Question for the more experienced C25K'ers:

I am currently running a Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday schedule, however, with my grad school classes being on Tuesday/Thursdays (and I also work full time), I'm thinking of switching to Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. Since I already ran my first day of W3 today, should I run on Tuesday AND Wednesday, or just wait until Wednesday?

I *think* (and if someone else knows better, feel free to correct me) it's better to not run 2 days in a row when you're starting out; you want to give your muscles time to recover from this new activity. So I would wait til Wednesday.

I'm at the mercy of my rotating schedule of 4 - 10-hour days. So this past week, I only ran on tuesday and saturday. The week before it was sunday, tuesday, thursday. This coming week, wednesday and a weekend day for sure, but not sure when I can fit another one in. I'll figure it out.

Just started this. I am on W1 Day3..about to do my day 3 in about an hour...I am glad I started this, I have been putting it off forever.

Now if I could just get myself on to a better eating pattern I'd be great!

Thanks for the advice, Riddy!

Truth be told, my legs are already feeling a bit sore from this morning, so 2 days off might be ok. :)

I just started today :) I think I'm going to go check out some new running shoes tomorrow. I've had problems with my feet/shin splits in the past so I want to make sure I start slow and protect myself as much as poss. I'm excited to start though!!

Finished week 1 last night. Starting week 2 tomorrow.

I see women all of the time wearing tennis shirts to work out in. Hahaha you can get those and be in your comfort zone!

I'm starting week 1 day 1today! Woohoo! Excited!

Finished Week 2 Day 1 today. I've been doing this on a treadmill and doing the app and then once the app is over, doing a walk/run pace until I see 3.2 miles on the screen. This is usually a mile more than the program (at my current pace) so that my 3.2K is around 40 minutes (and I am DYING after that).

I've been doing this at lunch at work on MWF. Let me tell you, I am NOT a pretty sight afterwards.

I was thinking of signing up for a half marathon in January but that's more than 3Xs a 5K! I don't know if I could ever run that far. Walk, sure. But run?

Repeated week 7, day 3 today. :running::running::running:

I was originally going to run on Monday after work, but I almost passed out in the shower Monday morning (possibly related to Sunday's hot yoga class?) so I decided to pass on serious exercise and sweating. I did plain yoga instead.

Probably won't get another run in until the weekend. Oh well.

Week 1 finished today. Little nervous about upping it in week 2, but I think I can do it!!! Haven't even got to the hard weeks yet lol!!

Week 8, day 1 done!

I had been tracking my whole workout on Endomondo and was hovering around 2.5 miles, I didn't really know how much of it was actual running, so today I stopped and restarted it to get an idea of how far off I am from the 5K. My actual run was only 2 miles in 28 minutes, so I still have some work to do once I complete the program.

Keep up the good work, everyone!

Hi, all! I just wanted to cheer you on and share a little of my story. I did C25k the summer of 2010 (I was getting healthy for my wedding) and ran my first 5k 9/11/10, then stopped all fitness later that week because my fiance was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

I repeated C25k the summer of 2011 as a remedy for depression (I started one week after my husband died) and ran a 5k 9/26/11 on what turned out to be a torn meniscus.

I had surgery for my knee in February of this year, did PT and spinning for a while before restarting C25K. I've finished the program and I ran a 5k last month and another one this morning. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I've finished a race! I'm still super slow. I jogged the whole run today and finished in 46 minutes exactly, which was 2.5 minutes faster than my race last month.

My point is, it doesn't matter how slow you run, you'll get better with time. I haven't finished a race in last place yet and everyone cheers you on no matter how slow you are. Runners are wonderful people.

I think it's awesome you are all doing this and I can't encourage you enough to pick a race, sign up for it and do it! My goal is to participate in an organized run every month for a year. I'm already signed up for 5ks for September, October and December and I'm eying a 10k in November and a 15k for March. You can find a list of races in your area at active.com or your local runner's shop website.

