I did W2D1 yesterday. I was nervous because I was lazy for two whole days, but I thought it went really well. I like it because there were less intervals than W1, and the extra running time wasn't too bad, though I was panting by the end of those 90 seconds! I did the intervals 2 times, and it just seemed to fly by. I wonder if it was because I was picturing running the 5k that I registered for though? I guess it's pretty good motivation, I felt awesome afterwards!

Hey everyone! I've been lurking on this thread and reading up on C25K for a while, and I just had my first go at it (W1D1) this morning.

After completing my first run, I was absolutely shattered - more physically exhausted than I have been in a very long time! I'm probably at an average level of fitness - I don't think I'm fit, but nor do I think I'm so unfit I get out of breath doing basic tasks (e.g., climbing stairs, walking briskly etc.). Although I finished the whole thing, it really was a struggle after about the fourth interval! I wanted to ask some advice on this, because the podcast I was listening to said something like "you shouldn't feel like you are completely out of breath, but you should feel the physical effects of the exercise" (or something like that!). I was really totally out of breath and felt completely exhausted - do you think I was doing the running sections too quickly (or am I just more horribly unfit than I thought)? Annoyingly I don't have any way of measuring my speed, but I just wanted to ask your thoughts on this, because I was totally shattered and I'm not sure if that's what it's meant to be like! It could possibly have been the heat, as I run right by the sea and it was a totally clear day, about 11am, and there was a huge amount of glare from the sun coming from above and off the sea.

Having said all of that, despite the exhaustion, I found the exercise really exhilarating, and I've felt really happy and satisfied for the rest of the day! I have to say, as I was running, I was thinking of you guys on this forum, and I have such immense respect for people who do this programme, it's amazing.

Tinycities, SLOW DOWN! I would be willing to bet $ on the fact that you were running too fast, especially since you felt that way about halfway through.

I started C25K a few years ago and when I thought of running, I saw "sprinting". It wrecked me. I felt like I'd never make it through a day let along 9 weeks. A friend asked me how it was going and I told her and she told me that I was definitely going too fast. She told me that running at a nice pace is pretty much jogging and ever since then, running to me has been jogging. She told me that no run is too slow, as long as you feel comfortable.

Try taking it down a few notches on Day 2 and it will make a world of difference. :-)

Yes tiny cities I agree you are probably going too fast - I just completed W1D1 and I think I probably took it pretty easy...but I really want to work up to run the 5K and then I can work on speed is my thinking? I did it on my treadmill so I can measure how fast, I did 3.2mph for walking and 4.2 for jogging...it is probably as I said on the slow side but I can always bump it up. I felt really good though - I was sweating quite a bit but it felt great and I finished it, so YAY!! Anyways good for us!!

tinycities - A great rule of thumb on knowing whether or not you are overdoing it, without a heart rate monitor: Make sure you'd be able to say a full sentence, or carry on a conversation, when exercising. If you can't string more than a couple of words together, then you are overdoing it. That goes for everything, really. You will improve right along with the program if you make sure and follow this rule, I can say so because I am in the middle of week 8 ;-)

Good luck to you!

All of you in weeks 1 and 2, welcome to the awesome program! It changed my life and I hope it can change yours too.

Wow, thank you all so much for the incredibly helpful advice and support I'm sure you are all right, and I shall definitely make sure to slow the pace down tomorrow when I do W1D2. I shall also keep that tip in mind (seeing if I can comfortably speak/converse when running) to make sure that I'm staying at the correct pace and not speeding up - that's great advice. My muscles are still sore today, in places where I didn't even know I had muscles Really excited to try out the second day, keeping that pace much more manageable!

I finished W7D3 this morning, and was feeling really good so I went on for an extra 5 min.

When I think back to the first 2 weeks and how hard they were for me, I am amazed at how far I have come. I may not go fast, but I can now jog 30 min non stop.

YAY envelope!

Just finished W8D2 myself, it is so comfortable to run outside at sunrise (temperature) but I hate the hills! I think I might go back to running @ the indoor track.

Way to go, Envelope!!! Jogging 30 mins nonstop is HUGE!

