sup laaaadies?!

i just finished my W3D2 run, and one thing i was thinking as i pounded the pavement is that id really like to see this practice turn into a regular running schedule for me. i think itd be cool to one day run 2 or 3 miles 3 or 4 times a week. easy breezy, right?!

i was wondering if there is anyone out there who was a non-runner when they started C25K, but after completing the program has kept running or incorporated longer "real" (and by real i do mean 2-3 miles ha) runs into their routine.

OOOH OOOH! *raises hand*

I'm a C25K graduate. I do a 3-3.5 mile run 3 times a week. I'm thinking now that maybe I should do a 2.5-3 mile run twice a week at a faster pace and try to stretch out to 4-5 miles eventually at an easier pace. Like to do real tempo runs and long runs like a real runner.

But yeah, I've always HATED running. Even when I was a kid. I was the person in gym class that would call out sick on physical fitness day when we had to run the mile. By high school I would stop between laps and have a cigarette behind the dumpster.

I started couch to 5K because I thought it would be like a mental thing, as in "if I can conquer running, I can conquer anything." At first I HATED it. I couldn't run 30 seconds without feeling like I was going to die. But by the time I finished the 9 weeks, I thought, hey...I can do this.

Now I run three times a week and enjoy every minute of it. Well maybe except the last three or four. I try to go one lap (quarter mile) more than the most I feel I can do. I also cross train with the elliptical or arc machine, do some lifting and take a kickboxing class to keep all my muscles developed.

But I consider myself a C25K success story. And i also feel like I owe the bulk of my weight loss, and my ability to follow through on it to the C25K plan!

THis is a great thread, I just came in from running week 1 again (I am stuck on it, I think it has to do with all the hills in my community) anyway this gives me something to look forward too.

i just did W1D2 today, and it was easier than D1.. I really think I can do this

Cheers to no more failed self-promises

I'm another c25k "success" I also am running 3-4 times a week, 3 miles each time. I'm now training to do a 10k at the beginning of April.

When I first started my lungs would burn and could barely make the intervals but I stuck with it & glad I did!

I started C25K a few years back and I literally could not even do the 30 second intervals at first. I could run maybe 15 seconds at a time. I stuck with it though and I actually ended up loving running to a point where I would look forward to 4-6 mile runs. I haven't been running as much as I want to lately but I still can't believe that I went from not running at all to loving it. I honestly think I would have been totally lost without that program. It's awesome for beginners and really creates a sense of success as you see yourself getting better and better.
I also like the C25K podcasts, if you use your ipod while running. The music is so-so but the guy gives you cues when to start and stop and he's motivating without being annoying or patronizing.