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

W6R3 complete and loved it. Felt easier than the 20 minutes and no jelly legs. Three rest days though to find a break in the snow helped.

Well done to all the new starters, especially everyone battling rain, sleet and snow

Well done @Fiddledeedeeee!

W2R2 for me this morning in the sleet and wind... was fine except for low flying geese and my hands were v cold (the rest of me a sweaty mess as usual)

W3R3 completed this morning, in the snow 😆 felt like needles stabbing at my face!
I can’t believe the difference in how much I can do (relatively) comfortably already.

Well done @Spirini and @ScottishBeth its hard to motivate yourself when it’s cold n wet.

I had a small window whilst waiting for my youngest at her club so i ran/walk 4k but mixed it up for the first time doing some unplanned hill reps. I ran up 100m & down again a random hill 5x I actually quite enjoyed the challenge despite drizzle n wind.

Welcome @Spirini sounds like you're doing well!

I did W1R3 today. I am a bit damp now! But it was good. I'm looking forward to the small step up in week 2.

Hello fellow c25k-ers, may I join? I started 4 weeks ago and I've been very pleased with my progress. I'm pretty slow though! About 15 years ago I used to regularly do 10ks, then I got injured and completely stopped until last summer when I decided to start the c25k which I never finished but I think I got to week 6 or 7.

I managed to get out today despite the sleet, my right toe was completely numb for most of it until finally my circulation made it down to my foot and I warmed up. Best pace yet 9'14km which is great, I think the cold spurred me on.

I did my 'warmup' in the car today @minipie 😀

Tomorrow is W4R2 for me 🏃

some guy deliberately drove fast through a slushy puddle to splash me

What an arsehole!! Well done for carrying on.

I’m supposed to do w5 r2 today. I’m sitting inside looking at the rain hoping it will stop… it’s not going to !! Have to make myself go. I might do the warm up in my house…

W2R1 for me today in the snow some guy deliberately drove fast through a slushy puddle to splash me on my penultimate run but apart from that it was fine! Hoping the snow will have gone by Friday for the next one

W1R2 today - felt really good! I realised I have always just sauntered on the walk sessions previously. But then today I read something about the programme on health unlimited and it seems it is actually important to walk briskly, so I've picked up my walking pace quite a bit. I'm glad I learned that now rather than when I was several weeks in!

I’m going out again tomorrow but not much time before work so I’m planning on going short and fast. I want to see how I feel settling into a quicker pace knowing I only need to sustain it for 2k.

W6R2 done and it felt great. The first three minutes of the second 10 minute run hurt but then it felt good again. It felt faster but strava doesn't agree 😂. However the breathing was steady and I think I've cracked my pace for now. I'm now at the stage where I find two rest days important as the runs get longer. I haven't looked at R3 for this week but I think rest breaks are a thing of the past now.

I've got ASICS trainers, I think they were £52 from sports direct in a nice bright pink. Very comfy and bouncy compared to my old very very comfy ones which were as flat as a pancake.

Well done on the 5ks in the groups. Amazing progress everyone no matter what stage your at.

As an added bonus after weeks of calorie control and running and not losing any weight I seem to have lost 6lb in a week 👍

@bailarbailar shoes are so individual to your running style and shape of foot. Definitely get a half to whole size bigger than a Normal shoe to avoid toe nail issues later on. Wiggle are good for returning stuff, sportshoes .com have cheaper last season stuff but can be more expensive to return. If you need wide shoes I run in new balance ladies D width as they are the only ones that fit well! My DH loves his Asics. I also have elastic laces as they flex when my feet expand.

@NyanBinaryJohn i would think about what are your arms doing when you run - if they cross your body I would try to focus on having them more like pumping pistons facing forwards. I struggle sometimes with neck / shoulder pain after runs if I run tense or cold or tired. I had to previously untrain my arms crossing across my body. I stretch my shoulder joints out after running now by leaning the arm on a doorframe to stretch the pec bit. There’s some videos on you tube that may help, as it’s worth getting technique right early on if you can. I still struggle with gait and I get lazy with my leg lifting though…

@balancingfigure I got my ASICS for under £50 cos they we're bringing out a new colourway so the 'old' version with the exact same features went on sale. I've had 2 ASICS and prefer them over other brands I've tried so I recommend looking out for sales... I got my gait analysed in a proper running shop etc but the pair they recommended were really uncomfortable (!) I have stuck to buying shoes that say they're suitable for my type of gait tho

That’s good to know @NyanBinaryJohn I’m about to start week 4 and a bit worried about the increases but hopefully it will be OK. Don’t know about the shoulder but extra mobility/stretches before and after maybe?

