Couch to 5k

[maciec]

My speed is still petty low I guess by runners standards. I started at a 4.7 and now I'm up to 4.9 on the treadmill. I live that my legs are starting to be less jiggly. Lol. I am just still working off baby weight from last year. I've got about 10lbs to go. I know I haven't lost any weight but I can definitely see a change in my body!

Congrats on a year! My husband is a distance runner and has signed himself up for the Marine Corp Marathon in October. He hasn't run really in a year due to injury, but he been a runner all of his life so it won't take him long to get up to the 26 miles. Wish I was that lucky!

 

[zippitydoo]

I finally finished couch to 5k. I never thought I would ever be able to run for 30 min continuous. Honestly it was tough but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. There was probably only 1 day when I felt I wasn’t going to be able to finish. Maybe next I will try for 10k. Good luck for all who are doing couch to 5k. If I can do it you can too.

 

[ColleenG]

I finally finished couch to 5k. I never thought I would ever be able to run for 30 min continuous. Honestly it was tough but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. There was probably only 1 day when I felt I wasn’t going to be able to finish. Maybe next I will try for 10k. Good luck for all who are doing couch to 5k. If I can do it you can too.

Way to go! You should definately be able to move on to a 10K. I did it with Bridge to 10K, which is the next plan after C25K. I started exactly a year ago and have run a bunch of 5Ks, a 10K and 2 Half Marathons. Now I am training to do the Disney World full Marathon in January.

 

[maciec]

Congrats!!!!! That's awesome! I am on w4/d2 and the only time I felt like I was done with the program was yesterday. I think that's because I had taken more than one day off between runs. I took 2. Didn't think it was going to make that much of a difference, but I struggled for the first time. I love what this program is doing to my body! I can definitely tell at I have slimmed down. Haven't lost any weight yet, but I know I've lost inches!

 

[WaDiWo]

couch to 5k is awesome, and really worked for me.
there are a lot of versions out there, I used the one from coolrunning.com and robert ullrey's c25k podcasts www.c25k.com/podcasts.htm. the music's just ok, but he gives audio cues and encouragement of when to walk and run, etc.

And of course the goal is to do a 5k race, hopefully a runDisney 5k!

(I happened to write a post on Disney's Castaway Cay 5k today on my blog, see below).

 

[vickalamode]

Joining the thread...I have been thinking about doing C25K for a looong time but never got around to it, and decided to stop procrastinating today. I have NEVER been a runner, but my New Year's resolution this year has been to better my life and make it what I want it to be and I am working on all of those goals-got myself out of a stressful and abusive relationship, am enrolled to go back to college for my BS (I only have an AS now), get back into shape (I gained 30lbs while in the relationship-and he didn't want me to try to lose weight because CLEARLY that meant I was trying to lose weight so I could cheat on him...did I mention stressful and abusive relationship?)

So, here I am. I did my first run today and I pretty much felt like I was going to die on W1D1. I had to take a 5 minute break on a park bench halfway through, but I finished it. I am seriously *not* a runner, but hopefully this program will help me be able to do it without feeling like I am going to die. BUT, I do feel good now that it is over and proud of myself for doing it.

Did anyone else really struggle in the beginning? Any tips?

 

[wvjules]

So, here I am. I did my first run today and I pretty much felt like I was going to die on W1D1. I had to take a 5 minute break on a park bench halfway through, but I finished it. I am seriously *not* a runner, but hopefully this program will help me be able to do it without feeling like I am going to die. BUT, I do feel good now that it is over and proud of myself for doing it.

Did anyone else really struggle in the beginning? Any tips?

Everyone stuggles in the beginning. If we didn't we wouldn't need the C25K, right?

My advice to you is SLOW DOWN. If you can't complete the run portions then slow them down to where you can complete them. Don't worry about speed. It is about building endurance for now. Speed will come later. Heck, your run can even be slower than your walk portion if you need. Just make sure you are using running form since it uses completely different muscles than walking.

Also, like the poster above, I cannot take off more than one day of running or else I slide backwards big time. I do every other day at minimum. It's what works for me.

I did C25K for the first time two years ago. Ran a few 5Ks a 10K and two half marathons. Then I stopped running. Going back was so hard I had to start with the C25K again. I am moving on to the B210K next week then right into half marathon training for an October race, which is basically a training run for the WDW FULL Marathon that I'm doing in January. The program does work! Just go slow and steady and you will get there.

BTW, do you have good running shoes? If not, don't run again untl you do get them.

 

[maciec]

So, here I am. I did my first run today and I pretty much felt like I was going to die on W1D1. I had to take a 5 minute break on a park bench halfway through, but I finished it. I am seriously *not* a runner, but hopefully this program will help me be able to do it without feeling like I am going to die. BUT, I do feel good now that it is over and proud of myself for doing it.

Did anyone else really struggle in the beginning? Any tips?

Definitely slow down. I also agree that shoes make a difference in your runs. Make sure you arent running in a walking shoe. You'll make it. As my husband says and I roll my eyes at as I'm dying "the pain is only temporary"

 

[sissy_ib]

Like others have said slow down. I am in week 4 and I have to slow down on the 5 minute jogs. My goal for my 5K next month is to not stop. As long as I am jogging I am winning.

 

[zippitydoo]

Way to go! You should definately be able to move on to a 10K. I did it with Bridge to 10K, which is the next plan after C25K. I started exactly a year ago and have run a bunch of 5Ks, a 10K and 2 Half Marathons. Now I am training to do the Disney World full Marathon in January.

