Couch to 5K

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Phew! Week 5 Day 2 complete. That was a tough one. I ran at a pretty good clip without really trying though, about a 9:40/mile. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I've lost weight and have been doing quite a bit of strength training. But it went well, minus the side stitch I got towards the end of the second 8-minute segment, causing my running to slow to a slog. But I still finished the 3/4 mile and then some in the 8 minutes so I was happy with it.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time for Friday. Week 5 Day 3 was the single most challenging day for me the last time I did the C25K. It's the first long block of running with no rest and mentally it's pretty difficult to get through. I remember thinking I'd die last time, but I did it then so I know I can do it now!

Hope everybody else is doing well!
 
EllieGirl89 said:
I'm excited and nervous at the same time for Friday. Week 5 Day 3 was the single most challenging day for me the last time I did the C25K. It's the first long block of running with no rest and mentally it's pretty difficult to get through. I remember thinking I'd die last time, but I did it then so I know I can do it now!

Hope everybody else is doing well!
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Way to go, EG! I'm still sitting here staring longingly at ice packs.... I'm itching to get back on track, but promised myself I'd hold off until next week. Grrrrr.... 🙂
 
Just finished Week 6 day 1!!!! I am still jogging at 4.5 mph 😀, but am enjoying it and am right now more concerned about time than distance. Hopefully one day I will able to increase my speed to at least 5.5 or 6 mph, but for now, I am just appreciating the fact that I can do the time with no injuries.
 
Started Week 1 Day 1 yesterday. Today my only sore muscles are ... in my feet/ankles? Wasn't expecting that. My goal is to run a 5k in September. I hope to be able to run one before then, but that's just when the 5k I want to run is scheduled.

Just joined the runningahead group -- now to figure out how to use the site.
 
Great job guys!

LIS, I hope you can start hitting the pavement again soon!
lyndaelyzoo, slow and steady wins the race! Keep it up 👍
Psorophoraferox, congrats on getting started!
 
EllieGirl89 said:
Great job guys!
lyndaelyzoo, slow and steady wins the race! Keep it up 👍
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Thanks for the encouragement EllieGirl! 😀 I know that sometimes it feels like I am running in slow motion, but am enjoying the fact that I am not completely out of breath and not in pain. The last time I did this program, I tried to push too fast too hard and ended up injured and couldn't run for months. So needless to say I learned my lesson, and so far, so good.
 
lyndaelyzoo said:
The last time I did this program, I tried to push too fast too hard and ended up injured and couldn't run for months. So needless to say I learned my lesson, and so far, so good.
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This! In my previous attempts (yes, plural -- it took me that long to learn MY lesson!), I didn't really follow the schedule AND ran on concrete, and paid the price. I'm hoping that by sticking with the plan as written and staying on grass/trails/indoor running surfaces I'll avoid another repeat.
 
Phew!! I did it! Week 5, Day 3, check. I actually did pretty well. I actually went a few seconds over; I ran a total of 20 minutes and 24 seconds because I wanted to finish the 2 miles and I ran a smidgen slower than a 10 minute mile, which I expected. But it felt great and I'm so glad that's over!! I always felt like the 20 minute run was a bit premature and should maybe be switched with Week 6 Day 2. But I like that it makes the first two days of Week 6 seem very do-able.

Also, there is a 5K here at OSU on May 22. That will be just before Week 9, so I'll be preparing to run 28 minutes that week, so I'm contemplating doing it and hoping for the best. We'll see!
 
I was sick all of last week but (finally!) completed W3D3 yesterday. Looking forward to running week 4 tomorrow!
 
I'm going to be running in the Nike Women's (half) marathon in San Francisco in October! SO...C25K is going out the window for me and I'm going to have to start a new plan! I have about 22 weeks to be able to run 13.1 miles. As long as I take it slow and take my time, I hoepfully won't injure myself!

Anyone can run a half marathon if there is a fireman at the end dressed in a tux and holding a Tiffany's necklace....
 
