Right, I am starting 'couch potato to 5k' again and I WILL finish

[giddykipper]

I WILL NOT nesh out again like I did last time.

DP has even bought me an iPod Shuffle to run with so that I don't have to lug my big iPod around (oh the inconvenience).

this is what I'm talking about and here's the podcasts I run to.

I'm not starting today though, got about 3 hours sleep last night.

lol missanthrope i always felt similarly

i made it out for w3r2 today yay i did an extra long warmup as my book points out that you need to do more if a) it's first thing in the morning b) it's freezing cold, which it isn't today, but has been every other time i've gone out. i also ran as shufflily as i could, barely lifting my feet off the floor. my knees were twingey on the warmup but stopped almost as soon as i started running which is better than it has been. and judging by how un-puffed i was i may have been running too fast before as today i found the 3min runs very little challenge. i've barely stepped out of hte house the last few days though (toddler not well) so maybe it's just being well rested.

it was such a relief to get out, i've really felt the impact of suddenly cutting my exercise levels (in general, not just the running) on my mood lately. still, home straight now, school starts again on monday

lovely to see so many newbies, this thread makes it all seem somehow possible, doesn't it

Morning all! Half term nearly over here - mixed feelings about that but it will make getting out for a run a bit easier next week as have had to take them to the creche to get out.

Sandy4 - a slow run is about my style here too, and by the sound of what you're already doing I should imagine you'll have a head start anyway. As for skiing / running / horseriding whilst TTC I'm sure it will be absolutely fine - I skiied with until 16 weeks with DD1 and also was going to the gym quite alot when TTCing as well. Sadly my exercise levels have just plummeted since she was born!

KeepingitRia - wow a treadmill on freecycle! What a result! Is it a motorised, gym style one?

MissAnthrope - I'm impressed you're running with DD in the jogger. I would imagine that can be quite hard at times, especially on any uphill bits.

MF - great news that the knees are bearing up!

Right, ladies. I need your advice. Today I attempted W5R3 for the THIRD bloody time! And I still did not quite make it. I did 5 mins then got really hot and had to walk for about 2 mins whilst taking my top off, untangling the ipod, ipod holder, wires, water bottle, generally getting sorted etc. Then I ran for about 8 mins, stopped for 30 seconds, then 8 mins.

So, what should I do next? Scrap W5 altogether and try W6? Keep going at W5R3 until I crack it? Or repeat all of W5 again?

To be honest doing all of W5 again isn't really what I want to do because I'm getting a bit bored and demoralised and also whilst I really like one of "Rawbert's" tracks I'm getting a tad bored of the music this week!

Also, I'm finding that I am getting very hot and this presents a number of problems. First off if I go out with just my T-shirt I'm freezing on the warm up. Secondly though, if I wear my running jacket thingie over the top for warmth I then get too hot very early on and then have the whole rigmarole as described above of taking it off and getting all tangled up because I wear my ipod on a thing strapped to my upper arm.

I'm bleating on here so in a nutshell I'm seeking advice on whether to hang on in with W5 or move on, and I need guidance on what to wear.

Lordy - I think that must have been my longest post ever in almost 5 years of MNing. Sorry . Well done if you made it to the end!

hello all,

kittywise - congrats on your 20minutes and hope you get better soon.

Pennies - good luck with Wk6.

trillianastra - don't forget to stretch after your cool-down it will help with the achiness.

keepingitRia - the more you go at your own pace (make sure you are pushing yourself but don't overreach) the longer a) the amount you are able to run b) your enthusiasm will last.

AmIOdetteOrOdile - are you moving to week8 today? good luck and get you with all the fancy kit

Ohforfoxsake - welcome

sandy4 - running whilst TTC is not a problem at all, in fact being fit and healthy is suppose to make labour easier!

well this week done W3r1 and W3r2 on the treadmill and will do W3r3 outside sunday morning. Didn't find W3r1 taxing, which is my own fault as running can almost be as difficult or as easy as you make it as you set the pace so upped the speed on Thursday and threw in an extra 3 minute run at the end.
As my goal is to compete in a tri in May I am also doing some cycling and hoping at some point to fit in some swimming, time isn't as plentiful as pre-DC however!

pennies could you try wk5 with a different podcast? there's a few of them knocking about. or could you make up a playlist with your own music using tracks of the right length for each section? there is an app for the iphone/ipod touch with the timings that you can play over the top of your own music, if you have either of those.

personally i'd go for repeating the week just because you're looking at an even stiffer challenge at the end of wk5 and i wouldn't be confident about going into 25 mins with 10 mins as the longest stretch under my belt iyswim.

as for the clothes thing, would it still be possible to use your pod with it strapped to your arm under your jacket? then it wouldn't be such a faff taking it off. do you find you really need the water? possible to leave that at home too?

sounds like you're striding ahead libra - didn't you start ages after me? how come you've already caught me up? lol, it's prolly your extra minutes on the end and me shuffling round in fear for my knees, you'll lap me pretty soon

another thought for pennies could you change your route so it doesn't feel quite so groundhog day-ish?

I keep my MP3 in my bra (one of the bebefits of ample norkage I suppose) DS1 (who owns the MP3) was disgusted and wants to boy me one of my own for my birthday

Pennies.....On the layers thing: I wear a t-shirt, attach my ipod holder to my arm, and then put a zip up jacket on on top of that. When I need to take off my jacket (which happens about 2 minutes into the run) it's not too bad.
On the music front - I've started using the Podrunner casts which are really helping me lengthen my stride. They have the disadvantage of not having Rawbert kick your butt during it, but it shounds like your love affair with Rawbert has ended to.
On the route front, I agree that a change may be a good idea. I do the same run every time, out and back, with my 'turnaround' point being a bit further each week. That does however mean that the last 3 minutes of my run are the same every time, and I now bloody hate that footpath!!! Today I made my turnaround point further than it should be, and so my run stopped out on the road, "earlier" than usual if you see what I mean, which gave me a longer cooldown walk home, but will hopefully make me ache a bit less later!!
I think you should move on to Week 6. Try it with Rawbert, and if you aren't getting there then switch to the podrunner one.
Good luck - hope you manage to break through.

