Couch-To-5k Motivational Thread

Hey everyone!
So, i set this up mainly for those in my weight loss challenge, but anyone (runner or run-phobic) can join up for extra motivation to get out there and move!

Here is a link to the website for C25K:
http://www.c25k.com/

Which also has pod casts for Ipods which will tell you when to start and stop jogging/running.
But, you can count in your head if you don't have an ipod, or you can just set small distances.
Perhaps, run to the next letterbox, then walk for two?
Or, run to the next power line if you live in the country like me! lol.

And here is a link to the program... I find its good to print it out and keep it on your wall, then you can put a tick on the runs when you have completed them:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.s html

I will be running on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and plan to begin next Monday (7th July) because i like the "orderly-ness" of starting on a Monday lol.

However, feel free to start which ever day you like!

Everyone needs motivation to work out sometimes :) so lets support each other to reach our goals!
Happy running everyone!

mamarose: We were all afraid before starting the C25K program. I was concerned about heart, knee and lower back and can't believe that I am now running 30 min with very little effort. Its an incredible conditioning program. The slow progression works. As to convincing your husband - use my story. Age 61, will run my first 5K race on Sun Oct 26th, my 62nd birthday. Heart attack 3/15/08, bad knees for 20 years, lower back prob for years - couldn't stand or carry grandkids for long. I started the C25K 8 weeks ago and both knees and back are stronger, although I still wear an elastic knee brace for insurance. They are not stable enough to run w/o it. I just got back from Cardiologist and he is ecstatic at how I look and my Cholesterol numbers, Total:119; LDL:56!; HDL:47; Triglycerides: 82 - a super set of #'s. My weight is down 15 lbs from when I had the heart attack, and 60 from peak 8 years ago. This stuff works! He did say I could forget a marathon and to talk to him b4 thinking about a half mary! But what the heck he didn't flinch when I used the race word saying I wanted to run 5k & 10K!

I am ecstatic! Its hard to believe how negative I was b4 starting. Would have never believed that I could do it, let alone enjoy it! Its not always easy, but we all have learned how to manage it and that is the best thing possible. Go at our own pace and gradually improve our conditioning. This is a lifestyle change and its never to late to start! I am hyped!

Had a GREAT run this morning! I screwed up and I'm really in W9D2 of C25K!!! the podcast has an 8 on it and I got confused. Finished my favorite fairly level 3.5 route with a 12:20 pace! previous best was 12:55 Whoo Hoo! Finished strong and I know with additional training I can bring that down. I might even be able to pass Hig School PE again and make a 12 min mile! I'm fairly sure that's what the target was that it took 3 or 4 tries for me to pass! And that was at 16! the only time since then that I've run is when getting mortared and shot at in Vietnam! Ugh!

We can do this!

Never look back, Never give up, Can Do!

Bobev, thanks so  much!  I WILL use your story when speaking to my husband...and when I need pump up my own motivation.  I am so happy for you!

thank you for these awesome links!

they are JUST what i needed to get back on my running track.

i miss it so much. :(

Hey all, I have completed this program once before (this spring) but didn't keep up the running.  I was roller skating instead ( I play Roller Derby) Now I need that stamina for games built up again so back to the C25K Program I go!!!

I will start with week one day one next week and off I go!

So pumped!

Well, I've almost made it ... I officially have ONE RUN LEFT in the C25K program!!!  Oh my goodness, I never thought that I could ever run comfortably for a full 30 mins!!!

YAY!

I'm in the second week of the C25K program. I'm really enjoying it. I was worried about knees too but decided I'd just give it a go and if I have problems, I'll stop. I don't intend on being a full time runner but I thought this program might be a good way to step up my metabolism a bit in addition to my normal walking. And I was just curious to see if I can do it. (I still am, of course! )

I use our treadmill and it works really well for me. I was worried about boredom but at least in the beginning of the program, I have to watch the times and pace too much to get bored. It goes by really quickly. I was also shocked to find that I CAN jog on the treadmill without holding on. lol! I always held on when I walked on it in the past.

Do any of you use a treadmill? I was wondering what 'normal' paces are, if any. I've been doing the walking at 3.5 and the jogging at 5.5 (mph, I think. ?) It feels good to me now but I wonder if I'll be able to keep that pace toward the end of the program.

Original Post by chris1208:

Do any of you use a treadmill? I was wondering what 'normal' paces are, if any. I've been doing the walking at 3.5 and the jogging at 5.5 (mph, I think. ?)

 It will depend on how long your legs are and what stride length is comfortable for you.  A good way to tell speeds is by your heart rate.  If you can, get a heart rate monitor.  For me the walking portion (on a treadmill) is at 3.2 ( which keeps my HR around 115 ) and the running for me is around 5.5 (which pushes my HR to 140 sometimes 150 or 160).

hmmm. Good suggestion with the HRM. (The one that came with the treadmill got lost.) Oddly enough I was waiting to get one until I'd reached an intermediate goal weight. Probably sort of stupid since it may help me get there!

mbeazley: Way to go!
kjmadill:  Welcome back!
chris1208: I use Robert Ullrey's podcasts that I found from the C25K.com web site. Hey voices over beat music to let you know when to jog and when to walk. Has worked well for me. I run in my neighborhood and have only run once on a treadmill when my wife wouldn't let me run in the rain! I walked/ran faster on the treadmill than I do on the street. Avoiding obstructions and broken sidewalks I think slows one down.

