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

Finished W1! Felt I could've carried on but that's where I came unstuck last year - pushing too hard too soon. So I am sticking to the programme this time.
I'd like to carry onto W2 on Tuesday but need to wait til Wednesday due to logistics. Much nicer on the route this morning with absolutely no one there - usually I'm dodging commuters!

I’m still here but haven’t run this week or start W9 yet due to busyness and then today I have a sore back. I’ve been in two minds whether to still run but think probably it’s best to wait.

Well done that’s great!

I’m aiming to do 5k tomorrow morning, my target is to run the whole thing without any walking. I would like to drop below 40 minutes, but we will see!

Whoohooo I hit my target today of a 33min parkrun and getting above 50% (just about 😂) age grading rating. It’s taken me 10wks since re-starting C25k I just want to keep it going now. Hope this can inspire others to keep going.

Hope the new trainers help. You have a great base to build on your time. I started from a base of already walking our dog 2-3m daily so that definitely helped before I started running again. On the days I don’t run I’m walking the dog 3-4m. Hope you have good weekend run.

@Winter645Mermaid that’s really good! It took me 42 minutes to do 5k last weekend. I went really really slow as I just wanted to get the distance done and felt ok at the end so I’m going to have another go this weekend and push myself a bit more.

I treated myself to some new trainers which are helping a little with the foot pain.

Thanks, I’m so so stiff today definitely the fall out of eating absolutely shit loads carbs and sugar the last few days driven by menopausal hormones 😣but I have just made myself do 20mins of yoga with Adrienne to loosen up before work.

I’m running around 35mins at the moment and that’s taking effort I actually felt bit sick at the end of it yesterday… that did have 2x 1min walks so I’m hoping to get back to a comfortable 32-33mins soon. I’d be happy with that at my age, I’m currently under 50% on parkrun age gradings so I’d like to be above 50% 😂. I was beaten by 2x70yr old ladies last week they were fab.

Plus I’d like to go further. Previously I found long slow runs enjoyable & they helped me speed up on the short ones. It’s all relative to you though age, genetics, weight, leg length.

Well done for getting out!

What sort of time are you running 5k in?

I’m not sure whether to look for a 10k training plan next to keep me focussed?

Had to make myself run today wasn’t feeling it but it was a beautiful sunset. Got a steady 5k done with just a couple of 1min walks as my hip was stiff. Interestingly I found it hard and my heart rate was higher than average but my time was still good (for me). Next run I’ll try do parkrun as I like the community feeling of ours.

W6R1 felt great today. Way better than the 20minutes of last week. 4s faster per Km and more distance covered plus a local legend award and a bronze medal on strava. I also felt like the breathing has fell into place at last.

I bought a thin additional layer to put over my base layer which helps with the cold and covers my wobbly bits. It's got thumb holes too which I love. However, I can't wear much more than that as I get so hot when I run.

Another 3.5km today, felt like I was going quicker than Tuesday but my watch claims I was slower!

Going to attempt 5km again on Sunday with the aim of beating last weeks time.

I’m finally running the whole thing now with no walking so that’s a lot of progress for me!

That reminds me: In the past on cold days I would put my socks on a radiator before going out for a run. That was just about enough to keep me from getting too cold until I'd acclimatised a bit.

I’ve made that mistake before and now definitely make myself stick to a rest day. If I really feel the need to do something the day after I’ve ran then I either walk or cycle instead.

I’m going out again tomorrow for a second attempt at the 3.5km I did on Tuesday. Aiming to get a tiny bit quicker and maintain the pace. Then will do another 5km at the weekend.

Winter that’s an idea thanks! I kind of need to get out of the house to make myself do the run 😆 but maybe I could walk round the block and drop off my jacket at home after the warm up. Hopefully warmer weather is on its way!

Did w4 run2 today - I ran yesterday so I didn’t take a day off as they recommend, and have to say I really felt it. Legs felt very tired through the 3rd and 4th runs, 4th was a struggle. Definitely a rest day tomorrow!