I completed w2d1 this morning and felt pretty good. My mind was too focused on the run though so it made the intervals seem much longer. I run better when I'm distracted. hahaha!

leannerenee- I totally agree with you, it helps to have your mind somewhere else!

I did W2D2 last night and just didn't have a ton of energy for it. I still made it through, but I was just like "Oh man, I'm glad that's done!" I guess some days are easier than others! I'm planning on running again tonight, and then I'll probably take Weds. off, run Thurs and Fri (just repeating W2), and take Saturday off since I have a lot of prep to do for my son's birthday party on Sunday.

I really like being a part of this thread and hearing about other people's experiences with C25K!

Envelope - wow, that's brilliant and really inspiring. I can't wait to reach that stage, it must feel absolutely brilliant!

The advice you guys gave me about slowing down REALLY helped. This morning, when I did W1D2, I went at a much, much slower pace, and whilst I felt sweaty and "puffed" towards the end of each of the jogging intervals, it was so much more manageable. It meant that I could keep a steady pace during the jogs (just by going that much slower!), without feeling like I was about to burst. Thanks again for the advice!

Although two really annoying things happened on my run... first, before I'd even started, my iPod with the C25K podcast on it died (I think the battery is about to go kaput!), but I decided to continue anyway, and just tried to count the seconds for each of the sections in my head. It may not have been perfectly accurate, but I found counting really helped me keep my pace even. Secondly, I normally take walks and jogs along the sea, where I just go along the sea wall, except today, the tide was in incredibly high and the sea was so violent that it was soaking parts of the wall, meaning it was unsafe to really go there! Sometimes I go anyway because it's fun to get soaked, but today it was so stormy that I think the force of the water may have just knocked you over. So in the end I just had to go back and forth on the same dry patch of sea wall... I felt like a bit of a weirdo, but fortunately it was early and no-one saw

Glad you had a better run today, tinycities! I bet it's awesome to run along the sea. I took a walk on the road along the river on Monday, but it's just not the same. Haha!

I really need to check in here more! I'm missing some awesome things! So glad everyone is keeping up with their running, and I'm definitely happy to have more new people! Keeps things fun!

I did another 30 minute run today after skipping Monday like a bad kid! My run was definitely awesome! Some days are just better than others, and today was one of those days. My pace was slightly better than usual, and in the end I found out my 30 minutes of running got me 2.18 miles. Only a little better than my former best, but hey! Improvement in baby steps is still improvement, right? My very first 5K EVER is coming up in just eleven short days... I'm so excited! My mom is even running with me.

I just wanted to address Allowatt about the race with your friend. I understand that you made the commitment with her to run the race... But I really think that you should really run it rather than hanging back with her. It would be one thing if she had been putting in the effort, and her pace was just slower than yours - That's the case with me and my mom. My mom is in much better shape than me, so her pace is significantly better than mine, but I'm still doing my best and jogging. For the race we're doing on the 12th, she's going to slow her pace so we can run together, because in reality the whole reason she started training for this was to support me. If I had slacked off and stopped the program and were to walk at the race, I would expect her to leave me in the dust because she worked hard to get where she is! You've worked hard to be where you are, you deserve to run at your full potential at your race. Just my long, drawn out two cents.

I just registered my son and I for our first 5k. It is for Oct. 30th, the very same race that we went out and watched last year that inspired my son to want to do cross country when he gets to middle school. It runs on the main roads right outside my neighborhood, and there are a lot of hills. He will be 11 and I told him he better start training with me on the weekends, because we are going to jog the WHOLE time!

I think I am going to do a few more days of 30 min jogs in the flatter area of my neighborhood and then restart the C25K program and start doing the hills. I am so excited and so nervous!!!!

Harvest Moon here I come!!!

envelope - Sounds like a great challenge!!

tinycities - Cool that we're at the same point in this, I did W1D2 today as well! Lol about running on the same dry patch, oh well you gotta do what you gotta do (especially to keep safe! ).

A question for everyone....if you are doing C25K on a treadmill, do you adjust the incline at all? I'm just thinking ahead of doing it outside and having an issue because I'm not used to any hills.