I FINISHED this morning! Did a 3.5 mi route, 5/30/2/5 walk/run sequence at my personal best pace of 12:16! Almost able to pass HS PE again! Have to get under 12/mi - actually I could probably do a single mi that fast. I used a relatively flat route but will start training Sun on hillier routes in order to build endurance/speed for the 10/11 World Wide run and 10/26 official 5K on my 62nd bday! Who Hoo! It was a great morning (4:45am), clear sky, almost full moon, 55 deg! Awesome day to run. Minor prob with left hamstring. It got tight just after starting the run, then loosened up about the 15 min mark. Finished strong and the last short walk/run home convinces me that I'm making right decision to use Jeff Galloway's run w/o injury run/walk/run approach. I felt recovered enough after 1 min brisk walk to return to faster pace for the 5 min finish. Am thinking of using a 2/5/1/(10/1or2x3 reps) walk/run approach over 3.5-5 mi routes.

I'll be checking back to see how everyone is doing. I'm hooked on running!

Hi everyone!

After reading the thread, I decided to give C25K a try and I did my very first workout today! I downloaded the podcasts and had a fab time but I have to admit it was hard! by the end of it I had to do repeat a couple of the walking sets just so that I could catch my breath! hopefully it will get better... =)

I'm really excited about this!

V_avila: welcome aboard. An don't worry it actually gets easier. The 1st few eeks feel harder than the later because you are gradually conditioning your body to running. By the time you get to the last three weeks you are in a running mode and it isn't as bad as you would think. During the 1st few weeks I hurt more, got more tired and wondered if I could finish. Well I did and am now moving on to being able to increase my pace and distance. I didn't really run a full 3.1 mie because my pace is to slow, 12:16 at its best, so I want to really run a 5k w/o walking. This program gets one running for 30 full minutes so I've "run" for 2.4 mi. Would really like to be able to say I ran a full 5K.

bobev ~ thank you for the encouraging words!! I am in cloud nine right now.. we'll see what my body says tomorrow..

I did week one Day one this morning! It was easier this time then the last time I started.  I must be in better shape!

I am so excited to find this forum!!  I am on my 6th week of C25K and have been doing it by myself...It's nice to find a thread where others are doing the same thing I am. 

I did my 20 minute run this past Friday and couldn't be happier about it.  It was hard, but I did it!  I pushed through and kept telling myself to keep going and I did it!  I was very proud of myself!  I also decided to try and time my mile yesterday and ran a 9:24.  Which is probably my best mile time ever. 

I have never been much of a runner in my life, but this program makes it easy to take it a day at a time.  I feel better than I have in a long time.  I haven't lost any weight yet, hopefully that will start happening soon, but at this point, I am not so worried about it.  

Well thanks ladies!  I'll keep reading and posting as I go as I am training to do a 5K in December!

 

 

I did the first day of the third week today. I sort of gulped when I saw the 3 minute runs, lol. It was fine. I am going to get some music for next time though, I know it will seem to go even faster. I just tried to think of some peppy song today.

I think I've sort of messed up on my timing (starting/stopping) a couple times but I've done at least as much as the program calls for. The first 2 weeks I thought the 5 minute warm-up was separate from the '20 minute' total but now I'm unsure. I don't think it matters much, but is it?

For me it is separate.  I set my treadmill for 30 minutes. The first 5 are warm up, then I run/walk for 20, then the last 5 is for cool down.  When you get to the 90 seconds/ 3 minutes, whatever stuff you may be off by a minute or so, but I think it is important to have the 5 minutes warm up in there so you don't hurt yourself.

chris1208 the warm up/cool down is part of the overall time, so when doing a 20 minute run its 30 min total, with the 25 min run its 35 min total etc.

I run on the streets early in the morning, so timing things were a challenge for me. So I used Robert Ullrey's podcasts to get the timing right. If you have an mp3 player it makes it easier to time the run/walks, especially in the earlier weeks. I found the link on the c25k.com web site.

alanaroo: way to go! Glad you found us.

I ran/walked a total of 4.3 mi yesterday inspite of a screwed up mp3 I made. I messed up the timings and voice over was to low to hear what I was saying. So my timing was all messed up. I did the best I could, but walked more than I had planned. I ran on what will be my weekly Sun "long" run. I found out that the Trinity Trails (Fort Worth, TX) ran not far from my house, so I went over there. The round trip is a little long for work day mornings, especially since I am on overtime right now.  Felt strong when I finished, even better when I realized ow far I had gone!

woot! woot! woot! pb! pb! pb! I ran 3.35 mi at an 11:31 pace. I used my remade mp3 a 2/5/[1x10]x3 walk/run routine and it worked. I ran on a 1 mi loop in my subdivision and the 1st 10 min run I completed an entire loop as the 10 min expired. I passed hs PE once again! I must have slowed down during the others. Pace was easy to maintain. No probs, although rt ham was a touch tight. Did longer stretch afterward. HR was maintained ok, max 126 during the 1st 10. I walked 90 sec instead of 60 after 1st one - was excited by the time and wanted hr to recover under 100. Remaining runs never exceeded 122. I could probably push higher since max hr is up from stress test (cardiologist agrees) and exertion rate 7. I am HYPED!!!

Never Give UP, Never Turn Back!, Can Do!

Well I did my 25 minute run on Saturday and though it was hard, I finished it.  I felt like I was about to pass out for maybe 30 seconds after the run, but I just kept walking and it went away quickly.  I figure that will be the hardest it will ever be for the 25 minute runs...at least that's what I keep telling myself. 

The thought of no more walking intervals now that I am on week 7 seems a little intimidating, but I am not going to let it detract me.  I will take it a day at a time like I have been.  Another 25 minute run for me this evening!!  Wish me luck!!