Were you progessing according to the C25K schedule? SLOW IT DOWN. They go from nothing to 5K really, really fast. And LOTS of people get injured and regard their injuries as random chance, rather than something that's not surprising given how fast they're expecting their musculoskeletal systems to adapt to high-impact use.

Just did week 3, day 3, this time running outside. I thought I was going really slowly, but according to my phone app, my average run pace as 9:42! My walk slowed to 16:13, however. I was sorely tempted to quit halfway through, but I'm glad I pushed myself.

The one part about c25k that I don't love is that you can feel like you're not going fast enough or long enough soon enough and you end up doing too much. That and there just aren't enough caveats when getting started. For some couch potatoes, the program is actually slow. I've seen out of shape friends go from c25k easily in 9 weeks.

However, they had maybe a beer gut or 15 extra pounds and no known knee problems. For me, I need to remember that I've got 70 extra pounds and a bum right knee.

Definitely do leg strengthening exercises outside of jogging. It's the only thing that'll keep your knee healthy enough to run. And do make sure you're using shoes with the appropriate amount of stability for your gait. Otherwise, you're landing wrong with every stride and can be causing damage. Makes a HUGE difference.

And just keep in mind that no matter how fast you're going, every step forward jogging is one more than you've ever gone before!

Just started today!!
 

C25K is the first thing I found on this site, and I love it already! I don't psych myself out dreading a long workout and then just saying 'awww forget it' and staying home on my comfy couch. Every other day for 20 mins? AND I work up a crazy sweat? I love it!

I did w2d3 today. I'm so out shape, I'm sure the old people who run by me on every jog wonders how it's possible to be that young and out of shape.

MariaMaria There is a danger of getting hurt by doing c25k too fast, but I convert the running into a light jog since I haven't jogged for 3 years. It's important to do the programme according your own physical endurance.

Today I did W5D2 for the first time. I did the first 8 min without much trouble then pooped out with 3 min left in the second 8 min. I really struggled with week 4, then after 2-3 weeks realized my problem was with pacing myself. It became more of a problem as the runs got longer. I started using a heart rate monitor and that nipped this problem in the bud. I really just need to get used to running longer distances.

Today when I didn't finish my second 8 min interval, my heart rate monitor told me I was around 165 bpm, which is the heart rate I normally run at. Once it starts creeping up to 175-180, I start feeling winded and try to slow down. I think I really could have kept going, I just lost my focus. Plus I didn't sleep that well last night and wasn't feeling that fresh. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to finish it. I'm going to stay at this workout for a few days and let myself get used to running for this long. I don't feel ready to attempt 20 min of jogging. I hope to be onto week 6 by the end of June.

I see that so many of you are above 200 pounds and I think it's absolutely amazing you guys go jogging with all the extra weight to carry. It has to be tough.

Week 4, day 1 today. I took it easy on the treadmill today, doing the 3-minute runs at 10:54 and the 5-minute ones at 12. I hurt my knee doing zumba immediately before and so didn't want to stress it any.

Around when I started, I saw a few people post on here that they completed the whole program at 200+ weights. Therefore, I knew it could be done.

Also I just did my second 5k. More than anything I was proud of myself for signing up and actually doing it. Not waiting until I was thinner and more in shape to run a race. Not being afraid that the person behind me could see my bum bounce or worried about being the fattest person there. It just felt good to be out there racing rather than home psyching myself out.

Well, today was my first run after a week off due to a back injury. I last ran last Friday, and I did Week 4, Day 1 then....so I decided to try Week 4, Day 1 today, and couldn't believe that I made it!! Was it tough? Yes, but I made it. It also didn't help that it was very muggy out.

I hadn't been sure if, after a week off, I should backtrack and do Week 3 again, or if I should start back up at Week 4, and just keep pushing until I got through it...I opted for the latter believing the mental "stigma" of backtracking would be detrimental to my drive to continue on with the program. I think, for me, it was a good call. I am glad glad to be back to running.

During my week off, I went and bought some good running shoes, rather than my $20 Walmart cheapies, now I just have to get them broken in.

Hey y'all!

I'm going to join this thread if you do not mind. :) I started about 6 weeks ago, repeated week 1 because one of my friends was going to do it with me and asked me to restart it with her, she quit 4 work outs later, and here I am 5 weeks after that, still going strong.

I completed week 5 day 3 today -- which I have been seriously dreading -- and I am so proud of myself. I did not think I would see the day when I could run for 20 minutes without stopping. And I just feel so much better every day!

No running for me this week :-( TOM is just brutal. Back on track on Sunday!

