Congrats IsabellaOlivia and Kitcherella for finishing Week 8!

Unfortunately, my running progress has stalled. I was out of town for a work conference last week and this week I have been suffering from food poisoning. Also, the fact that it's dark so late in the morning kills me. When is daylight savings again? I'm hoping I can get out and run on Saturday at the latest.

I will be starting Week 9 when I finally get out there, though I hope I can manage it as I haven't been running in over a week :(

Nice work Kitcherella and IsabellaOlivia! :cp:

Hope you feel better soon, Harpie! :hug:

FWIW, I missed a week - ran on thursday the 4th, and then not again til last friday the 12th. My times were almost identical for the same distance. I did keep up with yoga in between, though.

Ran 5k again today, and was a few seconds quicker! :yay:

Now to rest and just do yoga til my first 5k race on Saturday. Wish me luck!

Good luck Riddy! Enjoy the race and the finish line!

Hi guys,

I'm doing the couch to 5k ... or at least I was. Since it's been raining practically every day here I've stopped - do you guys run in the rain or...? Should I just bite the bullet and do it? I'm worried it'll give me a cold!

I haven't run in the rain....yet. But there's a 40% chance of rain on Saturday right now, so I may get that experience whether I want it or not. :p

I'm starting C25k/C210k (haven't decided which one yet) tomorrow and I'd love to join this group. I've tried doing the program many times now but I can't seem to make it past week 5 or 6. I really hope I can stick with it this time.

I love running in the cold so it's one way to look forward to the winter.

When I did C210k last winter, I did a lot of the runs on my own and I did feel awkward at first. I live in a very thin town so I stick out like a sore thumb as is. But running around made me feel even more out-of-place. I especially felt like a pansy the first week or so because the program only had me running for a minute at a time and it seemed so little!

But once I got through that and was running for longer distances I was huffing and puffing too much to care what anyone else thought about me. For the most part, my motivation stemmed from not wanting to lose all the fitness I had worked so hard to get.

Each time I stopped the program I had a decent reason (shin splints the first time, cut off part of my finger another year so getting my pulse too high was extremely painful, and a knee injury last year stopped all forms of exercise for a couple of months). Getting restarted from scratch really sucked, and it took a long time for me to get to the point where I somewhat "enjoyed" running.

So not wanting to go through that beginning stage of suckage is motivation enough to keep going. Keep at it! Focus on your pace or listening to music and you'll be able to block out the feelings of anxiety.

I bought all my long-sleeves at Marshalls. They tend to have a decent selection of off-brand gear that is just as good as the brand gear. They sometimes carry Under Armour if you look carefully enough. I'd suggest looking there first.

Completed c25k W8D3. Had a nice run in the rain followed by a Pilates DVD.

Almost done with week 8 I can't believe I'm almost done with the entire program! I plan to re-do it and see if I can make better time than this go thru

Ran W9D1.

Is there a c210K program? I don't know how to keep up the running after I'm done with the podcasts.

After 2 weeks off due to work schedule and illness, I just did W9D1. What a difference. It was hard, but I made it through and stepped on the scale to find myself down 1.2 lbs.

I can't wait for the time change so that I can run in the mornings again.

I ran my first 5k race today! :yay:

I was a little slower than at home alone, but I was caught in traffic, and with a friend who hadn't trained. I decided having company was more important than a good finish time. A few friends showed up to cheer me on, and I am so proud of myself! :D:D:D

And IsabellaOlivia, I know Zen has a couch to 10k app if you have a Droid or iphone.

Hey all!
nice to hear you are doing well. This will be my graduation week.
Riddy - Good job! You were on mind, I am happy for you. I will run a 5k in April but today there was a night half marathon and a 5k in my city and I went to cheer on the runners. It was fantastic.
IsabellaOlivia there is also a 5K+ podcast series for Couch to 5K graduates for NHS.
Thanks augeremt.
Have a nice week :)

Kitcherella: I checked it out. I think I'm going to attempt the NHS 35 minute podcast and also the speed podcast after this week.

Jogged W9D2 today.

Starting week 9 day 1 today! I can't believe I'm here! I plan to re-do it afterwards to improve timing and speed

There is indeed a C210k program, although I don't know if they have podcasts for it. You may need to get a free interval app and add in the days and intervals manually. I've been following the plan this way and so far it's worked great for me.

There's also a Bridge to 10k program that is meant for people who have finished C25k and want to move onto a 10k program. It's 6 weeks long and uses the same principle as all the "Couch to..." programs in that it alternates running and walking.

