Nov-Dec-2013 C25K Newbies/Restarters
 

I thought I'd start a thread for newbies or restarters to C25K (Couch to 5K) running program, for the Winter 2013 season. Particularly for those just starting out on it.

I am adding C25K because I am largely near my weight goal, and do other cardio training (HIIT and swimming TI and strength), but my weight has plateaued. Maybe C25K will help get another 10 lbs off. Is that too much to ask?:^:

My personal difficulty is that my hips/glutes/hamstrings are weak. Jogging hurts. It is the new part I'm working on with my physical therapist since fully rehabbing my shoulders and knees. At age 51, I thought I was falling apart for a while, it was pretty scary and depressing. It's weird, because I have always been very active, but to keep hip strength at menopause particularly, you've got to give them their own workout I think.

I did a walk/jog time test for 1 mile, on a treadmill, incline level 2. It was 15 minutes 25 seconds, really REALLY bad :tread:, given that I can really freestyle swim and cycle with endurance.

So, if anyone wants to join me, I am pretty sure that you'll do better than me(!), but I can use the inspiration of others. I know if I can strengthen my hips, I can jog for much longer.

Slowpokes like me gratefully welcomed. Let's support each other and swap newbie running experiences. I am starting today with week ONE.

Cheryl

OK - did the first workout.
Oddly enough, my pace (at 3.8 mph) was better than my pathetic 'all out' one mile test averaging only 34 mph.

We'll see if my hamstring and glutes hurt tomorrow or not. But, I did it. My legs felt pretty leaden.

Delmarva - I'm starting my c25k today. Ive been wanting to do it for awhile, but have been afraid of reinjuring my Achilles ( complete rupture 9/2012). But right now, I really want to do this, so I'm going to start before the motivation passes :-)

W1d1 down. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!

I have been trying to start C25K for a month now and just haven't had the drive to do it. I think it is time to stop making excuses though and just do it!

Second time up, I went through it exactly the same pace. I am, at least though, only have really tired hips, not burning glutes! It is a great cardio workout. Legs felt like light lead this time, not heavy lead, haha. Will perservere. No doubt tho, I have to repeat week one.

I followed through and did W1D1 yesterday. I plan on running on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays so tomorrow is day 2. I didn't find day 1 too bad but I need to look into buying new shoes. Even though my runners are brand new they pinch my heels and hurt.

Good for you, Rated! I'm actually looking forward to w1d2 tonight. i wonder how Delmarva is doing...

Oh, I'm hanging in. I'll report tomorrow. I just don't understand how I can do so great on the elliptical, rower, cycles, and swimming. And, then be truly pathetic on this treadmill. Something about running is just foreign to me, I guess. But, I'll persevere! I have hope.

Cheryl

Oh, I hear you :-). I feel like I am the slowest runner on earth! For w1d2 I did a 20 min mile, Lol. I felt good, and I feel fine today, so I probably could handle a faster pace, but I don't seem to be able to get my legs to move faster. My gait is still off due to my tendon surgery, so that doesn't help, but I was never a good runner. The zombies will definitely catch me, Lol.

I did c25k once and it was great! I actually did a couple 5k races and finished within the time I wanted! That was in the spring...of course I didn't keep up with it which was my mistake.

I'm going to commit to starting over! Tomorrow after work I will do w1d1.

:)

Nicole - That is great that you finished is and it worked! I would love to be able to run a reasonable distance without stopping. Right now it is a little pathetic, I can run maybe 100 m without stopping.

I just finished W1D2 and for some reason I found it way harder than day 1. But I stuck it through. I am really hoping this will jump start my weight loss again and allow me to have some healthy habits started before Christmas gets too close.

I am up for restarting! I really do not know why I let life get in the way and stop. I feel so good when I am jogging.

Finished w1d3 yesterday. I made my best mile time so far (still way slow, Lol), it didn't feel as easy as the first 2 days and my butt is a little sore this morning, so I think I have found the right walking/running pace. Looking forward to seeing how I do with the 90 second runs in w2.

I felt good today so I did w2d1. I took a slower pace but completed all of the running segments with little trouble. I'm kinda surprised :-).

Since this is a restart for me, I started with W2, which ended up not being a challenge. Today I was able to complete two rounds in a row of W3. I am planning on moving on to W4 tomorrow.

completed week one over two weeks (just did it more times). Which, I pretty much have to do since I am in supplemental physical therapy to strength my hip and knees. I'll try week 2 day 1, but will do another round of week 1, if week 2 is too hard on the hip joints. But, it ended better than it started, so all's good!

Delmarva - what I love about C25K is that everyone can adapt it to their own needs.

I completed W4 D1 today and felt challenged, in a really good way.

