Couch to 5k- Cage your inner chimp and get started!

[cinnamongreyhound]

A thread for those thinking of starting, just starting, making good progress or finish the c25k. For all abilities and stages, come and join us for support and advice, we're a lovely bunch!

Old thread

Parkruns sound great, I'm yet to do one but my friend is on the organising team for our local PR. I'll do one when I can run 5k straight!

Need to get my walk intervals down. Might try 90sec walk 2min run next run (tomorrow). X trainer session tonight.

Do the rest of you do any other workout stuff alongside your running?

Can anybody recommend a C25K app (android) with the following features:

• lets you listen to music through a playlist. Ideally pauses the music at the end of the run and unpauses it at the same place next time. I sometimes listen to audiobooks.

• Logs things like speed, distance, map etc - not fussed what, but I want some stats so I can see myself improving and the map is quite cool!

• Doesn't interrupt your music with a long spiel about "Last interval you ran X blah de blah and 3 x pace and digital y and z" because I'm not particularly interested in it giving me stats on the go and it interrupts my music/story especially if it doesn't pause and just lowers the volume.

• Quite like the feature that tells you when you're halfway.

I prefer to do time rather than distance.

Any suggestions?? Great if they are free of course but I don't mind paying a little bit if it ticks all the boxes.

NDP I go swimming as well when I get to the pool in time. Our local one was closed today :(

Improvements, Berstie or just closed?

I'm an iPhone user and use(d) the 10k runner app by clearsky apps, I don't know if they do an android version but both their 5k & 10k runner apps are good on iPhone, so worth checking if they have done an Android version. Also try asking on some of the running forums. I find runningbug to be quite helpful & welcoming of newbies

No by the time I got there they'd started doing lessons instead of being open to the public.

It's a Friday night and I'm sitting in my running gear waiting for DH to get back from work so I can go out (DS is having an illness induced early night). This is very strange for me as I would usually be on my second rum by now.

Aiming for a 3k after my first 5k victory yesterday.

Yay, chirpchirp. Did you get your 3k?

I did a 3k too, tonight (after a 5k last night). My knees are feeling it though so I went easy and have applied the old Voltarol gel [ouch]. Think I'll take the weekend off and maybe do a couple of low impact swims instead to rest it.

I have had a rum (Rumbullion on ice). V nice.

I did NPD, and now also enjoying a cheeky kraken with lime.

How long have you been hitting 5k for? Hoping to do my second on Sunday. I'll be running with a friend so hoping that might be make it easier.

Did you do the park run iwish?

Did my fist post-graduation run this morning and found it a slog to do 30 min! I think I need the motivation of a programme to keep going. Bit daunted by the pace of the 5+ interval ones though...
Do people recommend the speed, stamina or stepping stone one first??

oops first

Well done for getting out chirpchirp, I almost never run on a Friday!

The only thing I can suggest is endomondo/mapmyrun/run keeper for distance/speed, 5k runner app for your c25k stop and starts and then pausing your own music/audio books BerstieSpotts.

Did my 18th parkrun today and got a pb by 15 seconds :)

Sorry Iwearblack x-posts! I didn't do any so can't suggest but I did struggle at times with just going out for 30mins. I used an app on my phone so I could see distance and tried to beat myself :)

Sorry Iwearblack x-posts! I didn't do any so can't suggest but I did struggle at times with just going out for 30mins. I used an app on my phone so I could see distance and tried to beat myself :)

Ran 6.3 km in the rain today, including 6 x 20 sec intervals of fast running, quite proud of self as, although I ran outdoors all last winter, I used to avoid going out in the wet - very nesh! But I did it today and I enjoyed it.

I've also walked 5 km with the DSs (or two of them, anyway) so am quite weary now and looking forward to lighting the wood burner, watching Strictly, and pouring a beer

Yes, I did it

31.47 which I'm fairly pleased with. It was pouring with rain the whole way through and was only 6 degrees.

