Couch to 5K

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I decided that I want to do the program when I start college. I've been awfully lazy this summer and it will also help avoiding those freshman 15.. haha

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Today was an off day, so we didn't do an official C25k workout, but we went to the park to see how long I could jog. I ended up going 10.5 minutes before I had to walk, which is better than I did even in high school. I'm sure I could've done more, but we were headed up a long incline and my body was not happy about that. Small victory!

Also, I finally understand what it's like to feel like you can't breathe, chug through, and experience normal breathing again. I don't think I've ever felt that, so that's exciting!
 
Ooof! I was sick all last week so I fell off the wagon. :( It's really hot here right now (heat index 110+), and I have no where to exercise in AC so I've been skipping it.

Maybe I'll find the willpower to run in the cooler hours, but usually I just hide in my boyfriend's AC.

I'm going to end up behind schedule at this rate, but I'd also rather not die.
 
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Also, I finally understand what it's like to feel like you can't breathe, chug through, and experience normal breathing again. I don't think I've ever felt that, so that's exciting!


Doesn't it feel great to break through that barrier and realize you can do it? Congrats on reaching that point!

Breenie, not dying is a good thing. Listen to your body and maybe do some other form of exercise so it's not so much of a shock when you try and go back. Even if you just find a cheesy workout video on Youtube that you can do in your living room it's better than nothing!

As for me...Oh. My. Gawd. I finished Week 4 Day 3 today and I thought I was going to keel over. I overslept a little (surprise surprise) and didn't get out to run until 9 this morning. It's not hot here, it's pretty cloudy and breezy, but I severely underestimated the humidity. Buuuuttt I forced myself through it. It was pretty torturous but I'm glad I did. I just hate that feeling when it's super humid-that feeling that the air is so thick you can't breathe, and when the air is so saturated the sweat just stays on your body and doesn't evaporate, therefore not cooling your body off at all. I lost 3 pounds in sweat today-legit I weight 3 lbs less when I came in from my run than I did when I left. Crazy. But anyway I got through it and I really look forward to doing Week 5 Day 1, which is 8 minutes less of total running than I have been doing! It's just 2 intervals of running 22 minutes, with a 1 minute walk break in between.

Speaking of weight loss, WW has been going well. I've been in maintenance for about 4 weeks now and I've gone up and down a little in individual weeks but have overall stayed the same. I'm really happy with it. I really think this is something I can stick with long-term. I haven't had to tell myself "no" a whole lot, because I'm no longer just plain gluttonous. Like...I literally have had ice cream most days this summer. But I'm satisfied with just a normal serving. I no longer have to think about the good choices, like yesterday when I was riding with the large animal vet and we stopped at McDonald's, it was nothing for me to order apple dippers and a fruit and yogurt parfait rather than a burger and fries. And I didn't WANT the burger and fries; I've really learned to appreciate food that is good for me and not really crave the greasy fatty stuff. That's not to say I don't indulge every once in a while, but I don't do it every stinkin day like I used to.

Keep up the good work guys! Especially you, LIS, congrats on graduating C25K and for keeping up the running!
 
Breenie, not dying is a good thing. Listen to your body and maybe do some other form of exercise so it's not so much of a shock when you try and go back. Even if you just find a cheesy workout video on Youtube that you can do in your living room it's better than nothing!

I wish! We don't have air conditioning here (or in our school gyms, they're shut down for the day), so it'd be the same as exercising outside. :( This Wisconsin snow monster was not build for 100+!
 
I wish! We don't have air conditioning here (or in our school gyms, they're shut down for the day), so it'd be the same as exercising outside. :( This Wisconsin snow monster was not build for 100+!

Yuck!

Just finished W4D2 about 10 minutes ago. I flipped the jogging times (so I did 5-3-5-3 instead of 3-5-3-5) and I think that was a better tactic for me, instead of knowing the last one was a 5-minute jog. It went well and I'm happy I finally did it!
 
My SO and I are headed to a wedding next Thursday, so we pushed W5D1 to today so we could do W5D3 next Wednesday before we leave.

I finished W5D1 with no modifications!! My legs are weak and have been extremely tired, but I did it and I'm very happy.
 