@minipie when it’s been arctic outside I’ve done a 5min warm up at home - there’s a simple one on the nhs c25k App and then only walked 1-2mins before running. That worked better for me or I got too cold.

@bailarbailar welcome, I hope your back to running goes ok. I restarted after an injury induced break but my body remembered what to do it just took 6wks to remember 😂

@balancingfigure i looked ahead on the app to get an idea of what the program did and just tweaked it depending on how I was feeling on the day as well.

I walked the dog 6k on Sunday, and just did a run/walk 3.5k trail with the dog on Monday and have been feeling v.hormonal tired and hungry the last few days so I didn’t run this morning but walked the dog for 40mins instead. I’ll plan to run tomorrow but could well have my 11yr with me as no school due to strike she was having go at C25K is currently run/walk 3k at the moment.

Can I join in please? I did the C25K in 2017 and so I know I can complete it. I was training for the London marathon in 2020 abs was running half marathon training runs when covid happened and I stopped overnight and haven't run since!
I did try once in November actually and went straight in trying to run a 5Km and failed miserably so this morning I've done R1W1. Aching now!
Well done to all

Week 4 run 1 here yesterday too. The first 5 min run felt tough. Luckily I was with a friend so that motivated me to keep on going in the cold & mildly drizzly weather.

Just checking in. I did week 4 run 1 today, quite enjoyed it! It was a definite step up from week 3 but I needed the extra running to keep warm, today is properly arctic here.
It’s not easy to work out what to wear that is not too cold for the warm up walk but not too hot for the runs!

Hoping I can join in. Just started week 3 today. I have run before but about 20 years ago. I’d not run then and found C25K really hard all the way through so pleasantly surprised that so far its hard but OK. I wonder if there is some kind of body memory of how to run even if the fitness isn’t there?

I’m using the NHS podcasts which are great (wish I’d had them last time) but I’d love a plan to print out and tick off and I don’t seem to actually be able to find one that matches the NHS and is in a nicely printable format. Perhaps I need to design one myself!

@Passportpondery sounds like a plan. I struggled with the lack of structure after c25k. I found fundraising helped me as I had to do as many miles as possible in a set amount of time, then a certain number of steps etc... I think this time I'll try a 5-10k programme when I get there, I need a challenge and something to focus on.

Well done on getting through it! I never managed the straight 20 minutes, had to take a walk break in the middle, so I’ve no idea where my random 5k came from! I literally just kept running and didn’t feel like I needed to stop.

I’m guessing it was the much slower pace that helped. I made sure I stuck to around 8 min/km even though I naturally want to go quicker.

I’m going to do a 3k tomorrow and Thursday and try to stick to a slightly quicker pace, then a slow 5k again at the weekend.

W5R3 complete, the dreaded 20 mins. I was hoping for some relief after the first ten minutes but nope, it was a battle from start to end. I literally did the last 5 minutes through gritted teeth. Very slow and my legs were complete jelly at the end. Stupidly finished my run ten minutes walk away from my house so then had to stumble back 😂

Well done @Passportpondery on the first 5k. It does just seem to appear out of nowhere.

Im jealous of all you y'all people with the long legs. I'm sure 5k for a little shorty like me is further than someone taller 😂

So pleased it worked @Passportpondery

@sylv165 Sometimes a break makes you perform better.

The last 7 days for me have seen three runs, leg day at the gym and a normal upper body day at the gym. Because it's my first time back to running in almost 2 years, it's resulted in some serious DOMS after run 3. The entire back half of my body is sore!

Hi everyone I’m still here! Just having a slight hiatus as we were on holiday over half term and in the middle of a bathroom refurbishment this week so not really had time to run. I’ve found myself missing it though, so looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow. Hoping the break hasn’t set me back too much 🤞

@NyanBinaryJohn took your advice and ran very very slowly!

I did my first 5k and didn’t walk at all! No idea where it came from, on Thursday I couldn’t do 2.5k! I planned 4k but felt fine so just kept going and did 5.3km in the end. Probably had a bit more left in me too!

Definitely need to stick with the slower pace while I built up, it felt unnatural for the first 2k but then I settled into it and felt good.