C25k / couch to 5k - Spring 2019 new starters. All welcome!

[C25kTrier]

Hello to anyone who wants to join me over here

A few of us tagged onto the end of the new year/new you c25k gang but they were already at the end or had finished and so perhaps it is best for us to have a new one to discuss our newbie woes, aches and pains?

I’m at the beginning of week 3. Just been out again today, I should’ve done W3R2 but repeated w3r1 instead as I wasn’t comfortable last time, I think I took it too fast. Plus, it is ruddy boiling here today! It went much better and i’ll move on to w3r2 on Sunday.

Please join me, say hi and let us know where you are on the programme and update us on how you’re finding it.

[Pardalis]

Hello everyone!

I've just started. First run yesterday although have changed apps so second run today is first one but will do 4 this week - I will probably need this extra week one anyway.
Happily surprised that my second was easier, marginally. I had a better recover time. Although I did get pelted with hailstones on the way home!

I'm running on soft ground in the woods which is helping, especially as my trainers are crap. Definitely going to buy new this weekend. At the moment I can't imagine running (slow jogging) for 2 minutes let alone anymore. But I trust the programme - I have determination and the stories from all of you help.

I am also incredibly fat. Focusing for once on fitness and not weightloss. Hoping one will encourage the other. I was a fit teen and pretty fit in my twenties. I'm relying on muscle memory!!!

[CurlsandCurves]

W2R2 complete!

Went with my friend and her dogs to the local park, so now I’ve got wet feet. I definitely prefer road running as opposed to the park which is all lumpy bumpy, I struggle to keep my balance and pace as I’m concentrating on where to move, avoiding bumps, holes, molehills, etc.

Going to see how I go on Friday before deciding whether to move on to week 3 or repeat week 2.

[GirlRaisedInTheSouth]

I am going to start on the 15th when I finish my current work assignment. So I’m just marking my place so I know where you all are .

[C25kTrier]

We’ll be here @GirlRaisedInTheSouth

I need to get off my lazy arsington and finish week 3. Right. Checking this thread has motivated me. Off to put my phone on charge and get changed. I’ll report back.

[HeavensToTenby]

YY to Michael always sounding 'a bit disappointed'! I keep imagining him in the recording studio, having to do take after take of the line, 'You've run for five minutes - you're doing really well!' until it's not dripping with sarcasm.

I've got Week 5 Run 1 coming up tonight. This is probably the seventh time I've done C25K over the last five years - it really is amazing how it works. My problem's always been carrying on with the routine of running after I get to Week 8 or so thanks, British weather.

[Fazackerley]

I keep imagining him in the recording studio, having to do take after take of the line, 'You've run for five minutes - you're doing really well!' until it's not dripping with sarcasm

Ha ha ha that made me lol. Exactly what I thought.

I have week 6 r 2 today and Monday's was so hard i am dreading it.

[downcasteyes]

Ooooh, just found this thread! I'm neary at the end of week 6 - the 3 x 25 minute runs.

I have to say, I think the programme is absolutely brilliant. I've tried to start running many times previously, and I've always ended up injured because I've bitten off more than I can chew. For the first time in ages I'm running for nearly half an hour injury free. I can't believe it! Totally delighted.

[HeavensToTenby]

Week 6 runs are a bit weird, I find - you're on such a high from Week 5 Run 3's 20 mins that going back to running, then walking, then running again feels harder. As soon as you go back to straight running, it's not so bad. For me, that brief relief of walking makes starting again harder; it's easier to turn off that side of my brain altogether and just plod on for seven songs (or however long 20 mins is).

[downcasteyes]

Just realised that I'm on week 7, not week 6! 3 x 25 minutes! Apologies for the confusion!!

I actually found the opposite heavens - but I think this is because I have an inherently lazy psychology! I like the idea that I can stop and walk for a bit . The first 20 minute run made me feel really, really anxious - I genuinely started thinking "I can't do this" and then surprised myself.

[Fazackerley]

The first 20 minute run made me feel really, really anxious

Me too but I did it at park run. Walked the first 5 mins then ran for 20. Walked the cool down then ran the last 1k. I think the adrenaline of park run made it easier.

[HeavensToTenby]

Sorry, downcast - I was slow in replying to Fazackerley above! Congratulations on getting to Week 7: that's the point where you suddenly realise what you've managed to do, and can't quite believe it!

I like walking too much; if I know I can walk, it makes running harder, somehow. Like my brain's constantly tapping the inside of my head and going, Why aren't we walking? We can walk, right? The last couple of times I've done this (!) I've run Wk5 R3 two or three times, and then gradually added a minute or two on at the end for each run until I'm running about 25 mins. And then autumn happens. Or, if I've started early, a heatwave.

