First Post - First day on C25K

Hi Guys,

As the title says, this is my first post and my first day on C25K.

For many years I've wanted to be a runner, but it's always seemed a bit too far away for me. I'm not too unfit as I cycle about 40 miles a week, but my previous attempts at running have been bad at best.

On previous attempts on running I've always blown in the first mile, this has always made me feel that I'd never become a runner...

Anyway, I've decided to stop smoking ( week 2 now ), increase the cycling miles and start jogging / running.

My intention is to be able to jog / run 5k by Xmas and then 10k by March.

How did I get on with my first day on C25K :

Well, pretty damn good tbh, I completed the first session without feeling like I was going to have a heart attack or feel like there's not enough air in the world !... Yes I was knackered by the end of it, but I did manage it...

This has given me a bit of confidence for completing a 5k non stop by Xmas.

One question, for those of you that have done the C25K, how did you manage to get motivated when the going got hard ?

Many thanks


D Mont

 

Comments

  • Forgot to mention,

    My first C25K resulted in 2.21 miles in 26mins 33 sec, with an average Speed of 4.99mph and average Pace of 12.02 as recorded on Runtastic,  pretty good for my first go image

  • Not done C25k but you've cracked how to build up to it - keep it slow. 

    You should have no problem getting to 5k by Christmas - you could probably make it beyond that.

    Well done image

  • Well done D Mont I think that first session is the hardest. I started the C25K 13 weeks ago yesterday and am now covering 11k+ without a walk break. I did 4 sessions a week rather than the three in the programme as that worked for me but take it at the pace it feels right for you at.

    The satisfaction of running that first 5K was pretty awesome.

  • D mont: congratulations on getting started.



    Re motivation... In all honesty you need to want to do it. If when it's pissing down and you cannot be bothered to go out then there is nothing we can doimage



    But, I really encourage you to stick with it, the first 4-5 weeks are hard it does get easier after that. I'm sure you will be able to do 5k by Xmasimage



    One big piece of advice, go slowwwwwww. Most new runners go to hard and to fast assuming that it is the only way to run.



    Just to give you some encouragement. I started out around 17 months ago. At the age of 41. I've never ran since school, I've lost over 6 stone and last weekend ran my first 50 mile ultra in under 12 hours. So anything is possibleimage but, you need to be strong, and go out come rain, sun, etc.... If you stick with it, then it's brilliant.
  • Agree with Booktrunk (who also offered me some advice 9 months ago when i started running), go SLOOOOWWWW, essentially Jog it DONT run it, if that makes sense.

    Get your running shoes sorted as well.

    Sounds like you have a reasonable base fitness so you will be ok by Xmas for a 5km if you stick to the plan. If you run too fast you are likely to get injured and you wont make it.

    Once you get 5km under your belt you can then gradually work on speed and distance to get to 10km.

    I used the Zen labs C25k who also have a 10km one, just by the 10km one as the first few weeks are the same as 5km so no point in buying both apps, like i did.

    Good luck, stick with it and dont quit, the rewards at the end are amazing and you will feel great.

  • If you stick to the plan you will have no problem achieving your goal by xmas. About the motivation part the only advice i can give is dont do the same route everytime try to freshen it up and go places you previously havent been, i actually enjoy plotting a route on the computer before a run, maybe thats just me though!

  • Hi Guys,

     

    Thank you all for your advice and well wishes,  all of that makes perfect sense and I'll do my best to keep them in mind.

    I think my main issue will be keeping it slooooow in the beginning so that I don't give up in a few weeks due to being injured or worn out..  I'll actively work on that and thank you every one for that tip...

    I also like the idea of " the motivation part the only advice i can give is dont do the same route everytime try to freshen it up and go places you previously havent been "  this to me will be pretty good and I live in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland,   so there's plenty of fantasic places to run and explore image

    John,  I'm also using Zen Labs C25K,  I think it's a pretty damn good tool !

     

    Quick update on my run today ( which I was going to do tomorrow but had to bring it forward )

    Week 1,  Day 2 of C25K

    Same place as the first one :

    Time - 30 mins, 

    Distance - 4K

    Pace - 7.30 min/km

    As you'd expect,  I've very very happy with jogging 4k in 30 mins ( I could never do this before,  this is the furthest I've run since high school ),  keeping in mind most of that was walking - I'm well CHUFFED !!!

    Although,  that's my worry about taking it slooooow,  4k in 30  mins on week 1 day 2,  is that too fast ?  I think it is,  but when I was running I was making sure I was still able to talk and not get exhausted....  I'll see what my next run is like on Wednesday and take it from there...

     

    Thanks again everyone.

     

    Dmont

     

  • booktrunk 

    That's fantastic !  in 17 months you've gone from 0 Ultra,  very very impressive.  Well done,  it's people like you that give the rest of us someone to inspire to..

    Keep it up and thank you for your comments !

     

    Dmont

  • Thanks D Mont.



    There's no secret, it's just persistence and the main thing is being utterly stubborn and refusing to give up.
  • D mont. Did you get the bug due to the loch ness marathon?
  • booktrunk wrote (see)
    D mont. Did you get the bug due to the loch ness marathon?