Way to go, scb44f!

Finally have had some nicer weather. Did one of my mid-week runs from the week I didn't complete due to being sick, and am hoping to be able to hop back on the wagon completely and do my long run this Sunday. :)

Might not be ready for the 10k race in time, but oh well. It's the journey that counts, right?
 
Thanks, breenie :) Keep up the awesome work yourself!
 
ok so I am a total wimp. Was up to 28 min of running and then this horrible heat wave struck and I have been derailed until I get to school with the airconditioned track. Still hiking when I can fit it in, but still may have to back the running off a little when I start again. Hoping within the next 3 weeks!

great job everyone who is still running! you all rock!
 
W5D2 done. It was easier than expected. I didn't even have a rough patch in my breathing, just my legs, so we've decided to do W5D3 on more level ground at another park. Can't wait!
 
Ran my first 28 minute run this morning! The path that I run is almost too short now. It actually came down to 70 degrees this morning. So excited!
 
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Apparently I need to push up to 10k. I just got email from my wife letting me know that she registered us for one in a few months. It ended with "suck it up and keep up."

Sigh. So abused.
 
Apparently I need to push up to 10k. I just got email from my wife letting me know that she registered us for one in a few months. It ended with "suck it up and keep up."

Sigh. So abused.
Wooo LIS! That's great! You can do it =D

I've been naughty this week and haven't started Week 5 yet. It's not for lack of physical activity (I did a lot of walking on Saturday and yesterday I kayaked for an hour and swam for about an hour) but structured running has taken a back seat the last few days. Hoping to end that tonight!

As for WW, I've been doing great at maintaining for the last 5 weeks or so so I'm going to let my account expire and try to go it alone with maintenance. I love WW and everything I've been able to achieve with it, but I think I have the tools now to maintain on my own without paying the money each month to be a member of WW. I have a bit of OCD about it after almost 6 months so it's hard to let that go but I have to cut the cord sometime, I figure!
 
I love WW and everything I've been able to achieve with it, but I think I have the tools now to maintain on my own without paying the money each month to be a member of WW. I have a bit of OCD about it after almost 6 months so it's hard to let that go but I have to cut the cord sometime, I figure!

That's wonderful! I know programs like that can be really great about getting you to think about portion control, so I'm sure after that long you've got it down. Keep up the amazing work!

I did W5D3 today, and while I'm going at a snail's pace, I did all 20 minutes of jogging, with only one 3-second stop in the middle to turn around (which my SO made up by telling me "time" about 5 seconds after the 20-minute mark). I'm not going to lie... I started crying when I finished. And then couldn't breathe, so I stopped, but I was so excited that the whole way back to the car I kept saying, "I did it!"

The different trail definitely helped. It has only one or two hills and they're very small so my legs were just barely feeling the extra work when I was done with them. If only it were closer... I'm not willing to drive all the way across town just to go outside and jog. Maybe it's time to explore some other parks closer to me to see their hill-factor.
 
Just curious - how often should you replace your running shoes? I saw online it said 300-400 miles, but total mileage isn't something I was really keeping track of. Does anyone have a good rule of thumb?
 
Sorry, jesskb, I'm not really sure on that one. I haven't needed to replace mine.

How is everyone's summer running going? I finished up W6D2 this morning, but it was challenging for some reason. My legs were tight and I felt lightheaded on the walk back home, but I finished it (in a record slow time, I might add, even for my standards).
 
I was totally excited as it wasn't supposed to be over 75 this morning, so I could actually run outside (which I haven't gotten to do since the beginning of last week) and I get up and its storming. Not just rain, which I'd consider running in, but thunder and lightning. Totally disappointed.

Today would have been the end of week 9 too, and the completion of the program. I think I'm going to have to repeat the week before I really feel finished. Hope everyone else is better off than I am!
 
Anyone still running? How are you C25k graduates doing?

I finished W7D1 today. I decided I don't like driving to the flat trail just to jog, so we gave it a go at the trail across the street (which is nice, but hilly), and I made it! The last minute or so of the jog was a beast of a hill that I hope to power up completely someday. Anyway, I was freaking tired after this run, so that's good, and my pace was a litter better than W6D3, at least it felt like it was.
 