Week 6 Day 1 done, headcold and all! My labored breathing did nothing for my sore throat but it did clear my head up a bit. The run didn't feel awesome but it wasn't bad either. No side stitches and ran quicker than my normal pace. So I'll chalk it up to a good workout!

Also, after weigh-in today I'm down 16.4 lbs after 9 weeks. Next goal, 20 lbs. GO!
 
EllieGirl89 said:
Week 6 Day 1 done, headcold and all! My labored breathing did nothing for my sore throat but it did clear my head up a bit. The run didn't feel awesome but it wasn't bad either. No side stitches and ran quicker than my normal pace. So I'll chalk it up to a good workout!

Also, after weigh-in today I'm down 16.4 lbs after 9 weeks. Next goal, 20 lbs. GO!
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👍👍 I ran a dew weeks ago with a head cold too, and I actually felt better afterwards.

@lyn, I ran 13 min miles when I first started the C25K, and that's basically the pace I ended it at. Since then I have been working on increasing speed, and it is actually working. Now running 11:30-12 min miles feels like a slow jog. I know this is nothing too spectacular, but like you posted before, I want it to be fun, and running at a pace that is too fast for me is not fun. Not to say I wont make it to a faster pace, but it has been much better building endurance first.
 
Did 10 minutes per mile for 3.96 miles (as the map calculates). Had to walk a bit because my knee decided it wasn't having fun. Starting out on a hill sucks - the first half mile is up a decent incline. I'm usually at max heart rate before I reach the main road.
 
Great job everyone!

Week 6, Day 2 done today! I'm really nervous for Friday :scared: With my being sick, I can finish the runs but it's really hard to breathe. Hopefully I won't keel over going 25 minutes straight. I hope it's nice out so I can at least run outside. Now that the "intervals" are over and it's going to be straight running for no less than 25 minutes for the next three weeks, I will be bored to tears if I have to keep going on the indoor track. Also, there's a 5K coming up on May 22nd...that will be the Sunday before I begin week 9, so I will be up to running for 28 minutes. My 5K time is usually somewhere around 32-33 minutes, so the competitive part of me is saying what the heck, what's 3 or 4 more minutes? The wimpy part of me is saying 3 or 4 more minutes seems like FOREVER when you can't breathe and you feel like crying/puking/passing out. I think I should just suck it up and do it though....it's only $10 to race and that's really inexpensive compared to a lot of 5Ks...most are in the $25 range to run.

As far as Weight Watchers goes, I'm chugging along, slowly but surely. I lost 1 lb last week, meaning I reached my goal of losing 10% of my starting body weight on Monday (16.3 lbs) so my new goal is to be down to minus 20 lbs. That will probably take another few weeks since my loss has slowed down to .5-1 lb per week. That's fine with me, though. I really want to maintain this loss over the long run. I've also gotten my parents on the WW bandwagon, which is awesome. This past weekend they also surprised me by telling me that there is a 5K for the family of a fallen police officer near our town and they are going to start a walking plan so they can do it with me. I'm super excited about that!
 
I restarted W1 due to only getting in two runs last week and not getting to run until the middle of this week. I tried landing on my forefoot instead of a heel strike, to see if it felt better or worse on my knees/back. Not much difference in either noted, but holy moley did my calves get more of a workout. It definitely felt lighter and springier, and less like my feet were slamming the ground.
 
EllieGirl89 said:
That will probably take another few weeks since my loss has slowed down to .5-1 lb per week. That's fine with me, though. I really want to maintain this loss over the long run
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I just talked to someone today who has lost 60 pounds steadily over the last 2 years. He made a conscious decision 2 years ago to go nice and slow and do it with exercise and diet control, and it's totally paid off. He's in shape, looks good (as opposed to how lethargic and awful some people on the wrong kinds of diets look), and has made the lifestyle change to keep it off.

Sounds like that's you down the road. 🙂

I'm back on the running (shuffling) starting tomorrow. Yay!
 