Here are the links to Bridge to 10k and C210k that I have on my blog. I don't remember where I got the plans from otherwise I'd link to them directly.

Good job everyone...
I only walk these days due to IT band injury and PMS... double whammie :(

I did W1D1 of C210k yesterday and it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. I'm glad I started from the beginning, even with exercising pretty regularly the last few weeks and I'm actually looking forward to W1D2. Totally shocking because I dislike running.

Congrats to all you ladies finishing up!

Hello everyone! I hope its ok to just jump in....

I started C25K a couple years ago, but injured a foot and had to stop. I decided to try it again now, and yesterday was my Day 1 Week 1. I'm so tickled that I actually made it though without a problem! I was sweaty, but I wasn't as out of breath as I thought I'd be. Really looking forward to keeping on track this time!

:)

:carrot::carrot:

I completed the programme today!

On W1D1 after running 60 second straight I thought my final hour was upon me, thus I NEVER thought I'd manage to finish the podcasts.

It's funny because runnning 60 seconds straight that very first week was so much harder than running 30 minutes straight today. It doesn't make logical sense that the latter is easier.

Augeremt: I checked the links out. Too bad that they weren't ready made podcasts. I find it very convenient to be told when to run and when to walk so I can solely focus on my running.

That's a bummer they don't have podcasts! I thought they would since the programs are so similar to C25k.

And major congrats to finishing the program!!! That's amazing!

It snowed a few inches tonight and we're supposed to get a couple more tomorrow. I've always liked being outside in the snow/cold so if it's not too slippery out I'll give running a shot tomorrow. I'm hoping I won't have to wait until Friday.

eyre13 - Congrats on coming back to C25k! I just started on Tuesday so we're at about the same spot, and I, too, was pleasantly surprised by not being too out of breath during the runs. It was a good feeling.

Hooray, IsabellaOlivia! :yay::yay::yay:

Auger, I am SO not ready to run in snow yet. I'm not sure what I'm going to do over the winter yet. I tried running on my mom's treadmill a couple weeks ago, and I was bored silly. So I will keep running outside as long as I can stand it. :p

Eyre, that's great that you're starting up! I really wasn't sure I'd ever be able to run - ACL repair in 1 knee, chondromalacia in the other, plantar fasciitis in both feet, and really big boobs - but I found sneakers and a sports bra that allow me to run. :D I'm slow, but I'm running!

I think the universe rewarded me for staying with my friend during the race on Saturday. When I ran Tuesday, I knocked almost 2 minutes off of my time from last week.

I'm thinking of trying the c210k app. There's a big 15k race in Utica in July that ends at the Saranac brewery, and some friends of mine are encouraging me to go for it. The ones that have done the race said you only need to be able to run 10k to run the Boilermaker - the crowd pushes you the other 5k. :D I think for now I'm going to just run for 45 minutes at a time, and see how far that ends up being. If I can add 1k a month, I should get there by July.

Tomorrow is my last day for c25k! I can't believe it!

augrement: Thanks!

Riddy: Thanks! You have plantar fascitis - Do you wear a brace when running or anything?

Today is Day 2 for me. It should have been yesterday, but we had people over and they didn't leave until late. I'm actually looking forward to it... who knew I'd ever look forward to running?! The mind boggles....

Eyre,
My plantar fasciitis is under control. I did go to a running store to get fitted for sneakers before I started, because I HATE my orthotics. I have really flat feet, and I ended up with Brooks Adrenaline GTS. They are great for my feet!

I just fit my runs into my schedule, and don't worry too much about how many runs I get in a week. I aim for 2-3, but I've had a couple weeks when I only got in 1 run. But yeah, I hate planning on running, and then having life make me change my plans.

Hi everyone! I couldn't find anywhere whether this thread is only for C25K proper, or whether people in "C25K-like" plans can join in. I'm doing an 8 week program that's similar but not exactly the same, and I could really use some encouragement/strict accountability to get through my last 4 runs (I finished W7D2 yesterday), as well as perhaps some help figuring out what to do next when I get there. And... maybe some pointers on running in the rain. ^_^

If it's okay for me to stick around, I think I will.

C'mon in, Paja! :wave:

I started running in June. I haven't run in the rain - yet. I'm not even sure I want to find out. :p

I was tired today, so it took me 45 minutes to run 3.14 miles. I'm looking to increase my distance, but as long as I get a full run in, I'm happy.

I'm on week 6 of C25K and today I completed my FIRST EVER 5K!!!!! It was hard but I thought it was going to be awful. It was really fun. I may be getting hooked on running!