Anyone still running? How are you C25k graduates doing?

Still running! (So long as 'running' can be loosely defined.)

We (wife and I) have a 5k coming up in a few weeks. I originally thought it was 10k, but found out it's 5k. I guess she's not trying to off me for the insurance money quite yet.

I've settled into a pretty basic routine of 5k 3x/wk. I'm starting to feel like increasing that, but.....
 
Still running! (So long as 'running' can be loosely defined.)

We (wife and I) have a 5k coming up in a few weeks. I originally thought it was 10k, but found out it's 5k. I guess she's not trying to off me for the insurance money quite yet.

I've settled into a pretty basic routine of 5k 3x/wk. I'm starting to feel like increasing that, but.....

Haha of course ;)

Nice job keeping it up! You'll have to let us know your official race time!
 
Anyone still running? How are you C25k graduates doing?

I finished W7D1 today. I decided I don't like driving to the flat trail just to jog, so we gave it a go at the trail across the street (which is nice, but hilly), and I made it! The last minute or so of the jog was a beast of a hill that I hope to power up completely someday. Anyway, I was freaking tired after this run, so that's good, and my pace was a litter better than W6D3, at least it felt like it was.

I am currently eating a cookie in Columbia right now while typing this, and feeling guilty.

I fell off the bandwagon way back in Wisconsin, but I've been scoping out places to start running again here. I live by the Columbia mall, so not really a great running neighborhood. :/ Might have to start running at the school gym once classes start.
 
I'm still going too! I didn't run last week because my horses were up at the county fair, but that was so much craziness that even though I ate some sort of terrible-for-you fair food every day I actually lost about a pound. Anyway, I moved away from B210K without doing Week 6 because something inside me wants to try to run the Columbus Half Marathon in mid-October :scared: I have ten weeks to prepare, and this training program: http://www.marathonrookie.com/half-marathon-training.html is ten weeks long and doesn't seem to terribly taxing or time-consuming (save for the Saturday long runs) so I'm going to give it a go! Day 1 went pretty well yesterday; I'm expecting the first few weeks to be really easy before it really starts to pick up. We'll see how it goes!
 
I'm still running! Last week was supposed to be the last week but between the rain and the heat I've been running inside (which is so not the same without a treadmill). So today was the middle of my last week! I'm up to 2.7 miles in 30 minutes.

Glad to hear there are a few others still running!
 
Wow, EG, that's an amazing goal! Good luck!

Jess, sounds like you have a nice pace. Totally jealous! I move slow as dirt, and it's fine with me, but I know my SO would love for me to pick up the pace sometimes...

I finished W7D2 today. It was good, but I actually ran a little less distance-wise than D1 this week, but my knee is also hurting so who knows. It was soooo nice out though. I was actually sort of cold at first! Saturday I'm going to try 28 minutes just for the heck of it.
 
I'm still going too! I didn't run last week because my horses were up at the county fair, but that was so much craziness that even though I ate some sort of terrible-for-you fair food every day I actually lost about a pound. Anyway, I moved away from B210K without doing Week 6 because something inside me wants to try to run the Columbus Half Marathon in mid-October :scared: I have ten weeks to prepare, and this training program: http://www.marathonrookie.com/half-marathon-training.html is ten weeks long and doesn't seem to terribly taxing or time-consuming (save for the Saturday long runs) so I'm going to give it a go! Day 1 went pretty well yesterday; I'm expecting the first few weeks to be really easy before it really starts to pick up. We'll see how it goes!

I'll be doing it with you - I am running my first 1/2 marathon on Oct 16th and started this program this week! Good luk to us BOTH!
 
I'll be doing it with you - I am running my first 1/2 marathon on Oct 16th and started this program this week! Good luk to us BOTH!
Ahhh this makes me so happy! =D Mine is on the 16th too! What goals do you have for the race? Just finishing, or a time goal? I definitely WON'T have a time goal, but I'm trying to decide if I want to just make the goal to finish or if I want to push it and make the goal to actually run the entire 13.1 miles. I guess I'll see how I feel once I get up to the 9/10/11 mile runs to decide if I think I'll be able to run the whole 13.1 the first time around.

