Couch to 5k thread

Hesh's Umpire

Really struggled through the two 8 minute runs last night in week 5, run 2.

Just can't see how I can possibly run for 20 minutes tomorrow as scheduled in week 5, run 3.

Anyone any tips?

quickbeam

I felt the same, Hesh. It seemed like an impossible task.

I figured I'd just run 8 of the 20 minutes. I knew I could do that, as I'd already had it done. And then I did 2 more - sure what's 2 extra minutes? Then I figured I was already half way there, and figured I'd just do the same again.

It's about breaking it down in to smaller chucks. I had MapMyRun alert me every two minutes so I knew how close I was.

Run, as slowly as you can manage.

If you don't complete it, don't beat yourself up. Repeat WK 5 again. Absolutely no biggie in doing that.

When* you do complete it, it's a great feeling. Actually, it was my proudest moment in the whole course, better even than completing the final 30 minutes. It was a huge, huge milestone and really made me think that if I could do that, then I could do anything, even it took some time to get there.

* note, I say "when" not "if". You WILL get there. Let us know how you get on.

Ososlo

quickbeam wrote: »

I felt the same, Hesh. It seemed like an impossible task.

I figured I'd just run 8 of the 20 minutes. I knew I could do that, as I'd already had it done. And then I did 2 more - sure what's 2 extra minutes? Then I figured I was already half way there, and figured I'd just do the same again.

It's about breaking it down in to smaller chucks. I had MapMyRun alert me every two minutes so I knew how close I was.

Run, as slowly as you can manage.

If you don't complete it, don't beat yourself up. Repeat WK 5 again. Absolutely no biggie in doing that.

When* you do complete it, it's a great feeling. Actually, it was my proudest moment in the whole course, better even than completing the final 30 minutes. It was a huge, huge milestone and really made me think that if I could do that, then I could do anything, even it took some time to get there.

* note, I say "when" not "if". You WILL get there. Let us know how you get on.

Brillaint post! I echo EVERYTHING you say here. Follow this advice Hesh, and you can't go wrong. Just think about how amazing it will feel when you've finished it:D I'll never forget when I did the 20 minute run for the first time. It's definitely one of my proudest moments in my running too. Try not to stress about it as it'll be easier if you're more relaxed. And if you're just not ready for it yet, there is absolutely nothing wrong with repeating a week. But you will do it.
Make sure and report back!

pcuser

I taught I would struggle with the 20 mins but I managed it. Slow your jog down as slow as possible if you are struggling. Breath in through your mouth and out through your mouth. Only worry about taking deep breaths in the breath out will take care of itself.

Gremlin2011

W2D1 last night. It was a struggle with the 90 seconds jogging. I kept trying to push myself, 'get to that cats eye then I might walk', 'get to that sign' etc I did have to start walking at 80 seconds of one of the running intervals. It's an improvement on the 60 seconds of jogging so I'll take any win I can!!

pcuser

Its 80s more than you could do before you started
I couldnt finish my 1st run, after 4 x 1 min runs I had to stop and walk the rest. I finished the C25k about 2 weeks ago and now im training for the 10k

FrancieBrady

Pushed on today and ran 5k! Still buzzing. Legs almost gave up but lungs had a bit more. Very happy with a slow coach 36 mins.
From not being able to do more than a minute to 5k and losing 2stone as well (sticking fairly close to Karl Spain's diet in Operation Transformation)

Have faith in that app Hesh, if it can get me there it can get anyone there.

The Muppet

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Pushed on today and ran 5k! Still buzzing. Legs almost gave up but lungs had a bit more. Very happy with a slow coach 36 mins.
From not being able to do more than a minute to 5k and losing 2stone as well (sticking fairly close to Karl Spain's diet in Operation Transformation)

Have faith in that app Hesh, if it can get me there it can get anyone there.

Delighted for you FrancieBrady, that's brilliant, you must be delighted.

FrancieBrady

The Muppet wrote: »

Delighted for you FrancieBrady, that's brilliant, you must be delighted.

Over the moon. 10 days to go to the race too.
Thanks to all who have left their stories here, very motivating.

Hesh's Umpire

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Have faith in that app Hesh, if it can get me there it can get anyone there.

Will do. Fair play to you. Had to postpone my planned run tonight. Life gets in the way sometimes! Did 15 hard minutes on the exercise bike instead.

pcuser

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Pushed on today and ran 5k! Still buzzing. Legs almost gave up but lungs had a bit more. Very happy with a slow coach 36 mins.
From not being able to do more than a minute to 5k and losing 2stone as well (sticking fairly close to Karl Spain's diet in Operation Transformation)

Have faith in that app Hesh, if it can get me there it can get anyone there.

