Couch to 5km newbies

[MistySkiesAfterRain]

I'm redoing the NHS Couch to 5km. Last did 5km in 2016 and most recently have got to Week 4 before losing interest! Not this time. I am going on holiday in 5 weeks and would love to get to week five by then.

Week 1 Run 1 (W1R1) done today. I ran really slowly but it did get easier.

Here is the link for anyone new:
www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/running-and-aerobic-exercises/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/

Recommend the app (my favourite is Jo Whiley).

Hello, can I join please? Although I'm not running outside, I'm on a treadmill in the shed. 47 with at least a stone and a half to lose!
I've just started running and after a week I can manage 4 mins but no more, so I thought I'd try a proper set scheme like C25k to train myself. I've just completed the first run!
I would like to know how to record the runs, I have a Fitbit. Would be great to show it in My Fitness Pal but just can't get MFP to show anything more than total steps. They say they're sent a "total calories burned" from Fitbit but it would be nice to see what I've actually used.
Also, I'd like to use Spotify in the background but when I did this morning I couldn't hear Sarah Millican unless the volume was mega high, and the flippin phone screen kept timing out and closing so the visual clue of when to jog was gone!
So many questions, sorry!

I also run early morning when I have most energy. I have a coffee (decaf). Then run, then water and eat. Works ok for me. Eating really slows me down and raises my HR so I definitely try to avoid it before exercising. I might have a fruit juice shot if I need energy but I also avoid exercising when I'm hungry or unwell.

I did week 2 run 2 today in my lunch break. I'm still finding the shin pain really difficult while I'm running or fast walking. I expect it's because I'm very overweight but it's making it difficult. I've started taking ibuprofen before running but it's not made much difference. The pain goes as soon as I stop though so it's not shin splints.Hopefully as I lose weight it will lessen.

@caffellatte that's good to know that it's feeling better as you go along. I'm thinking of running in the early mornings too. I've been doing evenings but there's so many dog walkers on the track I use which puts me off and I find getting back in to then rush around and get the kids in the bath and off to bed isn't working. I've done a couple of lunch times too when I'm working from home and that was a nice time. I find I run before food too, I actually haven't felt the need to drink or eat when I get back either although I do.

Hi there. At the moment I just record my runs as walks using Fitbit. I don't use my fitness pal so not sure how to link it there but there is an online fitbit forum who should be able to help you. Apparently, to use spotify you have to start spotify before you start C25K and it should work.

Also, are you using earphones? I have some wireless ones that seem to work well so far. I don't use the visual cue but you can change the setting on your phone to keep screen on for a longer period of time but put might find it affects your battery life.

Week 3 done! I also find it easier to exercise on an empty stomach.

I've been to parkrun today and gently walked/ run roughly at 2 minute intervals.
It feels good to get the Strava 5k badge again at long last.

Plenty of work to do in continuing C25k and building up the running strength.

It's well worth signing up to parkrun. It took 45 mins today, similar to my brisk walking time. The tail walker tends to take about an hour at most events which is quite a gentle walking pace. It's a great way to see progress and get encouragement.

Week 1 complete!
Does anyone know if the average pace per km it gives us just the running sections or an average of walking and running?
If it's both I walk faster than I run

That sounds great. I would love to do parkrun one day but don't think I'm quite there yet, confidence wise.

I've finished week 3 today! I'm finding the cardio aspect fairly easy but I can feel my calves working hard and I need to build them up slowly so I don't injure my achilles again. I'm getting there though and no aches and pains. I've really made an effort to tone down my exercise on rest days too and stick to gentle stuff while doing harder stuff on run days. I'm determined to finish the programme!

Week 1 complete here too. I did my run whilst lunch was cooking 😁

After not managing it last week, I finished W8R3 yesterday with relative ease.

It's amazing the difference it made by making sure I had eaten and drank properly before hand.

I also started at a slower pace and built it up gradually.

I had similar issues in my legs when I started. I found running in shoes with a slight wedge and a good air support seemed to stop this.

I have signed up to park run and bought a wrist band. In not free on Saturday mornings until July so I will do my first one then!

Also completed week 1 today - I've actually enjoyed doing exercise! Which I really never thought I would, so that's a really lovely thing to come out of this. We're on holiday in Wales at the moment so on my run this morning I enjoyed seeing a field full of cows and two hares!

Hi can I join ? Restarted 0-5km app today, day 1, week 1 done. Felt great to be running again. Been about 5 years since last 5km but I did a few a year for a few years.

It took me some time to get to this point - about 10lbs loss to be able to run at all and a back injury which is now healed.

Good for you flowers!

Is anyone else running very, very slowly? I know it tells you to, but I have a treadmill (which I love so far) and so can see just how slow I'm running. It's probably slower than I can walk - 3mph! How embarrassing, particularly given how much I've been sweating doing it.

According to my stats I walk faster than I run!!

Only for now though. As you get more used to running, you’ll find your pace naturally increases. You’re absolutely doing the right thing keeping it slow and steady.

I went for W4R1, I was very pleased I managed to do the 5 mins runs! Going slowly definitely helps

I've just completed run 1 of week 2. Is it strange or wrong that it's easier at 5.2mph rather than the 4.4mph which I was doing last week? Also I have put on 4lb which I am quite frankly a bit perplexed by, as I was well under my weekly calorie goal last week!

4lb could be water or muscle rather than fat.

I am running very slowly. I saw the Japanese jogging video and it has really helped as now I can feel my legs getting conditioned for longer runs. My Achilles is also feeling much better. It doesn't seem stiff anymore when I'm walking around first thing in morning. So I'm very happy about that! I'm pretty sure my walking is faster than my running at the moment but the action is different on your body isn't it...

@georgedawes yes ! In my first return to 0-5km yesterday I deliberately ran very slowly. Someone told me years ago to just run like you're slow walking and that's what I did. ! Really helped. Will go again tomorrow.

Well after repeating week 6 twice, I did the first run of week 7 this morning and felt really positive throughout. Totally recommend repeating weeks if you are struggling, I found it a really good way to consolidate.

For those of you wondering about distance, I use a smart watch to record my runs and link it to Strava (free exercise recording app). Because I start recording at the beginning of the walk, I've already had a couple of 5km runs recorded, and I imagine that by the time I'm running 30mins non-stop I'll be very close to running 5km even without the warm-up & warm-down included. I'm a slow runner, though I've definitely gotten faster in the last five weeks, and my plan is to run for 5km on my final run... I'll measure the distance on my phone and estimate it will take me 32-35 minutes or so. Should be on May 28th if I don't need to repeat any weeks again!!

That's fantastic! Very encouraging for those of us not there yet :)

@MonaChopsis you’re not running slowly if you’re almost getting 5km by the end of the programme. The vast majority of runners don’t do it.

I would be a bit wary of just keeping going to get to 5km. That could be an easy way to get injured and you don’t want to undo all your hard work. It’s recommended that you stick at running for max 30 minutes at a time for a few weeks before you start increasing your time running, and then only going up by 10% a week. It’s worth thinking long term-you’ve built a new habit and you want to be able to keep it up. There’s no rush to hit the 5km.