Couch To 5K discussion thread (discussion of other programs welcome too!)

ONE DIP

Out tonight for w1 d2 , found d1hard enough so hope tonight might be a bit better , currently 18 st 7 and off the ciggs since feb so I know it's not gonna be easy , doing ww about 3 weeks now so I hope by Xmas I see 16st of some sort on the scales and have a 5k run to match it , great support on here cox I feel like I'll never even get to 8 min non stop

G-Money

ONE DIP wrote: »

Out tonight for w1 d2 , found d1hard enough so hope tonight might be a bit better , currently 18 st 7 and off the ciggs since feb so I know it's not gonna be easy , doing ww about 3 weeks now so I hope by Xmas I see 16st of some sort on the scales and have a 5k run to match it , great support on here cox I feel like I'll never even get to 8 min non stop

Just stick at it and you will be grand. I was about the same weight as you when I started and I'm not far off the 15's now. Although I've had a bad week or two and my diet hasn't been great so I might have put a bit on.

I found week 1 ok with the 60 second jogs but I found week 2 with the 90 second jogs quite tough. When I moved onto week 3 and the 3 minute jogs I felt like I'd never complete the programme. I was really struggling. I then ended up repeating Week 4 or 5 I think, I can't remember which, it was the week with the 5 minute jogs. They were absolutely destroying me altogether and there was no way I could have done an 8 minute jog which was on the cards the following week.

So I repeated that week, slowed my pace and it helped massively. Yesterday I completed a 25 minute jog with no breaks and did so comfortably. My pace isn't great, it's not much faster than a walk to be honest but I'm getting there.

I remember at the start thinking there's no way I would be able to complete a long jog as I was struggling so much. But to my surprise I am now able to. So just stick with it, pace yourself and don't worry if you have to repeat some of the weeks. Most people do at some point.

Stench Blossoms

Week 4 done. Finally.

Dreading starting week 5. I don't think i'll be able to do it.

ommnyom

w9d1! Woo, 30 minutes done and 4.8k according to google maps, nearly graduated. I know I did w8d3 yesterday, but I had to get back on track for my mon-thur-sat routine.

vic20 wrote: »

So you've got a beach near you? Lucky you! http://home.sprynet.com/~holtrun/sandrun.htm

I went out for a 30 min. run yesterday and did a hill section twice. If someone had told me 4 months ago that I would do such a thing I would have laughed in their face

I'm doing the OHR program too.

I didn't even realize I was working out my back and shoulders! Although I aim for the tough sand as much as possible. I'm mostly on the beach because I have a dog so can let her run along side me. She's usually darting off in front and behind though, so I'm not too speedy *yet*.

I've just one week of c25k and then it's OHR, I can't even imagine being able to do an hour, but then again I though I'd never manage the 20 minute one either.

You never know, we might even finish OHR by the end of the year

Basq

Wahey - W5D3 of C25K complete... a 20 minute run - no break.

Did 2 and a quarter laps (roughly 2 and a quarter miles) of my local racecourse at a decent pace (not too far off an "8 minute mile" I'd say).

Was knackered after it, but feel absolutely great now. Felt tired about the 12 minute mark but thank God for Death Cab for Cutie's 'Transatlanticism'.. if the final minute or so of this song (HERE) doesn't motivate you, nothing will!

Onto Week 6 now.

ONE DIP

grandmaster wrote: »

Just stick at it and you will be grand. I was about the same weight as you when I started and I'm not far off the 15's now. Although I've had a bad week or two and my diet hasn't been great so I might have put a bit on.

I found week 1 ok with the 60 second jogs but I found week 2 with the 90 second jogs quite tough. When I moved onto week 3 and the 3 minute jogs I felt like I'd never complete the programme. I was really struggling. I then ended up repeating Week 4 or 5 I think, I can't remember which, it was the week with the 5 minute jogs. They were absolutely destroying me altogether and there was no way I could have done an 8 minute jog which was on the cards the following week.

So I repeated that week, slowed my pace and it helped massively. Yesterday I completed a 25 minute jog with no breaks and did so comfortably. My pace isn't great, it's not much faster than a walk to be honest but I'm getting there.

I remember at the start thinking there's no way I would be able to complete a long jog as I was struggling so much. But to my surprise I am now able to. So just stick with it, pace yourself and don't worry if you have to repeat some of the weeks. Most people do at some point.

Cheers Grandmaster , youd be surprised how much your support helped me tonight

ONE DIP

Got through w1 d2 tonight , was really tired after work and was just not up for it but with a gentle nudge from th OH and great support from Grandmaster i just got out and done it and actually found it a bit easier than day 1 , so im happy to crack on and for the first time ever i am going to finish a fitness programme now matter how hard its going to be.

Basq

Stick with it One Dip.... believe me, it does get easier!

You body should slowly begin to adjust to the jogging.. and the feeling of finishing a day (and especially a week) is the motivator to keep going. That plus you're gonna feel better as the weeks go on.

You may have days when you feel you can't go on.. but that's when the sense of achievement in finishing a day kicks in.

