More Couch to 5k encouragement!

[PrincessWatermelon]

I hope it's ok starting a new thread. I found the last one so encouraging and didn't want it to stop!!

Also, have to share I've just done W6R3 - my first 25 min run. Wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end, but kept moving (as Jo Whiley told me to) and did it!!

How are others getting on?

Murmurur migraines are the pits. Mine are generally visual only, but I still get the hangover feeling and not sure powering through them really helps. Dehydration is a big trigger for me.

Hope you feel better soon.

I did it! Although I managed 5km the other day in 40 mins, today I only managed to go for 35 mins. Nevermind I'm going to try and run for 40 mins 3x a week and work on doing 5km consistently.

Yay!

I’ve been watching this thread without posting, but I really need some support today. I live in a hilly area, and completed week 5 run 3 on Friday, the first 20 minute one. I chose a route with slightly more downhill than up to give myself the best chance of getting around it, and managed to cover 4.5km. I thought I was doing so well but my family have all teased me and said I was ‘cheating’ to choose the easier route. So today I tried W6R1 the other way round, with more uphill than down. And I failed. Badly. I had to stop at the halfway point. I got to the top of the big hill, and then I got an awful cramp in my knee (which is a bit dodgy sometimes due to being crushed between a horse and a gatepost last year). I stopped running and my ankle tipped over. I tried to walk a bit and then get going again but I couldn’t do it. I’m not badly hurt but my leg feels very stiff and I couldn’t carry on, and I’ve just limped home feeling really shit about myself.

I’m trying to get fit and healthy in preparation for IVF and I just feel so crap right now, like an absolute failure.

I know it's easier said than done but IGNORE YOUR FAMILY! What absolute twats .

I plan all my runs based on them being as flat as possible. This programme is designed to get you running for 30 minutes - nothing about downhill, uphill, flat, zigzag being of any importance.

You are doing GREAT - you did the 20 minutes!!! That's a major achievement.

Maybe give yourself a couple of days rest and then redo W6 R1 using the (sensible!) route you chose for W5 R3?

God I'm so angry for you. Why can't people be supportive, or if they really can't just keep quiet?

@The3rdWatermelon how horrible of your family! It's hard enough to motivate yourself with the negative attitudes of others. I did similar on my first 5 minute run and it was a real mental positive. The plan is not based on you running uphill it's based on it being flat and it's about running for a period of time.

I also live in a hilly area there are no flat bits and I have bought a second had treadmill for when the weather is bad. I fully intend to attempt my first 20 min run on the treadmill because i know it will be flat!!

That's awful of them to tease you. Couch to 5k is about just getting through it. It's already pushing you hard, you don't need additional challenge. I avoid hills like the plague!

Don't write the second one off- it wasn't a fail- but it was a hill session whereas C25k is about building endurance. The hill session will still have done you some good even if it wasn't on your plan.

And tell your family to mind their own!

I don't think avoiding the hills does you any favours (unless you live in, say, Borrowdale and the "hills" are Scafell and Great Gable ) C25k is not "based on it being flat." That's nonsense. It's about getting you running to 5k on the terrain where you live and where you want to be able to run.

While it was cruel of your family to tease you, @The3rdWatermelon, perhaps - in the kindest possible way - maybe you are overthinking the hills a bit. If you hit a hill, you should aim to keep the same intensity/effort, but not the same pace. So it's natural to go slower on the way up and faster on the way down. Avoiding them makes hills seem harder than they are, and means you don't progress or gain strength as quickly. Hills are excellent training.

I say this as someone who avoided hills like the plague while I did c25k, and it got me into really bad habits. I naturally avoided hills for months afterwards as I'd mentally built them up as being "harder." Far better to incorporate them from the start, and just adjust your effort levels accordingly, then end up in a place where you can run 5k but only on the flat ..!!

I don't think it is nonsense, hills can be tackled when you're stamina has built up a bit. Trying and failing to run up hills is a poor motivator in the early weeks.

I agree you don't need to be one extreme or the other, but she said that she had deliberately chosen an easy route as it was already going to be a challenging endurance run for her, and her family teased her. By all means incorporate hills if you like, but choosing a run because it's flat is a legitimate choice as well.

Eliud Kipchoge chose his sub two marathon route because it was
flat!

Eliud Kipchoge chose his sub two marathon route because it was
flat!

Haha, can't blame him!! I've picked flat courses for PB efforts too (though clearly not 2hr marathons )

Was just trying to make the point that c25k isn't about speed, it's about getting you used to running. And incorporating hills from the start makes it so much easier in the long run .. pun intended!

@needmybuttkickedintoshape amazing, congratulations!!

@sleepyhead thank you xx

@the3rdwatermelon that is so crap of them. Family should be building you up, not knocking you down. A lot of this is about getting your head in the right place, and (a) your family are being massively unhelpful and (b) tackling routes in the direction that seems easier to you is a totally sensible thing to do when you are working up to running for a certain amount of time. I think working on one thing at a time is enough - time or distance or hills. In week 6 you are building up distance quite rapidly across the week, so don't add hills in at this point. In week 7 8 and 9 you are repeating the same run 3 times, so maybe run 3 of those weeks would be a better time to try. And if it takes you a couple of weeks longer because it's a bit much, who cares in the grand scheme of things?

