I just did Week 3 Day 1 tonight of C25K (that's Couch to 5K for any new chicks who haven't heard of this before). I made it, but I gotta tell you that I felt like a winded old lady when I finished. I also feel very HEAVY as I'm doing the running (well, jogging) part. Yeah, I know...I AM heavy but it's really obvious to me as I'm running!

Nothing hurts, and my lungs and breathing are really doing suprisingly well. But tonight was the first night that I've had to run for a 3 minute stretch and I tell you what, it was tough. I did it, but I was POOPED afterwards.

So.....I have a couple more nights of this before I move on to Week 4. I'm using the podcasts, doing the walking, cool down, taking the rest day between each run, and all that stuff. So how do I know that I'll be ready for week 4? I'll be honest; it looks really tough and I'm a little freaked out about it even though I know I should be focusing on week 3!

I've read different thoughts. Some gals say that they just keep going forward, that they thought they might not be able to go on each time but they were able to. Others just go ahead and repeat a week and are good with that. How do I know which way I should go? Should I just keep pushing forward? Am I defeating myself mentally before I even get there?

Windchime, my DH and I finished w3d2 last night. He had a hard time with w3d1 and I never think I can do it but I always do. I remember having trouble with w2d1 but not so much with the rest of the week. I'm chalking it up to how I/we feel on that individual day. I was pooped last night too (and I developed a slight headache), but I don't think that I had eaten enough throughout the day. I'm planning on chugging along on this journey. I never really believed that I could jog/run in my life and am still in disbelief over all this. DH and I expect that we may have to repeat a week here and there, but for now we're forging ahead. Let's keep in touch to support each other.

My DH and I did W3D1 yesterday morning and Sunday I was really panicking about it but when I actually did it I realised it wasn't that bad. I'm just going to keep pushing forward and if there comes a time I can't do it, I will go back a week.

I feel my heaviness too and I'm not thrilled about it but as long as I don't try to kill myself out there I think its ok. Besides, one day is going to be *that* NSV day when we don't feel the heaviness anymore... I can't wait for that!!

Congrats on getting this far!!

Thanks, girls--I'll keep pushing through! Losermom (I feel funny calling you that!), keeping in touch sounds great. It's funny that you, me, and Velveteen are all really in the same place on the program so it'll be nice to have others to talk to about it. I was a little worried about jogging 3 minutes (twice!) last night but it wasn't too horrible. I was going pretty slow by the end of the 3 minutes but I was still jogging! The next one looks hard....5 minutes, yikes. But I don't know until I try, right!?

Velveteen, I'm looking forward to that NSV. There is a girl here on 3FC whose avatar is a picture of her running in a race. I'm sorry that I don't remember her name, but her picture is my inspiration. Her hips and thighs are so slim! So as I'm running, I picture myself a few months down the road, looking like Slim Running Avatar Girl and it helps to keep me going!

Windchime -- if by the end of the week you feel it's too tough, do that week over again... or just do one day of that week... The program is not written in stone you can change it up to suite YOU....

For me I really had to watch out for the mental sabotage that I am so good at. When I did C25K I was always amazed when I completed each week. For me I had to ignore that voice in my head that said I couldn't do it. It was ALWAYS there when I first started but about half way in to the run I would feel strong.... right up to the last couple minutes and then I would have to push the voice out again.

The sense of accomplishment each day was overwhelming. I would always give a hearty YEA!!! and fist punch.

Listen to your body not your head and you'll know what to do.

When I did C25K last year, I really had to ignore a voice in my head that kept saying, "can't! can't! can't!" with every step. Man that sucked. It was so hard to keep going. I think as long as nothing's really hurting, it's worth it to just push yourself through to the next step... because what's going to happen is you'll "break through" the wall and find running's all of a sudden a lot easier to do. I still don't think it's a lot of "fun", and while I'm doing it I look forward to being done, but the constant "can't can't can't" disappeared near the end of C25K for me, and I'm really glad I pushed through it. Now I can go out for a 30 minute continuous run, no big deal! Last night I was telling my husband how weird it is to realize I'm one of those annoying people on the gym who get on the treadmill next to you, crank up the speed, and just run without even caring for 30 minutes. I'm not super fast, for sure, but I can run, and I never used to be able to say that.

Good luck! It sounds like y'all are doing really great!

I am glad to see this thread here. I just started the C25K thing this week (I have done only 2 days of week 1) and just getting up there is a tough thing for me. I am NOT a runner...even before my weight gain, I hated running so that voice is constantly saying "what are you doing? You can't do this!"

Somehow, this is calling to me though and I hope to keep at it so it is nice to find others that are doing it. Tomorrow is a rest day for me and then one more week one try. Here's hoping I make it to week 2!!

Thanks, CruiseCAT--you're right! It's my head that's doing all the complaining, not my body. Oh, the fat is shaking around back there on that big behind that I have somehow managed to acquire, but my knees feel fine. My chest and breathing feel fine; I'm breathing heavy but that's to be expected! It's just my head that's saying, "Isn't it time for Robert to tell me it's time to walk? Three minutes is a long time; how will you ever make it to five? Five is too long! You can't do that!"

So next time I run, I will remember this. I am not going to listen to my head. Something else I noticed--if I distract myself, the running parts go by a lot faster. So maybe I need to think about something other than what I'm actually DOING while I'm running. Does that work for anyone?

This is really good to know. I'm looking forward to breaking through that wall.

I don't have a treadmill, but what I do have is a high school track that is 1/2 mile from my house. So I walk up there, do the podcast, then walk home. The other night as I was slogging around the track, I could see two little girls in their yard on the hill above the track. They were yelling and screaming and I couldn't figure out why. Finally I took off my headphones and they were yelling, "Run, run! Faster!" They were cheering me on! Jumping up and down and cheering me on! It was so sweet!

Oh, those voices they are so real sometimes... I workout with a girl and I always have to move her along to stop listening to them... I keep asking if something is hurting, if she says no, I say, well let's GO!! I call those voices bugs, don't listen to those bugs in your head

I'm finding that if I think to myself during the running, "Wow! You're really doing this! Awesome!", instead of "I can't put another foot in front of the other." that it goes faster and before I know it--it's over. Run-on sentence much? Tonight is W3D3. I'll let you know how we do.

Windchime, don't worry about calling me losermom. The name has nothing to do with weight loss. Our family call ourselves The Loser Family. It stems from when we do something stupid and laugh at ourselves! So I am proudly the Losermom!

Thanks for explaining about your nickname. I felt like I was being mean by calling you that!

Tonight is W3D2 for me, so I will also try to report back in.

W1D1 done, I am re-starting the program after a try in early May.

I am running with Robert Ullreys podcast. Even though I am not a big fan of his choice of music I love his calming voice and motivation!!!

The first time I did W1D1 I skipped one of the running intervals. Today I pushed through and it feels so great!!!

The podcast I have been usingis DJ Beatsmith but I would love to try another. Even just to changeit up a bit sometimes.

I'm off to itunes to see what else I can find!