Well done Francie. What a huge achievement. You must be so proud

MrStuffins

Week 9 Day 2 in the bag!

Didn't go for the whole 5k this evening. Just done the 30 mins. it was surprisingly easy!

Absolutely chuffed i've decided to do this programme. If anyone is reading this and doubting that they will ever get there, or are thinking that they are so far away from being able to run 5k, you're not. Just trust the programme and take your time. If you have a dodgy week, repeat the week and you'll get there.

Hesh's Umpire

quickbeam wrote: »

I felt the same, Hesh. It seemed like an impossible task.

I figured I'd just run 8 of the 20 minutes. I knew I could do that, as I'd already had it done. And then I did 2 more - sure what's 2 extra minutes? Then I figured I was already half way there, and figured I'd just do the same again.

It's about breaking it down in to smaller chucks. I had MapMyRun alert me every two minutes so I knew how close I was.

Run, as slowly as you can manage.

If you don't complete it, don't beat yourself up. Repeat WK 5 again. Absolutely no biggie in doing that.

When* you do complete it, it's a great feeling. Actually, it was my proudest moment in the whole course, better even than completing the final 30 minutes. It was a huge, huge milestone and really made me think that if I could do that, then I could do anything, even it took some time to get there.

* note, I say "when" not "if". You WILL get there. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks a million, that was a very helpful post. Nailed the 20 minutes earlier tonight - a great feeling! A little emotional if I'm honest.

Went very slow all the way except for a slight down slope wind in my back section with a couple of minutes left where I thought I was Mo Farah!

FrancieBrady

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

Thanks a million, that was a very helpful post. Nailed the 20 minutes earlier tonight - a great feeling! A little emotional if I'm honest.

Went very slow all the way except for a slight down slope wind in my back section with a couple of minutes left where I thought I was Mo Farah!

I'll never forget realising that 'I've got this' at about 14 mins. Well done!

quickbeam

That's fantastic, Hesh! Well done. It is emotional when complete, but it's a great feeling.

pcuser

Well done Heshs

Ososlo

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

Thanks a million, that was a very helpful post. Nailed the 20 minutes earlier tonight - a great feeling! A little emotional if I'm honest.

Went very slow all the way except for a slight down slope wind in my back section with a couple of minutes left where I thought I was Mo Farah!

That is absolutely brilliant! Well done! Fantastic achievement. Nothing will faze you now!

Casey78

Hesh are you a fellow Laois man? I recognise your username from anther forum that I'm on.
Congrats on the run. I remember when I did my first 20min run. I was over the moon and was the first time I got the running buzz.

wavehopper1

There's a few posters recently who pointed out that in week 9 they knew they weren't actually covering 5k in the 30 minutes.
That was so useful to me, because I wasn't too crestfallen today when I checked my distance for the first time. Week 9 day 2 - on 30 minutes I had covered 3K. Inspired by another poster, I decided to press on, the last 1K was kind of unpleasant but I did 5K!
In 48 minutes, and I suspect I'd cover the same distance faster at a brisk walk.
But I'm not downhearted, and I'm glad it wasn't a big surprise.
I'm not quite ready to do a park run yet (the poor volunteers would be frozen waiting for me), but I'm going to chip away at this, maybe do two runs a week at the 30 minutes, and gradually up the distance on the third run. Again, I think it was on here that someone recommended upping by 10% at a time, so for me that would be starting from a base of that 3K and adding 0.3 K each week.
I think that makes sense, if anybody sees a big flaw in it - advise away.
Thanks, everybody. Just one more run this week and I've completed this thing, couldn't have got there without all you posters.

FrancieBrady

wavehopper1 wrote: »

There's a few posters recently who pointed out that in week 9 they knew they weren't actually covering 5k in the 30 minutes.
That was so useful to me, because I wasn't too crestfallen today when I checked my distance for the first time. Week 9 day 2 - on 30 minutes I had covered 3K. Inspired by another poster, I decided to press on, the last 1K was kind of unpleasant but I did 5K!
In 48 minutes, and I suspect I'd cover the same distance faster at a brisk walk.
But I'm not downhearted, and I'm glad it wasn't a big surprise.
I'm not quite ready to do a park run yet (the poor volunteers would be frozen waiting for me), but I'm going to chip away at this, maybe do two runs a week at the 30 minutes, and gradually up the distance on the third run. Again, I think it was on here that someone recommended upping by 10% at a time, so for me that would be starting from a base of that 3K and adding 0.3 K each week.
I think that makes sense, if anybody sees a big flaw in it - advise away.
Thanks, everybody. Just one more run this week and I've completed this thing, couldn't have got there without all you posters.

