C25k alternatives?

[bama girl]

So here's the thing. I have started C25k SO MANY TIMES and never finished it. Why? Because I get bored and give up.

I am in an odd state of fitness right now where I can run a mile just fine, but not more. So I guess the first few weeks of C25k just seem way too easy to me, and I lose interest. I don't know if I should skip the first few weeks because I don't want to hurt myself by going from no exercise to that instead of doing it gradually. Does anyone know of a slightly more accelerated method to get to a 5k, or should I just suck it up, quit making excuses, and do the program?

(Feel free to be brutally honest here; I can take it.)

[carter]

I am not an expert in c25k but it seems to me that if your current fitness level is higher than "couch", you are not obligated to start at the beginning of the program. Why not start at week 3 or 4 or whatever feels like the right place and then go from there? If your current level of fitness allows you to run a mile (you know this pretty confidently so I assume you've tried it pretty recently) then I don't see why you would hurt yourself by starting at that level.

[DesertTabby]

There is another program that bridges C25k with a plan to do a 10k run (Bridge 2 10K) there is also a C210k. You can always give those a try?

You can also definitely skip ahead in the weeks depending on how long you can run; whenever I stop C25k I never go back to the first week, instead I start around W2 or W3 (mainly because I never ran for more than 5 min straight.) So look at the C25k, find the week that has the most minutes you have ever ran then do the week before it (same with C210K.)

[Ilene]

Just do what feels right to YOU ... C25K is not written in stone it can be adjusted with common sense ...