Anyway, finished Day 3 on schedule today and it went great! Looking forward to the 4 miles on Saturday!
 
So I did my first run in Missouri... and had a terrible asthma attack. I barely ran a mile before I had to stop, then MAYBE ran a total of 2 miles with starting and stopping. :/ It's not too hot today, and I ran in hotter/more humid weather in Wisconsin, so I don't think it's the weather. My allergies have been worse here, so maybe that's what triggered the attack?

I really don't think I got that out of shape in just 2 weeks. That's kind of insane.

I'm really confused and it sucked and I feel like crap. I'm going to try and run in the gym next week to see if maybe it's just the air where I am? I don't know? I swear I'm not a huge out of shape lame-o?
 
So I did my first run in Missouri... and had a terrible asthma attack. I barely ran a mile before I had to stop, then MAYBE ran a total of 2 miles with starting and stopping. :/ It's not too hot today, and I ran in hotter/more humid weather in Wisconsin, so I don't think it's the weather. My allergies have been worse here, so maybe that's what triggered the attack?

I really don't think I got that out of shape in just 2 weeks. That's kind of insane.

I'm really confused and it sucked and I feel like crap. I'm going to try and run in the gym next week to see if maybe it's just the air where I am? I don't know? I swear I'm not a huge out of shape lame-o?

Welcome to Missouri... I know others who are from out of state and also had issues with stuff in the air here. Hope it gets better!
 
Ahhh this makes me so happy! =D Mine is on the 16th too! What goals do you have for the race? Just finishing, or a time goal? I definitely WON'T have a time goal, but I'm trying to decide if I want to just make the goal to finish or if I want to push it and make the goal to actually run the entire 13.1 miles. I guess I'll see how I feel once I get up to the 9/10/11 mile runs to decide if I think I'll be able to run the whole 13.1 the first time around.

Anyway, finished Day 3 on schedule today and it went great! Looking forward to the 4 miles on Saturday!

Most definitely just finishing!! My current plan is to run half to 3/4 of it. I'm not sure how I'll actually alternate the running/walking. Like you said - it'll really depend on how I hold up with the longer distances like you were saying.

Either way, I will crawl across the finish line if I have to.
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sorry about the crappy run, Breenie. One of my closest friends is a marathon runner and she has told me SO MANY times that bad runs happen. Sometimes your just not as well set up as you were for the last one and it sucks but you just go back out the next day and run again. I don't always listen but she tells me that over and over! :)
 
Welcome to Missouri... I know others who are from out of state and also had issues with stuff in the air here. Hope it gets better!

Really? Is there a lot of pollution here or something? I did run past a recycling pick up site that smelled like garbage, but still... I ran down Ash St, which is a slightly hilly, mostly residential road where I was. Thanks, though!

sorry about the crappy run, Breenie. One of my closest friends is a marathon runner and she has told me SO MANY times that bad runs happen. Sometimes your just not as well set up as you were for the last one and it sucks but you just go back out the next day and run again. I don't always listen but she tells me that over and over! :)

Thanks! I know it happens, today was just shockingly bad. ;) I'll keep at it!
 
Just pollen. I guess I don't know about Columbia, but in Rolla (hour and a half south of Columbia) in the spring, cars are caked in green. One of my friends is from Illinois, and when she moved to MO, she had a LOT of trouble with it. I'm not sure how Columbia stacks up against Rolla, but I don't think it's that much different. I could be totally wrong though.
 
Just pollen. I guess I don't know about Columbia, but in Rolla (hour and a half south of Columbia) in the spring, cars are caked in green. One of my friends is from Illinois, and when she moved to MO, she had a LOT of trouble with it. I'm not sure how Columbia stacks up against Rolla, but I don't think it's that much different. I could be totally wrong though.

