Welcome Couch to 5kers Group(now closed)

As Jenn summed it up so nicely........here it is............

We will be doing Couch to 5K, starting August 4th, ending the week of October 6th. We will be doing the first week TWICE to help us get started, thereby making a nine week program last ten weeks.

We will be weighing in on Mondays, with an optional weigh-in on Friday for those who want to.

Everyone will be doing the platform of their choice (elliptical, treadmill, street) and will choose their own days on which to run, due to varying schedules."

Here is the group...

lulufit

must_lose20

tlc0219

tankerraid

bluemisscutie

elizajk

ajazzymama

lynnhaslost

sarahjo36

pumpkin314

tryingtoloseit

xxmushxx

I have seen some of those seventy years old jogging around here. They look like they would blow right past me! I want to be like that when I am seventy!

 

*EDIT*

I did a little research, and it looks like alot of people are in the same boat as we are. At the end of the c25k program, they are able to run for 30 minutes, but not actually run 5k. So I was thinking about this and what a good follow up "program" would be. (I don't have anything else to do tonight, and I'm the type of person who needs a plan!)

I think what I am getting at is something like the original C25k program, that works on intervals, except instead of "learning to run" intervals, I am working on "learning to run faster" intervals. This way, I can gradually speed up without doing too much where I can't even finish thirty minutes. 

Here is what I am thinking for PC25K for me:

Week 1

Day 1. Run 30 minutes at whatever snails pace I can

Day 2.  Run 5 minutes at a faster pace, then slow down to finish 30 minutes.

Day 3.  Run 5 minutes at a faster pace, slower for five, than faster for five, then slower for last fifteen

Week 2

Day 4: Run 30 minutes at whatever pace I can (just to see what distance I am starting to cover)

Day 5: Run 5 minutes faster, slower for 5, faster for 5, slower for 5, faster for 5, slower for 5

Day 6: Run 10 minutes faster, slower for 10, faster for 5, slower for 5

Week 3

Day 7: Run 30 minutes at whatever pace I can to see how my speed and distance is increasing

Day 8: Run 15 minutes faster, slower for five, faster for 5, slower for 5

Day 9: Run 15 minutes faster, slower for five, faster for 10

Week 4

Day 10: Run 30 minutes at regular pace to judge my distance and speed

Day 11: Run 15 minutes faster, slower for 10, faster for five

Day 12: Run  20 minutes faster, slower for 10

ETC. ETC. ETC. Something like this. Obviously I will probably have to build as I go

You get the idea. I know it is obvious I didn't have anything else to do tonight! I need a life!

 

Lulufit, sounds great. Like you I seem to need some structure.

Well after a long discouraging almost 2 weeks of being up weightwise, I am finally down a bit. Not much, but at least I`m not up like I was. Not sure what was going on. I was obsessively good about my diet, but was getting very poor results. I upped my calorie intake a bit and now things are better. Now I`m 205.8. I`d love to get down to 205 soon because that will be the 20lb lost mark from the start of summer.

Week 7 is done. I tried to up my speed this run and was really feeling it half way in. I almost quit, big stitch in my side and feeling queasy. Slowed down to my regular pace and just barely made it through.

I`m going to just run at my comfortable pace for the rest of C25K and then will work on upping my pace afterward.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and onwards to week 8. Can you believe it!

It's Monday, it's Monday, and I just ran 2.75 miles in 28.5 minutes!  It was pretty rough toward the end (the last quarter mile *did* make a difference!!), but I got it done!  And I got a knee brace and I think it helped, so that's good, too.  At the end I was more worried about collapsing due to exhaustion than from a bum knee, and that's the way I'd prefer it.  I don't mind being tired at the end - it means I was working hard!

Lulu, I am all about your PC25K idea.  Obviously working into something hard gradually has been successful for all of us, so I'd like to keep pushing myself to improve.

And weigh-in today was 122.5 - which is a little low because I drank a TON of tea over the weekend and I think I'm kind of dehydrated.

Good luck starting week 8 everyone!!!

Weigh in today: 174.5

No loss, but no gain. After this weekend, I consider this a victory. I don't feel much like running today, so we'll see how it goes. All the kids are sick and that makes my life pretty difficult, dealing with all my poor little crabbies.

*EDIT* Ok, so I sucked it up and Completed Week 8 Run 1! Yeah. I restarted the treadmill after the 5 minute warm up walk so I could keep track of the actual running distance. It was only 1.75 miles. If I add in the warm up walk and cool down walk then I am over two miles, but not 2.75. I ran a steady pace at 3.7 mph and the last three minutes I cranked it up to 3.9.  I know that this is slow, but right now, I just want to be able to run for 28 minutes. There is no way I can cover 2.75 miles in that time frame, right now! The last minute felt like it took about three minutes!

Pumpkin, I am glad that you got a knee brace and it seems to be helping. Great job covering the distance! Thats amazing.