All I can say is best of luck.. and try and stick with it!

kildareash

ONE DIP wrote: »

Got through w1 d2 tonight , was really tired after work and was just not up for it but with a gentle nudge from th OH and great support from Grandmaster i just got out and done it and actually found it a bit easier than day 1 , so im happy to crack on and for the first time ever i am going to finish a fitness programme now matter how hard its going to be.

Well done, OneDip, I started the programme a couple of weeks ago and am over 16st too.
Got great re-assurance from people in this forum about repeating weeks and don't feel like a wuss for taking it at my own pace now.

That feeling tonight will spur you on to go out the next night and the night after that!

I had started week2 last week, but didn't have time to get back out last week, was just a crazy week. Hopefully I'll get home from work early enough tomorrow to start the week again.

G-Money

Week 7, Day 1 Complete

I went out today and completed Week 7, Day 1, even though I completed Week 6 on Sunday. Sometimes I leave it two days after finishing a week on it, but I decided to go out today, even though I was tempted to skip it.

Today consisted of:

5 min warm-up walk
25 min jog
5 min cool-down walk

It was a bit tougher today I found even though I've done the 25 minute jog at the end of Week 6. I believe this is because of a couple of reasons. It was about 18 degree's earlier and a bit humid, plus I haven't been drinking as much water. The other day I went out and it was first thing on Sunday morning and it was much cooler. Also, my pace was about 2 min/mile faster today than it was the other day. I guess I shouldn't worry about pace too much but I wanted to up the speed a bit.

According to my watch, I did 1.98 miles today during the 25 minute jog and excluding the warm-up and cool-down walks which is 3.1k. I guess that's ok but I'm still a bit of a distance off the 5k. I'm going to use the fact that I'm heavy and running almost always in a bit of an incline as my excuses :P

The_Morrigan

Unfortunately had to give up half way through Week 4 Day 3....had to literally hurl myself off the treadmill to be sick

I'm not a happy bunny about this at all...

GM well done on getting out to Week 7!!

G-Money

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Unfortunately had to give up half way through Week 4 Day 3....had to literally hurl myself off the treadmill to be sick

I'm not a happy bunny about this at all...

GM well done on getting out to Week 7!!

Sorry to hear that. Are you eating shortly beforehand? Perhaps you're going too fast?

I either exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or in the evenings about 4 or 4.30pm and I won't have eaten since about 12.30pm at the latest so my stomach is usually empty at that stage.

The_Morrigan

grandmaster wrote: »

Sorry to hear that. Are you eating shortly beforehand? Perhaps you're going too fast?

I either exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or in the evenings about 4 or 4.30pm and I won't have eaten since about 12.30pm at the latest so my stomach is usually empty at that stage.

nope I haven't eaten since lunchtime, was feeling a bit blurgh though on the way home, but I convinced myself it was just my mind playing tricks on me to make me not go for a jog!!

not going too fast....you know how heavy I am, I couldn't possibly go fast lol

G-Money

The_Morrigan wrote: »

nope I haven't eaten since lunchtime, was feeling a bit blurgh though on the way home, but I convinced myself it was just my mind playing tricks on me to make me not go for a jog!!

not going too fast....you know how heavy I am, I couldn't possibly go fast lol

Yeah but perhaps slow the pace a bit and see how you get on.

The_Morrigan

grandmaster wrote: »

Yeah but perhaps slow the pace a bit and see how you get on.

If I go any slower I'll be stationary..there is no difference between the speed of the walk and the jog, its easy to monitor cos of the treadmill.

littlehedgehog

Basq - epic, epic, epic tune! Thank you! *puts on run playlist*

The morrigan - I hope you're feeling better now you poor poor thing. Stupid stomach - nice cup of tea and a lie down and fingers crossed you're ok tomorrow

I was supposed to start w7 today but had a shyyyyte day in work and couldn't motivate myself. Goddamn tomorrow gonna leave work at 4 - no excuses! Gonna get the 2.25 miles too, damnit!

G-Money

My pace was faster today, by about 2 minutes per mile but I still didn't even do 2 miles in 25 minutes, although I was just a fraction away from it. I really still have quite a way to go.

G-Money

Jean wrote: »

Basq - epic, epic, epic tune! Thank you! *puts on run playlist*

Nice tune but simply not fast enough for me I like songs with a beat that have the same effect as a pack of dogs running after you would

G-Money

Here's another couple that are on my C25K playlist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnnyY4fZzmM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6GisaqlI80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoFLoZL3psw

I quite like this song but it hasn't made its way to my iPhone or my C25K playlist, at least not yet...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wavpWRK6IX8

The_Morrigan

Jean wrote: »

The morrigan - I hope you're feeling better now you poor poor thing. Stupid stomach - nice cup of tea and a lie down and fingers crossed you're ok tomorrow

I was supposed to start w7 today but had a shyyyyte day in work and couldn't motivate myself. Goddamn tomorrow gonna leave work at 4 - no excuses! Gonna get the 2.25 miles too, damnit!