Yesterday was such a Monday! We missed the bus, so I had to drive my daughter to school, then as I left the building I slipped on black ice and strained my left quad muscle. I got to work and realized I had left my lunch at home...ugh.
Despite being a bit sore from falling, I was determined to move on to w2d2. I had to go a bit slower than the previous session, but I finished!
Keep up the good efforts everyone :)

Love the support here!

Every time I do this C25K, I get a pain in the butt (literally!where the hamstring tendon attaches). It's because I am so new to this, and also have weak glutes. So, I've been advised to proceed with caution, namely keep it in low gear, and continue with my focus first on building hamstring and glute strength, before advancing on this program. (squats, lunges and all the usual PT stuff).

So, if anyone else feels a butt ache, which you notice after sprinting on the treadmill, and feel particularly on your 'sitting bones' when you sit, focus on some strength work. Otherwise, you can get hamstring tendonitis (proximal hamstring tendinopathy) if you really over do it badly.

I will keep working on week 1. Even now, I can tell that the ache is less severe, and that my stamina is improving. Gotta' start somewhere.

Good info about the sore butt...also helps to stretch the hamstrings, even on off days.

So, I completed w2d3 on Wednesday...slowly. I felt not so good and was convinced I would never be able to complete w3d1 on the first try. I took yesterday completely off from any training, even yoga, and tackled w3d1 this afternoon. I did it! I felt good, like I could even have run an additional 3 min segment. Continue to surprise myself :-)

Way To Go FadedBlueJeans!

So pleased to see others moving forward! So glad you made it through the first day on week 3, @fadedbluejeans!

Well I didn't start on the day I wanted because, well, I have no excuse.

BUT!! I just finished W1D1 and I feel great! I wish I could remember how good it feels to complete a workout before each workout.

Wednesday will be my next day...I think I need to set up a tv/dvd in front of my treadmill to keep me distracted.

I've decided to take this attempt at weight loss at a more reasonable pace. I'm going to adjust my eating habits but not change them all together. I know that the mistake I often make is trying to change everything all at once! my diet, exercise, not drinking...then I always fail.

I'll also try harder to use the supports around me...not always easy.

It's the same with me, mnicole22! Always have to mentally psyche myself to get started.

Well, I've done what must be nearly a month in week ONE drills. (yeah, done it about 12 times. See all my sore hip whining below). So, I am ready to progress to week 2. Will report in, probably with more whining.

But - at least today, the month of working on this specific routine, along with strength exercises for the hip and glutes is beginning to 'kick in'. I felt pretty decent at the end.

Thanks everyone! Happy to report w3d3 finished yesterday with no problems. I took two days off between training days this week. W4 looks a little scary. It might be the first repeat week, but that's ok :-)

Did week Two Day One today, with no problems. I am glad I did week one over and over until I felt I had it nailed. Just sweating, no pain.

And, I reached goal today. WHOOOOO hooooooo.....

Yay delmarva!
W4d1 went down with no problems! Can't believe it :-)

You're an inspiration, fadedbluejeans. Keep up the wonderful work. I think I can tackle this program. Week 6 looks scary as all get out, so I try not to think about it! When I do repeat a week, I do an extra interval or extend it a couple of minutes, in the hopes that will "bridge" me into the next week... give me a little more stamina without busting anything!

well, W4D2 had all kinds of issues - I had a problem with my shoe and had to pause in my warmup and then I accidentally pulled the safety out of my treadmill in the first walking segment, and had to restart. I lost all of my time/distance data on the treadmill for that session, but I kept going through all the running segments and finished the session, albeit without shoes. It seemed harder than w4d1, but I think that was because I lost focus due to the technical difficulties. I had to laugh - it was still fun. I can't believe I look forward to this every other day or so :)

My physical therapist told me I need to change shoes - he video taped me walking and running on a treadmill, and when running, my right ankle is tipping inward right after I land. I usually wear Danskos for their excellent arch support during the day, so it seems when I take them off, my right foot is collapsing in a bit. This in turn caves my right hip in a bit, placing my knee out of alignment, and so forth. I think this is called overpronation. So, I'll look into this. It's been 5 weeks since I've seen my PT, so it was nice to have a review of form early in the process. It's like my legs don't know how to stay under my hips and over my feet!

W5d1 down!
Delmarva... I'm wearing vibram five fingers "see ya" style. Love them! (I have a lot of trouble with shoes because of my repaired Achilles).

I'm recovering from my last run. I was at a different gym, and their machine was more difficult for me to manually tweak up and down, so I used their "1-1" interval program. I also (separately) do a lot of HIIT interval work, and knew that I often get close to my maximum heart rate, but hadn't really pegged it. Since - for me - running is the hardest, I decided to test it.

