Don't waste energy worrying about that 20 minute run. Honestly, I was bricking it the whole first 5 minutes. Once I got to the halfway mark I relaxed and just let my body move forward on its own - with a little peptalk about "you've got this, you can do it, keep moving".

Laura is awesome. Check out the download page. It has a video of Laura running (which helped me hugely with body position and pace) and shows you that she isn't some "tiny girl" .. she has a womanly curvy figure and if she can do it, WE can do it.

OK, I have Laura lined up to talk me through my next session. Thanks, Amanda!

Great job, Laura's motivation sounds awesome.

Congrats on finishing week one!


Started week 4 this morning and got a text mid way saying our offices were closed for the day due to weather, I was a bit annoyed that I could have slept in, but it was a good "run" and it felt great.

I hope everyone has a great OP week and keep running. We got this!

Week 6 Day 1 .... it felt harder than doing the 20 minute run on Friday. I discovered I don't like having to run after walking. Weird to be back to intervals for 2 days, but this is the last week for cruising. Friday onwards is all warm up, long run times and then cool down. Not sure how I feel about it at the moment.

Silly me, I adjusted my foot pod to the outdoor track and only realised it caused my distance and lap times to be screwy indoors as the garmin was picking up GPS data and not foot pod. Grrr. One of these days I am SO going to get myself in gear before leaving the house. LOL

Have a fabulous week of running sessions peeps!

EDIT: Laura's let me down for Day 2 this week, the music sucks so badly it sent me in search of an alternative. Found this 80s mix with verbal run/walk cues but no chat otherwise. I'm going to load both, but I suspect I'll lose myself more easily in the music with the latter. If I'm having a day where I need motivation Laura may get her day.

Oh, I found one I like even more from Mia Chubby Jones. Music is awesome, countdowns, cues, encouragement.

Think I'll be running with this one, as my foot is tapping just cueing it in.

I would love to join this thread, and hope you guys don't mind a newbie! I did the C25k program a couple of years ago, made it to the 20 minute run, then stopped doing the program. I was pretty proud that I was able to run an entire mile without stopping, something I had never been able to do before! I have now fallen off the fitness wagon and am not in good shape. I would love to start the program again, and have been so motivated just reading this thread! I also really appreciate the pod cast and playlist suggestions, these things either weren't around when I originally did the program, or I never found them!

Hoping to join you guys soon! I don't have a treadmill, and it's fairly cold here. Not too bad though, I'll just need to make myself do it!

Welcome LegalEagle This is a great thread, the encouragement is a great help and there is so much useful info being shared. Keep us updated, I understand about not wanting to go out and run in the cold!

Keep going everyone!

Welcome LegalEagle. If you're in your first month of IP please don't attempt to start the program yet. You need to give your body time to adjust to using ketones as fuel so you know how much pre-fuel/post-fueling to do during C25K.

You could start by doing some walking though. Hopefully your weather will pick up soon and you'll be joining us soon enough!

Amanda-Thanks for the advice! I will wait to start, give the weather a little more time to behave.

Week 6 Day 2 .... First attempt I managed the first 10 minute run, but failed on the second - I got 3 minutes in and just wilted. I discovered something pretty major on that try, too. The first run is the physical challenge, the second is ALL mental challenge.

However, my Dad always said "if something is worth doing, it's worth putting everything you have into it". So, after we got back shopping and gave the kittens their 20 minutes in the garden I put all my running paraphernalia back on and went out to run around the neighbourhood instead of at the track. I figured moving scenery may stimulate me more than a track.

I was right, too, it definitely helped. Of course, in true Amanda style, I picked the route that guaranteed my first run was ALL uphill (Yes, I can laugh about it now, but the swearing while it was in progress was probably not pretty LOL). And I did it. Two 10 minute stints in the beautiful El Paso 63F/17C clear blue skies and sunshine (just to make you jealous!). Had to double back and jog on the spot to recapture my flyaway sun hat, but I didn't stop moving.

Feeling tired, a little weary but proud that I didn't give up.

