Starting couch to 5K tomorrow morning - anyone want to join?

Hello everyone, so I took a bit of a break for week - between the worst head cold and stubbing my toe on a 5kilo weight my husband left beside the bed (😡) I thought it would be best to ease off.

But back at it today and I didn't go back to W6D1 as advised, I powered on to the next one which was 2 x 10min runs. It really isn't getting any easier...sheesh. The burn in my calves is outrageous, I'm pretty sure when I used to run in my 20s I never felt this weak! (now 41).

And I had that weird raspy taste in my mouth from my throat and the blotchiest face. I looked such a ride 😂

@TeresaCrowd slow and steady is the way to go, if I try to up my pace too early I burn out

@balancingfigure my distance is all over the place because sometimes I walk for both the warm-up and cooldown. Today I did 4.16km but that includes the two walks at the start and the end. The other day I didn't walk for the cooldown and I did 3.44km. Very confusing.

Week 5 Run 3. I did it! I was a bit nervous but I just set off at a pace I thought was just a bit too slow and just kept going. It finished sooner than I thought. I got some good power ballads as the slower pace of the songs also helped keep pace in check and as they generally drag on a bit I figured 20 minutes was less than 5 songs which also helped. I reckon 25 mins at that pace will be achievable now and it’s given me some good confidence. It looks like such a big jump on paper but in practice was achievable. I covered 4km in the 30 minutes including the walks beginning and end.

W5R1 this morning, first one was hard but was ok for the next two. R3 does feel like a big leap up though! I know everyone says that and I also did manage to do it last time although I was younger then!
Well done everyone

For reference If you can run 1k in 7mins that’s a 35min 5k average pace.
if it takes you 8mins to run 1k that’s a 40min pace.

@balancingfigure i found C25K got me upto 3:5/4k by week6/7. To do the actual 5k distance I had to run for longer 35-40mins as an old middle aged overweight runner I’m slower 😂I just kept walk/running until I got to the full 5k. I think a lot of women need 40mins initially to cover that full 5k from what I read on here. I knew I could walk 5k in 55mins with the dog so that was my start point.

Great hearing how everyone is getting on. I’m thrilled to have completed week 6! 5 and 6 were hard but not as hard as I thought. No more walk breaks now though 😆

Not sure what distance I’m actually covering. I use Runkeeper on my phone but have also tried planning routes on ‘On the go map’. On the go for the last route said more or less 4km but Runkeeper came in at 3.69 which seems quite a big difference. Which do you reckon is most accurate? I don’t want to to get too tied up in distances as really just getting out and running is the important bit but on the other hand I’d like to be able to track properly 🙃

Thank you! I’m aiming to be able to do 10k by summer time.

Thanks @TeresaCrowd having others around me all being determined too helped😂
whoop well done @Passportpondery that’s brill you have done so well no stopping you now.

I did 6k this morning, got my 5k time down to 35:51 and managed to keep going to cover 6k.

Ended up running alone as my friend couldn’t make it so pushed myself to try get that time down to the 35 minute mark.

W5 R2 this morning so that’s it. The big milestone is next! Any tips?? The 8 mins were Ok, the first one was fine but the second one the last minute was uphill which did nearly see me off. I think I’m going to find a flat route for the next one. Storm blowing in at parkrun sounds hellish @Winter645Mermaid so kudos for carrying on past the car, that takes some resilience.

It's inspiring reading what other people are doing.

I almost forgot, we did accidentally run for 90 secs in the middle too as I misheard Sarah Millican. I'm taking that as a win as I'm literally starting from the couch!

Thanks @Passportpondery

We did our second run today, so week one run two. My son is fitter than me. I'm glad I'm doing it but I'm not finding it easy. Legs feel v heavy and I'm feeling breathless but started to find my stride a bit and I feel I'm breathing better. And that's just jogging for 60 secs...but I'll keep at it.

It turned into a wet n stormy parkrun yesterday as a storm blew in at the halfway point, I was attempting to walk with a couple of random runners as we commiserated how hard it was in the gale forcewind but I dug deep and got 35mins, as the last 0.5km I had the wind behind so I flew that bit in 3mins 😂having gone from 7:30min splits against the wind. It was exhilarating and I’m glad I did it but there was that wee moment at the 3k mark I passed my parked car & I was SO so tempted to bail. But my friend was waiting at the end, as she’s faster than me, so I’m glad I completed it. Honestly I never run faster unless it’s parkrun 😂I hope to get out Monday & may try 5.5-6k if I’m feeling strong.