Huh! That explains a lot, though. I've had a really mild summer for allergies in Wisconsin, so I probably just got spoiled with easy to breathe air. :)
 
The boy and I had a fantastic jog this morning! I'm technically supposed to be on W7D3, but for kicks, we decided that we would go to the flat trail (the one by our house is hilly) and do W8D1. His idea was if I could do 25 hilly minutes, then I could do 28 flat minutes. So we get up and go, and once to the trail, we decided to go 2.5 miles instead. So we went. I did my first mile in 13:45-ish, which is fast for me because I seriously go slow. The rest of it went significantly slower, but I did it. I finished a 2.5 mile jog (including 15 or so paces at the end to make up for the two times I slowed to a walk) in 36:30-ish.

I'm starting to realize that all my huge accomplishments take place at that trail. My first mile-straight jog... My first 2.5 mile-straight jog... My first 30+ minute jog... They all took place there. Maybe I should make a donation? My SO and I joke that if he dies I'm going to donate a park bench in his honor (yes, I realize it's not funny to joke about death, but we say a lot of things that are probably inappropriate).

I'm seriously slow, but it's the first time that I have felt I can actually go do a 5k without walking! I'll be taking a break from running until at least Thursday, maybe Friday, due to team-building camp stuff for vet school, but to get back into it, we are going to do a 2 mile run, and then just go for distance for the rest of C25k.
 
Congrats, scb44f!! That's such a great accomplishment. Making a donation would be a wonderful way to give back to the trail that's helped you reach all these goals.

Well, I just finished Week 1 of my half marathon training! 9 more weeks to go. I stuck with the program religiously this week. I had to talk myself into running on Thursday but afterwards I was super glad I did. Today was my first long run, which was only 4 miles this week. I was a little nervous for a couple reasons. First, I have never run farther than 3.1 miles straight. I've gone up to 6 miles before but even then I had at least one 1-minute walk break in there. Today was the first time I ran 4 miles without stopping. Second, I cut some MAJOR rug last night at the bar with some classmates, so my quads and abs were a little sore :thumbup:

However, I REALLY surprised myself. I went out around 7:30 when it was nice and cool out and I OWNED that run! I finished the 4 miles in 38:51 and finished feeling strong. I'll probably be a little sore in the morning and I'm already getting sleepy even though it's not even 9 pm, but tomorrow is a glorious rest day =D Then on Monday I only have 3 miles, which is something I like about this program. It's pretty unintimidating if you ignore those really long Saturday runs.

Hope everybody else is doing well!!
 
Hey - just FYI for any NYC people!

There's a 5K coming up in October taking place at the NY Aquarium in Coney Island. I've got a team started up (registration is $30), so please feel free to PM me if you'd like to join!

I'm a slow-butt, so don't worry if this is your first 5K :love:
 
Hey - just FYI for any NYC people!

There's a 5K coming up in October taking place at the NY Aquarium in Coney Island. I've got a team started up (registration is $30), so please feel free to PM me if you'd like to join!

I'm a slow-butt, so don't worry if this is your first 5K :love:

I'm not anywhere near NYC, but good luck! You'll have tons of fun!

Me, I set a new PR for 3 miles today!! 27:08! I was on a roll! It was nice and cool out today so I picked up the pace and finished feeling awesome! Can't wait for my 4-miler on Wednesday!
 
Great job, guys! Those of us in Mizzou c/o 2015 were at camp the past few days, and I for one can say that I did NOT go out and jog. My knee has been aggravated lately also, so I think I'll give it a few more days and go out on Saturday to see what it's like.
 
Congrats, jesskb, on hitting three miles! That's awesome!

scb44f, I don't blame you-hope you're having fun at your orientation!

Today I came home from work and sat around waiting for evening to roll around like I do every day, when it's cool enough for me to go out and run. Well, my mom got home from work around 6 and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner and then grocery shopping with her. I asked her what time we'd be back and she said 8. Well, she dallied around talking to my dad for a bit, then we drove to the store, took forever there, ate in at Chipotle, and she drove the long way home. So by the time we got home it was 9pm.

Well....I can't not run. This half marathon training schedule has me increasing my mileage by specific amounts each week. I can't save the run for tomorrow because I have ANOTHER run tomorrow. So what's a rational-minded girl to do?

Run anyway. Allow me to explain a little bit what night time is like in my parents' neck of the woods. Picture blackness on top of blackness cloaked in more blackness, and that's about it. No street lights, very few houses, lots of cornfields. But I was on a roll...put on some reflective running shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and off I went.

