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.

btw I don't know that much about MP3 players so I could be talking b0llocks.

lol - bil is a tecky and going to have a look over dinner...

ok roberts podcasts are in .m4a

Just tried out my new trainers - love them, its like running on springs!! Ran further than ever before, so feel really good. I was running from A-B but just before B was a person and as I ran past I said hello to them and that distracted me and I forgot that I was meant to have stopped there so I kept running...and when I realised I thought oh lets see how much longer I can go. Was good got in to a nice rhythm - only problem was my combats are getting too big for me with all this exercise so when I ran I had to keep pulling them up

Not very good today I went out this morning early without brekkie, chest a bit poorly and failed at the second block of 5mins. I managed to run about half of it, but i was quite disappointed.

I'm going to run tomorrow to ALDI to get a new alarm clock and see how i go

Hope you are all having a great Easter

libra rubberduck over on geeky found me it on mp3 so ive got it now - yey! cant wait to go for a run tomorow - will have to sellotape earpllugs ontill i get to aldi!!

boingy trainers rock don't they giraffes i had the trousers falling down problem too, trouble is my new proper running trousers are really too big too (got them without trying on but figured a 10 would be good and snug but for reference, nike sizes are huuuuuge) but i can't afford any more

sorry you had a bad run goblin, if you're under the weather at all it makes it sooo much harder, especially if it's on your chest (they say if your symptoms are all above your neck you're okay to run, if they're below you really shouldn't). on the up side, when you get better it suddenly feels miles easier

great run this morning plan is to run a long(er) run on the weekend and 30 minute runs in the week, but try to speed up those shorter runs. i was feeling pretty good today so i pushed harder (although still at the same kind of effort as my rubbish runs when i had a cold) and managed to slice 30 seconds off my pace - did verrrrry nearly 3 miles in 30 minutes, a smidge over 10mm

Well done on doing W4R1 goblin - I foud 5 min runs sooo hard the first time I tried them. I had a horrible R2 that week too, and I didn't have the excuse of a bad chest. Don't let it worry you too much, you can either try anogther W4 run or go back for a W3 run just to remind yourself how far you've come (even after one good and one bad W4 run W3 will now feel sort of too easy).

Giraffes - your trousers don't fit any more? Well done! (assuming that was the plan, if not then get some Easter chocolate down you quick!)

Good luck for starting W4 today MissAnthrope! I'm glad I don't have a deadline to syick to, I seem to be repeating things quite often (see today).

So I was supposed to do W5R3, but felt a bit achey after walking up hills at the weekend, so did W5R1 instead. I've measured how far I went, which I'm sure is of no interest to anyone but me.
1st 5 mins 0.4414 miles = 11.20 minutes per mile
2nd 5 mins 0.4755 miles = 10.31 minutes per mile
3rd 5 mins 0.4624 miles = 10.49
(according to gmaps pedometer and minutes per mile

Hey Goblin, don't be dispondant (sp) you're steaming ahead of me!!

I went out today, and measured my first (run/walk)measured mile. I got to 12.45. Not sure whether that's good or not. I kept going to about 26 mins (running/walking of course)

I read recently on another forum, that you should keep your heart rate in the aerobic zone, and according to my heart rate monitor, my bpm are soaring into the aerobic zone after about a minute, which probably explains why I feel like I am dying when I get into the second minute. So I decided to walk when it was getting too high, and run when it was either too low, or just right if I had my breath right.

Any thoughts? Should I keep doing that, or follow a regime regardless? Will my heart rate gradually stay in the optimum zone for longer, as I get fitter?

Thanks for all the kind words, i feel better today. I did the run to the shops using the podcast, and apart from a couple of minutes longer in the walking section in the middle, i managed it all today even up a hill !

Although my dh upon opening the door asked if i was alright as ' i look worse than usual' Roll on Wednesday.

MissAnthrope how was the 5mins? Hopefully you enjoyed it in all this beautiful sunshine.

chinwag How ya doin' girl. 12.45 sounds pretty dammed fast to me I think i was going so slow up the hill this morning - that i was almost going backwards !!!!! I don't know about the heart rate, but i would assume that you will have to work harder the fitter you get.

trillian they're are great speeds you are achieving.

milie how does it feel to be able to run for 30mins, and keep going. I am seriously impressed

oo i went out running for the 2nd time tonight using the w1 podcast thingy - i thought it was easy at first but had a major red head on at the end and thought that was it - nearly keeled over when he said onemore 60 second run - made it home then had knowhere to go for the 5 min warm down so walked round the garden like an ass! No idea how far i would run/ walk inthat time....

do the podcast thingys last for the same amount of time or will i be out running/ walking ages more in weeks to follow.... just curious as to the task ahead...

Looking down my podcast list , up to week 5 they are no more than 32 mins, weeks 6/7/8 are more like 36 mins, then week 9 is a long one at 42 minutes.

Nappy - you can find the actual programme here: www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
of course you can repeat weeks if you want (which I think quite a lot of us have!) Oh and I looked like a tomato at the end when I first started.

chinwag, personally I would ignore the BPM at the moment as you are getting used to running. A good rule of thumb to determine the pace whilst running is you should be able to say at least 4-5 words, don't worry if you think that means you are running too slowly it is running!
Of course it's up to you whether you want to continue how you are doing it or follow a regime but again personally I find a regime more easy to stick to as I have a structure to follow IYSWIM.

goblin like trillian said most of us found wk4 hard, you will get there in the end!

arghh I have done my final run/walk and now I am on runs only. Wk6r3 today, been trying to prime my ipod! Need inspiration, so tell me what your favourite songs to run to are, at the moment I am quite biased towards the Killers as they have such fun uptempo songs.