Can anyone recommend some decent budget running shoes? Under £50 if possible?

Nice to see everyone is keeping up! I did wk4 r2 Sunday afternoon after a 4 day break. I think the break did me good. My route was marginally flatter than my Tuesday route, but it felt easier today.

The only thing I noticed was that my right shoulder started to feel sore. I had that before too, on the longer runs. I struggle to properly relax it for some reason, but I don't know how to improve on that. Suggestions welcome!

@ScottishBeth good luck with your journey the program does work but yes I do think it’s unrealistic for many to do 5k in 30 mins. My time has dropped 5 mins in the last 3weeks but I doubt it will go much lower without me losing some serious weight as I’m ‘obese’ on my BMI and 30lbs heavier thanks to perimenopause than I was 2years ago when I ran a 30min 5k. But I’m just so so pleased to have got running back in my life again even if all my joints still hurt.

Hello! Can I join? I used to run but can't even remember how long ago I fell out of it.

I was never a good runner, particularly. Think I always felt frustrated that I thought I was too slow as well. I'm hoping being here I can be reassured that doing 5k in 30 minutes isn't realistic for a beginner. When I was last running regularly I did a few park runs and I think my time was generally between 40 and 45 minutes - it was quite a hilly course. I am older, but I think I weigh less now than I did then. Also I've been doing daily yoga this year so have a stronger core and am more flexible - I'm hoping those things will help. I am keen to get back to parkrun some time in the spring/early summer.

I did day 1 today and I loved it. Especially having a nice Mancunian woman supporting me through it! I haven't used the app previously.

Thank you. I love this thread as it’s great to read back and see how much I was struggling a few weeks ago. I found going to 5 minute runs really difficult, and now I’m running for 40 minutes at a time!

Mine are the 3, they were £67 on Amazon. I haven’t tried any others so can’t compare, I was just running in some old adidas trainers before.

Passport ooh interesting. I think I run slightly on the outsides too. Did you get the latest version (novablast 3) or an earlier one as I’ve just been reading the latest is less bouncy. But still good. God there’s a lot of running obsessed websites out there 😂

Well done @Passportpondery on the 5k it’s great as if you look back a few weeks on here you were adamant it wasn’t possible 😁I hope you had a whoop feeling inside after and enjoy keeping it going.

defientely get some good trainers @minipie your be glad of them as you build up your running. I got some new ones after Xmas and they still look all bright but they make me smile when I put them on.

@bailarbailar hope you can keep going with the program I had to make myself stick to it’s as I’ve tried before to skip bits and then got injured.

I’ve just gone for the Novablasts and I like them. I run on the outsides of my feet as I have a very high instep (used to do a lot of ballet) and they have been good at correcting my positioning slightly.

I couldn’t do the 20 minute straight run. I did 10
, walk 1 and then run 10 if I remember correctly. Read back through my posts on this thread… I really struggled. And yet something clicked about 2 weeks ago and I started being able to keep going for longer. Now I’m running 40 minutes without stopping. The best advice I’ve found is slow right down. If you can’t talk you are going too fast. Keep it really really slow while you build your run time up, then look to increase speed later.

Well done everyone especially those running 5k! Goals!

I’ve just done w5 r1. Not bad. Definitely quite out of breath by the end of the 5 min runs though so no idea how 20 min is going to happen in 2 runs’ time 😬

I’m also looking for some new shoes, currently running in my mum’s cast offs! DH recommending Asics Novablast but they look so pro I feel I’d look ridiculous doing my 5 min runs in them 😆

Did my 5k this morning in 37 minutes so am pretty pleased. It was hard going in places but I ran the whole thing without stopping which was my aim when I started the programme. The ability to keep going seems to have come from no-where, I think it was more a mental barrier to get past.

Im going to stick with my routine now of 2 x 3k during the week and then a 5k at the weekend for a few weeks until I’ve improved my speed a little. Then i’m tempted to start a 10k plan!