C25k for a fat 52 year old

[CormoranStrike]

Bad stuff
Four stone overweight with dodgy joints and mild arthritis
Mild asthma
I hate running - genuinely think I would struggle to run for a minute

Good stuff
Willing to give it a go

How doable is couch to five k? Will I manage it? Can I genuinely become a 5k runner in eight weeks?

You are how I was this time last year (only I was 58).

Today I am four stone lighter and ran 15k today in a personal best time. You can do it! You just need to take it steadily - but not too steadily. There's nothing wrong with being pink faced, sweaty and out of breath!

Oh my @zaphodsothethead - inspiration right there

I'm younger than you, but was just as unfit when I started c25k. I was physically sick after the first running section and could barely move the day after. But I kept it up, stuck to the programme, and could run 5k by the end.

By that point, though, I'd gone from an overweight, unfit, exercise-refuser to a fairly enthusiastic runner. So I kept it up and started Parkrunning . My first Parkrun took me more than half an hour. These days I'm 10 minutes faster and often win it (first lady, anyway - I'm not racing the men!)

In my head, though, I'm still the chubby, slow runner at the back. Most of us at the front of Parkrun were all c25k newbies at some point, and know the 10 min miles feel just as tough as the 6 min ones. Good luck, OP - I hope you grow to love it

Honestly @CormoranStrike, if I and my chunky short little legs can do it - you most CERTAINLY can!

My first Parkrun took me more than half an hour taking more than 30 mins to run 5k doesn't make you the "chubby slow runner at the back"!

taking more than 30 mins to run 5k doesn't make you the "chubby slow runner at the back"

Not now it wouldn't- Parkrun has really taken off, which is brilliant. At my regular one now, 30 mins would put you little over halfway in the field.
But trust me, when I started out, my regular Parkrun was such that 30 mins was very near the back. And I was very chubby indeed!

Good point about time!

When parkrun started, the average finish time was 22.16. By the time this article was written

www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2018/oct/01/parkrun-five-mlllion-runners

the most recent published average time (2017) was 29.07

It's continued to rise; 2018 saw 32.28, and they've recently stated that 2019 was 32.31

@CormoranStrike ... hope you are doing ok 👌🏻
I’m looking forward to hearing about your progress

Well done! When I stArted I couldn’t run (fast walk!!) for a minute but now I can do 4 minutes (slightly faster walk!!)! It’s a killer and I sound like I’m dying but it works! You’ll get there!

i started running aged 45 and having done no exercise ever willingly in my life...
I puked in the hedge tthree times on the first run
i am now 53 and am running the london marathon for the first time this year
running has changed my life...i had lost 4 stone before starting, but now can eat more and not put on weight through the menopause
i have used it to keep sane while my very loved DSD has been seriously ill for last 12 months
I love that my body feels fitter, stronger and is more capable of things now.
I no longer think 'i can't do that'...about anything and everything...i dismantled and fixed my washing machine yesterday...ok not exercise but yrs ago i'd have thought ' too hard, can't do that, need to ask DP , get a man in, buy new one'...after running i feel i can tackle anything.

go for it...

Oh wow @Theredjellybean that is amazing.

I just did my last run of week one. Not easy but I managed not to stop on any of the seven runs, though I was very slow.

Thank you.

I am also a very slow runner.. Who cares.
My current mantra is "some is better than none"
Even if you are slow, even if you walk run round, you are doing better than those still sat on the sofa

Can I join you? I am only 38 but morbidly obese and struggle to run. I have just finished week 1 of c25k.

I am back with a salutory warning. I have been keeping up my 25 min runs & started to notice a niggle in the arch of one foot, which I ignored. It is now flipping sore & Dr Google tells me is is likely plantar fasciitis - a common running injury and menopausal women are particularly susceptible . It needs rest, so no more running for me for a while - so go carefully everyone - take it steady, have rest days and back off as soon as you get a niggle.

Just go for it, I now run 5km easily but it took 6 months! I recommend Parkrun once you are getting close

I have always been the black sheep of my sporty family. Hated excercise because whatever I tried I was crap at. Nearly 5 years ago (at the age of 44) my cousins were laughing and joking,at a family get together,that I couldn't run to the next lamppost and a switch just flicked in my brain and I thought "do you wanna bet!"
So I began Couch to 5k and now I run 3 times a week averaging 25k a week. I've done countless 10k races.No one is as surprised at that as me. It's changed my life!
I'm not fast but i don't care. I'm doing it and that's all that matters.
I really did manage to run a 5k at the end of the programme but I did repeat some of the weeks because I didn't feel ready (although I think that was confidence rather than stamina).
Running is a 10% physical challenge and a 90% mental one. I know I'm capable of doing a half marathon but psychologically I'm struggling with it but I'm battling through the negative mindset one run at a time.
Well done on getting out there. It takes a huge amount of guts just to start.You will amaze yourself in a matter of weeks when you get the hang of it.
Good luck 😊

What have you got to lose?

I am similar to you e.g. overweight, mildly asthmatic, not a natural runner but I recently ran a week 9 run. It felt amazing; like a real achievement.

It's a light jog rather than a run. Repeat a week if you feel you would benefit from it. The rest days are as important as the running. It might take your body more than one rest day to recover. Mine did/does.

Accept that some runs will feel harder than others. My first week 1 run was truly awful. I stuck with it. The second run felt much better. The first run of week 7 was horrendous again. It was an off day.

It's a great program. Good luck!

Run one week two today - it was TOUGH, but I did it.

Then came home and ate a banana and apple for lunch; who is this new me?

Second run of the week today - it wasn’t easy but I did it!

I know the is a far from stealth boast but I am super proud of myself today. It’s zero degrees, I could see my breath in front of me all the way and there was snow in the hills yet I did it!

Well done!

All these messages are so inspiring. I've never been able to run in my life - at school I would put 100% effort in and it seemed like I was running through treacle while all my classmates sprinted off into the distance. No disability, just completely useless. Now I'm middle aged and overweight and a bit arthritic and wondering if maybe, just maybe, I could give it a go.

I don’t go far at all, but at least me legs are moving