C25K challenge starting December
 

Noticed the last thread didn't fly and there are quite a few people interested :) So who wants to do a challenge.

I am willing to start anytime but as a group we should come to an agreement I guess eh?

Let me know who is in! :carrot:

Can you post a link to the program?

Here ya go :)

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

babygrant,

I have started week 1, but am taking it really slow. I am willing to start over w/ a new date. In the mean time I can stick to the elliptical and bike.

i'm going to start on monday :) give me enough time to get the C25k podcast on my ipod.

Okay I started week 2 today and found it quite easy. I am finding it easier to run at a faster pace as well. I would say that I average 5.0 mph when I run and walk at 4.0 mph

Hi,
I am getting ready to start the C25K and had a sorta silly question. When they say 20 minutes total or 30 minutes total are they including the 5 minute warmup or is the 5 minute warm up on top of the 20-30 minutes? I really want to be able to run a 5k one day and I want to get this right.

The times are after warmup. But either way, if you stick with it you'll get to 5K.

Whoops, I missed that that was your first post, Xana. Good for you. Welcome.

Thanks! I am pretty excited about it!

Okay ladies so I am on week 2 now and it is not so bad at all. Since I am taking this slow, I am actually doing Week 1 for two weeks, Week 2 for two weeks, and so forth. This way I don't over do it and get discouraged at all. During that second week I try and go for an extra five or ten minutes too.

Are you girls running outside in your neighborhood, outside/inside on a track, or on a treadmill? I am running on a treadmill with an incline of 1 or 2. One of the trainers at the gym told me to at least put it at an incline of 1 to compensate for the wind resistance that you would have running outside.

I agree with Maria, the times are after the warmup. I also do a 5 minute cooldown afterwards as well.

Who hasn't started yet???

I have just started, I am on d2w1. I can't wait til I'm not exhausted by a 60 second run! I am doing the program on a treadmill in the gym and I think I will incorporate the incline into my workouts from now on, that is a good idea for when I have the courage to try it outside.
I am so excited about being able run a 5k one day! It has been a goal for a long time, I've never really thought I could do it but after reading alot the threads on this board I definitely think that maybe I might be able to do it :)

I hope I'll be able to do it. I'm gonna do it inside first. Then I'll go outside if I have the courage to do so. :-)

Xanadoodle: It is a great feeling. You will get there! I love your enthusiasm!

I haven't started yet :( My 3 year old has been so sick. I am hoping we have all of his meds figured out and then I will be sane enough to start. :(

Tomorrow I start week 2! (I even excercised in a hotel fitness room while I was out of town this weekend)

Okay second week on Week 2. I did 30 minutes of rotating the minutes plus the 5 minutes warm up and cool down. I think taking this slow is going to be the best bet for me, I will see how it goes!

Xanadoodle, Way to go on finishing Week 1! Doesn't it feel great! You are going to do so good with week 2!

Babygrant, Sorry to hear your kiddo is sick, hope they get better soon!

i'm starting today nbut i have one hangup.

my hubby doesnt think i should be running/walking at nigt....but i cant do this during the day. i dont want people seeing me running :( its a self-esteem issue that i am working on but its slow going and thats a hang up.

babygrant, don't worry about other people seeing you they really don't care. You should have seen me on the treadmill, I sure I looked like a fish out of water, but we all have to start somewhere. You look fine, what most people will be thinking anyway is they should be doing that instead of eating potato chips and watching TV.

I don't think people really care that much either. Of course, I get paranoid that people at the gym will hear my crazy labored breathing as I try to run for 60 seconds and call 911 cause they think I am dying. I just do it anyway and figure that one day I won't have a death rattle when I jog.;)

And even if someone does care that I look dumb, so what? Why would I care what a stranger thinks?

just finished w2d2. Got new running shoes cause I started get pains in my shin and calves. Today it was like running on clouds!
Is anyone else doing the C25K still?

Hi Xanadoodle! I'm going to start the C25k in Februrary. I'm gonna look to all of you for inspiration! Good luck with the rest of the program:)

Okay started week 3 today and made. I felt like such an accomplishment to actually run for 3 minutes straight.

Did W3D2 today. It was awesome! I totally agree with the sense of accomplishment you were talking about Dollypie. I am excited about finishing week 3 and hitting the big challenge of week 4.

So I am doing week 3 again this week and doubling the time. Just feel that the week 4 routine is a little much for me now.

Good for you for sticking with it, dollypie. You can do this.

Last night I went to the gym resigned to the fact that I was going to have to do a 4th day of week 3, my w3d3 went HORRIBLY (tried running outside on concrete when I normally run on the treadmill). But once I got to the gym I decided to give w4d1 a shot and just see what would happen. I DID IT!!
I should add that halfway through I had to lower the speed on the runs because I was getting too winded, but I was able to maintain running. I might let week 4 last a little longer than the normal 3 days. I think I am still smarting from having such a miserable w3d3.