Well done Wavehopper1.
I'm in a dilemma too about how to proceed. I am very slow but I want to improve and the challenge of a half marathon is in my head
Focused on doing a race on Sunday so will decide after that.
I am doing this in a group and we have very good athletic club mentors. So I will have a chat with them.
I am petrified to face the new year without a plan, the lazy alter ego still lurks in his big black coat!

The Muppet

Great to see the commitment here .

Re upping the distance/time the generally accepted advisé is to do it gradually over time by increasing one run by 10% or so each week. IMO it's so important to avoid injury at this stage as it might discourage us from running. So easy does it .

Dont get too caught up In distance for now .

Speed is similar all your runs on the plan should be easy at conversational pace . Ie you could hold a conversation and run .

Once you've finished the plan most of your runs should be the same but if you wanted you could try push a liitle harder on one of your shorter runs too or introduce intervals , easy runs with 5 or 6 sprints of 100 meters at speed, Lamposts are great start and finish markers for these , allowing youself recover fully between the intervals.

That would give an outline of a plan with one long run , One tempo session and two easy runs. Try have 1 easy run between the tempo run and long run to allow more time for recovery .


Enjoy your runs and run consistantly 3 or 4 times a week and the distance and speed will come naturally.

I love this thread . It's my first to read every morning .

chickey2

wavehopper1 wrote: »

I'm not quite ready to do a park run yet (the poor volunteers would be frozen waiting for me)

Check the results section of your local parkrun. I know in my local one there's often people who do it in over 48 minutes. You'll get great encouragement from the volunteers, don't worry they'll be wrapped up warm!

Hesh's Umpire

Casey78 wrote: »

Hesh are you a fellow Laois man? I recognise your username from anther forum that I'm on.
Congrats on the run. I remember when I did my first 20min run. I was over the moon and was the first time I got the running buzz.

I am indeed, well spotted.
Running is massive around where I live near Portarlington. The roads are full of runners, sun or snow.
Hopefully I will stick with this!

Sunny Dayz

chickey2 wrote: »

Check the results section of your local parkrun. I know in my local one there's often people who do it in over 48 minutes. You'll get great encouragement from the volunteers, don't worry they'll be wrapped up warm!

+1 for this. I volunteer regularly at parkrun and I come well prepared. I don't mind how long I wait, it's not a race, you go at your own pace.


Also don't get caught up on having to do 5km in 30 mins by the end of the program -I did c25k a few years ago and I have only once ever got 5km done in 30mins and that was by a scrape.

MrStuffins

So I signed up for the Great Ireland Run on April 9th in Phoenix Park. It's a 10k, so i've given myself a good bit of time to work my way up to 10k. It'll be my first race.

The whole point of this when I started off was to start running to work. Tomorrow is Week 9 Day 3 and it will be the first time I run from my front door to the door of my office! it's 5.2km. Looking forward to it!

Casey78

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

I am indeed, well spotted.
Running is massive around where I live near Portarlington. The roads are full of runners, sun or snow.
Hopefully I will stick with this!

Took me few attempts to stick with it but I think the first 20min run I did was a huge moment for me.
It seems so long ago now even though it's only been about 3 years. The first 20min then 5k runs I did were probably a bigger moment for me than doing the 2 Marathons I did.
If you stick with it it will be one of the best things you've ever done for yourself.
That other (Gaa)forum that you're on has a great Running Thread in the General Discussion section. It helped me when I was starting out and the lads give great advice on it. Not that you won't get good advice here but it's just another option for you.
Hon Laois

MrStuffins

Well, this morning I did it. Left my house, walked down the street a bit while I sorted my apps and then started running.

Week 9 Day 3. I ran all the way to the door of my office. 5.03km. it took me 38 mins or so.

I'm not gonna lie, it was stupidly tough!! And afterwards I was more tired than i'd ever been after a run! But right now I feel amazing!

And that's that! Couch to 5k finished! However, it's only the beginning for me I think! I have that race to look forward to in April so I have to keep pushing forward!

Cheers to everyone for the support

FrancieBrady

MrStuffins wrote: »

Well, this morning I did it. Left my house, walked down the street a bit while I sorted my apps and then started running.