Iwearblack. The stepping stone and speed 5+ podcasts are good - quite do-able but a good challenge. I haven't been brave enough to try the stamina one yet, I've been warned not to rush into doing it!

Morning all. Haven't posted for a while because I haven't run for a while

My excuse is my new job - no longer working for myself/from home does make it difficult to get the runs in, especially as it's dark in the morning/evening when I can run, and I'm really not keen on running in the park when it's dark.

But today is a beautiful day here, so I'm going to venture out today. And then I'm also going to work out a road route around here that is manageable. The last time I went out I struggled to do my 5K, and my time was 34 minutes, 5 minutes slower than my PB - perhaps not surprising, as I haven't been out regularly - and I have to say I didn't really enjoy it. So I'm considering doing a couple of 20 minute runs each week and then trying to do a 30 minute one at the weekend and see how that works. (I've also gone back to 2 sessions per week with my trainer at the gym, so need to work out how to fit it all in alongside my job!)

Hi ladies,

Any suggestions?
Like BIWI, I've not done much exercise recently (graduated over the summer, kept it up, and then then last 7 weeks have just been one mass of illness and work trips.) Managed to get out today (second time in maybe 2 months?), and with the remains of a cold.
Just stuck on the week 9, knowing full well I might not make it. Ran 10 mins, did lots of walk a bit, run a bit mins 10-20, and then ran most of the last 10 mins very slowly.
So, what should I do? Stick with 30 mins, and try and reduce the walking? Or go back several weeks to the 8-10 min runs, and get back to doing those? Thoughts?

Well done to all of you fitting in running with all the rain, ice and dark nights.

A club runner has suggested I should carry an alarm if I'm solo running at night, so I've ordered one. Anyone else run with an alarm?

Just did W7R2. First time in age I've run without the buggy. God, it was hard work! Much harder than the last run. Been trying to figure out what was different but really not sure. Never mind, we struggle ever onwards

Did 5.3 km in 35 mins. Am now onto Wk 4 of the 10k training plan!

Iwish - that's a really good time for 5 k!

Thanks pirate. My aim is to get it down to 30 minutes. I've not actually run 5k before, the c25k has got me to 4.6k in 30 minutes so it was a good achievement really! I won't be able to go to Parkrun again for another month so that'll give me time to keep at the longer runs and gain a bit more fitness.

I run alone in the dark, but along well lit streets. I don't carry an alarm, and I have both headphones in. I've never really considered that I might be at risk tbh. Food for thought. Where have you ordered your alarm from next?

Well I managed a bit of a faster time - 32.19. Would probably have been a bit faster were it not for the fact that it was very muddy and boggy in parts of the park, and I had to walk through a little bit of it to make sure I didn't slip into the river!

So I was pleased overall.

Well done IwishIwasmoreorganised!

Personally nextphase I'd be tempted to go for continuous running and try to get to 15mins and then 20 and so on but I do believe a lot of it is your mind not your body not being able to do it. You have to do what you're comfortable with though.

I rarely run on my own without my dogs and I think they're enough of a deterrent. If I was without dogs id be on well lot paths in residential areas, I skip the industrial estate bit oft run if my friend isn't with me.

Ran 5k this morning - not as fast as Wednesday but decided I was going to just run and not check my time at all :) did it in 29 minutes 35 seconds.

Am going away later today (for work) and will be staying with my mum and dad. Can't decide whether to take running stuff with me as have t commute into London while I'm there and will I realistically run at all....

Morning,

I did another 5k at the weekend but was a little slower. I've been feeling a bit achy so took it easy. I probably should rest up but I'm really scared that if I ease off at all I will lose momentum and either not be able to get started again or simply give up. I know as I lose weight it will get easier (got about 5-6 stone to lose) so just powering through at the moment. Very impressed with some of the times you guys are hitting.

I did a 3km this morning before work which I can fit in three times a week and if I can't bring myself to leave the house to the freezing/raining/snowing mornings I have the shred on back up.