So today i started the c25k programme.
My boyfriend completed his first 5k race (it was actually 3.3miles) on Sunday in 33 minutes after doing this programme and i felt so incredibly proud of him - there nay even have been a few tears when i saw him approach the finish line. He started off as a total couch potato and weighed about 22lbs more than he does now. I can really see the change in him.
So i guess you can say he has inspired me to give this a go. I have already lost about 20lbs myself but i am hoping to continue and at least be overweight (instead of obese) by christmas which means a 9lb loss by then. I have been exercising and eating healthier but i'm keen to give this a go.
Today i did the first session. I have chosen to do this in the gym as i like to know exactly how fast im going and how much distance im covering and making sure i get the timings right so today i did:
5 min walk warm up at 4.5km/h
1 min jogging at 6.5
1.5 min walking at 4.5
repeated 8 times (so 20 mins in total doing this)
walk for 5 mins at 4.5 to "cool down"

I managed to cover 2.5km - not as much as i could have done i feel but it was my first day.
While i was doing this i kept thinking - i can push harder i can go faster so i think on wed when i do the next session i will push the speedo up a bit higher and see how i get on. Tonight my legs are sore but really its a good sore and i feel like this could be a good thing for me. Eventually i hope to go running with my man and beat his ***! (only because when he started on his own i asked if i could join him and he said that i would only slow him down - im going to show him!)

Oh this turned into quite a post - maybe i should blog this instead of posting although i would like peoples input and support from time to time.

It would also be great if anyone else was doing this we could compare notes and cheer each other on - please feel free to post here.

Maybe you guys will run a 5K together soon! I started but didn't finish...now that I have my gym membership back I should probably get back to it haha.

I started and graduated myself early, but I have gained back nearly all the weight I lost since then. I've been thinking about picking it back up again. I mean, I know that I can do it...

I have been doing my own version of pre-c25k. I have been doing a 5 minute warmup at 3mph then i jog for a minute at 5mph, then walk 2 minutes at 3mph, jog 1 minute 5mph and so on till 20 minutes is up. Been doing that 3 times a week for two weeks but my energy level hasn't been consistant with it so I am not sure when/if I will ever start the program!

I've been working on it since May. I ran 5 5ks and 1 10k. I'm up to about 2.5 miles on a good day.

Right now I just started phase 1 south beach (no sugar or simple carbs). It zapped my energy. I'm just trying to get any running in during these 2 weeks.

The fact that I've been losing weight sort of slowed my progress, but I feel so much more fit from when I started. I'm down 30+ pounds.

I'm so happy people have thought to post replies! Thank you.

So today i did week 1 day 2
i did the walking at 5km/h and the 'running' at 6.8 km/h and covered a distance of 2.76km in total.
Yet again when i had finished i though i could have gone faster to push myself more so on friday i plan to do just that! My right calf started to ache about 2/3 of the way through but i pushed on anyway.

sophie, lnm and stuffed bunny the programme starts off really gently for the first few weeks and actually if you feel you aren't ready to move on to the next stage you can repeat a week as often as you like. I would certainly say try it for a few weeks and see how it goes - its like everything else weight loss/fitness related - you have to find the right speed/fit for you.

Ah Scarlett, you seem to be an ever present inspiration for me at the moment - keeping me going in our 12 week challenge and now for the 5k. I know i can at least try to follow this programme and seeing your success will cheer me on even more.


I think every time i do a new day on this programme i will post here my speeds and distance to help me keep track. If anyone else decides to give this a go and wishes to do the same please do - we can compare and have a little friendly competition perhaps.

I will be doing Week 7 Day 2 today. I've been doing it with a friend of mine and we plan to do our first 5k together in December. I can't say how fast we've been going as we run outside but we're steadily seeing improvement which is encouraging.

After we're done with the C25k, I plan to start the B210k. Ultimate goal is to run the Disney marathon in January of 2013 so that means I need to try and get a half marathon in sometime during the second part of next year.

I'm doing it! I'm on Week 4. I love the C25K program. I use a podcast...what do you use? Also, are you running on a treadmill or outside. I run on the treadmill, but I have also tried it outside, which I think is soooo much harder...so, I try to just stick to my treadmill. However, right now, I'm only able to make it to the gym 2 days a week so I'm not moving along as fast I could be if I could go every other day. Also, are you concerned about speed or just running time? I seem to just go as fast as I can handle without getting too worn out too quickly. Usually that's a 3.3 mph when walking and 4.5mph when jogging.

I would love to do c25k... It depressing that I cand last time I tried I got so discouraged it was awful! I broke two bones in my right leg last year. I had a pretty major surgery, have a ton of metal in there now, and one bone isn't healed yet... I tried anyways a while ago and it hurt like he'll to run. So sad! ;(

I started doing it today because of this forum I'd heard about it in passing, but had to do a bit of research first. I hadn't been running in years!

Does anyone have any reccomendations for an iphone app? I looked it up briefly on the app store, but there were so many. If I am going to buy one, I'd want to make sure that it was one which worked (and wouldn't hit you for more halfway through)

W1d2 tomorrow!

Yes, but I'm behind this week on my running from midterms. I'm just trying to maintain right now before I get back to serious losing. I love the running. It keeps me a lil' sane.

I've been doing it!! I just finished week 5 today with my 20 MINUTE RUN!! I can't believe I actually did it, this was a big road block for me... I had some joint problems that prevented me from being able to run for a bit, and then a couple times I tried it and had to revert back to W5D2 because I just couldn't do it. This was the first run that I couldn't do on the first try. So I'm on cloud 9 right now, I don't think I have ever run 20 minutes straight in my life!

I usually walk at 3.6 mph and run at 5.0 mph; I want to finish the program in the next 4-5 weeks and then bring my speed up to 6.0 mph by New Year's so I'm running ~5km in 30 minutes. Then I'll start working on my 10k so I can run in a big race that goes on here on my birthday at the end of May :-)

I'm doing all of my running on the treadmill - at first I was too embarrassed to run outside with all my jiggling and the fact that I could only run 1 minute at a time, and soon it's going to be too cold... I may try to get a few runs in outside before the snow comes. I'm afraid that when I start running outside in the spring it'll be really difficult and will set me way back.

redoing week 7 day 2 tonight. wasn't satisfied with my performance.

wow! there are quite a few of us doing this it seems. This is great!

So yesterday i upped my game and it was hard but not impossible and now i'm thinking i could have pushed more... why am i always wanting more? Always competing with myself.

This is what i did for w1 d3 walking at 5.5km/h and lets call it jogging since i'm not a runner yet at 7km/h. I managed a distance of 2.96km. Towards the end i definitely felt a bit tired.
I am running on a treadmill at the gym at my work during my lunch break which is great for me - convenient, some of my work mates go there too and we have a giggle and chat about non work things plus i get the added bonus of knowing exactly how fast i'm going and how much distance i'm covering. My only annoyance is that the machines use km instead of miles.

if anyone is interested i am following this programme with timings for the treadmill to make it easier - http://www.c25k.com/c25k_treadmill.html

w2 d1 completed successfully.

speeds as w1d3.

i forgot to eat lunch after going to the gym in my break. it is now 17.30 and i am ravenous - only realised i had forgotten to eat 30 mins ago when i reaslised it was home time.