Haha, I've been dealing with that this week, too!!! So ready for it to be over. Ugh! Running with cramps is awful!

YAY!! :carrot:

Thats what I love about this program more than anything, the progress you see. It feels so good to be able to run for 10 min when a few months ago you could barely run for 90 seconds. It just feels amazing when you complete and interval. This has helped me see exercise as separate from diet, and push me to run on "lost" days.

Today I did W5D2 hopefully I'll be right there with you in a few days ;).

Thank you!! Haha! I know, I seriously love that about it, as well, and I keep telling my friends about it for that reason. Sometimes I feel like a spokesperson for c25k but I am enjoying it thoroughly and seeing myself progress is so worthwhile.

I am going to go to the gym tomorrow and plan to replicate today's success, hopefully it goes well! And I am SURE you will be there in no time! That twenty minutes actually goes by faster than I thought it would. Good luck!

I did w5d3 again this morning. Taking tomorrow off and starting week 6 on Monday! :)

Today I got outside and did W5D2, for the second day in a row. It seemed harder to do today and It was hard enough yesterday. I was practically jogging in place by the end of it. I'm definately not ready to attempt the 20 min run.

I'm hoping to complete it the next 3 days, for a total of 5x in a row. Then I'll probably be ready to move on.

It is amazing to me that you do it so many days in a row, girl! Holy cow! I can't go more than two in a row without taking a day off, so just WOW!

I'm just joining this thread. I actually heard about C25K through this Forum and checked it and started it myself. I'm disappointed to say that I couldn't last the whole 20 minutes and I'm only on Week 1 Day 1. :( I was five minutes shy. I know I should have pushed myself harder and I will tomorrow. Hearing how so many of you are doing this and pushing yourselfs - I know I can do it. But MAN. . . talk about being completely pooped! ><

AnonymouslyYours - That doesn't really bother me. It's only a half hour and I run pretty slow so it's low impact. Also, I'm not doing any other working out. The running usually doesn't make me sore, anymore. Though it did when I first started. I did this with week 3 too. I really struggled with trying to move up to week 4, so I did week 3 5x in a row. It was enough to convince myself I was ready to move on. Though I usually have a bit more pep in my step following a rest day.

Also, thanks for the congrats. Going on here and having people to talk to my progress is so motivating! It has definately helped me though some "steps backward" in my running.

Don't get discouraged, I also really struggled when I first started in early May. I signed up for a BIG local 5K that was 3 weeks away, before I started C25K. I figured at the very least I was capable of walking 3 miles. I was really excited about this program because I was so out of shape. I was 216 pounds and REALLY on the couch. I thought the title C25K sounded so warm and fuzzy. Then I did day one and had a reality check. Stephen King could have written horror novels about the sounds coming out of my lungs. I was definitely panicked about my upcoming race. Right now I'm on week 5, I did my second 5k last weekend in 35 min and I can't believe I struggled so much with 60 second intervals a few weeks ago.

Luckily I read a "Beginning Runners" article that warned me about the extent to which you feel wiped out in the beginning. I was sore and exhausted for the first few weeks but the feeling went away. I'd recommend giving it 3-4 weeks before you make up your mind. Try and run as slow as you can and take the program at your own pace. I've had steps backward and weeks that took me a little longer to complete. It's all good, just keep at it.

Hi again :>
 

Hi girls, I've been reading posts, and I'm really encouraged by your experiences! I just finished W1D3 today and I stepped on the scale to discover a gain of 2.5 pounds. Pretty depressing, but I'm gonna stick with it since I do feel better about myself for sticking with this even just for one week. I don't have a great track record when it comes to consistently going to the gym :/ I usually do the elliptical b/c when I run, my feet and knees end up in pain, but the short bursts are doable. I can't believe how out of breath and sweaty I get - worse than double the time on the elliptical.

Anyway, I'm just glad I found a community of people to talk about this with :>

Wow that's really great; I'm doing C25K right now and I can't wait until I can post a time like that. I think my best time for a 5K right now (run/walk) is about 45 minutes.

Hey ladies, I've been at the C25K for the past 4 weeks, just heading into week 5 (terrified of the 7 minutes), every once in a while i do my C25K as i'm meant to from the plan and follow it with whatever last weeks was, it seems to be helping increase my endurance.