chinwag - while the aim is to run at a pace you can hold a conversation at (which presumably equates to the "aerobic zone") i think that's only possible if you have a certain base level of aerobic fitness. certainly early on i was working much harder to manage the short runs, but read advice that was perfectly normal. so i just pushed on with the plan and my fitness has caught up really well. nowadays i'm prolly running at conversation pace 75% of the time, with the rest being uphill slopes that take a bit more out of me, or just pushing myself that bit faster than i could go, to see what happens

goblin - it's a fantastic feeling to be able to run the full half hour, particularly now it's becoming more comfortable. everyone should try it i do think the plan is magic, there's no way in the world i would have got this far without it.

libra - woohoo byebye walking i tend to make random playlists of my favourite songs up to whatever my time is, but i do new/favourite albums too, anything really. in a mix i tend to put really uplifting stuff at around the 2/3 mark as that's when i could really do with a boost. it's great when you get serendipidous moments if you're listening to a whole album - i had one run where just as i got to the tricky bit this line came on: "don't be giving up just yet, cos time is still on your side..." and then just as i finished: "oh how good i can be, when i set my mind to it"

Finally did W6r3 this morning!

I must be proof that this plan works - it's been a slow haul & some weeks have been v hard - but keep going - you do get there. When I look at the distance that I can run now I find it astounding, as I really struggled with the very shortest run in the beginning - I just wish I hadn't been a running refusnik for so many years.

well done batgirl - i lok fwd to beinga running machine - today having done w1r2 yesterday i am aching all over

How i will face running tomorow god knows lol!

Thanks for the advice. I will try for w3r3 tomorrow. It'll kill me!!

bought a super duper mahoosive sports bra today, stole DD3s mp3 player, made DD1 download the podcast and show me how to work the mp3 player , and managed the first "run" - wayhay, go me . Need some new trainers though, but the scary running shop in Bluewater terrified me (plus the prices - £100 for a pair of trainers - is that how much I need to spend?)
Please feel free to nag me if I disappear form view - I really do mean to stick with this - I'm about to sign up for the Womens Challenge in September, and DD1 has decided we're running it (rather than walking as we've done in the past).
I can do this (especially with the new sports bra - the only thing which wobbled this evening was my belly ).

Anyone else right at the very beginning wanting to buddy up?

I ran for 3 minutes!!! (up to 26 mins) Hurrah. I am so pleased!!

Yey Shrinking Violet. Well done you!

Can I join too? I've ben really inspired by this thread and the runners on it. People in RL have a habit of making me feel totally crap!

I've just finished Week 2 and just about to go out on my first run of week 3. Really not looking forward to it today as had two glasses of wine last night.

i love the podcasts - brilliant idea but week 3 is a bit daunting. I'm realising how hard it is the further I get, if that makes sense.

now off to struggle into the sports bra and put the very unfetching leggings on!

I am sooo tired for about 8 hours afterwards. Chest feels like it has really been pumping which is quite a nice feeling but I could do without the achey legs. Must carry on . . .

chinwag congratulations [bgrin] It's a fab feeling isn't it? I'm off for w4r3 this evening, which i am not looking forward to. Week 4 has been a bit of a struggle and depending on how i do tonight i may do again. Just cannot get the last block of 5mins down - but i will !

Welecome shrinkingviolet and vulgar I too, have a mahoosive bra that i have to contort to get into - but does the job!

Have fun running.

welcome to the thread violet. i know what you mean about wobbling - when i first started i wondered whether you could get whole body bras to keep the jiggle factor down

re shoes: ask if they have last season's colours/styles at a discount, they often do. i don't think you have to go for maximum cushioning top of the range ones, but making sure you get proper running shoes that are fitted according to your gait seems like a sensible plan, if you want to avoid injury, unnecessary strains etc. after all, the actual running is free, so if you cost it by the amount of use you get out of them (one pair lasts around 500 miles usually) it's not a bad deal - mine are 17p/mile! plus once you know the style/size you need you can buy any future ones online for loads cheaper.

you know i was talking about "conversation pace" before, well, today's run was more like 25% conversation pace, the rest being all red and puffy i started off too quick (running across the road to catch the lights) so thought i'd go with it. my lungs definitely haven't caught up with my legs yet - i feel much more comfortable running at a faster pace, as in my legs feel better, it's easier to find a rhythm, i just find it really hard to sustain for any distance. didn't help it's much warmer today either - i prefer it cold/rainy

but i do love the feeling afterwards of really having pushed myself, and i managed to squeeze in under 10mm - wheeee i'm in the 9s

oh libra i've been listening to the new superfurries album last couple of times out, it's great

blimey that took so long to type i missed you vulgar - hope the run went okay

Welcome ShrinkingViolet and Vulgar. My trainers were about £75, the thing I would recommend most is going to a proper sports shop to get them fitted. The place I went to had a treadmill for to walk on and they filmed my feet! They were very good though and did recommend some cheaper shoes too for if I felt £75 was too much. If you get rubbish shoes and injure yourself you'll have to stop running and so they will be very bad value.

Good luck for W4R3 today Goblin! I feel especially like I should be encouraging to you because you're just behind me on the programme.

W5R2 today, two lots of 8 minutes.
1st = 0.6652 miles = 12:02 minutes per mile
2nd = 0.7243 miles = 11:03 minutes per mile (so it did actually work trying to go faster for the last minute!)

I really don't think I am going to manage to run 20 minutes for W5R3, so I am inventing some options for W5 R2 1/2, based on timings from this week.

Option 1: run until Rawbert says 'W3 you are halfway' = 10 minutes. Walk for 3 minutes then run for 8 minutes.

Option 2: run for 13 minutes (8 min run + 5 min walk from week2) walk for 3 minutes then run for 5 minutes.