Best of luck all! I'm cheering you on =)

I have been doing the c25k on an on/off basis for a while. My off times tend to be longer than my on ones. I was doing really well at it and then I got a back spasm that kept me from running (doctors orders) for about 2.5 weeks. I then did some running on my own without the program for a couple days. I have never gotten to a longer than 5 min run segment on the program. Last Wednesday, I decided to run again and I planned to run 1 lap and then walk some and repeat. After I finished the lap I thought I might be able to do a second without stopping. I ended up doing 3. I went past the end of the third lap and completed the straight portion of the 4th lap when my brain told me I was too tired. I am mad now, because I realized after stopping that I should have kept running - my legs and lungs were fine to finish out the mile. That is the furthest I have run in a long time and I didn't even realize I could do it. I went on vacation right after that and just got back. I am going to try again and see if I can do a mile. After that I am going to pick back up with the program and see how far I can take this. Yay for all the small victories that keep pushing us onward towards our goals. :)

I started today! It was exhausting and it was all a slow jog when I ran, and I was breathing heavy and crazy and I'm pretty sure I need a new sports bra but I still finished and did 2 miles in 30 minutes so that was fun then I did another 2 miles just walking briskly, can't wait to see where this 9 weeks gets me

Did Week 4, day 2 today. I am finally getting into that headspace where I'm zoning out and thinking of other things while running. I used to think, "How many more minutes until I'm finished?" Now I'm thinking about what I need to get done at work, or what I'm going to do this weekend.


Thedollylala: Congrats! A good quality sports bra will make a world of difference. I got one of the Panache ones and they are fantastic.

colebear: I hope to run my first 5K in October-- it's a color run, so it should be fun and no stress :)

@celticharpie Ill look into that brand some!!

Today starts week two, excited about this! I'll also be incorporating 30 day shred I decided to not go to the gym this month and switch it up with that,

I used to be able to jog 8 miles. This was 5 years ago, though!

Today I went to the track and walked a brisk mile. I downloaded the C25K app and next time I go to the track I'm starting the program. I'm excited to get my stamina back up. It's been daunting.

Hi folks! Last month I gave myself a fitness challenge to be able to run a mile and I completed that on Saturday 9/1/2012! :cheer: So now I am on to my next fitness goal, which is being able to run a 5K. I downloaded the c25k app to my phone today and hit the road. I really need to pick up my speed though! I read on the reviews of the app that the distance they calculate isn't necessarily accurate so I ran Endomondo (which I find to be very accurate) along with the c25k app. Endomondo told me that I ran/walked 1.58 miles in the 30 minutes while the c25k app put me at 1.99 miles. I'm going with Endomondo's number though. So I have to pick up speed to run a 5K in 30 minutes for sure!

All in all, I completed Week 1 Day 1 and feel good about it! After I finished that I went back home, leashed the dog, and took him for a 1.31 mile walk (tracked on Endomondo). So I've definitely gotten in my workout today! :running: I feel great! I'm really excited about seeing my progress over the next 9 weeks!

Congrats on starting healthymewannabe I noticed the same thing cause I run nike+ at the same time to track my calories and c25k showed more miles ran...


Did day week 2 day 1 today omg so exhausted I'm gonna sleep well tonight

Thanks! :) I'm definitely sticking to Endomondo for mile accuracy, but I love the c25k app telling me when to walk and when to jog. That's very helpful! When I tried this program in the past (2006-ish) I didn't have apps so I kept having to look at my watch. It was more trouble than it was worth so I quit after week 2. But with the app I have someone else telling me when to walk and when to run! I know I can do it this time! :cheer:

I did week 8, day 3 on Saturday. I was away for the weekend, and woke up early, so decided to go for it. Did NOT realize how hilly the road was that I was on - my actual run was 2 miles, but my Fitbit said I climbed the equivalent of 38 flights of stairs! :eek:

Tried to run tonight after I got home. The warmup walk was fine, but when I started running, I just didn't have the energy. A few minutes later when I had to go up a small hill, I had some trouble breathing, and even started to sound wheezy. So I dropped back to a walk and walked right back home. Only got in 15 minutes, but oh well. Better luck next time.

Just did W5D1. I am scared about D3 this week (20 minutes straight), but thought today was easier than last week. Today was the walk 5, run 5, walk 3, run 5, walk 3, run 5, walk 5 day. It seemed easier than alternating runs of 3 and 5 minutes.

When I get to D3, I will be away in Chicago. It will be interesting to run in a new neighborhood!

Repeated week 8, day 3 today. Logged just over 2 miles on the running portion. Next time I'll start increasing my running time to bring my distance up.


