Any Couch25K new starters?

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

I got abit fitter a while back (had a trainer), he moved away and I kept it up and jumped in at about week 4 or 5, but that was months ago now I really need to get fit for a job and lose at least 1 stone (ideally about 4!) Anyone want to start with me? Or are all the newbies jumping straight onto the massive thread? :)

Well done vanimal. I know what you mean about becoming fitter. I noticed I was able to walk faster/further and carrying heavier bags of shopping cf a few weeks ago.

I did W4R1 today, so same runs as you vanilla but I did struggle (again!). I ran all the runs except the last 5 min one where I ran around 2.5 mins then had to walk a minute then ran the remaining time. I almost wish Laura wouldn't cut in at the half way point in the 5 min run because I thought, "Hey, this is it, it's over" and slowed down. I would have preferred not to know that I was only halfway through.

However, from experience I know the runs will get more manageable as the week progresses so I will keep on as I really look forward going out running.

Lol - I know what you mean about Laura - I like it when she pipes up and says there's only one minute left, and then says 'I know it's tough, but....' it a reeeeeaaaaally slow voice. By the time she's finished speaking there's usually only 30 secs left to go!

I am looking forward to finishing this (optimistically!) and then running listening to my own music, I think it will be v motivating to run and sing at the same time!

I'm up to run 2 week 7!! I will do that one tomorrow as I did run 1 yesterday. I actually ran nearly 30mins because my ipod battery ran out so I just ran and when I checked later I had done over 28 minutes.
It is amazing how I can now consistantly run 25mins when just a few weeks ago I was just doing 3 and 5 mins. Its all in your head you just need to know you can do it. I am only running about 4k in 25mins so need to up my pace at some stage but not too worried as I have improved so quickly so far I know it will happen. On Saturday I biked 10k and then ran 3k straight after as part of my training for my triathlon.

febes - I too am doing 4k in 25 mins and am finding mapmyrun good for this! Doing my w7r3 tomorrow - the end is in sight!!!

Can anyone recommend any super-strength sports bras?

I am a 32FF, and need some serious scaffolding to keep it all in place when I am running.

At the moment I wear an old regular bra, with two very stretchy crop tops, which is fantastic, and really keep everything in place, but needs replacing.

Any ideas?

would like to have that problem! As a 32A I cannot comment, but wish you luck!!! i just got one from sainsbury's......

I was 38G when I started exercising (am now 34F) I bought a sports bra on the internet from here it is recommended by Oprah. It is really good and holds everything in really well. I have gotten too small for mine now so am using a old sports bra of my sisters which is bendon I think. Its also brilliant.

Wooohooo!

W5R1 done - it's 3x5 min runs, and the first one was very tough, as always, but the rest were surprisingly do-able.

By the third run, I was on a good pace, and would have been able to carry on for longer. I have noticed a definite improvement in my fitness levels this week.

Looking forward to the next one.

febes thank you for your recommendations, I'll take a look now...

Hope everyone else is well :)

Well done vanimal! I did W4R2 today but am still only managing 4.5 mins running during the 5 min segments so may have to work on my stamina and repeat the week next week. But I will keep going :)

Well done vanimal!

I just did w7r1 this morning and amazingly it was fine. The hardest jump psychologically was from 10 minutes at a time to 20 minutes in one go...especially as the 10-minute point in my local park coincides with the only nasty hill.

But I survived, and now a week or so later 25 mins Is actually very doable. The first 10 mins is definitely hardest - that's when you're still warming up I think - but at the 25-minute point I felt like I could have just gone on and on...

Bssh - there's no shame in repeating. I repeated w5 three times

Hello all!

I have just completed W5r3 - 20 mins of running with no breaks! I panicked when Laura told me what I would be doing and tried to argue with her about it, but, amazingly, I managed it!

OTheHugeWerewolef I agree, the first 10 mins were the hardest, but I got myself into a slow, manageable pace from early on, and managed to keep going till the end. I never, ever, ever thought I could run for 20 mins, and it still feels a bit surreal that I managed it. To me, 20 mins is something that fitter and thinner people do, not me. Lovely Laura was totally right though - it felt like a mental shift rather than a physical one.

I definitely feel fitter now, I am one notch down on my belt, and had my very first 'have you lost weight?' comment this weekend.

I haven't weighed myself, and don't intend to either, I think I need to concentrate on getting fit and looking/feeling better, not on numbers on the scales, which is what I usually obsess myself with. amazingly, I am also starting to really enjoy running.

BsshBosh, well done, I have repeated a few runs too, far better than stopping altogether :) Have you tried slowing down your pace some more?