Anyway I'm loving it so far & hope you'll all forgive me for not reading the 13 pages before i posted- i will try to get through them

Almostatty - When I started I didn't lose a pound for the first 3 weeks. I cleaned up my diet a bit but wasn't perfect. Though I could see the running progress as I was progressing though the weeks. Then the diet got a little better and the runs got a little longer and I started losing. Losing weight is almost 100% diet. Exercise helps with endorphins, cleaning up your hormonal profile, mood, sleep, fitness etc. Things that will help you stay on your diet, but in and of itself it won't help you all that much with losing weight. Someone around here has a sig quote that says "you can't out exercise poor eating habits" and that’s definitely the truth. Good Luck!

Darius - Thanks, My first one was done in 37 min and some change in late may, and then I did this one less than a month later in 35, I actually walked some of it. Your time will probably get a lot faster as you do the program; the progress you see in the beginning is so motivating. Good Luck!

Finished week 6 day 1 today. I actually found it more difficult than w5d3, but I completed it. :)

@AnonymouslyYours I agree! I think after running 20 minutes straight I underestimated this one. Seems so easy compared to W5D3. It's not!

i started running yesterday outside (around the lake near my house).
For some reasons, i had to go back to W1D1. It was so much different from running at home.
My speed is way too fast compare to running at home, therefore I'm out of breath much easier.
It's just so different when running outside.
But it feels much better.
I think i'm gonna restart myself as W1D1 yesterday, and will keep running outside. At least I was able to last myself 3 lake-rounds (around 4km), of 25 minutes (plus 5 minutes warm-up).

OK, I am back. After a few setbacks (day camp volunteer first week of June and a 9 day road trip last week), I am back on track. I finished week 6 before my trip and only ran 1x last week in 90+ degree heat with high humity and quit after 1 mile a dripping mess, so that doesn't count. So this 9-week plan is taking several months, but it WILL get done!

Today I did week 7 day 1 and ran my 2.5 miles in 30:11. Not bad, not bad at all. And you know what? I wasn't dying! My breathing was good and didn't start huffing until well into mile 2. I might actually be getting the hang of this running thing! Looking forward to doing it again on Thursday.

Good Luck everyone! It does get easier as it gets harder (if that makes any sense).

I attempted W5D3 today and got through 18 min of it. I'm actually very happy.:carrot:

I planed on doing D2 again today but felt pretty good during the warm-up walk and decided to go for it. I was really hurting by min 13-14 then got a mini-second wind. I think I could have finished it, but I accidentally hit my timer with 2 min left turning it off. I was spent though.

I was also pleased that I was on pace for ~10 min mile. I've been doing this by time not by distance, but yesterday I mapquested my course to get an idea of how far I was going. The whole thing is 2.3 miles and I figure the .3 is my warm up walk. When I pooped out I was 1.5 blocks from the end.

I just did W6D2 today. It almost killed me but I completed the workout :-) I had sore legs and that didn't mix well. Anyways, W6D3 on Thursday!

I did w6d2 today, just like my fellow troop member Josey did yesterday! Congrats again, girl! w6d3 on Friday! :)

Awesome!

I did W3D1 today. I had bad shin pain during the 3 minute run. I could barely lift my legs by the end of the 3 minutes. Any tips on relieving the pain?

Ice and time, Isabella. Are you wearing proper running shoes, fitted to you by someone who knows what they're doing?

I have brand new Nike shoes, however I ordered them online, didn't have them fitted to my feet.

If your pain lasts or gets worse, seriously consider taking yourself to a proper running store and being fitted for shoes.

Nike makes good shoes, but not every shoe is right for every body. (And there are major differences even within any given category of shoes--not all stability shoes are the same, for example.) And that's why we buy in real life and not online.

Isabella - It was not until w4 that the cement blocks that attached themselves to my shins when jogging started to get better.

If your shins do not start getting better soon, I would head over to a running store to get advise from them. I love my local running store.

Week 2 started!
 

So I slacked at the beginning of the week and didn't start my week 2 til tonight. I will do Friday and Sunday to complete it :D So wow - it was tough! Going from the couch to this is definitely a challenge - I'm pretty scared for weeks 5 and 6, but I feel like this is something I can make myself finish. You week 5 & 6 ladies, how did you face the long runs? Did you feel like the previous weeks prepared your body for the longer runs? idk if I'm gonna be ready! :dizzy:

I think the program prepares you pretty well physically, BUT there is no reason you shouldn't repeat as many days or weeks as you need to. Almost every time I thought "there's no way I can do this next longer jog!" I was pleasantly surprised. There were a couple of times that it proved to be true... I just wasn't ready and had to go back and repeat the previous day or week.

The important part is finding the balance between pushing yourself enough to make progress and not so much that your hurt yourself. Easier said than done, I know!