Hey Guys,

Weigh-in today is 169.4. On the 16th I was 172, so I guess I am down a little over two pounds for the week, although I think that 172 was inflated due to TTOTM. But what the hell, after last week, which was AWFUL I'm just happy to not have gained a zillion pounds.

Lulu, I like your idea for building up to making the distance on the 28 minute run! I look forward to continuing with you guys. Good luck with all the sick kids. Sam had a cold last week AND has four eye teeth coming in at once, so it sucked. GOD last week was terrible.

Off to run W8R2 today. I had a great run on Saturday morning, so I'm looking forward to this one.

I'm glad you got that knee brace, Pumpkin. I love mine. It makes a HUGE difference.

-tank

I did W8D1  on Sunday.  It was OK, I don't know how far I went but I went to mapmyrun.com and I think I am pretty close to the right mileage. My weigh in for today is 164.   I think that my weight loss is starting to slow down now that I am closer to my goal, and I am getting closer to 150, which was the weight that I have spent most of my adult life.  We'll see.

Good job everyone, I am very proud of all of us! Pumpkin I too am glad that you got a knee brace!  And Lulu, sorry to hear about your kids.  My kids have been sick twice already and Sept. isn't even over! I sure am going to miss summer!

As for a new running plan, I am still not sure.  I have been perusing a few of the running sites that are out there, and I think I might add distance instead of working on speed since I am running outside, and have no real way to judge my speed.  I just don't know.  Lulu- your plan sounds good! 

Finished W8R1. It wasn't easy but it was doable. The 30 minutes is just 2 more minutes. Now that I'm back at work I think it's easier for me to run Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The kids at work are great, but boy I'm tired by the end of the day. There are also many more temptations. Why must people put doughnuts on the staffroom table. They are calling my name, but so far I am resisting.

I've finally blown through the 20lb lost wall. As of this morning I was 204.6.  Now the next major goal is to change that first number.

'Now I'm going to plunk myself down on the couch and watch the Biggest Loser. Have a great week.

Great job, Jinx. 20 pounds, thats fantastic!

I won't get my run in today, the baby's cold is worse so she's way off schedule and needs lots of attention. I'll try for tomorrow, but might have to wait till normal schedule on Friday. We'll see what happens. Its super hard to feed a hungry baby a bottle when she can't breathe out of her nose. At least she is on some solids now too!

 

Didn't get my run in...I'll have to wait for Friday. Not looking forward to doing it when I have skipped a day. Hopefully it won't be alot harder.

Jinx, I saw on a different post that you were having cc+ posting issues. Hows that going? If you are unable to post, send me a message. I started with cc+ so I've never had any issues.

The diet isn't so great this week. Need to get my act together. Is anyone else losing steam with the running? I used to be excited to see if I could do it. Now, I am kind of dreading each run. It could just be this week, though. How are you guys feeling about it?

I finished Week 8 today!!!  I did D2 on tues, and was feeling some pain in my foot last night and thought I might wait until Friday to do D3.  But when I woke up this morning my foot felt better, and I know that the pain was caused by pushing a double stroller up a steep, long gravel driveway, not from running, so I went for it and felt great! Lulu-  I am still feeling pretty postive, I am mostly excited that we are almost to the end, and I can't believe that 2 months ago we were barely started!  But every time  I am doing the warm-up walk I start doubting myself.  I know it is hard, but you know that you have come such a long way! You never did repeat a week, did you?  Your kids being sick is probably just draining you.  You have to take care of yourself too! I know it sound cheesy, but it is true!  I hope is goes well for you. 

My posting problems seem to be over. Thanks for the concern Lulu. I didn't get my run in today either. Will definitely be running Friday, then Sunday. So close to the end, I don't want to give up now.

I agree it seems really overwhelming now to do the runs now. I know I can physically do it, but it's in my head that this is a really long time.

Hope your kids are feeling better. That's probably been wearing you down.

Take care everyone!

The babysitter cancelled on me (with no notice) again. This is the fourth time. I am looking for a new one, but they are hard to find. Plus, I forgot that my husband has a dinner to go to with the boss after work tonight, so he won't be home until late. So, I am not going to get my run in today. I don't know if I will do it Saturday, but I will for sure do it Monday. I am thinking of just moving on to week 9 because I know that I can do 28 minutes, so what is two more?

I am bummed because, as you know, I have been running out of steam with this program. Last night, though, I really psyched myself up for todays run. I downloaded a few new songs so I had something to look forward to, and I actually WAS looking forward to the run today. Damn babysitter! Darn work dinner. I get to put the kids to bed and have leftovers all by my lonesome.

