Just finished C25k this past Friday. My first 5k is next Sunday and I am a bit nervous trying to remember to focus on having fun and enjoying the experience.
I have had a couple of trial 3.1 milers and my best time has been 39 mins so in the future I will be working on speed.

AWESOME!!!

Best of luck!!! I figure my first one will probably be slow, but I am totally okay with that.

Okay, here I am posting after myself again, but I can't let it wait because I ROCK! I decided to skip W3 after trying it and feeling that it was too easy. Wasn't really sure what to expect from W4, if I would be able to handle the 5 minute runs or not. Well, I did one complete cycle and was feeling good so I did another one (I generally double my running as long as I'm feeling fine). When I got to the last 5 minute run, I decided to put down the stopwatch and just run til I couldn't anymore. I ran for 20 minutes, no stopping!!! I feel awesome!!! I am really proud that i could push myself and do something like that. Makes me feel a lot better about the 20 minute run at the end of W5, too! I'm going to continue on W4 for the rest of the week, but I just really wanted to see what I could do. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend, and having some nice successes too!

Wow dudesmom, that is awesome! Congratulations! You must feel so pumped about it

That great dudesmom! I just did W1D1 and I feel awesome . I feel like I can do this, but I can't help to be a little skeptical that I'll be able to do non-stop runs for more than 5 minutes. I guess I'll have to trust the program

Guys, I feel AWESOME!!!

Today I decided that since my very first race is less than one week away, I should challenge myself to actually run for the 45 minutes I think it'll take me to make it through the course! So I figured out ahead of time what my route would be to get to 3 miles, and set out with the intention of making it through in my alloted 45 minutes... And I did it!!! I ran 3.16 miles in 45 minutes!!! When you add in the warmup/cooldown walks, I traveled a total of 3.7 miles! I am SO beyond proud of myself right now, and I am SO stoked for this race on Sunday!!!

This is so possible, you guys, it's insane. Just keep pushing forward and you'll reach the finish line!!!

That is AWESOME, Ninepaw! You're going to totally kick your 5k's butt next week!

Meeky-hang in there, you may surprise yourself! I never thought I could run for an extended period of time, and now I can after just a few weeks. You can do it!

Ninepaw-Great job! It's so cool to see other people kicking butt at this and knowing that someday I will too!

I just finished W1D2 today... Which I completed it no problem and even walked/jogged another mile just because I felt like it. The first day I had to stop in the middle and rest, mainly because my feet and calves were (burning) exhausted. So I am kinda stoked!

hey yall, im going to start the program in a abt 10 days...what did you guys do for prep. I'm making sure I can walk at least 5k at a brisk pace before i start. Just because I havent been doing any regular exercise. Any other tips?

Thx!

Hey all, just checking in to say hello, and to say how impressed I am by everyone's progress so far! It's so inspiring to hear from people further along in the programme, and to read about the sorts of things you are achieving with your running and fitness. Dudesmom, ninepaw... wow! It's so uplifting to hear how well you are both doing

I'm doing W2D2 tomorrow - I'm really enjoying it so far! I'm just amazed at how easily it fits into my schedule, and how manageable it all is. When I've done exercise things in the past, it's always felt like a bit of a faff, or a bit of a big deal, whereas C25K is really manageable and not at all time consuming. Although I never thought I'd be a morning exercise person, I've loved getting up and taking my exercise first thing - feels so good for the rest of the day! I think it's the first time where I've *gasp* actually really enjoyed exercising. I love that feeling when you break into a jog/run - really exhilarating!

Going to have to do a bit of a re-jig of the schedule for next week - there's an "away day" at work (does anyone else have this sort of thing?!) and we are meeting at 9am to go kayaking! Since I'll have to be up mega-early to drive to where we are meeting, I think I might try shifting Monday's run to Sunday - has anyone shifted stuff around before and did it work okay? I don't want to mess up the programme!

sept15lija - How are you getting along? I think we should still be at around the same stage!

I forgot to mention in my previous post, but I also meant to say how incredibly impressed I am with C25K at helping with my weight loss. My main goal for the programme was fitness, but in the week that I started C25K, I lost 4lbs, which for me is huge - I've been losing around 1-2lbs every fortnight or so. Has anyone else found these really great weight loss benefits too?

srr728 - I'm a real novice at this programme and only in the second week, so I'm sure much more experienced people can give you a better answer, but I'd say it depends on your current level of fitness as to what you need to do for preparation (if anything). Personally, I didn't do any preparation for the programme, and I'd say I'm around "average" fitness - not hugely unfit, but not at all fit either. I walk fairly regularly for pleasure, but didn't do any other exercise before beginning! The thing is, with the C25K programme, as I have learned, you just go at a pace that suits you, and that doesn't leave you completely exhausted after the jogging/running intervals - you should be able to maintain a conversation and not be totally out of breath whilst doing the jogging/running parts. So if you feel less fit, you can just adjust that pace down so it's comfortable, or if you feel more fit, you can select a slightly higher pace that allows you to stay comfortable but challenged. Hope that helps!

You all are doing great and I love seeing all the new C25Kers!!!

I have started working on the hills in my neighborhood, and when they get a little easier I will do the C25K program again to see if my speed increases.

srr I did not do anything to prepare before I started, I just did it. There were some weeks that I did extra days and I am a slow jogger, but I was able to complete the program. This weekend jogged for an hour straight on Sun and Mon.

tinycities I have lost a lot of weight on this program, it has really kicked up my metabolism. According to my calculations (cals burned per day, plus exercise calories - cals eaten) I should be losing 1.5lbs a week but since I have averaged 2.5lb a week.

Finished w7, d2 today. I have to say I don't enjoy the long runs as much as the intervals, but I am finding that it's getting easier now that I've done three 25 minute runs. I am still s.l.o.w so my plan is to get through the entire program and then start over to work on increasing my speed.

My husband hasn't actually gotten there yet, but has talked about starting to do c25k and signing up for a 5k together in the spring.

In addition to it getting easier, he (and I) have noticed that my normally hugely klutzy self is getting more coordinated. I haven't tripped over nothing in a while! LOL

Also, had to go get new running shoes this weekend. Can't believe I was so excited to buy running shoes!