    Hi booktrunk,

    Sort of yes,  in the race on Sunday I knew at least on person in each category,  one completed his first full marathon in 3hrs 38mins,  another done a 10k in 54 mins and another done the 5k in 34mins.  I'd love to take part in that next year,  the route they ran is lovely !!!.

    The main reason is due to health and because I'm going to become a dad in December for the first time,  I want to be an active fit father...

    On the health front,  I'm 37yrs old and I've just been told by the doc that I've got high blood pressure and cholesterol plus I need to loose a few pounds....  So this is a bit of a kick up the arse and do something about it !!!!.

    I''ve already lost 7lbs and I'm now down to 12 stone,  so only another 7lbs to go ( I'm 5ft 8 )...  Cycling and jogging will help with the fitness and weight,  I'm also being very carefull with my diet and trying to keep it clean..

     

    Looking forward to my next run image

    Dmont

  • Quick update on todays run :

     

    image WoooHooo !  Week one of C25K is completed,  what a feeling,  I'm over the moon!.

    I've no idea how far I ran as MapMyRun crashed at the very beginning,  I know distance at this stage isn't important but I'm a total gadget person and like stats etc...but hey ho,  I've done it image

    I'm now looking forward to Saturday when I start Week 2 of C25K ( Zen Labs version ) - 90 seconds jog with 2 minute walks,  I'm feeling confident about that.

    I've had a look at the following weeks and week 3 looks pretty hard with rotating 90 seconds jog, 90 seconds walk, 3 minute jog ( eeek ) and 3 minute walk !!   I hope Week 2 prepares me for that.  image

     

    Cheers guys,  keep on plodding.

     

    Dmont

  • Well done!

    The great thing about C25K that I found was that each week ramps you up a bit for the next. Its very well structured like that. I started finding it tough going about week 6 or 7 and ended up repeating one of those weeks as I didn't feel I was ready for the next one.

    So keep at it, don't be afraid to repeat a week if you think you need it, and enjoy it!

  • Week 2 Day 1 now completed.

    I found that pretty hard to say the least.  It wasn't the best run,  in fact I almost turned round and stopped on the first jog,  but I stuck at it and completed 4.36K so not too bad after all.

     

    I'm pretty sure this session felt bad due to having a few too many beers on Friday night and not feeling 100 % today.

    Looking forward to the next session and hoping I enjoy it more.

     

    HighlandPlotter - was DMont

  • Well done image it's great how are you feeling legs a little tired or ok? 

  • Thanks booktrunk !

    My legs feel pretty good,  less tired than on the other runs... I guess they're getting fitter quicker than I am image

  • Well that was a bit of a shock,  my previous run ( Week 2 day 1 ) was a killer and I was starting to loose confidence, I ran Week 2 day 2 last night and it felt really good...  Through out the run I kept thinking I'd started the wrong workout and was doing Week 1 again,  however when I finished I was on the correct workout.

    Again it felt fantastic,  legs, lungs, energy etc and tbh I felt I could've done it again,  very very surprised with that...  This is now giving me confidence for my dreaded Week 3 with 3 minute jogs.

     

    What "may" have helped was I installed a cadence app on the phone and set it to 85 beats ( I've been reading chi-running for some tips ) and I was making sure I wasn't slouching over so this could be the reason I found it much easier.

    Looking forward now to completing Week 2 and onto Week 3 with 3 minute jogs in a few days. image

     

    HighlandPlodder.

  • Hi HighlandPlodder, it looks like you are doing great so far, keep it up!

    It is tough at the start but as you get more into it you will find your stamina builds, and therefore you are able to do the extra it asks of you. I did Week 1 Day 1 of C25K last November and have not looked back since and I cant recommend the C25K program enough.

    The program took me from a "very-overweight-34-year-old-sitting-on-the-couch-every-night" type, to losing a lot of weight, then running in 2 local 5K races in the Summer, then in a bigger 10K race a month ago and then finishing a half marathon in just over 2 hours on Sunday just gone.

    Been a fantastic 11 months for me and it really is all down to the C25K and some commitment to complete it and then keep on going with running in general. A few weeks in to it it looks it kind of gets a bit more serious (5 minute runs, 8 minute runs) and I can remember the feeling of dread at the start of each new C25K week as I looked at what I had to do, but I always found that somehow I could do exactly what it asked of me as I was starting to get fitter.  Keep in mind that there is no shame at all if you decide to repeat a week.

    Good luck with it!

    Simon image

  • Hi Simon,

     

    Thanks for your reply,  you've come a long way in such a short time, well done !!  and 2hrs for your 1/2 is superb,  you should be very proud of yourself.

    Cheers for the inspiration.  On previous tries at running,  I've always been completly buggered after only 1 minute and then giving up only to try again after 6 months or so and then giving up again after 1 minute....   So so happy with C25K ard I'm already progressing and feel great for doing it,  I can't wait until I can run a Park Run or even a 10K.

     

    HighlandPlodder

     

  • I'd never tried running before I tried it this time, but I know I could not have run for more than a minute at a time when I started. I had not even remotely considered stopping after a minute, walking, then going again, as that did not seem like proper running to me. Quite simply I was wrong, and everyone has to start somewhere. The C25K is fantastic as it builds you up nicely from nothing at all to half hour solid running in a relatively short time.

    There are plenty of people on here who will say the same as me as to just how good the C25K is, just stick with it and you will be fine!

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