April C25K Starters Block
 

Hope it's OK I start the April C25K starters/progress thread...


W4D2 for me...wow. Hard. Hard. Hard. I got through it, and that's what counts. :D My legs have decided they don't like me...but my heart and lungs think I'm pretty OK. :dizzy:

Happy running, everyone!

I had originally planned to start the C25K in March, but as I don't have a treadmill, and the weather has been really crappy, I only got out once!
So....let's try this again!!!
I plan to get out 3 times this week...weather permitting!

Hi guys! I've been just lurking up to this point, but I think I'm going to try the C25k too.

On Sunday I started running for the first time in a reallly long time. I did 5 minute intervals of walking at 3 mph and running at 6mph, repeated 3 times. It was hard but not impossible, but I am still sore today (tuesday)! I found the c25k program yesterday, and I think I'm just going to start it from the beginning.

Good luck to the rest of you in continuing or just starting the program like me!

I did D2W3 today, I didn't think it was all that bad I felt pretty good about it.

Week 4 looks HARD, is it a big jump?

Hey Berner, thanks a lot for starting the new shiny thread! :carrot:

Welcome back, Dea! Welcome, ShadesOfGray! Good luck and happy trails to you both! :wave:

caitbeans, I'm repeating week 4 right now, and for me it was the biggest jump in intensity so far - it's doable, but it's a lot more running than before, and I really need every single second of the rest periods now. On the other hand, my running has gotten faster quite naturally - I have to up the treadmill speed to at least 5.2-5.5. or risk falling over my own feet... :dizzy: :D

I attempted Day 1 of Week 7 yesterday. I did not make it at plan, but I did not quit!
It's 25 minutes straight of running. I'm still getting over my cold, so at 15 minutes my throat felt like it was ready to burst into flames (along with my thighs from rubbing together :o) so I walked for 2 minutes and then ran the last 8. Try again tomorrow!!

I decided to start with Week 3 since I found out I could run 5 min intervals without too much of a problem. The first day wasn't too bad, but it was still hard. I did my warm-up at 4 mph, ran at 6 mph, and walked at 3 mph. I think I'm going back to the gym tonight to do 30 mins on the eliptical, as long as I'm not too sore or tired. I'm spoiled - the gym is about a 30 second walk away from my dorm!

mothermavis - Great job on week 7! I'm afraid for the long runs without any breaks! You can do it!

Heffalump - Thanks for the welcome!

Hey all! Berner, thanks for starting the new thread! I am excited that we are all still in the game, and others are joining in where they can! Welcome to the new runners-to-be!

I totally bailed on my planned run yesterday. I spent most of the day on a plane and had to get up ridiculously early, so I just took it easy. Today will be W3D3; wish me luck!

Just had a very relaxed W4D5 on the track - and just when I was done, some friends showed up and I ended up jogging a couple more laps without even thinking about it! I think one more intense W4 workout on the treadmill on Friday and I'll be ready to take a shot at week 5. :carrot:

W4D3 this morning. Wow. Still quite difficult. I'm going to repeat it on Friday then consider going on...though I'm afraid to look at what week 5 has in store for me!

Welcome to all the new starters and congrats on everyone else's progress - way to go!!

Happy Running!

I know i asked this question on another thread....but I can't remember where.

The C25K podcasts that can be downloaded....I have found itunes, and found podcasts in the itunes "jukebox".....where do I go from there to find the free podcasts that will promt me when to walk and jog?
Any help would be great!

I downloaded my podcasts from ITunes. They were free. I just performed a search for Couch Potato to 5K and they popped up. Not my choice of music, but it is entertaining. When I time myself, I'm too distracted.

I completed W3 D1 yesterday. Before my workout, I gave myself permission to repeat W2 if it was too difficult. However, it was great. I actually thought it was easier than W2. I should rest today, but I actually want to give it another go tonight.

Dea, here's my best attempt to describe the process... if you need more details let me know. :)

Assuming you have iTunes 7:
-click on "iTunes Store" in the menu on the left
-in the top right hand corner there's a search box that says "Search iTunes Store" under it, search for "Couch to 5K"
-in the upper part of the window, where there are titles with little icons next to them, one result should be "Podcasts for running" -- click the icon
-in the bottom half of the window, there's a list of all the different workouts -- click the "get episode" button all the way on the right to download each workout that you want
-once they're done downloading, you can sync them to your iPod and you should be able to listen to them!

