Couch to 5km newbies

Week 3 done! I also find it easier to exercise on an empty stomach.

Also, are you using earphones? I have some wireless ones that seem to work well so far. I don't use the visual cue but you can change the setting on your phone to keep screen on for a longer period of time but put might find it affects your battery life.

Hi there. At the moment I just record my runs as walks using Fitbit. I don't use my fitness pal so not sure how to link it there but there is an online fitbit forum who should be able to help you. Apparently, to use spotify you have to start spotify before you start C25K and it should work.

I did week 2 run 2 today in my lunch break. I'm still finding the shin pain really difficult while I'm running or fast walking. I expect it's because I'm very overweight but it's making it difficult. I've started taking ibuprofen before running but it's not made much difference. The pain goes as soon as I stop though so it's not shin splints.Hopefully as I lose weight it will lessen.

@caffellatte that's good to know that it's feeling better as you go along. I'm thinking of running in the early mornings too. I've been doing evenings but there's so many dog walkers on the track I use which puts me off and I find getting back in to then rush around and get the kids in the bath and off to bed isn't working. I've done a couple of lunch times too when I'm working from home and that was a nice time. I find I run before food too, I actually haven't felt the need to drink or eat when I get back either although I do.

I also run early morning when I have most energy. I have a coffee (decaf). Then run, then water and eat. Works ok for me. Eating really slows me down and raises my HR so I definitely try to avoid it before exercising. I might have a fruit juice shot if I need energy but I also avoid exercising when I'm hungry or unwell.

Hello, can I join please? Although I'm not running outside, I'm on a treadmill in the shed. 47 with at least a stone and a half to lose!
I've just started running and after a week I can manage 4 mins but no more, so I thought I'd try a proper set scheme like C25k to train myself. I've just completed the first run!
I would like to know how to record the runs, I have a Fitbit. Would be great to show it in My Fitness Pal but just can't get MFP to show anything more than total steps. They say they're sent a "total calories burned" from Fitbit but it would be nice to see what I've actually used.
Also, I'd like to use Spotify in the background but when I did this morning I couldn't hear Sarah Millican unless the volume was mega high, and the flippin phone screen kept timing out and closing so the visual clue of when to jog was gone!
So many questions, sorry!

@Tortoisetroubles my previous post was supposed to have been a reply to yours!

I am doing this for the very first time and I haven't really exercised in my adult life. I'm not experiencing much pain, probably because I walk regularly, but my heart is definitely working out! I went for W3R2 today, the second 3 mins run was still a bit challenging but easier than two days ago.
I go out running early in the morning, it's the only time of the day which works for me due to family and work commitments. I just drink a bit of water, go running and have breakfast when I come back. I feel this is ok for me but I wonder if generally people eat some time before running?

Sorry you were struggling with the group, @DaddysGirl36. Did the run leader have any advice? There are different versions of the plan out there so that's probably why. A group has advantages as you say but it's tricky if you're not all at the same stage. I don't know if they repeat the course but perhaps you could do a bit on your own with the app and aim to rejoin next time they do the course when you have a little more practice under your belt.

I had to repeat loads of weeks and when I finished it took me 37 minutes to run 5km. It took me even longer to run 5km without a couple of minutes walking in the middle!🤣 I managed a sub 30 minute 5km after about a year and now my target is 25mins. I’m 45 and couldn’t run for 30s when I started. Keep going! I still cannot believe I can keep running for 5km without stopping!!

Iam in. I did park runregularly few years back but have gained weight and need to get on the treadmill and do this.

I wouldn't have any support though, which is what I need most. Part of the motivation for going was to meet new people & go through the same experience, spur eachother on etc

I also didn't realise I'd need to do an additional 2 runs a week to be able to follow the plan properly- I don't think it was explained well at all unless I've misunderstood

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like week 3 of the plan I'm doing. Even if the people are supportive, I think it might be better to take it back a stage and start with week 1 of the NHS app. Your body needs time to adjust so I think pushing through it too fast might cause injury. I'm really trying to avoid injury myself and I'm taking as slow as I can. It's also more fun and motivating to do it in manageable steps.