[downcasteyes]

Fazackerley - I've never done park run, but I can totally imagine having other people there being helpful.

Heavens - hahahaha! I know what you mean about the weather! This will be your time - we're surely not due either apocalyptic snowfall or a heatwave for a few weeks!

[ashleyh]

Hi, I am doing my own c5k( very basic rules: remove butt from couch move until 5 k finished) and I can’t find music to run to- any advice? Also tech stuff like fitness watch, running gear etc? I currently run on treadmill as too worried I will stop at park run and cry🙄

[downcasteyes]

They are often horrific in taste terms, but you can get mixes of music at the right number of beats per minute for your heartrate or stride. I don't use music at the moment, but I used to and I think it does help a bit! Information on how to calculate it here:

lifehacker.com/find-the-right-bpm-for-your-perfect-running-playlist-wi-5927390

[MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours]

i might dab in and out of here too if it's okay....I already did C25k but on the cross trainer, as previously I have attempted it IRL out in public on real roads and had terrible ankles for MONTHS so the cross trainer has meant no anklybother at all

so I am starting over on the treadmill after a couple of weeks of malingering

I did think I would try a different app, I have the NHS one, and downloaded Zen, but the voice on that was far too keen and I deleted it before she had even got to the end of her sentence.

I like Sarah Millican and Jo Wiley best. Sarah is very encouraging, but Jo really believes I can do it, so I tend to stick with her now.

[Lemontwist]

Well done @CurlsandCurves. I'm just about to do mine now. Intended to run this morning but the baby wasnt cooperating!

[C25kTrier]

MsMighty, you can turn all voice things off on Zen. You can have it giving fullsome encouragement and halfway marker notes, just walk/run commands, or nothing at all (just vibrate for next walk/run section). I opt for the ‘just walk/run’ prompts version and my own music/podcast.

NB, I didn’t end up going out. It started absolutely pouring down and so I’ll either pop out later or go tomorrow. I’ve got an hour long exercise class later, so it’ll probably be tomorrow.

[MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours]

oh I couldn't bear it trier, never mind work through the settings! She was too awful.

I just have the radio on, and c25k piping up, and I practise my NEaccent if I have SarahMIlican egging me on.

[Cfs83]

Hello! So glad to see this thread. I did c25k last spring and was amazed with how much it improved my general fitness and mood. I would never have believed I was capable of running for 30min continuously yet I completed the programme by June. Unfortunately I fell off the wagon after an injury (nothing to do with the running) and then never quite got back in the zone over winter so am back to (not quite ) square one. I jumped in yesterday with w4r1 and managed ok, I think I guessed right as it was tough to finish but I didn't have to stop. Hips ache pretty badly today but I remember that from last time and it eased off after a couple of weeks.

Anyway, glad to hear of so many others around about the same stage and I can promise you, I had never run for more than a minute or so before doing this and I made it to the end, it's such a good programme!

[JPduck]

Wk3 R2 done today. V happy with run, only complaint is my playlist! It worked perfectly for wk1&2 as nice mix of upbeat and chilled music to match walk / Run. Tonight's job is new playlist.
What good songs do you run to?

[C25kTrier]

So frustrating, it’s permanently pouring down here and I feel like I’m coming down with a cold

I’ll have to back to back end of w3 & beginning of w4 tomorrow. Ffs

[C25kTrier]

Right. Rain is off, so I’m taking advantage and nipping out

[dementedma]

I'm on the other thread but wanted to say I "graduated" tonight and finished Week 9 run 3. i can't believe I am the same person who struggled back in January with Week 1. I am 55, overweight and asthmatic and I can run for over 30 minutes now. You CAN do this. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until the voice tells you to stop.
i was terrified of the "big" run at Week 5 but actually found Week 6 harder, and also stalled a while at week 8. Keep going everyone!!!

[C25kTrier]

That’s it. Week 3 over. I’m glad I duplicated a run, w3 feels like a step up. I feel like I can start w4 pretty confidently now.

I’ll probably do the same for w4. Run four times, repeating one of the runs. It seems to set me up for the next block.

Sometimes I don’t listen to music, most of the time I listen to podcasts. There are loads of ‘music to run to’ type compilation albums available. If I listen to music, I listen to music I like, rather than specifically music that’s the right pace for me. If the track is much too fast or too slow, I do skip it though.

[C25kTrier]

Congratulations Demented