C25k get your encouragement here.

[StripyHorse]

As the last thread has been going so well, with graduates aplenty, here's a new thread for encouragement. Everyone is welcome!

Puce with rage and exertion

Can I join? Desperate to complete c25k! I usually bail at week 3 lol!

Go for it Regina - are you starting at the beginning?

@LakeFlyPie yep, I'll start from the beginning again

I need to do week 9 run 1 today.
I'm struggling to access my treadmill so it's a toss up between maybe having to wait til tomorrow or braving the great outdoors 😳

@Ikeameatballs well done! I knew you could do it

It's great to read so many updates from everyone too, especially the threshold runners realising they can physically run at whatever pace for 20+ minutes!

I've lost my 3 times a week momentum, life is attempting to sabotage me with all sorts of dramas but I'm getting out there for a 30 minute run once a week and as long as I can manage on the weekend in an effort to reach 5k (embarrassingly I only managed 36 minutes this week but there was substantial hill running so think that balances).

I will hit 5k!

Keep going all

I did it 😁
30 minutes and outside too.
Couch to 5K app crashed on me though so once I've "graduated" I'll be using timers.

Last September I started couch to 5k. I couldn't even run for one minute at first and when a few weeks later I managed to run for 17 solid minutes I was ecstatic, then a few weeks later did the 5k. It was hard, I was breathless, had stitch and everything hurt.

Two weeks ago I ran my first half marathon in under 3 hours. I NEVER thought I'd EVER be able to do that.

Don't give up, it's amazing when you start to progress and feel yourself getting fitter. Trust me if I can do it anyone can and I don't say that lightly.

I still can't believe how far I've come in a year.

Well done School Cook and Luceat- amazing achievements both.
V inspiring.
Did my 2nd 25 min plod this evening and found it a struggle (breathless despite v slow pace). Am hoping my stamina improves as my goal is to enjoy running and this evening was a struggle.

@LuceatLuxVestra that's incredible !!
@LakeFlyPie it gets easier the more you do it. Honestly I'm 45 and 30 minutes is the longest I've ever run in my whole life. When the app said 10 minutes at a time I thought I might die !
Today I feel like a real (slow) runner I'm so pleased with how far I've come.
Keep at it !

@LuceatLuxVestra, that’s fantastic!

@schoolcook well done, 2 more runs to graduation!

I went out last night and did just under 5k. What stopped me was this horrible tightening of the muscles in my right buttock and thigh. It wasn’t exactly painful but it was unpleasant and felt almost as if my right leg wasn’t working properly. A bit of a google later and I’m pretty sure it’s piriformis syndrome where a muscle in my right buttock is irritating my sciatic nerve. I’m going to need to look at stretches and exercises that can help.

Thanks @Ikeameatballs but it will be 3 as the app disconnected and didn't record the run !

Ouch hope you get that sorted soon.

W8R2 done this morning in storm Barbara - do you get extra points when your clothes are so soaked they're heavy at the end ? I have been drier in the shower I think. It was surprisingly good fun once I was warm though.

Well done @schoolcook and @LakeFlyPie!
When do you think you want to start @ReginaaPhalange?

@MutteringDarkly my eldest daughter and I were out in the rain at 6am this morning. I don't think I would have been wetter if I'd jumped in the river on my way past although probably smellier!

DD can run in a waterproof so she's not too bad but I overheat in just a Tshirt, even in this weather.

We definitely get bonus points for wet weather running

Well done on getting W8R2 done. Almost at graduation now!

Glad I wasn't the only one. Even the postman looked at me as if I were bonkers! Trainers still soaked after a day beside the radiator... but yes, strange to think 4 runs to the end of the programme.

Lots of people nearing the end - amazing! justcallmegriffin definitely extra points for running in the pouring rain. I got out This morning after a week of just not getting it together and got a ‘freebie’ in that I got to the end and could have carried on. Definitely feeling more comfortable about pacing. Half term coming up so hoping to get back into more frequent runs. DH earlier in the week gently asked - ‘aren’t you going for a run?’ and nearly got bitten! It has to come from me. He did say ‘you would be a very tricky customer for a personal trainer’. Lovely sky at the end today - could see the rain on the horizon

Wow - everyone’s doing so well. It’s really heartening to hear. I did W6R3 this morning and found it really hard after finding the 2 interval runs earlier in the week much easier. I don’t know why as I was feeling confident before I started. By half way I was tired and the last 5 minutes were really tough. I was running so slowly by then that I swear the 2 old ladies walking behind me almost caught up!