Hi all

I've just joined a community group doing this but either I've misunderstood or there are different weekly timings to do this plan. I signed up week 2 so obvs missed week 1. Zero fitness level & overweight.

The NHS app I checked before signing up said week 2 is 90 seconds of running but we are following a different one & did 3 minutes running & I found it impossible. I just couldn't catch my breath & was alone at the back of a group of about 15 with the trainer (who was lovely & supportive). I just had to walk mostly as after 30 seconds I was just struggling. I was way behind & missed cool down at the end.

Feeling so sad & demotivated as I thought I could do 90 seconds & build on it but next week I know it'll be 5 minutes & I couldn't even do 3.

Any advice? It sounds like most people plough on , tonight's group certainly did with no issues. I thought there would be other people like me but there wasn't, they all ran for the 3 minutes every time

Hello people
I’m in week 6, run 1. I repeated week 4 cos I was having a hard time and it really paid off. The last time I ran was September 2020. Just before the first lockdown I completed 10k! (Very slowly). This time I am actually finding I am running a bit faster which is great.

I first did C25k in 2018 when I trained for Tough Mudder 5k, only to discover you don’t need to run 5k in one go - never mind

id like to join here to get some feedback and support/feel supported

I've just finished wk2 and whilst not having much pain afterwards, I felt very tired indeed running today! I'm not sure I'm up to the 3 min run next week tbh!!

Everyone's doing so well it's really inspiring to read. Are there many people doing this for the first time? I'm totally new to it and to exercise generally really so I'm finding it very painful so far but hoping it will get easier. I did W2R1 yesterday and it's been my worse one so far. Is there a time of day people find is generally the optimum time to run?

Could I join? I did week 1, run 1 yesterday and would love to get fitter before we start to try for another baby later this year as by the end of my last pregnancy I felt so uncomfortable and think being unfit really didn't help!

I used to be trained enough to run half-marathons and yet I still could barely do 5k in 30 minutes! I am very slow, but I don't care. I feel like I should start a "Run slow, be happy" movement or something 😆

On Wk3 R3, but I might have do this week again, having had a month off of exercise with Covid

There is so much useful information on the healthunlocked site. Really recommend it.

I don’t know how everyone else is finding the weather but it’s really muggy here. I’ve just done a distance that should have been really easy but it was a slog all the way. Not so much a toxic ten minutes as a toxic thirty! The main thing is to just keep on at it. Next time I’m going first thing in the morning!

You’re all doing so well. C25k is such a great programme. I can see why they changed it to make it time based rather than distance.

Fantastic! Yes, being unwell definitely affects you. I've only just realised in the last year how important recovery time and sleep are when you're trying to increase fitness/strength. Take it easy. We will get there. So exciting...

I went for W3R1 as well this morning. I found the second 3 mins run a bit challenging. Maybe I just need to get used to it, or it's because I've been unwell over the weekend or the combination of the two. I still enjoyed, I'll go for the next one on Thursday.
I've been running very slowly, my aim is to complete the "couch to 30 mins run" before the end of summer 🙂

Just finished week 3 run 1. I ran slower. Much easier and felt I could have run a lot longer. Interestingly, I felt it more in my calf muscles than usual. I was focusing on being able to hold a conversation and seemed to work well. Also trying not to bounce too much. I can see how this will be better for my body. Just have to be patient and work on speed once I have graduated. I'm enjoying running though and I can see myself keeping it up if I can stay injury free.

I read somewhere that there used to be a version where the runs told you to run a certain distance rather than run for x minutes. The distance based one built up to running 5k but didn't specify how long it was meant to take you. But the timed version works so much better it took over, but kept the confusing name. Normally by the end people seem able to run 5k if they take as much time as they need.