How's this week going for everyone? Share!

Briael that's great! Wow, good for you! I don't know if I could have tried again the same day! Inspirational for sure.

I did Week4 Day2 today, I found the second (final) 5 minute run a little more challenging than I did on Day 1 of this week, but I may have been feeling the shoveling I did the evening before.

I find on treadmill that I am constantly looking at and calculating how much time I have left to run and I think it makes it time slow down. I wonder if I would find it better to run outdoors. That way I can be distracted by my surroundings and not watch the clock.

Of course running outside isn't going to happen anytime soon, our roads are still only wide enough for one vehicle and the banks are over 6 feet tall. Not safe, plus I would freeze, I'm a wuss that way

I hope everyone is keeping up with the program, we can do it!!!

Welcome, Legal Eagle! Amanda is right in cautioning you to wait a few weeks. You might already be in ketosis, but it will take your body a few weeks to become efficient at using fat for your fuel.

Good for you for starting over on the run, Amanda!

My second week seems a little tougher than the first. I've slowed down based on the article that Amanda posted. My heart rate according to that is not suppose to exceed 125. Basically, I can't run at any speed and not have it exceed 125. So I figure that if it goes to 140 when I run and comes back down during walking, then it all averages out. But I am still at it - week 2, run 2 finished. I am thinking of myself as (not fast, but none the less) a runner!

Yep, that will demotivate you faster than anything else. Can you cover the readout with a cardigan or something?

The biggest benefit to running outdoors was being able to identify something 100 yard ahead and telling myself I only had to get to that .. then the next marker and so on. I don't always find the "you're halfway through" remarks encouraging. I now know where all the mailboxes in the area are.

Do you have any schools with indoor tracks close by? Many of them are open to the public and it may help you transition from treadmill to real world running.

I read that article and wished I could get my heartrate in that zone. Today my average was 156, with max peaks at 181. Considering my optimal zone is 131-135 but I don't think I could run much slower than I do now, or I'd be stationary! My resting heartrate is high for my level of fitness, too, so I take it all with a pinch of salt.

For me, the important thing is that I feel comfortable while running. Just as I won't allow the scale to rule my weight loss, I'm not going to let the heartrate monitor dictate my running.

Run at the speed you feel comfortable, and good. Otherwise you're just running for the sake of fitness instead of enjoyment.

Hi guys,

I couldn't drag my lazy arse out of bed today, between soccer last night and a crap sleep I just made excuses. But I'm not panicking, if I don't have to help shovel tonight, I will do it when I get home, otherwise I will get up early tomorrow and finish week 4.

I hope everyone's having a great week of running

I'm not surprised it was hard getting out of bed, DD, it's freaking cold up there woman! LOL Do what you can when you can, it'll be there tomorrow!

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Woot woot .. Bod Pod appointment this morning confirmed that I've lost 13lbs and just under 12 of that was fat mass. Down 4.1% Body fat. Running is officially good for me!

Got home and hubby said "I fancy going to the gym" so I put all my running stuffs on and went to get the dread of Week 6 Day 3 (25 mins running) out of my brain space.

The first 12.5 minutes were fine, just cruising steadily at a slow jog, "Laura" confirmed the halfway mark, did another lap and brain wanted to quit. I went through my legs, feet, lungs check and confirmed it wasn't them so started working my new running mantra "You're not dead, brain. Body hasn't give up so why the h3ll do you think you can quit? Suck it up and get on with it!". It worked, too. Just kept telling brain that it was the weak link and it could shut off and zone out and let body do the work.

I slowed it down in pace, but just kept putting one foot in front of the other and did it. "Laura" says that I can now call myself a runner.

Then it occurred to me that she said that because from now on it's ALL running with no nice walks in between. LOL

I'm seriously debating running the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure (March 1st), even though I will only have completed Week 7 at that stage. My thinking is that the motivation from running with lots of other people may help me synch brain with body on the endurance/distance issue it is obviously struggling with. Starting at the back of the pack would (hopefully) stimulate the chase response in me and keep me focused on catching the pack ahead.