How long did Couch to 5K take to feel worthwhile?

[Totallybannanas]

I’ve just started Couch to 5K and did my second run today. I have to admit… I hated it 😂 and really struggled with the last run.

Before COVID, I joined a beginner running group and actually managed to get up to a 10K. I loved it, especially that feeling of getting better, getting stronger, and being able to run a bit further each time.

Today though, my body just felt tired, heavy, and old 😭. I’m not getting that same buzz I remember, and I’m wondering how long it took other people before they started noticing a difference. When did you start feeling the benefits, and what changed for you?

I’m hoping to lose weight, tone up, and get fitter. I also have a expensive gym membership and want to start doing weights, but I really struggle with motivation and staying consistent because I’m often so tired. I am 45 and peri so definitely feeling my age.

I honestly wish I was one of those people who actually gets a buzz from going to the gym 🙈

For me it was never, if just reaffirmed that I hate running. So maybe it WAS worthwhile to me because I now just do a mile as a warm up at the gym and move on.
And that’s fine, I swim a lot and do reformer Pilates and weights at the gym, I love them and that’s where I focus my time and energy. I don’t commit to doing long weights sessions at the gym, around 30 minutes a few times a week, I’m not looking to win any prizes or massively change my physique, just to stay strong and fit.

Not long for me - I didn't think I could run at all.

I did my first 5k/Parkrun a week ago after doing Couch to 5k at the local gym for 7 wks rather than the usual 9. (There was an issue which delayed the start of the group.)

I'm 66 and the last time I tried to run was 42 yrs ago. My time 54 minutes, 24 seconds. Not great, but I never thought I'd run again and I'm happy.

I’ve just started week 6 and am doing my second run tomorrow. I actually find the longer runs easier as I can get into a proper rhythm with my pace and breathing. Not sure I’ve lost any weight yet but some of my clothes feel looser and I’ve noticed a real difference in my cardio fitness.

I also do an at home upper body workout with weights a few times a week. I’m 58 and hate the gym.

Probably a few weeks in when I came home and my stomach felt a bit tighter. But honestly I didn’t love running until I’d been doing it a few years and put in more effort to get good at it. I love it now! Like really love it 😂, but it’s been a process.

though now I love it and do it all the time I do have to remember to eat enough not to lose weight. I’m in my early 40s and feel very physically fit, I have also found out that I’m a pretty decent distance runner for a relative novice in their 40s, so doing quite well at events is motivating.

'Heavy & tired' for me are signs I haven't been drinking enough

Certainly not on the second run. Will take ages to feel worthwhile. I reckon the bit when you get a "long" run having done 8 and 8 then you have to do 16 which looks alarming is quite a good moment. Otherwise my recommendation for C25K is to grind through it and then keep going. Once you can go to park runs that's fun. Once you start to work up from 5k and actually draw longer loops on strava it feels worthwhile. Sign up to a 10k later this year (Nov or Dec). You can do it.

I love it. Got to HM then been too busy so now working back up to longer runs again. I'd not want to drop being able to run 10k but I don't need to routinely run 20k.

Oh that's interesting. I definitely don't drink enough!

Thank you, I will keep ploughing through. I struggle with motivation to do any exercise, I never seem to get that post gym/run high but guessing I'm not giving it long enough 😬 I would love to be able to do a park run, so I will aim for that!

I'll add that I agree that weight training is also important.

It's about week 5, when you run for what seems like a long time, and find you can do it. Keep doing it 3 times a week. It gets easier. It starts to feel good. I did it at 40 and still run 2 to 3 times a week (slowly and about 3k at a time) now, at 56. It was great for me

I agree with week 5 when the blocks get longer and you can see the progress you've already made.

Warming up well in advance helps. A 5-10 minute mobility video is good to activate your muscles before the built in warm-up walk.

It will feel harder at 45 than 35. I'm in my mid-40s and despite long-established running and strength routines, my body keeps throwing up a variety of curveballs. It's well worth it though, and this is an important life-stage for positive habits to improve quality of life in the long term.

After about 3/4 weeks I just couldn’t believe I could ‘run’ for more than a minute at a time.

Keep going OP, you’ll get there.

I don’t love running but I love knowing I can do it. Very slowly but still.

I think if you are someone who likes running then it’s going to take a couple of weeks before you start feeling comfortable. You need to be working quite hard to get an endorphin rush from exercising.

I’ve done numerous 10ks and a couple of HMs and I still hate running with a passion. I think I’ve had maybe two times when it’s been a lovely weekend morning, I’ve woken up feeling refreshed and thought ‘I’ll go for a run!’ The rest of the time I just do it because it needs to be done. I do generally feel glad I’ve done it and I like that I can just think about random stuff and sort things out in my head, but I don’t feel like I’m loving it when I am out there.

I feel quite chuffed when I think that I struggled to run for 3 minutes on a C25k and now I can run for an hour or more without too much effort. If I could still get the benefits I’d outsource it tomorrow.

This.

I know that I'm slow, but - my goodness - I truly didn't think that I could run at all.
It sounds a bit overblown, I know, but I almost felt as though I'd been given my life back.

I went through the whole c25k process without getting any enjoyment from the actual running. I did it, though, and that gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I don’t think the world appreciated the effort it took for an overweight, unfit 59yr old to push myself on at such a slow pace. Everyone boasting about their times didn’t help. I continued because I was proud of myself and I enjoyed being out, the birds, the odd encounter with other struggling runners and so I don’t have to start over again!

Snap, I’m at exactly the same place in the plan. I’ve done it a few times all the way to the end but then I lose motivation.

OP, there’s something called the runner’s mile (about 1.6km), when the momentum should kick in. At least that’s what a PT told me. Sometimes I feel I’m in that zone, other times not.

I hated the whole thing. All of it. Hated it for the next few months. Then one day, lovely day, nice spot, I went for a run whilst my eldest DS was at a sports event and I got to the end and thought “I get this now”. And now I enjoy it!

so, all in, about 15-20 weeks of running 3 times a week 😂

Oh, and it’s worth saying that 2.5 years on I’m about a stone heavier than when I started. I’ve lost no weight doing it. The opposite in fact. But I am SO much fitter than when I started.

Can I also advise when you do get to the point you can run 5k - do your best to keep it up cos the difference when I even haven’t run for a couple of weeks is unreal. Had to give up at 4.5k tonight and that’s very very unusual for me.