Couch to 5k 2011 Part Four: Post even if you haven't run!

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Yet more space for us to talk about our progress on the Couch to 5K programme, the stuff we wear, the music we listen to, the gadgets we use and our nail varnish.

New runners are warmly welcomed - come and give it a whirl, you know you want to! There has been a lot of success on this thread, both in the UK and internationally, moral support is abundant, and there is always a kick up the arse for anyone who needs one!

Some of us are on our second time round now, so don't worry that you will be behind, just jump in whatever stage you are at.

Gosh it is strange being her eat the same time as other people!

^here at

Oooh glittersome brighthair! And mahusive cross posts re stretching it would seem!

shredded I am going to bed, I AM. Honest. Have just got your pm thanks, and pm'd you back. And I am going running. Honest guv.

Tis nice to see you here with us at this time though. :)

Did you have a good birthday kid? Hope so. Your legs will be fine in the morning and you'll be raring to go.

Night night all!

Well, I had lots of good intentions about going out first thing and had my running gear on ready, but then almost slipped over about five times on the path going down to the road (and DS did fall over), so I decided it might not be such a good idea unless I wanted to break a limb. The pavements seemed OK, but I can imagine they might be more slippery on parts of my route, and there was black ice warnings on the radio. It's just below freezing now, but I'm hoping that it will warm up slightly as the morning goes on so that I can get out in a couple of hours.

Sorry Nell, couldn't resist! No, no more blankets needed AFAIK; I was just trying to think of something that Pistey does other than drinking gin running (sorry Pistey if you're reading this - I'm sure I drink more than you do gin I just don't post about it on FB ).

Welcome brighthair! Would second the advice about stretching; I usually sometimes forget to do so but make sure that I always start my run with a brisk walk beforehand. I never had any real pain when I was doing C25k, but was very achy to start with and that does get much better.

Shredded Have a great trip and enjoy Thanksgiving. I am of all that lovely food. We got a 14 lb turkey free from the supermarket for our first American Thanksgiving; it kept DH going for months (I'm vegetarian).

This is for you, Shredded.

Ow ow ow this morning
Increasing all my weights to 25kg from 20kg may take a little getting used to

25 kg?

On the machines, not free weights!
Just for things like chest press

Ah, I see. Sort of. Can you tell I've only been to the gym about twice in my life about a decade ago?

Well i go every week , linzer, and im impressed. 20kg is my maximum not my minimum and i only lift 10kg on chest [wimp]

But i am planning to run this morning

Meant to say, i stretch after my warm up and again aftre i run. Im especially careful to do calves as this is also where i feel it the most

I think I would crush myself if I tried that weight with free weights!
I do chest press, pec fly, reverse fly, shoulder press, pull up, tricep dip, bicep curls, pull down and squats on a bosu ball

On the nails topic, anyone seen the models own beetlejuice collection? I even have spare cash to buy it, and it's sold out

Finally got out - but not a great run. It was fine for the first 3 km and I thought that the combination of resting and insoles was working, but then the top of my right thigh started to hurt. And then the whole leg started to feel tight, and by 4 km it was getting quite painful. I took a shortcut home and stopped short 400 m short of 5k.

It's different from the problems I was having with my knee before so I don't know whether it's a new or related problem. It doesn't hurt much now and I can walk up and downstairs with no problems, which I couldn't do before. I'll ask the doctor about it tomorrow but maybe I'll just have to stick to running 2 or 3 km for the time being.

Nails - yes, I must paint my nails. I fancy going dark again, so shall have to peruse my small but growing collection.

Well done on going out linzer, and at least yiu got 3km done ok. I m ni expert but i think that with legs and backs, if you injure one part you can end up with pains elsewhere becasue you are compensating for the injured part. Is there any chance yu coudl get advice from soemone who knwos about sports injuries?

I knwo my gp is of the " well whT do you ecpect at your age woman, you brought it on yourelsfl with all the ridiculous exercise,go and take up knitting" school of medicine. Whereas the chiropractor is a runner himself and good at treating injuries ( obviously only those in nis field IYSWIM)

Not sure if ive explIned that very well

Post run phase here but not smug as i cant get below 28 even though i am running ( albeit slowly) all the way now

Im not going to run tonight, i have tickets for the rugby so wont be home until about 9.30pm, plus i did body combat yesterday and have aching muscles where i didnt even know i had muscles

So i'll do my second run at the gym tomorrow, followed by third after work on sunday evening.