Well, 173 is my maximum heart rate (age 51). I literally could not get it to rise above that. I was the sweatiest thing at the gym after that. (Folks should not do this by themselves unless they are experienced with interval training and know their body VERY well. If you don't do HIIT regularly, and if you don't know the basic breathing metrics for "perceived exertion", testing your limits is psychologically scary and could be dangerous).

So, this is not what C25K was designed for!
But, given that I had a different machine and was "in the mood" to work to collapse, I ran the test. Now, I know exactly what 100% is, so I can regularly work at 85%.

Hamstrings are tired. I'm working on them, too, now.
Still have to solve the shoe problem.

fadedblue - so you actually wear those shoes I've seen! I wondered how they felt. Because you mentioned them, I looked them up, and it looks like they do put a good amount of cushion in the mid-foot area. I've just got to get myself to one of the running shoe stores that has a treadmill, and let them fit me. Congratulations on being in week 5 :cheer:


I'll tell you - I thought this shoe stuff was nonsense, but I was wrong. When my PT showed me how my ankle rolls when running, it was an "ah ha" moment.

I started running for the first time in my life this past August using Ease Into 5K, a C2FK app.

When I started I couldn't run from my house to the end of the street, a few hundred feet. I got all the way to the end of week 5 and then had a calf tennis injury that sidelined me for a few weeks.

I then eased back in week 3 I believe then did week 4 for a couple of weeks.

But I bought a Polar FT80 heart rate monitor on a lightning deal with Amazon. That helped me do week 5 again just this past few days. I went straight through it in 3 days.

The Polar helps a lot. I was exceeding my 'maximum' heart rate and now I stay in the 160s consistently while in the running portions. I can also see my recovery time improving. So I run now based on heart rate. I also think it was good to do week 4 over and over.

Finally it just feels pleasant to run. This is such a change for me. Even when I was younger, not really overweight, around 190 to 210 which should be overweight for my 5'9" frame but if you look at pictures I wasn't, I just could not run. I could hike the grand canyon from top to bottom and up, but running just got my body especially lungs all tied up in knots.

But now at 48 I can run. So awesome. I definitely suggest people invest in a heart rate monitor. Polar interestingly now has got into the fit band business. You can get a Polar band for around $100. That can give you a pedometer and sleep feedback. Then be sure to get a Bluetooth Polar heart rate monitor for around $70.

That can work. The FT80 is great and it also allows for strength training as the optimal time to start a new set. It has made a huge difference to me, especially as I am still carrying a lot of extra weight not to even bother with my pace but rather my heart rate. I think I will get fitter faster and I definitely like it more than exceeding my 'max' heart rate. Although obviously I didn't exceed mine.

But staying in the 160s for the run portions is a really good workout for me. I feel fresh at the end but at the same time like I accomplished my goal and most important that I am getting fitter.

I'm totally with you on heart rate monitors diamondgeog!

The tables with "recommended" numbers are just averages, and apparently maximum heart rates can vary significantly. At age 51, a max rate of 173 is slightly higher than normal. My resting HR is 64 (as low as 59 on first waking), which is better than 74 2 years back. Testing myself again after a year of HIIT, it was obvious, finally, that I'd hit max heart rate, though VO2 could probably squeeked up a little more, but I was at max. No matter what, HR would not go up further. Not a drop of energy left in me! I would have never pushed myself like that 6 months back, for fear of dying :whoo: As my hips get stronger, I hope to enjoy running more, like you!

And, when I'm not wearing a monitor, I am wearing a tempo trainer in the pool. (Pyle cheap water resistant watches work great in a pool cap and have nice pacer clocks).

I've been wearing injinji toe socks for a long time, with my regular cross trainers for walking. Otherwise I tend to get blisters between my toes. So going to the toe shoes was not too big of an adjustment. But running in the cross trainers was uncomfortable. I was running in just socks (treadmill) but I do hope to eventually run outdoors. I bought my vibrams online and had to return the first pair for a smaller pair, but the returns are free so no problem.
Your heart rate discussion was interesting. I have a sportline watch and hrm chest strap. W5d1 was the first time I hit max heart rate according to my hrm...my watch display actually said "hi". I felt like I could have pushed it harder, but seeing that scared me a little. Although, I do think there might be a problem with my chest strap. If I don't get a fit bit for Christmas, I think I'll replace it.

W5d2 completed! I'm scheduled for w5d3 tomorrow (Christmas). What a great giuft it would be to get through the first big run. So nervous!

I did it! I did it! I did it! W5d3 completed, no problems :-)

W6D1 finished. Definitely having a problem with my hrm though....it said I was up to 225! I had to take off my watch to get it to reset, then it showed 155 . I like to be in the 160s range.

Awesome on finishing week 6 day 1. Do you plan on repeating any days or the entire week before moving on to week 7?

Have you repeated days or weeks before?