Hi everyone! I started the C25K today. I attempted it before 20+ pounds heavier and couldn't get past week 2. I hope that I will be able to push further this time.
I have found the 60 second jogs to be no problem with a quick recovery this time - which I attribute to being in much better shape.

I might talk my sister into doing a 5K run in July to give me motivation to keep going.

Great job fiberlover! I'm glad it was much easier for you this time. If you get stuck again, you could try repeating a week before going on to the next one that is too hard.

I was tempted to do the c25k again today, but the program specifically states to only do it 3 days a week (and I did it yesterday). I did 30 minutes elliptical instead, plus some biking around campus. I can already tell that my heart rate was a bit lower than before on the elliptical, even though I was at my normal intensity. Before, my HR was around 160-165, and today my HR was mostly around 150.

Happy running everyone!

W3D1 today. It was sort of depressing realizing that 3 mins of running is really my limit. :( I used to be able to run 30 minutes! But I had to push myself VERY hard during that last run just to finish. But then I walked for 20 mins because it was so nice outside, and thought about the fact that I'm making progress and getting closer to my goals every run, and I felt much better.

Morning all, I did week7 day 2 yesterday, it was holy crap hard. I ran for 28 minutes in a row (supposed to be 25 but I got distracted at the end) I did it!!!

I wanted to quit (or walk) SO BAD from about 10-20 minutes but I just kept it up and I made it. I think I can do this!!

Mayness, you are doing great, it's all about the progression. We are just about the same size and I felt the same way. I had run before, I was never very fast but could do a 5k, then I fell on the ice last winter and then had to have surgery in September so was out of commission for just about a year. I could not believe how hard it was to restart 7 weeks ago. Every week I feel like I'm not sure I can do this week's program then I run along going "I think I can, I think I can, like that story about the little engine! ;) And somehow, you can!

Fiberlover, foodie, Shades & Dea, lets us know how it goes!!

I keep thinking about an IPOD, maybe for my birthday in June. I will be 42.

Meamarie, CaitB, BernerD, and Heffa, great job to keep at it, we are all doing so good, I love the support of everyone trying together.

Thanks Me_Amarie for coming up with this thread!

Morning!

I did W3D3 this am before work. OK, so it was a bit harder today, but I did it! I ran on a trail today instead of sidewalk, and wouldn't you know, my second 90 second run was uphill! Oof, I thought I would die! I realized at the end of the second 3 min run, that while I was happy to stop there, I COULD have gone farther. So I think that means I'm ready for W4 next time!

Good job everyone! We can do it!

mothermavis - awww... Thanks. :) But I can't take any credit. This thread would be nothin' without all you awesome chickies filling it with your experiences and inspiration!

I'm so glad we are all doing this together! I know I would have given up without all y'all's support along the way.

thanks Foodie08 and mayness....I am going to give it a try tonight so that it is ready to go for tomorrow morning!

Good job! I already have a nano, but I bought a shuffle specifically for running. It's perfect. I forget it's there.

Trying to motivate myself to complete W3D2 today.

Foodie, didya do it? If not, let's do it today. I am presently mustering up the energy to go finish week 7! I can't wait til I can post that I made it to week 8!

I just bought a book "The Non runners marathon guide for Women" It's very funny. I think I am going to keep going with the training after the C25K is complete and work toward a Half Marathon that is held about an hour from me in September.

I am finished with week 3, I added another 90 second run to yesterdays, and I felt OK- I think I am ready for week 4, the plan is to get up early and get 'er done tomorrow!

WOOt Caitbeans - :bravo: we can run W4D1 together tomorrow (well, not literally, but you get the idea...). I am excited!

Mavis, Foodie - how'd it go?

Awesome posts from everyone - congrats on your progress thus far in April! :celebrate:

I *almost* wimped out and took the day off today...but I thought better of it and did W5D1 today. I thought I'd give it a shot, even with my oh-so-wonderful cold and made it through! I did have to drop from my 6.0mph to 5.7mph but I'm hoping that once the snot is gone I can get back up to speed.

W5D2 Monday! :woops:

W4D6 this morning on the track - oh dear, I'm definitely not used to running on an empty stomach anymore... :dizzy: But! I made it through OK, and I think I'm ready to start week 5 on Monday.