Oh yeah, I have the Panache sports bra too. Worth every penny for my DDD/E's. I love it so much, I bought 2 more. :D

Hi all! I'm newish here...

I have been following weight watchers since March and have lost 31 pounds and have been doing ellitptical workouts 2-3 times a week for a few weeks. My ww buddy and BFF has been walking LOTS and started joggin so I thought, why can't I? So I did! I actually found a fun 5k to make a goal - but it's not till next June-it's a foam/mud run...LOL! Anyway, I started C25k on Monday. I actually did W1D1 twice because I switched to a different app after the first day. Today I completed W1D2 and I'm slow, but will get there...For now I am using the treadmill, once I can manage that, I will work on getting outside!

Hubby is my biggest cheerleader! He is planning to do the race with me in June, but I'm thinking maybe we should get another race in before the fun one...not sure...

I completed c25k W5D3 today. I did it. I ran for 20 minutes continuously:D

IsabellaOlivia - way to go! I tackle that run on Sunday. I just did W5D2 today.

I had the horrible problem this morning of forgetting to charge up my trusty iPod. Ended up having to time the run and go sans music.

I almost felt naked! It was strange to go running with no music.

It's really helpful to have someone instructing you on when to run and when to walk. I think I would have struggled if I were to do C25K without the podcasts.

Completed C25k W6D1. I actually foud today harder than my previous run, which was the big 20 minutes straight.

I'm starting week 3 today I've gotta admit I'm nervous about running for 3 minutes, and excited as well, my knee was giving me issues but I've been wearing a brace and it's ok, I'm gonna look for some kt tape today and see how that goes, but it's mainly uncomfortable but I'm working on my form each time.

Oh yeah I got myself a panache sports bra well ordered one of amazon so excited to get it in the mail

Last week I only did C25K one day so I restarted tonight. Week 1 Day 1 under my belt, plus I did some additional walking afterward. I'll do this again on Thursday night and again sometime on Saturday. I think I'll make those my C25K days. :running:

So apparently you can't do c25k at the gym I tried and it just had me in one spot so I have to re do it so I have accurate readings on my app cause I'm a stickler for those things

IsabellaOlivia: we're on the same schedule.

I just did W6D1 and I agree with you. It seemed harder to run the intervals instead of 20 minutes straight.

Had my weigh in this morning and I'm down another 1.4 lbs. I had a bad cheat weekend (tailgating: brats, guacamole, beer, yikes!), but redeemed myself. Also fit in an 45 minute power walk with a work friend on my non-running day.

It's weird. Even though I'm not breaking any speed records, I really am beginning to feel like a runner.

Oh and add me to the Panache Love Fest. I have been toying with the idea of ordering a few more bras from them, but want to wait as I'm starting to feel my current one is too big.

Decided to try and run for 35-40 minutes tonight to see how far I would go. I made it 40 minutes, and went 2.81 miles. I'm getting there! :D

CelticHarpie:

I did w6D2 today. And again I experienced today's run was more challenging that the 20 minutes straight. I guess it's a mental thing.

I did it! Ran just over 40 minutes today, and when I went to turn off Endomondo, it chirped "3 miles", so I HAD to keep going. :D It took me 44 minutes, but I ran the 3.1 miles today!!! YAHOO!!!!!

:running::running::running::running::running:

Way to go, Riddy!

I finished Week 6 on Monday, but ran day 3 again yesterday. Today was W7D1 and I added about 5 minutes to the run (because I wasn't back to the location I usually time my run to stop).

All in all, it was really good. That extra 5 minutes felt great. I even sprinted a bit.

Mostly, I was running a bunch extra because I had to attend a family funeral over the weekend and traveled. Funerals = lots of family functions and lots of food. I tried to be good, but it was challenging. When I got home on Sunday night, I was up 4.5 lbs from my weigh in the previous Wednesday. By this morning, I had lost all that, plus another .8. I don't think I've ever been so happy to lose less than a pound in one week. LOL.

I'm really nervous about w6d3. It's strange because I wasn't nervous about w5d3, but the 25 minutes is making me anxious.

I just finished week 4 day 2 ah I'm nervous about next week well I'm nervous about every week before it starts sadly the 2nd 5 minutes of week 4 is uphill where I run, it kicks my arse