Hey everyone... I just found this thread through the same link as leannerenee

I've technically finished the C25K program but I still can't run a whole 5k because I run slow. I felt bad about that but in their directions it does say to run slower if you need to. Part of my problem was I had really bad shoes, they were actually walking shoes which caused me a lot of pain. My plan was to finish the program, then to up my speed by .5, then start the program again around week 4 and finish at that speed, then up by another .5 and do it all again. On my last run I upped my speed by .2 and was able to run all 30 minutes at that pace so I'm not sure if I'll keep doing that or go with my original plan.

A friend and I signed up for a 5k this weekend, I had hoped to finish in 30 minutes but I'm sure that won't happen So now my goal is to finish better then the 40 minute mark. I ran a 5k back in May and managed to finish in 40 minutes. I always run faster and harder in the company of others My good running shoes help a lot too.

Aunty Jam - since I have been using C25K just for increasing my speed I found that weeks 2 & 3 were most effective for that purpose. Week 4 is my favorite week of intervals but the short intervals of W2 & W3 showed the most progress. What I do now is put my MP3 player on shuffle & do whatever week comes up. So today I might run a W3 day then 2 days later I might run a W7 day.

Hi everyone I did 20 mins of jog/walk and completed a mile is less than 20 which means I did way more jogging than walking. Im so proud of myself I can actually run for about 15mins without stopping at 3.0-3.3 wooohooo!

Whew!

We've been out of town. I actually used the treadmill in the hotel gym -- first time I've ever done that! I did W5D2 at the hotel.

Today, after we got home from our trip, I did W5D3. I can't believe I ran for 20 minutes straight! Now I feel like a pile of mush, lol.

i just started c25k today (for the third time...hopefully i'll finish this time!) and it kicked my butt! i focused on taking long strides, because usually when i jog my strides are about the same as my walking strides...so focusing on that the whole time totally wore me out!

Woo hoo! I did 8 minute runs! I did W5D2 today. I didn't have any trouble with the first 8 minute run. The second one I did have to stop twice for about thirty seconds. I made up for it by running an extra minute at the end of the interval. I think the issue with the second run was mostly mental. During the first, something interesting was on TV. During the second, something else had come on and I was bored out of my mind.

Yay! In a few days you'll have run 20 minutes!!!

I make sure I save all my favorite DVR'ed shows to watch while I'm on the treadmill. It helps a lot.

I also talk myself through it. I "promise" myself that I can run one more minute and then walk if I want to. When that minute is up, I make the one minute promise again. Or, "I can do anything for 3 minutes. I can do this for 3 more minutes." I've found it really helpful.

I'm understanding the mental issues you guys are talking about right now! :nod: I went out for a 30 minute run today... And from the get go it wass a bad start, just because I really really REALLY didn't feel like running today. But I made myself, because I had really wanted to actually run all three days this week after some hardcore slacking last week!

So I made myself go out and run, and I was SO unhappy through most of it. There was one stint of about three songs where I was pretty happy with the music playing and just doing my thing... But the rest of the time, for whatever reason, I was just not feeling a lot of things in my playlist! It made it SO much harder than it already was, or at least it did in my head. At one point I was really miserable and I still had 18 minutes left, and I told myself that I had to at least make it to the 20 minute mark, so the workout wasn't a total waste. Then I kept telling myself I had to go a little further, a little further... And eventually I only had about 5 minutes left, and I told myself, "You've made it this far in this less than stellar run, the least you can do for yourself is finish it!" So I did... And, of course, I'm glad that I did it... I'm just also glad I don't have to think about running again until Monday!

Im in a boat - thanks for the tip, I'll have to take another look at those weeks.

Bac0s - congrats on your first 20 minute run it gets more and more addicting but harder and harder to get that high as time goes on.

Just finished w7d2, it was my first outside run in a while. I forgot how inconvenient the wind, heat and humidity are! I missed my indoor track quite a bit haha.

LOL Allowatt.
I usually run in an area in my neighborhood that is about 1/5 of a mile and is realatively flat. My 10 year old had been jogging with our neighbors and told me I should try out the route they went on. I asked him about the hill and he said, "It really is not that bad Mom." So this morning I decide to try it out. It was BAD, that is what I get for listening to a 10 year old. :P I was trying W6D2 which is 10 -3- 10. I only made it 9 then tried to start up again and my legs were killing me and I only made it another 2min. So I ended up decided to walk the rest of the way and add on some distance. I'll tackle W6D2 in my neighborhood or at the track tomorow.

Wk 8 day 1 last night. As I move through c25k I am noticing my weaknesses as I become more fatigued I feel myself leaning forward and have to remind myself to straighten up. I like this awareness I think it will help me to improve.
Great job everyone we can do this!

Went to a track and tackled W6D2. It was strange running on a track.

I've started and stopped the C25K program so many times. The first time I did it, I got to W4 and then I broke my foot. Since then there have been many false starts, but this time I swear that I will complete it. Even if I never run a day again in my life after the last C25K run, I will comlete this thing. It's a huge mental/emotional issue for me.

So today was W1D1 and everything hurt, but I got through.

Which podcasts do you all use? Please share! I tried Ullrey and it wasn't my type of music so I started using ones from "Inside the Mind of Suz" last time I started the program. I like to change it up, so please share any good ones you've found. :-)