Couch to 5K- join us if you dare, running is highly addictive!!

[cinnamongreyhound]

Another thread for us long termers and a new one for those just starting. Whatever stage you're at come and join us for lots of advice and moral support.

Old thread here

scarecrow I also have a ten-week old (today!) DS and a DD (3 yo). I've just completed week 1. I've found it easier to go at 7.30pm when both DC are in bed and it's the longest possible time before DS needs BF!

Quite disappointed that today is not a run day, but I am taking all of your advice and sticking to the 'rest' days. Eager to start week 2 tomorrow, though!

To those of you who do park runs, a few questions please.

Do you do these in addition to your C25K runs or as one of your 3 weekly runs?

How old are your DC that "run" with you?

Both hubby and me are on week 2 and we both use a treadmill. I would love to see if a park run would be suitable for us to do as a family. Might be a challenge wit a rather lazy DS of 13 and an 11yr old DD with Down Syndrome!

I think the folks who do park run have already finished c25k but if you wanted to try and go while doing c25k I think you would use it as one of your scheduled workouts, although remember it is likely to be a longer route than you would need for most of the programme.

Thank you gingerpinz. I cannot see that DD would be able to follow the structure of C25K so we would have to perhaps take it in turns to "run" with her...and follow something more freestyle. lol

I ran parkrun. Whooooo hooooo. Last by a million miles (apart from the poor tail runner who has to watch my plodding arse all the way round . I did warn her at the start!

Despite being slooooow, I am delighted. The course was way hillier than I'd expected. Alarm bells should have been ringing when I found a runners world thread that described the course as 'unlikely for your PB, but not suicidal'.

Well done to everyone taking their first steps into running,rediscovering their love for running, clocking up the sessions on c25k or fully fledged runners like meeeeeeeee.

Park run might work for you then Dingle. It is pretty informal and there are people of all sorts of ages/abilities/fitness etc. I've seen people walk the whole way and lots of folk doing a mixture of walking and jogging so you could maybe just try something like that...run for as long as you can then walk for a bit then run again, depending on what suits your daughter. My 5 year old DS ran 1 lap of the 3 lap course at one of our local ones with my sister recently and there were other children around his age doing it too. It really is very inclusive and supportive...definitely worth giving it a go if it appeals to you.

Fantastic ItsNotUnusual, well done!

hahahaha! I just finished w3r3, got back in the car and turned on the radio, on Radio 5. They are at the athletics meet at Gateshead, and the first thing I heard was
"well, you like as though you've been running at this level a lot longer than you have"

Thank you very much radio presenter, didn't know I looked so good!

Finally got Wk2 Run2 done after a four day break.

I was scheduled to run on Thursday but I had to give it a miss. I had a routine mammogram & breast ultrasound on Wednesday, which turned out not to be quite so routine when they told me they needed to do a biopsy. I was a bit swollen & sore afterwards for a couple of days & didn't fancy running, even with the most supportive sports bra on! The doctor is fairly certain everything is fine & I will get confirmation in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, I did the run this morning & I think the longer break did me good because it went very well - surprisingly easy in fact.

I also seem to have inspired my teenage boys to start running, which I am very happy about. They are all tall & skinny, but don't play any sport & are not particularly fit. DS1 (19) runs quite regularly, DS2 (18) started C25K last week, & DS3 (15) started this morning. Like me, they are doing it on the treadmill to start with. Of course they are much faster than I am! I hope they keep it up.

I wish there were park runs where I am, they sound brilliant.

Looked up Parkruns near me and there are a few within about twenty minutes of me, so that's something to aim for!

Oh goodness, Drama - fingers crossed that everything is fine.

Just back from W3/R2 - found it a bit harder today for some reason; I had eaten which is unusual - usually I run in a fasted state, so perhaps that's why. But it's only 4 runs altogether, so it was fine.

I did my first full 5K run today - well it ended up at 5.2K because of the combination of apps I use. I am using my C25K app to time 30 mins for me, but also using MapMyRun to record my route and distance. It is a bit of a fiddle, because the MapMyRun app has to run in the background to my c25k app, and by the time I had got them set up properly and my phone back into my armband, I must have lost about 30 seconds. I therefore knew that I had not run for a full 30 mins when my c25k app told me I had. In fact, just after it told me I had, MapMyRun told me I was on 29 mins and had run 4.8km. I then ran on for a bit as I wanted to try to record a full 5k time, but slightly overestimated.