I did week 9 run 1 today.
Officially run 2 b it as the app didn't count 1 I'm not either !
Omg I have avoided running outside for so long and I've actually discovered I absolutely love it !
I don't recognise the person I've become over 8 weeks the change in me is ridiculous.
I'm now excited to run rather than dreading it.
Long may it continue.

@Cathpot that looks beautiful! My favourite route takes me past an industrial estate so not very scenic at all!

I sat on a spiky ball today, no this is not a euphemism, www.amazon.co.uk/Beenax-Lacrosse-Spiky-Massage-Ball/dp/B01GYOIXJK/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&crid=N2TZA7O4XDKG&keywords=muscle%2Bball%2Bmassager&sprefix=Muscle%2Bball%2Caps%2C381&th=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1603262588&sr=8-6 !

Anyway, it seemed to help so I went out again tonight. It was tough but doable and I didn’t get that odd cramping sensation so fingers crossed it won’t be too problematic.

Hello I am an entirely new newbie to C25k threads. I did w2r3 this morning (before the rain started thankfully) but felt that it was at the very outer limits of my capability to run for 90 seconds at the moment - I was barely "running" some of the time but tried to keep going. I don't feel remotely capable of doing w3r1 which requires me to run for 3 whole minutes, which is what I would be scheduled to do on Monday. I am sure those of you who have got to later weeks think that 3 minutes is very short but it feels enormous to me. I was wondering about repeating the w2 run a few more times and maybe I will feel a bit more capable of graduating to w3 - is that likely to make a difference?

Hi Kiho, welcome! I found the 1st few weeks a massive struggle and was unsure I could increase the run times each week but I did! I think the key is to go slower than you think is actually possible. I'm pretty sure my jogging pace is slower than my walk sometimes but I think the key is to keep plodding however slow that might be. If you're doing the 3 runs a week the plan will build enough fitness to achieve the increases.
I missed a run for the 1st time this week as was feeling unwell but need to get out and do 25 mins in preparation for the 28 mins of W8 R1 on Tuesday. It's not easy yet by any stretch of the imagination but I force myself on in the belief that each run is adding a bit of stamina and fitness. I struggled so much with W1 and W2 (which in retrospect I attempted far too fast even though it felt like a slow jog) I almost can't believe I'm nearly at the 30 min goal.
Keep going, you can do it

Hello kiho , really well done for getting started. Your body will already be adjusting to get you through the longer runs, every time you go out makes a difference. I don’t know if it is the done thing but I repeated the last run of every week until about week 7 before I moved on. I suspect it was entirely a mental process, but I didn’t want to be stressed at any point and repeating until I felt ready worked for me- as did being at one with how slow I had to go to make it through to the end .

Maybe I should slow down a bit. I have been working on the assumption that as the end goal of c25k is to be able to run for 30 minutes and that is supposed to equate to 5k, I therefore need to be achieving 10kph when I run - which I don't always manage except when I am on a downhill slope - but I am running the fastest that I can even though the instructions say to go for a gentle pace because if I slow down too much even walkers might overtake me. Its usually around 8-9kph when not a downhill slope.

I’ve got to the 30mins and I’m still not at 5km- but I feel ok about that, it will come. I bet if you slow down a bit it will suddenly feel almost a pleasure!

I tracked my run on Strava this evening for the first time and my snail like pace is around 8 mins per km so I'm still quite a way off 5km in 30 min!
However on the plus side I listened to a podcast (which wasn't the C25K one for the 1st time and it was definitely the most enjoyable run I've done yet, managed the 25 mins and even speeded up a bit for the last minute.
Felt so much easier than the 25 mins I did with run club last Tuesday, every minute of which felt like a struggle.
My goal for this C25K journey is to achieve a 30 min run which I enjoy and I definitely felt that was achievable this evening, almost looking forward to my next run on Tuesday 😁