Congratulations TheMeIWant2Be! I love the feeling when you accomplish a big milestone. It's a reward itself! And thanks for the welcome Riddy.

I finished W7D3 yesterday, which means I'm up for W8D1 tomorrow morning. I'm still adjusting to that 5-10 minutes in the late middle of the run where I feel like I'm dying. I remember it from when I used to run a few years ago, and I know it's not going to go away (it's not a fitness issue), so I just keep reminding myself that nothing can stop me and press on until it goes away.

2Dy2MrwAlwys - Congrats! Keep it up!

I'm in need of some major help (hence, the long post). I went out Tuesday on W8D1. To be clear, this is for me a 28 minute run following 27, 26, and 25 min. runs (all completed successfully on the first try). Nothing should be giving me difficulty at this point. On Tuesday, with about 7 minutes left in my run, I simply stopped running. (This happens to me sometimes, but normally my brain can override my body and pick it back up again before I've actually started to walk; that didn't happen here.) I walked for about 30s-1m, and then finished my run. I was disappointed in myself, but it's just one run, and I chalked it up to an off day.

Today, I went out to repeat W8D1. With 13 minutes to go, again, my body stops running. I walked for 30s or less, and started again. About two minutes later, bam, I'm walking again. That time I told myself that there was clearly something wrong with my motivation. I sat down on a bench and vowed not to get up until I was ready to run to a tall building I could see in this distance (it's about halfway into my cool down, so a bit of a challenge). I finally got up (wobbly legs from sitting), and I ran to that building because I had to prove that I could.

My disappointment from Tuesday is magnified tenfold. I'm angry at myself– both my body and my willpower, which I believe are equally responsible in this situation. I've never failed to complete the same workout twice.

Advice, hugs, commiseration are all welcome.

Also, a more direct question: for those of you who are morning runners, what do you do about breakfast? After struggling with feeling it sloshing around in there, I tried an experiment today with waiting to eat until after my run. Unfortunately, I think the stomach cramps I was getting throughout the second half may have contributed to my repeated stop-and-walks. I don't have time in the morning to eat and then wait for it to digest before my run. Again, any advice welcome.

New here! I just finished the 2nd week of C25K yesterday. I made it to week four earlier this year but had to quit after an achilles injury. (Injured myself in a fitness class, not running.) It feels a little more difficult this time around. lol

Question--Is anyone else doing the program on a treadmill or know someone who has? There's just no logistical way for me to run outside right now. I'm curious as to how difficult it's going to be to transition from treadmill to 'real' running, though.

Anyway. Just saying "hi"! I'm happy to see a C25K thread. :)

Thanks! A friend of mine is wanting to do what would be my first 5K 'run' at the end of the month. There's no doubt that I would not be able to run the whole thing (there would definitely be some walking involved!) but I just wonder how much of a shock to the system it would be. My running style is really more of a 'bounce-in-place' so I think it would take me much, much longer to complete a 5K for real rather than on a treadmill. :D

Hey everyone! :wave:

I am by no means experienced, but I can tell you my limited experience with c25k.

I started walking in May, started c25k mid-June. It took me til mid-September to finish the "8 week" course. I repeated at least 1 workout each week because I was concerned about my feet (plantar fasciitis) and knees (ACL surgery and chondromalacia). I run SLOW. My fastest time was yesterday - 40 minutes, 49 seconds to run 5k.

I was told to run as slow as possible at the beginning. If you can run slower, then you're running too fast. Seems to work for me - I've never had anything more than a little muscle soreness along the way.

I don't eat much before I run in the morning. I either have a hard boiled egg and a cheese stick, or a plain greek yogurt with 2 teaspoons of jam stirred in. Seems to be just enough to keep me going, but without feeling too full. In the summer, I took water on my run and took little sips if I got thirsty, but now that it's chilly out, I don't need it.

I've only run on the treadmill once - I was bored silly. I run outside - at least until it gets too cold out. ;)

Hope this all helps! I'm still kind of surprised that I am able to run a 5k. I never really thought it was possible.

Go run, chicks! :D

I finished day two of 5k210k I'm enjoying the training so far, my shin is killing me but they were bothering me before I started 5k 2 10k .... Plus I went to a Halloween party on Friday and may took a spill on my knee doing the cabbage patch eeep hopefully I didnt damage myself too much

Starting intervals again after losing 60 pounds. My goal is to run a mile non stop within a 5 K. The last time I attempted I spent several months working up to about a half a mile non stop and reinjured my lower back. I am hoping NOT to do that again. I always go slow but still seem to reinjure my self.hoping to post here for inspiration.