I ended up with the 5.2k in 31.5 mins, which I am pretty pleased with. I would like to have done it under 30 mins, but my route today did include two hills- the first one reasonably steep.

I am so chuffed! To think that back in January I was struggling with the 90 seconds runs.

My DS is 10 and DD is 8. I started my DS started first and when he became confident, DD started. However, DD is a little more hit and miss. She likes to volunteer.

I complete C25K before I did a parkrun, but really that is not necessary. If you can walk 5K, you can do a parkrun. And your Bps will just get better and better.

Drama - hope all goes ok. Fingers crossed.

Those of you whose DCs run - did you have to force encourage them or did they want to themselves? I'm desperate to get DS to do it. He is not fit and doesn't really like sports except football but he even gave that up when the coach made them do laps to warm up! He gets put off stuff at school very easily and I think a lot of it is his general fitness level. So I think it would be so good for him to do C25k over the summer with me and start back at school much fitter.

Any tips to get him to run with me?

Thistledew - I know exactly what you mean with all the fumbling around! I do that too - get my music going, start Get Running, then when the 5 minute warm up is on, start running, try to start MapMyRun and then fiddle around trying to get my phone back into my waistband bag!

Wow I've missed loads!!

Sorry dementedma, could be that it was early and you didn't have enough energy or weren't hydrated enough? I'm sure the crowd will be great at getting you through tomorrow!

Well done Dingle, Ciderwithbudda, bakingnovice, SneezySnatcher, babysocksneverstayon, pollydon, showmethemummy, scarecrow22, ItsNotUnusualToBe, Thistledew and sarahandduck!

Welcome Trazzletoes :)

Sorry to hear that eminemmerdale we lost our dog a month ago and it's very hard :(

I didn't do a parkrun until after I finished c25k Dingle but there's no reason why you couldn't and use it as one of your runs of the week. It's really for everyone and anyone so go for it!! My dc are too small to take with me.

Sorry you had a painful one pennygallops but glad you finished. I am run director on 6th July, lucky it wasn't today as I didn't even get there to run. Billy (new dog) bit me quite badly Friday afternoon so we had to take him back today :(. It's been a tough time and my arm and finger are quite painful, hopefully it won't affect me running and ill go tomorrow when I'm not so emotional!!

Well done for getting out DramaAlpaca, sorry to hear about your stressful time. Hope that all is well :)

Busy old day in here!

Sorry to hear about Billy cinnamon, I hope your run manages to cheer you a bit. And not hurt your arm any more.

Well I was due to go for a run tonight but I have been on my feet all day wearing only a pair of pumps, and the plantar fasciatis is threatening to reappear this evening. BUGGER.

I'm so impressed at running 10 weeks after birth. I was a zombie then!

I've got wk 2 run 3 tomorrow. Dreading the leap to 3 mins from 90seconds in a few days time. Very encouraging to hear from those further ahead though.

Hi everyone. Marking my place again. I've done 2 runs of wk 1 this week, plus 2 hours of cycling and my legs ache! I feel good afterwards though. Planning to squeeze a run in by getting up early tomorrow then hopefully can stick to Tue/Thur/Sat next week. I thought I'd find wk 1 easy and shocked to find that actually I am so unfit that 60s is a bit of a challenge.

thankyou or encouragement ladies. DH never gets why I'm tired and the little achievements like not ling din on the pavement to sleep some days so nice to feel a teeny hut of understanding!

sneezy well done on finishing W1. Fun to have a run buddy. I also BF but DS not fussed within two hours so was able to get out, leaving DH strict instructions to keep him awake! I too wish could run again tomorrow but will take toddler swimming instead

Race for life to tomorrow. Started c25k in April and struggled with the first week. Map my Run tells me I have logged 30 workouts since then. If I don't get found tomorrow it won't be for want of trying!

Round, not found!

Did my first run this evening. It was ok. Even though I made the mistake of running for 90 resting for 60 I made it back to my couch safely.

Good luck for tomorrow, demented! I'm sure you will be fine.

Good luck today Demented - what an inspiration you are this those of us just starting out