Week 9 Day 3. I ran all the way to the door of my office. 5.03km. it took me 38 mins or so.

I'm not gonna lie, it was stupidly tough!! And afterwards I was more tired than i'd ever been after a run! But right now I feel amazing!

And that's that! Couch to 5k finished! However, it's only the beginning for me I think! I have that race to look forward to in April so I have to keep pushing forward!

Cheers to everyone for the support

Well DOne MrS! Tough morning for it, if it is anything like here -3 or 4 here I imagine.
Need to get a run in today and it doesn't look like lifting, anyone any tips/advice on running in frozen weather?

Mickeroo

I love running in these temperatures, only issue is the slippery paths. Hit a few dodgy spots last night, I just run on the grass if the path looks slippery but that's not always possible.

pcuser

MrStuffins wrote: »

Well, this morning I did it. Left my house, walked down the street a bit while I sorted my apps and then started running.

Week 9 Day 3. I ran all the way to the door of my office. 5.03km. it took me 38 mins or so.

I'm not gonna lie, it was stupidly tough!! And afterwards I was more tired than i'd ever been after a run! But right now I feel amazing!

And that's that! Couch to 5k finished! However, it's only the beginning for me I think! I have that race to look forward to in April so I have to keep pushing forward!

Cheers to everyone for the support

Well done MrStuffins. Its gets easier after the 1st 5k.

Gremlin2011

W3D1 done. It is freezing out there! I had images of me slipping on frozen leaves and ringing the hubby to pick me up! Thankfully it didn't come to that

Ive mastered the art of avoiding shin splints since my first day of hobbling about. Now I've knots in my glutes... is this common? Is there anything that I can do to prevent it?

The Muppet

Gremlin2011 wrote: »

W3D1 done. It is freezing out there! I had images of me slipping on frozen leaves and ringing the hubby to pick me up! Thankfully it didn't come to that

Ive mastered the art of avoiding shin splints since my first day of hobbling about. Now I've knots in my glutes... is this common? Is there anything that I can do to prevent it?

Well done , Re the knots you could try stretching after your run, that may help. Here's a article which will help if you chose to give it ago.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/how-to-stretch-after-a-run.aspx

Ososlo

Gremlin2011 wrote: »

W3D1 done. It is freezing out there! I had images of me slipping on frozen leaves and ringing the hubby to pick me up! Thankfully it didn't come to that

Ive mastered the art of avoiding shin splints since my first day of hobbling about. Now I've knots in my glutes... is this common? Is there anything that I can do to prevent it?

Hey Gremlin and well done for getting to W3D1!

I think it's pretty normal to get little niggles in the first few weeks of the programme. You're using muscles you haven't used before so they're bound to get a bit sore and tight. The key is to listen closely to your body to distinguish between normal muscle soreness, and potential injury. I think it's really important to take the rest days between runs as prescribed in the programme to let things settle between runs and take a day more between runs if things are particularly tender/sore. If you feel you might be getting injured, just back off altogether for a few days.
Foam rollers are great to iron out muscle soreness and they are a great investment for any runner and can potentially save you a lot of money on physios etc if you get into a good habit of foam rolling regularly.
Best of luck with it.

wavehopper1

Week 9 run 3 today. So I guess I'm an official graduate of the programme. Feel really good about it.
I know its a common mistake for fresh enthusiasts to go buying expensive kit when they start something, but I wanted to know the distance I was actually running this week, so I bought a GPS device at the cheaper end of the scale. Didn't go for the fancier models with heart monitors etc, took a look at some boards reviews here and am very happy with what I got (Garmin ForeRunner 10).
On today's run, watching the Ks tick over was more motivating than time, I got to the 30 min and was on 3.5 K and thought what the heck, I'll make the 4.
Had to laugh, the first time I used it (run 2) when I clicked "finish" it congratulated me on setting a new individual record. Then today, I got another "record", I ran a 1 K split faster than I'd done before. I have it set up on K, but it helpfully told me that I'd done a mile in 14 min 40 seconds. If I can get to a mile in sub-14 minute, I'll feel like Roger Bannister
The gadget obviously isn't necessary for beginners like me, but if any of you are thinking of it - they may be going cheaper on the Cyber Monday, and it does add a bit of fun.

The Muppet

/\

Brilliant well done. The watch is a great investment .I used a smartphone when I started but got a watch after a few weeks too. On my 3rd one now .

FrancieBrady

Ran my first 5k race today in 37 mins. Tough hard nervous Km's. That's it done now, to hell with that, what's next!

