’re ready to.

No idea how my keyboard decided to add 'deathly' to that post - I was trying to say 'and really'

I started running towards the end of my weight loss, am deathly it was one of the best things I ever did, and I wish i's done it earlier.

• Try C25K as a programme to follow to take you from total beginner to really rather competent.

• Find your nearest Parkrun - I read an article on some running site and one of the commonest lessons from experienced runners to novices was 'I wish I'd started Parkrun sooner'. It's fine to walk some/all of it when you're just starting out.

• Get a good bra

• Get good trainers. Don't be nervous of going to a proper running shop - no, you're not an imposter, you're a new runner who they can help. You don't need detailed gait analysis, but finding out if you over/under pronate and need a supportive sole, or if neutral is better; and how much cushioning to try, is helpful.

• Have fun!!!