Dollypie - I totally know how you feel about the fear of moving on. the move from w3 to w4 is really big, but the sense of accomplishment at the end of w4d1 was great!!!

Concrete is really hard on your legs, and that's on top of the treadmill/no treadmill difference (which seems to be pretty typical in most runners-- running wthout the treadmill is thought of as harder.) If you're going to run outside can you try to find somewhere paved in asphalt, which is much softer?

Good for you for sticking with it. Isn't it fun to see the program working?

can i join you guys? i started up week one last week... but will do it again this week just to ease into it. I run on a treadmill.

Hey, can I get in on this challenge too? I just saw this thread and another thread last week on C25K. Had never heard of it; checked it out; looks great. I was treadmilling quite a bit last fall and was kind of doing my own version of a C25K. Broke my toe which completely threw everything off for quite sometime. I've been on the treadmill and dog walking almost everyday this past week. I was going to wait a week or two to start the C25K but am ready to start on Monday. Can I still join in the challenge (please say yes! :D )

Jo

Both of you feel free to join in, we are not really all following the program at the same time. We are all at different stages and supporting each other through it. I am actually doing each week for two weeks and just finished Week 3 on their chart. So Week 4 starts on Monday. It looks challenging to me, but 5 minutes of running here I come!

The more the merrier!!!
When I first saw the C25K program I figured I would give it a try cause I had always wanted to run a 5k. I didn't realize what a sense of accomplishment I would feel each time I completed a workout. It is addictive!! I like having a goal and each week that I finish is a mini-goal on the way to a 5k.
My suggestion is to GO SLOW!! If you think you can run at 4.9 on the treadmill then take the speed down to 4.6 so that you make sure you don't hurt yourself.
I have found a ton of advice at the coolrunning website.

Tomorrow I start W4D2, I'm gonna take it slower than usual again (still feeling the concrete).

Maria - I figured concrete was a bad idea but I did it anyway, boy did I learn a lesson. I am sticking to the treadmill until I finish the program and then will work on giving asphalt a try.

Good Luck everyone!!

I also find it addictive. My problem is that i do really well in the summer and at christmas time when i'm on holidays and i can run mid-day when i have the most energy. Tomorrow i go back to school and things change dramatically. I have such low energy in the morning and in the evening that exercise becomes really difficult. Not to mention getting kids to their activities in the evenings.

I exercise in the evenings. My job is pretty stressful at times and all I want to do after work is go home and go to sleep. What keeps me working out on the C25K is that you finish in such a short amount of time. With the warmup walk, run/walk and cooldown I am in and out of the gym in 35 minutes.

Okay started Week 4 this week and I thought it would be super tough, but it was so easy. I am enjoying this program so much. Okay Day 2 of Week 4 tomorrow!

I did W4D3 today. I had found D1 and D2 doable but today's run just wiped me out. It took a huge force of will to get it finished. I think I didn't hydrate myself enough, not sure. Gonna do an extra day of week 4 before moving on.
how is everyone else doing?

I only just started yesterday. So far, so good. It did take about ten minutes to settle into a rhythm. I had to adjust the running speed down when I walked but eventually settled in for both at 3.7/3.8 mph. I had no problem running for the minute. Actually, I thought the running was more comfortable that the walking. Mind you, 3.7 is not fast! Doing W1D2 tomorrow. Oh, I run on a treadmill but the incline is broken. I read that you should run on an incline to account for wind resistance and road fluctuation outside (if I ever actually go outside to run!). Maybe I'll put some 2x4's under the front of the treadmill. My shins will think I've gone insane!

Jo

Okay second day of week 4. The second round of 5 minutes about killed me, but I made it. When I warm up I walk at 3.5 working my way up to 4.0. I run at 5.0 and walk at 4.0 then. Sometimes when I am finished I will run at 6.0 just to see how long I can and last week I made it up to 1 minute but was wipe out.

A few Questions:

1. Do you drink water during your routine and how much?
I usually drink a 20 oz. bottle

2. If you workout in the morning do you eat before?
I don't I crawl out of bed and drive to the gym

3. Do you do strength training along with the cardio?
I do because then has helped the pain of an old knee injury go away.

Xanadoodle: I am planning on doing two weeks of week 4 to build up my stamina. In the second week I may even do another 3 & 5 minute run. I find that doing two weeks of each week really helps me get to the next level.

Is that really me: I usually run with the incline on 1 or 2. I will increase the incline when I walk too. I run a treadmill too, but when it warms up I might take a few days outside.