Does anyone have any recommendations for apps/online video series that cover strength/flexibility training?

I want to try taking the 30 minutes on non-run days for tackling something like that but I tried the NHS Strength & Flex podcast and I was lost within minutes - plus I don't really want something that involves walking around as I'll be doing it indoors in my fairly small living room.

I'd particularly like to build up some strength to go along with increased aerobic fitness.

I did the beginners' Yoga with Adriene session at lunchtime and that felt good so I might stick with her if no-one's got anything else that works well for them.

Congratulations @Needmybuttkickedintoshape What's next?

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn it will probably help to think of it as dropping from 21 minutes total moving time to 20 minutes. healthunlocked.com/couchto5k/posts/139255210/week-5-myths-busted?responses=139257886 is recommended reading!

@sleepyhead you could try James Dunne's 30 day challenge - strength and flexibility work aimed at runners. I find it a bit much to do everyday but doing it on non-running days seems to work. Adrienne is good too - I like her Runner's yoga video.

@The3rdWatermelon sorry your family are being so unsupportive. I hope they're running up mountains every weekend! Hills do require a bit extra in strength and technique so it's good to get to a point where you don't feel you have to avoid them but not when you're already challenging yourself. I found as my runs lengthened I naturally started doing more hills, though even then I chose a nice flat route for W9R3 because I wanted to go for 5k!

I completed wk8r3 this morning, but it was really hard going. I’m wondering if it’s supposed to be like this or if I’m just a bit shit. I haven’t found any of the runs particularly easy and I’m not going very fast (just over 4km in 28 minutes). I have to say I haven’t really enjoyed wk8 like I did the other weeks and I’m wondering if I should move onto wk 9 or repeat. I’m thinking another 2 minutes isn’t much, but I’m knackered after 28!

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks @UnaOfStormhold I completed it this morning!! I am stupidly pleased with myself. 5 weeks ago I was struggling to breathe after a 60 second run and never thought I'd get to this point. I am absolutely knackered now though as I have been awake since 4.30am.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn I specifically looked for a c25k thread because I did Wk5r2 today and was wondering how on earth I was going to move to day 3 on Thursday! It is such a huge jump!
So I am very encouraged to hear that you made it. Was it hard? Did you hit a hurdle half way or did it just get progressively harder?
I'm so scared!

Also does anyone else laugh at Laura's friendly encouragement "Make sure not to go too fast" Laura believe me that is not a problem! I only have little legs and am a chubster so not exactly whizzing along like Usain Bolt. Yesterday I was outpaced by an elderly gent with a walking stick.....

@thevassal I tried to go into it with a positive attitude and kind of took five minutes at a time 10 - 15 minutes was the hardest but once I hit 15 I thought It can do this!’ And had a fresh drive, the last minute was a bit hard work but I was over the moon when I was done. Good (Loud) music helps, as PP recommended Proud Mary is a corker to get you through the last leg. Good luck with run 3, you can do it! 🏃🏼‍♀️

And take it slow and steady.

Oh sorry just saw your second post! 😄

Well done @JustHereWithMyPopcorn - it's such a milestone that it's great to have achieved that 20 min run. Be warned - many ppl struggle with week 6 going back to intervals again. Your mind tells you it's easy, but it's longer on your feet.

@thevassal you got this 

@HamishDent I'm not sure I really enjoyed that many of my runs, tbh. It was more gritting my teeth to get through. There was definitely achievement and a sense of a job well done. But even now, about 4 weeks post-graduation I still don't find it easy to run for 30 mins.
And for the record - that's a bloody good pace you've got going on! 4K in 28 mins is a pace of 7min/km. That's good going. I'd be inclined to suggest that if it really is that hard to slow down more. It really doesn't seem helpful to think that most people can do 5k in 30 mins. I'm on another running group and there's generally much excitement if anyone posts a sub-30 min 5k time. I'm almost there, but not quite!! (Aiming for it on Thurs )

Did 6k today, including my mean hill. Have settled into 3 days running a week - one longer one, one hill and one more gentle one, although I think I ought to include intervals somewhere.

@PrincessWatermelon Don’t tell me that it’s going to be harder! 😮 What’s the reasoning behind going back to intervals of running do you know?

Week six starts increasing the total moving time again and so mixing in a walking interval smooths the transition.

[quote thevassal]@JustHereWithMyPopcorn I specifically looked for a c25k thread because I did Wk5r2 today and was wondering how on earth I was going to move to day 3 on Thursday! It is such a huge jump!
So I am very encouraged to hear that you made it. Was it hard? Did you hit a hurdle half way or did it just get progressively harder?
I'm so scared! [/quote]

I know exactly what you mean!! I genuinely didn't think I could do it either. I gave up where you are last year as I couldn't get through the mental block. This year I was more determined and did it!! It was actually ok!! I had the problem again this year at 25 mins (W6R3) and failed when I first tried it (couldn't do more than 12.5 mins) so went back a couple of runs and repeated those a few times until I managed 25 mins straight yesterday. Was amazed!!

Have a go at 20 mins. You might be surprised!! If you can't, repeat some previous runs and then have another go :) good luck!