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


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 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?

Thanks! I haven't repeated any days or weeks yet...I don't "plan" to, but I will if I can't finish one. I'm going at a very slow pace, just working on endurance and form right now. I'm very fearful of injuring myself...I had 3 surgeries and spent 5 months in splints and casts when I ruptured my Achilles in September 2012.
I thought I would repeat the whole program at an increased pace once I get through it the first time.

Finished week 2! After many weeks of course. I've been building up hip and hamstring strength in the interim - working really hard on that. (When I told my PT where running made me ache, I got a whole additional set of exercises). I can do week 2 with no problems now, and go for longer - like 30 to 40 minutes.

Will report on week 3 soon. I think I can do this. I just don't graduate to the next week until I can do the previous without prolonged ache after the workout. But a bit of soreness is A-ok!

Fadedblue - best of luck on week 6!

Good job delmarva! And thanks. I can't wait for today's workout :-)

Week 6 is in the books! I'm a little concerned because my right knee is starting to hurt a bit. I wrapped it for yesterday's w6d3 and that helped. I just hope I can make it through these final three weeks without it getting worse.

Hi C25K-ers! I started the program "for real" again in December ... though I had been doing it half-a$$ed for most of the autumn... I did do it all the way through in 2009, finished on New Year's Eve . Then had no plan for what to do next... eventually pretty much stopped running altogether.

In the interim I have often used like Week 1 Day 1 intervals for High Intensity Interval Training. Works great for that.

My goal for now is to make it back up to 30 minutes running - which, at my speed, will be nowhere near 5K. After I can sustain 30 minutes steady, I plan to work on improving my speed/distance. I don't have much interest in working up to longer running times. I just want a form of regular sustainable exercise ... that keeps me cardiovascularly fit enough to go hiking with friends (believe me, that is not the case currently!)

SO -today I just completed Week 5, Day 2. I think I am using a program that is a bit different than the rest of you, my intervals today were 5 min run, then 8 min run, then 3 min run (16 min total). Week 5, Day 1 was 5-7-5 (17 min total).

Note on the different programs: when I did this in 2009, the ipod app I had (called "Run 5K") used the same intervals as the "real" trademarked C25K program by Cool Running. At some point around 2010/2011-ish the intervals on my app changed. I liked those old intervals, so I downloaded another version ("C25K Free"), which is close to the Cool Running version but it's 8 weeks instead of 9. But somehow I got used to the first one so that is the one I am using now.

Anyway I don't really care about the specific intervals, I just do what the lady in my ear tells me to do usually groaning when she says "Run Now" but it's getting better. My strategy is just plug through it slow, slow slow

On my version the dreaded 20 minute run is Week 6, Day 3, so a week later than the Cool Running standard program. I like that - even when I did the CR version, I switched stuff around so that the 20 minute run came in the 6th week.

I think I am going to draw out the longer runs - one week at 20 min, then a week at 22, a week at 25, a week at 28 and then 30. That fits with my 6-week shape up plan also .

Good luck everyone for 5K success in 2014!