@BernerDoc, I see you started W5 today - sounds encouraging... somewhat... :D

@Me_Amarie & caitbeans: good luck with week 4 - it's actually kind of started to grow on me, weird podcast music and all! :D

@mothermavis: what an awesome goal - at the moment I feel so comfortable in doing these intervals that I never even considered yet to think past the end of the program... :)

@Foodie: I love my shuffle, too - so much better than lugging ye olde iPod Mini around (yeah, I still have one of those prehistoric contraptions...) :D

@mayness - don't worry about "only" running three minutes right now - progress comes so fast with this program, and I say this even though I've just repeated a week. Two weeks ago, three minutes was super hard for me, and now it's "the easy interval" - and even the five minutes that killed me a week ago are very manageable. You'll be back up to your 30 min. in no time at all! :)

W3D2 today, and it was definitely easier than last time!

Thank you Heffalump and mothermavis for the support... I think part of my bad mood was hormonal :p and you're both right, I'm already progressing much faster than I expected.

Great job this week, everyone! Dea, have you tried running with the podcast yet?

I finished Week 7. Note to self, do not eat egg salad b4 running.
Usually, I run after work of mid morning and breakfast is pretty much always yogurt, yesterday ran after lunch. Yuck. But I did it. Week 8, here I come

morning ladies.

Just fininshed my TBL cardio workout..weeks 2-3, which is a 30 minute workout. Everyone is getting ready for church, but I am staying home with my 7 year old because he has a fever...not sure why.
Anyway, my plan is to do Week1 Workout2 later this afternoon. I haven't had a chance to download the podcast yet, but that's part of my morning plan too. Thanks again for the instructions.
A funny thing happened while I was running last on Wednesday. I did my first run just before I had to pick my kids up from school...and while I was out, a couple of parents saw me walking, checking my watch, running and then walking again. Two of them, who were driving, turned around and offered me a ride, thinking that I was trying to get to school before the bell. It felt good to tell them that I was exercising, and that I would see them at the school yard!
Have a good day ladies...being a 'newbie' to this program, you are all a real inspiration to me!

I just did week 4, I can't believe I survived!! I feel SO great, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, I can't believe I ran for 5 minutes STRAIGHT and 16 minutes total, I almost cried!

I did W3D2 today. It was so pretty that I decided to run outside (I usually use the treadmill). I feel like my run was so much more enjoyable with all the scenery and people. I'll probably do more of my runs outside now if weather permits. The running wasn't too bad, I think I'll be ready to move on to week 4 next (I thought I may have to repeat week 3).

-Cait - Great job on week 4! Good luck with week 5 too; you can do it!

-Dea - That's a funny story with the other parents offering you rides!

-Mothermavis - Congrats on week 7! I hope that I can get as far as you!

Hello Ladies! Thanks to you all I began this program on the 31st of March. Yesterday ( Sunday ) was the beginning of W2-D1.
Thank you all!! :D

A brief synop of me. I am 43, soon to be 44 come May. I lost the majority of my weight last year ( 64 lbs! :carrot: ). Leaving me just shy of the final 20. :) This time around in my journey I took the pressure off. ( I had a real vicious cycle with summers. :lol: ) This time though, I lightened up mentally. Telling myself shoot for a pound a week. Taking into consideration there would be weeks of no loss, along with weeks of bigger losses. By the end of the year at worst I would be anywhere from 40-52 pounds lighter. Exceeding my goal was a bonus! ;)

I tell you this because of one of the highlights of my journey. I was with my son who is 10 and who has been going through this stage I like to call... "Come on Mom lets race!" You know those mad dashes from car to front door, or through the parking lot into a store, or I'm gunna beat you to the swing kind of things. :^: For years I would play along. The key word is play... The fake starts watching him dash away. Pretending my shoe came untied even though I never wore lace up shoes. :p The half hearted jogs after him... I was very good at playing! We've always had a blast as he beat me. By now your probably asking yourselves whats the NSV for pets sake! Here it comes...

Well early one morning as we were running errands before school. We found ourselves in a nearly deserted parking lot and before my foot hit the tarmac the inevitable words rang through the air. "Come on Mom, lets race to the door!" I had every intention of just doing the half hearted joggie thing but something in my mind said go for it. This was a subconcious impulse because I hadnt even realized I was till I was! :D I screamed out to him, "Hunnie look! Mom's running she's REALLY running!" It was brief. It was beautiful. It was a milestone. It also got me a bear hug and a " I'm proud of you Mom." from my son. Brought tears of joy to my eyes, more importantly it brought hope to my heart. :D

This kodak moment was brought to us ladies just before winter set in last year. Leaving us yearning for nice weather and just as it has... You all start this thread!! :flow2: One more time, Thank You!