Ria -

MF - glad to hear you're out there again.

Libras - sweet lord above, running and swimming and cycling?? You are mad I tell you, mad!!

W8R1 today - 28 minutes, and it wasn't too bad! I used podrunner, and the slight variation on route. I had decided that I would keep running back to my start point even though that would probably push me nearer to 30 minutes. However as soon as I heard the chimes my legs decided to stop there and then. It was quite bizarre.....

28 minutes how far are you going in that time odette?

About 2.8miles

Hi Can i join please ?
Ive just gone out and done the couch pot to 5 k in 8 weeks with my daughter.Were going to do eack week over 2 weeks.
I started last year but got a thyroid prob and had to stop.
I`ve never been able to run so am determined to do it this time.
Bought new trainers and just need a decent bra now for my 34f girls !

Ria - my dd is 2.4 but the jogger is quite lightweight (unlike 91st centile dd)

at 2.8 miles/28mins Odette - that's brilliant!

AmIOdetteOrOdile I'm impressed as I'm still dreaming of doing that much but you give me hope. Well done to everyone on your progess.
I'm stilling working my way up. I tried week 4 this morning and suprised myself by doing both the 5 mins. The two runs ever much easier then I thought they would be but started to get tough near the end of the 2nd 3min run and as for the last 5min I had lead legs by 1 min and really pushed myself to keep going but I did it.
Don't know if it's just me or the same with others, but I'm only slightly out of breath but it's my legs that are tired. You start to feel like your running with lead boots. If it wasn't for my legs I could run for miles as I feel great.

wow odette that's amazing i have visions of "running" for 20 mins and going less than a mile!

great going lexcat that's my next step so good to hear it went well for you. it sounds as though your heart and lungs are raring to go and just waiting for your legs to catch up. i'm the other way round i think, although taking it easier than i have been made it a whole lot more manageable, and i'm more than happy to build up slowly as long as i can go out, that's what matters.

i wanted to pass on something else i read in my running book to the people with babies - that your ligaments can stay soft up to 6 months after stopping bf. i only stopped at new year so am wondering if that's contributed to me wonky knees. so take care those of you with littlies.

Oh MF - thast's interesting about the ligaments. Might explain why I feel as though I need a hip replacement.....

Lexcat - I am definitely more physically tired than short of breath (although judging by the horrified look on a woman's face when I went to overtake her yesterday I think my headphones are perhaps drowning out my panting )

Looks like a nice day, so hope everyone who's planning to get out makes ot.

I'm planning on heading out this afternoon - how long do I need to wait after eating? I don't want to waste my run.

W1R3 done. Going back to look over old posts to see what should be hurting and what shouldn't...

Best song from week 1 is this one (first half only, not sure why this video has 2 songs on it)

W1R3 for me too.

Just wanted to say you ladies are fantastic and the walk run plans really work. I truly was the spotty wheezy one at the back of cross country. 12 months after starting at 3 stone overweight I ran the bath half. That was 5 years ago and have't looked back only took a break for de pregnancy. Lessons learnt over that time- take out as little as u can, u don't need water under half an hour. Heart rate is a great measure, check out e bay and use one occasionally to check your effort. Breathable kit is a must, ditch the cotton t shirts. Do at least one run a week with someone else, really keeps u going. Most of all remember u r truly a superwoman, mum and athlete! Go girls!

I want to be out running, but I've caught the manflu. Argh. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to be out running again.

oh no not the dreaded manflu it's horrible when you can't go out isn't it. i've got whatever my kids had over half term coming on i think, so planning to get a swim in today before it flattens me, no way am i going another week without any decent exercise.

went out this morning - realised i was doing wk 3 for the 4th time oops. i also dropped my keys at the start of the last run when i took my jacket off (a first for me, down to the weather rather than the effort i was putting in!) had to backtrack half way round the park, but was immensely chuffed i found them

knees have been absolutely fine since last run, think i was going a bit faster today, so will see how they fare after that, if they're still okay then it looks like the extra warmup might be the key.

I'm reading through the old posts adn they're really encouraging - I especially like Odette's breakdowns of the instructions on weeks when there are different runs (not that I'm anywhere near that yet) and Robert Ullrey's obsession with quorn.

Speaking of quorn, can anyone recommend a website that shows you how to run? I'm just kind of doing it at the moment, but feel like I could be making better shapes and want to give it a go before I get to the runs that make me want to die.

I'd forgotten about the quorn Trillian . Can't help re: running form I'm afraid. Maybe the Coolrunning site has something on it?
MF (have you guessed by now that I can't spell your name properly without looking at it , even though I can pronounce it) - glad to hear that today went well, and that you found your keys.
LJ - thanks for that. Always good to hear from "the other side"

Well today was W8R2. I had to abort it after 25 minutes due to, erm, the realisation that the DSs' D (as in V&D) bug had also affected me, thus making it impossible to run without any, ahem, untoward consequences . I therefore ended up doing a sort of shuffle-walk home. On the plus side, anyone who saw me probably thought I was training for a walking race!
Despite not getting to 28mins I am going to count this run as a success, as I could have finished it under normal circumstances (and I am away next weekend so want to try and do a 5K before then.)