Let me tell you...fear is a great motivator. Between making someone's dog go nuts that they had tied on their porch to psyching myself out thinking the guy from The Lovely Bones was going to kill me and bury me in the corn field, I finished the 4 miles in 37 minutes and 46 seconds.

I won't be doing that again any time soon :oops:
 
Ran Week 2 Day 3 of my 1/2 marathon training about 16 hours after running Week 2 Day 2. In the heat. And the sun. My legs feel weak =(

Seriously, it was only 3 miles but I'm really feeling it. I was actually pretty fast for me, about 28:13, but I am sitting here wearing a robe to soak up all the sweat with an ice pack on the back of my neck. Time to go get a cold shower, clean up for my dad's sister who is on her way to visit, then head down to Cbus for work tomorrow.

Reeaalllly nervous about my first 5-miler on Saturday! :scared:
 
I goofed up my ankle at Mizzou-veterinary-camp, but it was totally worth it to jump off of these trampolines into a lake. It's better today, so I think I'm gonna go scope out our rec center and maybs do some runnin'.

Just because I tell this to every human I meet: OUR REC CENTER HAS A LAZY RIVER.

That is all.
 
I slacked today. Hardcore. Only jogged 15 minutes, and all of that was in intervals, so nothing compared to that 36-minute jog last weekend. Oh well, it was a nice way to ease back into the program.
 
One word: Ugh.

Something about 5 miles is WAY harder than 4 miles and I'd venture to guess it has something to do with that extra mile at the end.

I didn't run too terribly fast; finished the 5 miles in 49:44, but it was really, really challenging. I didn't walk at all so I was really proud of myself. That was the longest I've ever run all at once.

I went early this morning because I have a lot of plans today, which meant I didn't eat breakfast before I went because then I'd have had to wait for about an hour to go out. That meant I hadn't eaten since dinner the night before, and it didn't take long for my glycogen stores to be used up. I feel a little better now but for about an hour after the run I had these waves of time where I felt sick to my stomach and dizzy. I've had a little bowl of cereal, some water, and some coffee so I think all that helped.

I'm looking forward to being able to tone it down the next couple runs (Monday is only 3 miles) and I think that's what I like about this program. Your Saturday long run kind of sucks, but then you scale it way back to a distance where you're confident to start off the next week.

I am not sure if I'll be able to make the whole six mile run next Saturday. We'll see. I'll definitely finish the 6 miles but whether I'll be able to run the whole thing or not remains to be seen. I'll definitely try and plan it better so I have more fuel on board, so we'll see if that makes it go any better. Heylodeb, I know you're busy with orientation and stuff but I'd love to hear how your training is going when you get a minute!
 
Awesome job, Ellie! Everyone has bad run days, and maybe yours just fellon a long run. :) Keep your chin up about next Saturday!

I went to Mizzou's rec center yesterday and jogged pretty slowly on the treadmill. Don't make fun of me, but after seeing this old guy fly off a treadmill at my undergrad, I've been kinda terrified of them. So, I just slowly ran 2 miles on one, and considered that an accomplishment. I found the environment kinda distracting and boring, oddly. After the first mile I got a little more into it, so I think I might try it again. The gym is on the way home from class for me, so I might be spending some time there on the days I don't bike to school (8 miles round trip, so a workout on its own!)
 
I have been following everyone's progress without making much of my own this summer. I haven't gone running since the second week in May. Yesterday, though, I climbed back on the wagon. I am finally feeling better from my wisdom teeth ordeal so I headed to our rec center to run on the indoor track. Running in the AC was so much better than running in the heat. I did just over 2 miles and it felt great. I can't wait to go again on Sunday. I have been so impressed by you guys. Keep it up everyone!
 
Nice job, Lissarae!

I did W8D2-ish. I started off at a pace that was too fast for me, which then killed me, so I did the first mile in the first half of the 28 minutes (right on par for my normal pace). My calves were aching after not going jogging for nearly a week, so I walked for about a minute and a half and got back to it. I didn't quite finish the mile back in the 14 minutes left, but oh well. I'll consider this one of my worse jogs and try again on Tuesday.
 
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