My days are Sunday, Wednesday, and Fridays hitting the trails at 5:30 am. :) Best of all my little man comes with me! He is my coach, my time-keeper, my cheery encourager. His presense alone makes me want to try harder. I adore this time with him alone as he teaches Mom to run using the c25k as a guideline. ( I have 2 teenage daughters so one on one time is precious. ;) ) My secret goal, unbeknownst to him... Is to enter us into a 5k come Autumn. How cool would That be??!!?? :D

Okies I am going to end this intro post here but I do have 1 question.

Are there any smokers doing this or am I the only nutter to attempt it? :dizzy: My secret Secret is that this running regime will help me put down the packs once and for all. Don't tell the boy, we dont want to gt his hopes up. One issue at a time. :rofl:

Hi all!

Well, I did not make it out to run today :( and won't get a chance tomorrow :( I have a FULL agenda of meetings I didn't really know about earlier when I was planning this trip. The only good thing is one of my meetings today was a walking one :yay: so at least I got some exercise!

Sweetnsassy - what a great story! Thank you for sharing, and I'm so glad you joined us.
Caitbeans - you rock! I can't wait to catch up.

Everyone else - keep on keepin on! We are runners!!! :yay:

Caitbeans, you rock!

Sweet& Sassy, aww, that is sweet. I'm a former smoker and just about your age, I'll be 42 in June. I quit 6 years ago. It's hard, but you can do it.

Dea, too funny, I bet you are the envy of those Mom's who wish they were doing something about it, too. I know, for a long time I wished to be thinner, but didn't do much to get there.

Me_ Amarie, you've got it right, we do what we can.

I've made it to week 8, not sure if I am running today or tomorrow, I think my knees could appreciate the extra day off.

How's everybody doing?

Today was W5D2 for me...and I did it wrong! Oops! I don't use the podcasts so usually I'll write it down but today I thought, Oh I can remember that. LOL. Oops. It's supposed to be 8 min run/5 min walk/8 min run but I did 5 min run 3 min walk, 5 min run, 3 min walk, 8 min run. No idea where I came up with that one. Oh well...still a huge accomplishment for me to have run 8 minutes! :D Here's to the REAL D2 on Wednesday :)

Awesome job, everyone. The progress posts are so motivating. Keep running!

That is EXACTLY how I felt when I found that March C25K thread a few weeks ago! If it had been colder and still snowy out, I probably would have just ignored it. I don't have access to a treadmill or indoor track right now. But just as the sun started poking through and we got a few warm days, and I was wanting to spend more time outside, I found this great group of women. :)

Welcome, and keep up the good work!

You guys are doing great!
I am restarting week 1, since I didn't get a workout in on Saturday. I will just do MWF this week as week 1.
It's pretty doable. I am scared of week 3 already though

W5D1 today - it was... surprisingly doable, actually! I'm tempted to go right ahead to day two on Wednesday, but I guess I will decide there and then. IN no way, shape or form can I imagine running 20 minutes straight by the end of this week, though. Eek!

Keep up the great work everybody, I love to read how you're all doing! :carrot:

I did it! I couldn't sleep last night, so I just got up an hour early and I did W4D1!! :yay: holy cow!

I ran 5 minutes. Uh huh, me. 5 minutes!!!! It didn't even suck (too much). Ack, gotta go - plane is boarding.

Sweetnsassy...I love walking/jogging with my kids too! I have 4 (yikes) so when any of them offer to join me, I always let them. My oldest daughter is a basketball player and track athlete...very fit! She usually runs ahead of me, and then runs back to meet me where I am. My middle two travel at the same pace as me...probably to support me, and my youngest (7) rides his bike.
Sometimes they all come along, but I actually like it better when just one joins me.....that one on one time is priceless. Thanks for the story!!
I did W1D2 yesterday afternoon with my middle daughter. I may do it again tomorrow, as my daughter had some cramps near the end, so I didn't run the last few minutes. The weather has been so lovely, it is so easy to be outside.
I really enjoy reading how well everyone is doing, and the progress you are making! Thanks for the motivation!
Me Amarie...great job

Tonight I did W3D3. It was ok... I was running VERY slowly (probably less than 5mph) but it felt pretty good. I guess I'm just meant to be slow right now. :) And at that speed, I think I can start week 4 next time. Yikes!

My shins started to hurt, so I iced them after, and now they feel fine. I think the problem is that I ran Saturday, then did an aerobics video with some high-impact stuff Sunday, then ran again today. My legs can't handle the impact EVERY day. I might just focus on strength training on my off-days, with some walking thrown in to enjoy the weather.