Thanks Jean - I'll be better before I'm married I'm sure, just a bit of an upset tummy tonight and the motion was not a good combination.

Shinbreaker

God love you The Morrigan it's hard enough to do this without having to cope with feeling sick.

I did W3 D1 today. I felt great afterwards and so proud of myself. I am just checking out what is in store for W4 and it seems quite a step up from W3. Running for 16 mins even with breaks is a alot more than 9 mins with breaks!!!!!

The_Morrigan

Shinbreaker wrote: »

God love you The Morrigan it's hard enough to do this without having to cope with feeling sick.

I did W3 D1 today. I felt great afterwards and so proud of myself. I am just checking out what is in store for W4 and it seems quite a step up from W3. Running for 16 mins even with breaks is a alot more than 9 mins with breaks!!!!!

Thanks Shinbreaker.
I felt the same going onto W4, but I managed it on Day 1 & 2, wasn't spectacular, but completed it as required albeit probably slower lol
I've always tried the day 1 of the next week and if I've had a complete disaster I'll repeat the previous week and then try again.
Everyone on here will tell you its a personal journey and you have to go at your own pace whether it takes 9 weeks or 9 months

Shinbreaker

The_Morrigan wrote: »

I've always tried the day 1 of the next week and if I've had a complete disaster I'll repeat the previous week and then try again.
Everyone on here will tell you its a personal journey and you have to go at your own pace whether it takes 9 weeks or 9 months

That sounds like a good idea, give it a go and hope for the best and repeat if I have to. I should be on W4 this week but I had a cold last week so took the week off. I'm raging now. I'll let you know how I got on. I'm aiming to do a 5km race in Dec (The jingle bell one).

T-Square

I've just come back from two weeks of gluttony in Bulgaria. I though is pick up from where I left of, so jumped straight back into week 6 day 3, a 3200meter jog.

I was only able to do 2Km, it was too much for me, and I reckon I need two days to recover, next run Sat, try w6d3 again.

what to you all reckon?

G-Money

T-Square wrote: »

I've just come back from two weeks of gluttony in Bulgaria. I though is pick up from where I left of, so jumped straight back into week 6 day 3, a 3200meter jog.

I was only able to do 2Km, it was too much for me, and I reckon I need two days to recover, next run Sat, try w6d3 again.

what to you all reckon?

Just do what you think you can. If you are finding it too tough then I'd listen to your body and ease up a bit. I think I had to repeat Week 5, or whichever week it was with the 5 minute jogs. I was struggling badly to complete them and the next week I was due to complete an 8 minute jog and there was no way in hell I was going to be able to do that as I was barely finishing 5 minutes.

I just went back and repeated the first few days of that week with the 5 minute jogs and I slowed my pace a bit. I don't know what happened but after that it was like I broke through some sort of barrier and I knew I'd be able to complete the rest of the programme.

So perhaps rest a day or so then go back and repeat a week and slow the pace.

jw297

Hi all,
I'm back after a 6-week break at week 8. Was really worried I'd undone all the good work and expected to just make 5 minutes or something but went for a run yesterday and made it to 26.5 minutes before dying, which is brilliant. The longer I left it the more scared I was getting to go for a run! I'm hoping this week I'll make it up to 28-30 again, and next week or the week after finish the program.
Absolutely destroyed today after it though, shoulders, arms, leg and back are all aching but I guess that means the muscles were doing some work yesterday, which is all good!

ommnyom

Hey The Morrigan, sorry to hear about your last run but do stick with it and you will be able to get further each time. I've gotten that feeling several times through the program, but luckily have never actually had to hurl! From week 1, 5 and even the last run I did on week 9 I've had a wave of nausea. I was able to keep going and it went away so it obviously wasn't as terrible as yours but I sympathies with how you must feel.

The_Morrigan

ommnyom wrote: »

Hey The Morrigan, sorry to hear about your last run but do stick with it and you will be able to get further each time. I've gotten that feeling several times through the program, but luckily have never actually had to hurl! From week 1, 5 and even the last run I did on week 9 I've had a wave of nausea. I was able to keep going and it went away so it obviously wasn't as terrible as yours but I sympathies with how you must feel.

Thanks
I've had moments on the treadmill before where I 've had the "I've gone lightheaded and going to pass out" moment, but ignored it and carried on.
I think it was a bug, it didn't go away once I stopped running and I had no appetite at all last night. Still feeling a bit off today, but I might give it a go again tonight, I'll play it by ear.

vic20

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Week 4 done. Finally.

Dreading starting week 5. I don't think i'll be able to do it.

Don't forget that there's no pressure here!
If you don't feel ready for W5 just repeat W4 and try for W5 whenever you feel ready for it. Take it slow & you'll get there.

littlehedgehog

Aye, gotta back up vic there - if you go on when you're not ready, you could risk hurting yourself. I'm on c25k for 12 weeks, and only starting w7 this week! Even taking into account my holidays and stuff, that is a lot of repeating! (a lot!!) And I'm much more comfortable running for it!

Didn't finish until 5 however, i'm feeling good.. So let's do this thingy