Just finished W7D3 and acutally it wasn't too bad. This does seem to get easier as I'm more used to running.

Robin -- I think it's different for everyone. I'm very slow and walk at 3 MPH and jog at 4 MPH. But agree with others that walking vs. running is how you move not speed. Right now I'm just working on distance and when I finished C25K I'll start thinking about speed.

juliagulia -- good luck with the program!

WindChime -- how nice to have baggy pants in only a week!

FitGirlyGirl -- shoes shouldn't hurt that much. Could it be different/thicker socks from what you wore at the store? Hope you can do an exchange!

Velveteen -- wow 6K is excellent!

momof5K -- excellent too! 40 minutes of running is fantastic accomplishment!

Today I did W1D1 all the way through! I thought I was going to die. I finished though. My husband even went to the track with me for moral support, he's so great. I had never used our gym's indoor track before and was very nervous. It was great though, I much prefer it to running in the streets. I am thinking that on Friday I will try using the treadmill and see if I prefer that or the track. I used the Chubby Jones podcast. The music wasn't great, but it was better than the others I had checked out. I can't believe I did it. At the start of each run I thought there was no way I would make it, but I kept making it each time. I was so happy and proud when I was finished. I also burned 250 calories.

The store did exchange my shoes. Today I had some pain, but nothing like what happened Monday. Today it was probably just me getting used to running or getting used to the new shoes or something.

I am actually kinda looking forward to Friday. I will make a runner out of me yet!

FitGirlyGirl -- Congratulations! Excellent that you made it through! An indoor track sounds great, wish we had one of those around here. Treadmill is boring but you can watch TV at most gyms and it helps track time and mileage easily.

I'm glad they exchanged your shoes for you. It sounds like they were just a really bad fit. Did they put you in a different style or size? And Congratulations on finishing that all-important first day. Way to go!

Different style, size, brand, sex - all different. I went from some Brooks Women's Ariel Wide Width size 8 to Asics Men's Evolution 4 Gel size 7 with a 2E width. I feel kinda odd to be wearing men's shoes - but if it works, it works and they don't look majorly masculine or anything.

Yeah, my running shoes are big and don't make my feet look cute or girly, but we're wearing them so we can run, not so we look chic! LOL. I'm so glad you found something that works for you!

W1D2.5 complete! Yata! I tried the treadmill tonight, I like it even better than the indoor track. I can pace myself and make sure I don't go too hard at the beginning. I am definitely going to stay on week 1 for Monday next week since I did not complete this Monday and I don't feel ready for week 2. I may just go ahead and have 2 week 1s. I'm ok with that - it's the results I am worried about, not how fast I get there. I would rather do week 1 twice than move on to week 2 before I'm ready and risk hurting myself or something.

I have some really awesome MP3s for C25K that I am using from http://gonicoleyourself.blogspot.com/ There is no week 9 there, but at that point it will be easy to just use my watch or the timer on a treadmill and listen to whatever music I want.

When I am all done I am going to reward myself with a t-shirt from http://www.zazzle.com/c25kcom

FitGirlyGirl: Way to go! (and those t-shirts are great )

FitGirlyGirl - Great find on those Podcasts! I have been looking for one that I could tolerate and these are definitely doable! And thanks for telling me about this link!

Hello everyone else! I'm new to this thread and just started c25k on Thursday. I'll be doing day two tomorrow - my plan is Tuesdays, Thursdays and either Sat or Sunday, depending on what's going on. I did well on Thursday - I was running quite a bit back in August but fell off the wagon in September. But I didn't know about c25k back then! I think I'll be able to stick with it now that I have an acutal plan vs just aimlessly jogging/walking in circles! I was pooped by the end and even though I only went half the distance I normally would, I was more exhausted because I was forced to push myself - so that has to be a good thing! Plus by doing timed intervals I didn't get bored at all - I'm usually bored out of my mind after 5 minutes.

No problem, hadn't seen you over here, so thought you might not know about the thread. I love the playlists she did for those recordings, so eclectic and much better music than the bad techno so many of the podcasts use. The kids chearing for me when it is over is great too.

FitGirlyGirl - wow, keep going! you can re-do as much as you want, in fact I think I re-did week 3 once and week 5 almost twice! it's not a race, it's for you to build up and improve at your own pace

glad you were able to exchange your shoes too!

ShrinkingAmy welcome to the thread!


I ran 5K twice last week (+1K walking both times), then today I barely managed 3.5K. There is something about running in the morning when I have no energy to actually argue with myself about it. I seem to "just do it" a lot easier than in the middle of the day. I was kind of annoyed, so I went on my elliptical for 25 min after I got home. I also caught a glimpse of myself in a mirrored window as I was walking... that was not a great thing to do Seriously, I feel a LOT better than I look right now. Another reason to run in the dark. Maybe I'm just being hard on myself but I don't really need to see myself running in all my glory. Maybe in another 20 lbs...

FitGirlyGirl -- those t-shirts are great ... I may have to get one!
ShrinkingAmy -- welcome!
momof5K -- your time is great Did you say you want to get under 40 min? I 'm sure you will if that's your goal.
Velveteen -- I find morning runs so much easier. I don't even try running in the evenings any more because I'm just too tired. I think we each have our own internal clock.

I just finished W8D1! This has been a crazy week so I got I bit off track. But what I love about C25K is that's easy to get back on board and to do at your own pace.

Week 1 Day 3.5, lol - done! Today my last run minute was at 4 miles an hour, on Friday my top speed was 3.8. I will become a runner!

@ fitgirlygirl: I walk at 3mph and run at 4mph... In my 1st attempt at C25K I was walking around 3.8 and running at 5 and feeling like I was going to die. I think slower is definitely better initally congrats at completing Wk 1!!!!!

@ topic:
I finally finished Wk. 3 today and it was rough I think because I did it having stayed up all night (W3D2 was pretty good when I was well-rested). I'm in a panic over moving on to Wk. 4 on Wednesday. I know I could probably run for 5 minutes once but I can't imagine cycling it with other 3-minute and second 5-minute runs. I'm not sure whether to bother to attempt it or to just re-do Wk. 3 and hopefully build more confidence.

And also, what's the deal with drinking water and exercise. When I'm running, I feel really really dehydrated, but when I drink before hand or during, I feel sick. How much water do you guys drink and at what point?

I sip a tiny bit during intense workouts (c25K, spin class, Jillian), but only a little at a time. I drink a whole bunch after. If I drink too much before I feel ill and if I drink too much during I get cramps.

If you want to get very technical about the water with a workout thing you are supposed to weigh yourself right before working out, do your workout, towel away any dripping sweat, weigh yourself right after, and drink like 1 oz. of water for every 0.1 pound loss or some such something. That annoys me - way too much effort, I have enough to think about thank you!

I use a different method that I was taught by a trainer. I try to drink 1 oz. for every minute I spent above resting heart rate. I'm not talking about guzzling it down right after I get done though (I will be sick if I do that), I try to get it in within the same amount of time I lost it. So, if I am going to exercise for 30 minutes my plan is to drink 30 oz. total for that workout. I will fill my bottle to the 30 oz. line and take tiny sips during my workout, but do my main drinking after my workout with the goal being to finish that 30 oz. within 30 minutes after stopping my workout. For a 60 minute workout I would do 60 oz. within 60 minutes after I stopped exercising. I hope my explanation made sense. Since I was taught to do this I have had no hydration issues whatsoever, my skin is awesome, and I feel great during and after workouts.