I had a gym class booked for tonight but I'm not going now. I will do day 2 tomorrow straight after work with both DC with me. I think I'm looking forward to it but that may change tomorrow!
I'll be using a park closer to home tomorrow and it won't be as dark either with a bit of luck.

Hey everyone,
Waves at mosschops, kid and brighthair.
Have moved house, my internet has been down, and have lost my way a bit with the running. It has literally taken me 3 weeks to do Week 7...
However am trying to get things back on track. Am very impressed that you've graduated babycham
Right, week 8 starts tomorrow - hope the weather improves - very dark and rainy up here.

Kristina I'm going to see my GP tomorrow and she said we'd talk about it then (it's the second part of my annual MOT), so I'll see what she says - she shares the practice with an orthopaedic sports specialist, so he might be a good person to ask too.

Have just noticed that the Garmin 405 is one of the Black Friday deals on Amazon - am quite tempted, depending on the price (it's available in about 15 minutes), although I'm wondering whether there's much point if I'm condemned to never running more than 2-3 km.

How did you get on at doctors linzer? And did you buy the garmin?

No running here today, its horrible weather, very wet and windy. Will go to gym to morrow instead

I didn't buy the Garmin in the end, partly because it cost 100 pounds (not a bad bargain if that's the actual model you want, but I wasn't sure and you can get some of the other models for 100 pounds anyway) and partly because I was still a bit depressed about my lack of running.

The doctor gave me quite a bit of advice (stretching before and after runs, rubbing gel into my legs after running, etc.) and thought it was reassuring that my knee was no longer hurting, but she said that if it's no better in 2-3 weeks - or if it gets any worse - then she'll refer me to an orthopaedic specialist. I'm not optimistic it will clear up on its own, but I'll try to get out a bit more regularly over the next weeks (although I'm going to be busy again with work next week) as it seems to have got worse since I stopped running regularly, and see if running shorter distances and building up gradually helps at all.

Sounds like you are feeling a bit more hopeful about it

Afternoon all,

Linzer - sounds like a good plan, build up again gradually. I sat and watched the end of the knee fitness class before my bad back class last night, some of the exercises they were doing looked quite useful, I will pm you with a few suggestions so as not to clutter up the thread.

Maybe - good luck with Week 8, hope your move went well

Well, PRSP here, found my running mojo again today (just need to hang onto it!). I decided to break out into the countryside proper for the first time and go off road, using a book of walks in the local area. It was a beautiful mild sunny day (can't believe it's the end of November) and I have been running through fields and climbing stiles, looking at lovely views and generally having a very enjoyable time. Was very slow overall, 5k in 50 mins, partly because of the hills (I had to have a couple of walking intervals) and partly because there seemed to be a stile or gate every couple of minutes but I feel as though I have had a good workout and can justify having a cake at the school cake sale later

Thank you WhoKnows, that would be great - the doctor also suggested doing some strengthening exercises, but I'm not really sure where to start (I must have a look on the Internet when I have a bit more time). Glad you've rediscovered your running mojo; you definitely deserve some cake.

Kristina Yes, I'm definitely feeling more positive about it all today and at least I know I can go and see someone if it doesn't improve.

Linzer I think building up gradually is the way to go. If you over do it and are in a lot of pain, you won't want to run at all and thats no good!

Whoknows well done on your run, 5k is still 5k so thats great. The scenery on your run sounds beautiful, I am jealous. I live in central London so not a field in sight! Enjoy the cake, you deserved it.

Kristine I don't blame you for not wanting to run in the rotten weather. I reckon we'll have a lot more horrible weather soon. I think I'll run in anything except extreme heat and snow. I don't mind the rain, it would keep my cool (once I had been running a while and who knows, the streets and parks might be deserted!)

Maybe good luck with week 8. I'm finding week 1 hard enough, can't imagine coping with week 8!

Brighthair, how are the muscles after the increased weights?

I know I've not replied to everyone on the thread but I've just scrolled through some of the last ones to try and get to know people a bit more.

I went out for my second run tonight and took both DC with me. DS (9yo) didn't even do the first minute run with us, DD gave up after the second minute of running so I did the rest on my own. I felt a bit self conscious with all the people walking past the park looking at me but I carried on regardless. It was quite hard at times but I am so glad I did it.
I only stopped aching today from Wednesdays run!

Next day for me will be Sunday or Monday, I haven't decided yet as I have a gym class on Monday and figured it might be a bit hard. I'll see how I feel on Sunday.

I think the c25k is amazing and so achieveable. I have never run in my life yet I am managing to complete each session without killing myself completely. I think if I can do it, anyone can!