Lulu, I totally know what you mean.  I used to be so excited and proud when I got done with my run and now I just feel like "meh, one more day down." Conversely, though, sometimes WHILE I'm running, I think "wow...I'm a runner...I could do this all day!" and that's kind of cool, but usually then about 20 seconds later I am panting and dying.  It's been hard to motivate myself to get up and run, especially because now it's dark and getting colder when I go for a run.  It was pitch black out this morning, but luckily almost 50 degrees.  Soon enough I'll be having to scrape the car to go to the gym...and that's when I foresee giving up my early morning runs!!

So yeah, today I finished week 8.  As of Wednesday, though, I officially started running th whole 5K.  I was actually having a crummy run and was dead tired, but about .25miles from the end, I just realized that I was being lazy and to kick it up a notch.  I decided I could do it and that I needed more practice running the full distance if I am going to race in just 2 short weeks!  So yeah...today I ran 5K.  YAY.  Next week I am going to start doing my runs outside.  I just need to figure out how to measure the distance and find a safe place to run.

And weight today was 124.5, which seems to be my default "normal" weight now.

Good luck with your runs, everyone, and have a great weekend.  Lulu, I hope your baby gets to feeling better.

Week 8 is done. I agree with everyone saying that they are not looking forward to their runs as much. I think my problem is just the length of the run with nothing to break it up. Maybe boredom in the middle of the run... thinking it will never end.

One more week to go! Yah us! I now weigh 203.8. I know I have to combine exercise with dieting to reach my goal of 185 by Christmas. Can't quit after next week. The good news is I went shopping yesterday at a store that sold both plus and regular size clothing. I bought two nice tops at the regular side of the store. Yes, they were XL but it's a step. I have lost most of my weight from my chest and belly. My bottom half is still a ways from shopping in the regular part of the store. I am definately a pear!

Congrats jinx! It's so great to be able to see a tangible change! I'm really happy for you. For me, I have started a pile of clothes that are now way to big for me to wear. A favorite skirt, a pair of jeans, all kept falling down. That was nice, especially since my weight hasn't changed much this week. Everytime I start complaining about it on here, it drops, so maybe this will do the trick. Hah.

I'm totally feeling the burnout on the running too. It just seems way more like a chore than anything else. I don't know how to ratchet up the excitement, but maybe this is just a weird phase or something? I dunno. I do know I am sick of where I have been running. I need a new route, something different, but I am running the only route in my neighborhood that doesn't have big hills!

I did W9R1 today, and it went pretty well. Interestingly enough I got really tired at one point, and looked at my ipod to see how much more time was left on the podcast... 2 minutes of running to go! Hah. Guess I had gotten used to the 28 minute run. I find I get really tired around the halfway mark. Hearing I am halfway done gives me an extra little spurt.

'

Way to go guys! That is so wonderful to hear about your weight loss and size decrease!  My weigh in for today is 171.5.  I really haven't lost much weight, or lost much size this whole time. It is kind of discouraging, but I need to keep it up. It will happen eventually, I suppose. I'm going to do week 9 run 1 tomorrow (tuesday) because I forgot my ipod today and my back hurts anyway. I won't even attempt to run without music. I'll take some ibeprofin tonight and hope my back is better tomorrow. I think it is just cramps (TTOM).  I am actually looking forward to running tomorrow, and dreading it too.

I went home and got my ipod (since I realized that I had also forgotten my wallet and the baby was crying instead of napping). I had just enough time to get all the way home, pick up my stuff, then go pick up the kids at preschool. Then I went back to my moms house with the kids because she said she would watch them so I could get caught up with my run. So, NO MORE EXCUSES for me. I went and did week 9 run 1. I had to go even slower (3.5mph) to make it all the way though, but I did it. The last minute I cranked it up to 4.0mph.

Pumpkin, when you started going for distance, did you increase your speed overall, or did you do it in increments? I am trying to think of the best way for me to start speeding up, while still being able to complete the time.

I am feeling better this week. My doctor said that PMS actually counters the effects of my antidepressent, thats why it felt like it wasn't working and I was a mess last week! Much better now.

Whooo Hooo! Tank and Lulu, Great to hear ya got 'er done!!

I had a really good weekend, but it did involve pizza and beer. I didn't indulge too much, but I did a little.

I'm going to take inspiration from Lulu and not procrastinate. I will do my big run tonight and will update later.


***update***

Guess who can run 30 minutes straight.....that would be ME!

Never really though I would get to this point on day one. So I mostly ran 3.6mph but upped it to 4mph for the last 2.5 minutes because I really liked the song. Including my walks I went 2.3 miles which is well short of the 3 miles or 5k. But that's to work on later. 

I did W9D1 Sunday morning!  Very proud of running for 30 minutes!!  My weigh in for today is 162.  For some reason  I am getting a little discouraged about weight loss.  The number keeps going down, but to me, my belly looks the same.  I guess that I am just used to it now.  Anyway, I am excited to be done with C25k, we are almost there ladies!! Good job powering through Lulu and Jinx!!