Well done everyone!!! I just completed week 7. I am going to do week 8 run 1 tomorrow night (28mins!!) I ran 3.5kms in 25mins so really want to up my speed a bit but I know it will come with more running. I ' pleased I can do the 3ks comfortably as thats my first distance in the triathlon I'm doing in 3 and a half weeks time.

am on week8r2, so nearly there! can run 4.6k in 28 mins. So proud of myself and actually looking forward to 30 mins next week! Who'd of thought that, esp since 20 years ago I used to bunk PE and hide in the loos!!!

Vanimal!!!!!!! You did it!

I agree - found the jump from 10 mins to 20 mins definitely the toughest - but actually not physically hard, it was mostly psychological. I was thinking 'oooh, this is such a big change, I can't do this' but then when it came to it discovered that I just kept running.

I checked my distance on mapmyrun.com and I'm currently doing 4K in 25 minutes. So I'm still a bit off target for 5K in 30, but not far. It feels doable. I've been chatting to my brother, who's a marathoner, and he reassures me that pace is the last thing you should work on when you start running - the key thing is to build up strength and stamina first, and to give your joints and bones a chance to get used to it. So I'm not worried at the moment.

The one thing I am starting to wonder is: what will I do when I've completed the programme? I don't want to end up petering out, getting bored or stopping just because I've completed the C25K. So I need to have lined up a new goal, or some kind of intermediate training plan. Perhaps we can have a C25K Graduates thread and encourage each other?

OTheHugeWereWolef thank you :) I am very pleased with myself!

idealism, I was the same and have always hated exercise, so I am finding it very strange that I can do this.

I am only managing 3.5K in 20 mins, so I have a way to go with pace yet, but I am not going to worry about it for now, I'll wait until I am fit enough to complete my 30min runs before I even think of going faster.

But I have exactly the same worry as you - I only have 3 weeks left, and was wondering what I'll do when I finish. I really like having Laura's encouraging comments on my run (although I do look forward to running to my own choice of music). I have no idea how I will keep motivated after I complete the training.

I guess it will just be down to trying to improve personal best times on each run?

A graduates thread will definitely help, wonder what ex-C25K runners did to help keep them going?

There are some ideas on the NHS C25K website, but they are not particularly inspiring for me.

Although I am looking forward to doing the Parkruns on Saturday mornings - maybe meeting a running partner on those would help?

I've got a Parkrun just down the road from me. The results board looks a bit intimidating - the best time for women is 21m and I'm a long way from that! But the run times seem to go all the way to 35m so it's obviously not just for super-speedy athletic types.

There's a few more runners about in this section - I'll start a thread asking them what they did after C25K.

yes definitely a c25k graduate thread. I'm thinking:

1. do 4 or 5 5ks a week for a month to work on speed.
2. do a parkrun
3. new years resolution - to train for a 10k run

anyone else got anyplans?

I think training for a 10K has to be the goal here too!

As someone 'graduating' at the end of next week !! I need to set some goals. My first goal is to complete my triathlon series which I just found out today the first two events have been changed to a duathlon due to pool problems. My first event is on November 6th and it will now be 1k run 10k bike and 3k run then
dec 4th- 1k run 15k bike 4k run
Jan 29th- 200m swim 20k bike 5k run
I think that will keep me focused for the next few months!! Then I would like to book something else to keep me going. Maybe 'just' a 5k run or even a 10k??

Wow, everyone sounds super motivated already!

I don't think I will be doing a 10K anytime soon, I really enjoy running for the 30 mins a few times a week, but I think anything longer than that will be difficult to squeeze in before I start work for the day, and I'll probably end up getting fed up of it. I am quite fickle like that ;)

I am going to aim for 2 runs in the week, and a Parkrun on Saturdays. As these are timed, I'll try to get a PB of under 30 mins to start with. My local ones end with everyone going for a coffee in the park cafe, so it'll be a great way to meet new people, and perhaps a running partner.

I would also like to sign up to a 5K run when I am done, perhaps one of those Run for Life Tesco/Breast Cancer runs (I don't even know what they are called ) so those will be my short-term aims I think.

And then I'll possibly, maybe, perhaps, I'll think of training for a 10K run :)

febes, are you you superwoman in an MN disguise?

I am AMAZED at your triathalon series!

vanimal I'm a bit intimidated by febes' triathlon-ing too

Like you, I have a local Parkrun with coffee in the park afterwards, and likewise want to aim for a PB under 30 mins.

I've also been picking my brothers' brains a bit about how to build up strength and speed: based on what he was saying, I reckon once I've completed the C25K I'm going to try and do a mixture of 'steady' 30-minute runs on weekday mornings when time is short + more intense interval running (my local park has a couple of juicy hills) and then slowly lengthen the time/distance I'm running for at the weekends when there's more time.

The trick really does seem to be not trying to do too much too quickly, and just ever so slowly increasing the intensity. I'm amazed at the improvement already - I think I could get addicted