Thanks for suggesting Bridge to 10k. Today I completed W1D2. So far I’m doing ok.

 

[vickalamode]

I took the advice posted here and slowed it down and am doing much better Still challenging since I am NOT a runner but I'm getting better!

 

[WaDiWo]

The beauty of couch to 5k is the gradual progress. The best advice I got about it was this: do NOT go ahead of schedule even if you feel you can run longer. It works because each day is a victory, no matter how small, and the sense of accomplishment of even increasing your running from 60 seconds to 90 seconds is enough to propel you forward!

 

[Raenstoirm]

Ok, trying this again. I think I have started this 10 times before and somewhere in the middle of the program, life gets in the way and I stop. My community holds a charity 5k Labor Day Saturday every year. Registration opens up on the 8th. Maybe if I have already put out money towards a race, I will finally finish the program!
I do have one issue....I will be going away for 10 days in 5 weeks. Although it is all fine and dandy to say I will run while I am gone, there really is no place to do so and our schedule really doesnt allow for getting up early to run (before it gets hot) when we go to bed at 3am. 3am is not my choice, but I go on this trip every year with the same group and 3am is when we get back to the hotel (no way around this). So how do I deal with this? Do I redo say week 4 when I get back and then start from there? I am not sure how much ground you lose when you are half way through the program. These are the kind of situations that normally make me not go back to the program and hence why I have restarted so many times! But if I have this race upcoming, I am going to have to get back on the horse when we return!

 

[ColleenG]

Ok, trying this again. I think I have started this 10 times before and somewhere in the middle of the program, life gets in the way and I stop. My community holds a charity 5k Labor Day Saturday every year. Registration opens up on the 8th. Maybe if I have already put out money towards a race, I will finally finish the program!
I do have one issue....I will be going away for 10 days in 5 weeks. Although it is all fine and dandy to say I will run while I am gone, there really is no place to do so and our schedule really doesnt allow for getting up early to run (before it gets hot) when we go to bed at 3am. 3am is not my choice, but I go on this trip every year with the same group and 3am is when we get back to the hotel (no way around this). So how do I deal with this? Do I redo say week 4 when I get back and then start from there? I am not sure how much ground you lose when you are half way through the program. These are the kind of situations that normally make me not go back to the program and hence why I have restarted so many times! But if I have this race upcoming, I am going to have to get back on the horse when we return!

Try to pick up where you left off when you return from your trip. Will you be able to do some other kind of work out while you're away? Even just getting some walking in is something. When you get back if running seems to hard, repeat a week. Signing up for a race is a great motivator. I did the Princess Half marathon for the first time this year. Last year I signed up as soon as I could so knowing I had laid out the money for it kept me going.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Try to pick up where you left off when you return from your trip. Will you be able to do some other kind of work out while you're away? Even just getting some walking in is something. When you get back if running seems to hard, repeat a week. Signing up for a race is a great motivator. I did the Princess Half marathon for the first time this year. Last year I signed up as soon as I could so knowing I had laid out the money for it kept me going.

It is a beach trip with dh's family. Walking is tough. My mother-in-law has a bad hip and has to sit every few feet it seems . I used to bring my pedometer, but getting less steps than a normal day at home just discouraged me! Add in restaruants at least 2 times a day and... I can swim in the ocean and I do. I guess I will have to plan to spend more time in the water this trip.

 

[sissy_ib]

It is a beach trip with dh's family. Walking is tough. My mother-in-law has a bad hip and has to sit every few feet it seems . I used to bring my pedometer, but getting less steps than a normal day at home just discouraged me! Add in restaruants at least 2 times a day and... I can swim in the ocean and I do. I guess I will have to plan to spend more time in the water this trip.

Can you go off on your own for 30 minutes a day? That is all C25K takes.

 

[ColleenG]

It is a beach trip with dh's family. Walking is tough. My mother-in-law has a bad hip and has to sit every few feet it seems . I used to bring my pedometer, but getting less steps than a normal day at home just discouraged me! Add in restaruants at least 2 times a day and... I can swim in the ocean and I do. I guess I will have to plan to spend more time in the water this trip.

If you can do some swimming that will keep your cardio up. Whatever you can do to keep your fitness level.

 

[vickalamode]

Is it really bad for me to run 2 days in a row? I have an erratic work schedule and sometimes my day that I am supposed to run is a day where I work a 14 hour shift on my feet the whole day, and the last thing I want to do is get up early or stay up late to run on those days-BUT, I could easily fit it in on a different day, however that would mean I run 2 days in a row sometimes. I'm just curious what people think. I don't want to injure myself, but it's taken me about 10 days to finish the first week because I am afraid of running two days in a row if I'm not supposed to. And, I actually feel like I WANT to run more because I'm surprisingly enjoying it

 

[maciec]

Oh I hear ya about the long shifts. I work midnights 12 hour shifts. I have run 2 days in a row, but I am kind of stuck on week 4 rights now. I haven't felt comfortable moving past w4/d3. I took 3 days off and tried to go back and had to start over at w4/d1. Sometimes when I run 2 days in a row I will do 2 x w4/d1 and then skip a day and then do 2 x w4/d2. I don't think it's that bad but make sure that you are giving yourself close to a 24hr break between runs. At least for me that's comfort zone of running 2 days in a row. Ok, I'm rambling, I hope that makes sense lol

 

[sissy_ib]

There is nothing wrong with running two days in a row. Just listen to your body and do what feels right. With your kind of work schedule really take your time. Repeat weeks or days if you need to.