Couch to 5k

[goldenretrievermum5]

Has anyone had any real success with the program and actually completed it within the given timescale? I’m reading online that it is too difficult for most people and that building things up slower is better.

I’m really starting from scratch here - quite unfit after a long recovery from injury and need to tone up + lose a few kg. I’ve never been a runner either which doesn’t help things! Cardio is not a strong point and I’ve very much been a yoga/pilates person for the past few years

Any tips/experience bad or good very welcome

I got to week 8 but it was winter when I hit the final weeks and didn’t like going out after work as too dark. I was totally unfit could barely complete the first run but did I think a full 20 or 25 min run as one of my last ones. Definitely possible and it takes it pretty slow I think and builds up.

Yep when my daughter was at uni a couple of years ago she started it and I thought as an unfit 50 year old I would try it as well so we would support each other to keep going.
We both made it following the program and did the race for life 5k the following year.

Though due to various issues my daughter didn’t keep it up (first job issues) I did as I wanted to keep that level of activity/ fitness.

Had a few hiccups along the way with shin splint and foot issues but it was the springboard for me to regularly run5K plus 3times a week. Also this year a friend and myself did the race for life 10k in a respectable time to boot. This from someone who is a keen walker but last ran when I was 15 doing the cross country at school prior to the couch to 5K.

I find the great thing about running is you can do it anytime anywhere. I regularly go at lunch time at work or in the evenings if I’ve got 40mins spare.

I found the level quite nice and if you struggle on a step up week just try another week at the level you can cope with then push on.

The best tips I can give though are

don’t skimp on decent trainers especially if you are doing a lot of roadwork they pay you back a lot in the end.

also look into your local park run it’s a fun way to motivate yourself and I can only speak from my local ones but no one cares about your time/ everyone is rooting for you to push forward.

hope this helps.

Yes - I've done it three times now.

It can feel hard, but honestly it's amazing how quickly you can cope with the length of time you're running - even the runs in the same week.

It starts off very gently. TBH I can't really see how you could make it any more so! The first week is three days of running (on alternate days); each day you run for 1 minute followed by 90 seconds of walking. You repeat this 8 times.

Then in week 2 you run for 90 seconds followed by two minutes of walking, and repeat this three times in that run. Again, you do this three times in the week.

I was in my 50s when I first did it. And I just followed the plan - by the end of the 9 weeks I was running the 5K, and was very close to doing it within 30 minutes.

But actually, the time doesn't matter. It's the distance that's important.

Good shoes are really important. Find a running shop near you, where you can have your gait analysed, and get them to help choose the right shoes for you.

I did it about 5 years ago. Took me 6 months due to sore knees, and I used to go to a running club interval training session once a week, so I was doing the couch to 5k runs twice a week. I liked following the programme, some of the runs felt like a huge task but I took it easy and got there in the end.
I'm not especially fast. At the end of the programme I could run 5k in about 35 mins.
I second the advice for decent trainers, and a well fitting sports bra. There are some websites for discounted decent trainers, if you need?
If you follow the NHS app you can choose the voice to give you instructions Jo Whiley, Steve Cram, Michael Johnson to name a few.

I still run now, intermittently due to another injury and I go back to Couch to 5k to get me going again.

Good luck.

A good playlist helps too! The app I used (Get Running) gives you instructions over any music that you have playing.

Thanks all - I shall push on! Did run 1 last night - hard but definitely not impossible. Expensive trainers already purchased as a motivating factor 🤣

You'll be amazed by how quickly you progress! Even in the same week, your third day will be easier than the first one.

I've done "normal" C25K and the Zombies, Run! version, which ups the running bits of it more gradually. You can try the first three weeks free, see if you like it. Heads up: day 1 is setting the story, the real "run a bit, walk a bit" instructions happen after that. I can have my own playlist on, then start the Zombies recording and it cuts in when it needs to.

I haven’t been using the app - just timing the 60/90s intervals on my watch. I like my music too much for interruptions 🤣

You can always just repeat any particular run if you felt like it was too hard. Or if you don't manage one you can go back and redo the previous couple. You can do all of them twice if it helps you build up. You can make it work for you.

I did it successfully 4 years ago and I'm still a regular runner. I'm 45 and it's really helped my fitness and mental health.

I completed it last year, probably repeated a few but the timescale wasn't far off. I can't run 5K in 30 minutes, more like 35.

A few month's later I was running 10K but haven't managed to increase yet but I have a half marathon soon so need to get a shift on.

Take it as slow as you need to, repeat when necessary and enjoy. Don't worry about time or speed, just build up the distance

I did c25k with a group 3 years ago. Found it very tough in parts, but once I had done the 5k I discovered jeffing. Run walk run. Found it tons easier and completed a half marathon 4 months after.

Still prefer jeffing. Still doing half my marathons, do 1 each year, plus a few over 10ks.

Never ran in my life previously. I'm now 50 and still going with it.

I wouldn't have managed this if I had done it in my own, I think I would have given up. Found it so much easier in a group, we all encouraged each other and got through.

Keep going. Maybe have a look at jeffing?

I did it ... didnt need to repeat weeks, and could run 30 minutes by the end, but that didn't equate to running 5km... nearer 4.5km, on a good day. That was in my late 30's with no particular health issues.

I did it ... didnt need to repeat weeks, and could run 30 minutes by the end, but that didn't equate to running 5km... nearer 4.5km, on a good day. That was in my late 30's with no particular health issues.

Trust the process. It works. I was a complete life-long non-runner and completed it and couldn’t stop!

loved it and honestly never ever considered myself a runner. Just be as disciplined as you can be, you’ll feel amazing.

I did it, I was coming back to running though after some time and had been doing other sports in between. Not sure if having that base fitness and background helped.
Definitely do-able though.

Definitely use the app! The encouragement and praise is so worth having, and listening for halfway bell, the countdowns - "just one more minute to go, you can do it!!" really helps when it feels hard on the longer running sections.

I've done it a few times over the years and completed it fine. It's very good. The tips are useful - basics like how to breathe and run made a huge difference to me, what part of your foot needs to hit the ground first etc.
I tend to slip out of good habits once the program is finished though hence repeating every few years.

DH has legs like a greyhound so despite being some years older than me, he's really taken to it and still enjoys it.