Hi all, can I join? Starting again after not running for about a year. Week 4 run 1 went well today, hard but OK, and feeling good for it!

W4R3 for me this morning. In the rain again. It's amazing how much more difficult I found it in the rain - already done the same runs twice but the last one flew by in the sun. Also terrible tunes on the radio didn't help, there were some real bangers playing last time. I was also hindered by 3 different sets of people feeding the geese and swans by the river so it was impossible to get past.
Anyway, one more week done. On to W5 on Wednesday

Thanks @Winter645Mermaid . Trying to remind myself of that. Sometimes I find it ‘easier’ to get up at 5.30 - so it’s done before the day starts.
Also it’s cooler then ( although room I run in is unheated ).
Kinda enjoyed Week4 Run 3 again yesterday

Good luck @FrazzledFirefly ! Stick with it and it really does work.

Im heading out for my weekend 5k soon. Meeting a friend to run which really helps me keep going. I also feel less guilty if we do need a walk break as we get a good chat and to enjoy each others company too. Running alone I get quite fixed on checking my watch for pace and time which is daft!

Hey everyone, can I join? Tried c25k pre covid but it was the middle of summer, roasting hot and it nearly killed me. Didn't get further than week 3 or something.

But this time I'd really like to succeed- I don't care how long it takes me. I'm v slow, v unfit, fatter than I'd like to be and I'm pretty sure I'm peri menopausal.

Week 1, run 1 completed today with my 10yo.

@AnnaBlush dont feel guilty taking 30mins 3x a week for You! It will make you a better parent in the long run if you are physically and mental fit. I was at my fittest after I had my 2nd DD as once she hit 3mths I used to do 25mins of Hitt when she napped or sat in her buggy laughing at me 😂i actually miss having that time and energy to do it, she’s now 12 and it’s a lot harder…

Hi all
Great to read this thread and gain advice and see so much perseverance. I am going to do Week 4 - run 3 ( again) today. I had 6 days off - so wanted to revise a bit before moving on.
I am running on treadmill- as it’s less impact ( more so for my pelvic floor than joints 🙈) and can be done with weans in another room.
Very novel- I have not properly exercised since pre-kids and caring responsibilities took over. For me the hard part is carving that time out. It feels embarrassing even.

W5R1 ticked off today. The longer walk breaks made it feel easier than week 4. 1 more run then the big 20 minute milestone. I think I’ve found a pace I can job and chat at, so hoping if I start at that I will make it through!

Well done everyone! Congratulations on completing Anewagain!

W6 r2 today. I couldn’t complete this run last Weds, then had a bike prang on Thurs and had to miss several runs. Went backwards to w6 r1 and managed both that and w6 r2 today.

However w6 r2 was a real struggle again, got shoulder and rib pain towards the end so I may keep repeating w6 r1 and 2 for a bit before I attempt the leap to 25 min solid running at w6 r3!!

Spirini in your shoes I would probably repeat that run until I’d done it “by the book” as I like ticking things off … but if you prefer to progress and your cold is better then no reason not to move to the next run and call this one a blip. Up to you!

W4R2 today. Was fine and nice not to be in the torrential rain or snow. However I've had a v stressful week at work so found it difficult to switch off on this run

Thank you @Spirini @Winter645Mermaid and @Passportpondery

Each run can be very different for me - sometimes they feel much harder than others. Sounds like you need a day or two to recover from your cold too @Spirini That is bound to have had an impact.

You’ve done so well @Passportpondery and encouraging to hear how you’ve continued to progress.

I’m aiming to do my first post C25K run today. I’ll take stock after Easter but for now my main aim is to keep running regularly so that’s probably 3x a week. I’d like to get faster as I’m super slow and I’ve read that means increasing distance but I’m worried about overcommitting time wise.

If you read back through my posts you will see I struggled a lot in the middle.

I ended up coming off the programme as I was finding it disheartening at times.

I started planning a 4k route and just aiming to run as much as possible; but to let myself walk if I needed. Then over a few weeks I built up to the point I could run 5k without stopping. I found I needed to slow right down!