FrancieBrady

wavehopper1 wrote: »

Week 9 run 3 today. So I guess I'm an official graduate of the programme. Feel really good about it.
I know its a common mistake for fresh enthusiasts to go buying expensive kit when they start something, but I wanted to know the distance I was actually running this week, so I bought a GPS device at the cheaper end of the scale. Didn't go for the fancier models with heart monitors etc, took a look at some boards reviews here and am very happy with what I got (Garmin ForeRunner 10).
On today's run, watching the Ks tick over was more motivating than time, I got to the 30 min and was on 3.5 K and thought what the heck, I'll make the 4.
Had to laugh, the first time I used it (run 2) when I clicked "finish" it congratulated me on setting a new individual record. Then today, I got another "record", I ran a 1 K split faster than I'd done before. I have it set up on K, but it helpfully told me that I'd done a mile in 14 min 40 seconds. If I can get to a mile in sub-14 minute, I'll feel like Roger Bannister
The gadget obviously isn't necessary for beginners like me, but if any of you are thinking of it - they may be going cheaper on the Cyber Monday, and it does add a bit of fun.

Have you a link Wavehopper?

wavehopper1

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Have you a link Wavehopper?

This is a thread discussing different GPS watches:

MrStuffins

I went out on Saturday evening and did my first out-of-programme 5k!

Took it VERY slowly and completed it in about 40 mins! I think going as slowly as possible so as not to get wrecked will help me improve over time if I just keep doing 5k over and over again!

Going to go out tonight and do another

pcuser

Well done MrStuffins

Hesh's Umpire

My first 25 minute run (week 6, run 3) scheduled for tonight. Pray for me!

Kylo Ren

Hello everyone.

Has anyone had any experience with groin injuries during this? I was on week 4 last week and completed the day one run without too much hassle and enjoyed it. The next day I had a pain in my upper thigh. I iced it for the next couple of days and decided I'd hold off until the next week and redo week 4.

I felt good during the run and completed it again without much hassle. That night and now today the pain is back. I don't know what to do. Continue through the pain and keep running?

Thanks in advance.

Penfailed

wavehopper1 wrote: »

I think it was on here that someone recommended upping by 10% at a time, so for me that would be starting from a base of that 3K and adding 0.3 K each week.
I think that makes sense, if anybody sees a big flaw in it - advise away.

If you start at a base of 3k and add 10% each time then the distance will be as follows -

Day 1 3k
Day 2 3.3k
Day 3 3.63k
Day 4 3.99k
Day 5 4.39k
Day 6 4.83k
Day 7 5.31k etc, etc.

The Muppet

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

My first 25 minute run (week 6, run 3) scheduled for tonight. Pray for me!

I said a novena for you, How'd it go?

The Muppet

Kylo Ren wrote: »

Hello everyone.

Has anyone had any experience with groin injuries during this? I was on week 4 last week and completed the day one run without too much hassle and enjoyed it. The next day I had a pain in my upper thigh. I iced it for the next couple of days and decided I'd hold off until the next week and redo week 4.

I felt good during the run and completed it again without much hassle. That night and now today the pain is back. I don't know what to do. Continue through the pain and keep running?

Thanks in advance.

Don't run if you are in pain. Starting running after being inactive is tough on the body , rule number one is listen to you body , pain is your body telling you something is not right. IMO at this stage its best to err on the side of caution by taking a day or twos rest between sessions if necessary.

Hesh's Umpire

The Muppet wrote: »

I said a novena for you, How'd it go?

It must have worked! I'm sore all over but feeling great. Even managed to up the pace for the last minute as suggested by the podcast narrator!

It's a fantastic feeling.

The Muppet

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

It must have worked! I'm sore all over but feeling great. Even managed to up the pace for the last minute as suggested by the podcast narrator!

It's a fantastic feeling.

Brilliant ' well done . Are you using the nhs choices podcasts. Laura's a hard task master.

FrancieBrady

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

It must have worked! I'm sore all over but feeling great. Even managed to up the pace for the last minute as suggested by the podcast narrator!

It's a fantastic feeling.

Well done!

Hesh's Umpire

The Muppet wrote: »

Brilliant ' well done . Are you using the nhs choices podcasts. Laura's a hard task master.

I am. I like Laura but I have called her some undeserved bad things from time to time!!!

messy tessy

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

I am. I like Laura but I have called her some undeserved bad things from time to time!!!

I started the first run of week one yesterday and man did I curse her when she said there was just two more 60 second runs to do. Just! I could have dropped there and then!

Haven't started reading much of this thread yet but I love it already!