I was really nervous about W3D1, but the 3 minute parts really werent bad at all, I actually added another 90 second jog and walk so that I would get a little closer to 30 min. It really didn't feel like I had been pushing myself or getting anywhere, but each step up feels natural and doesn't make me want to die so far!
I hear W4 is kinda a pain in the butt though 🙂
 
Weel 6 Day 3 DONE! As predicted, it wasn't as bad mentally as Week 5 Day 3. I went pretty slow, but I did myself a favor and managed to quit counting laps around the indoor track. I usually can't help doing it, and when I try to not think about it I just think about it more. Then I'm constantly pushing myself to go faster, make it one more lap, and torturing myself knowing I've still got 8 laps to go. By focusing more on my breathing, my striding, and my music I got myself to lose count and just ran the 25 minutes. I pushed faster the last 4 minutes and it actually felt really great.

My breathing is better because I'm getting over my cold, although I'm exhausted because I haven't really slept the last few nights. Hope everybody else is doing well too!!
 
Ran a quarter marathon today (decided to switch from the half for personal reasons) and got 5th in my age group! Yeee! This is the first time I've ever placed higher than 8th!
 
withoutane said:
Ran a quarter marathon today (decided to switch from the half for personal reasons) and got 5th in my age group! Yeee! This is the first time I've ever placed higher than 8th!
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:clap: Congrats!!! That's so awesome!
 
Just finished week 8 day 1!! Didn't think I would be able to last the entire 28 minutes, but it wasn't that bad. Some intermittent pain, but tolerable and it went away over time. Hope everyone is doing well.
 
lyndaelyzoo said:
Just finished week 8 day 1!! Didn't think I would be able to last the entire 28 minutes, but it wasn't that bad. Some intermittent pain, but tolerable and it went away over time. Hope everyone is doing well.
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Congrats on running the whole 28 minutes! What an accomplishment 👍

I'm right behind you; I finished Week 7 Day 1 today. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day out, so I got to run outside! So much more interesting and challenging. I ran all around campus, incorporating some hills. It was really fun, and actually wasn't all that bad! There was a nice breeze so even though the sun was shining it wasn't too hot, and there was just so much to look at that the run actually went by pretty quickly. That's something else I love about running outside; not only am I not obsessively counting my laps around a track but I also check my watch FAR fewer times. So when I look at my watch I often see I've run two minutes rather than 30 seconds since the last time I looked at my watch. That's really encouraging.

I thought my weight loss was slowly grinding to a halt, but this week surprised me! I dropped another 1.2 lbs last week to bring my total loss up to 17.6 lbs! Just under two and a half pounds to go before I meet my most recent little goal of 20 lbs of weight loss. I'm heading into week 11 of Weight Watchers and am budgeting a little funding so that I can go another month at least to meet that goal, and then maybe another month after that to reach my ultimate goal of about 28 lbs of weight loss. I'm not sure if I'm even physically capable of that based on the weight it will put me at, but we'll see. As long as the weight is still coming off I'm good with rolling along with it! I'm not hungry, deprived, and I eat chocolate almost every night, so what I'm doing is very sustainable for me.

Hope everybody else is doing well! 😀
 
*puffs into thread a few weeks too late*

I know I said I was gonna do this with everyone, but I kept getting sick and running wasn't really on the table. 🙁

Ran this morning to see where I was at. Did about a mile before my lungs were sick of it. I have exercise induced asthma so my lungs are usually the limiting factor. Bleh. Oh well. Regular running makes all of this easier, I just have to motivate myself to continue doing it regularly. I'm gonna try and figure out that running ahead shenanigans shortly. Because clearly I don't have 3 finals I should be studying for instead...

Ellie, I love reading your posts and how positive you are! It's great to hear how successful you are and how you've done it in a sustainable, healthy way that makes you happy. Keep us updated.
 
WTG Ellie and Lyn!!! I haven't been posting as much but have been diligently working on increasing my speed and distance...it's just going slowly. I have been able to increase my runs to 4x a week, which I think is helping. Right now two are on the road and two are on the treadmill - it seems to help with shins and knees. I hope there comes a time when I think of 3 miles as a warm up run....
 
Congratulations to those of you who have stuck with it.

Now that school is over (and my knees feel better), I have jumped back on the wagon. Completed W1D1 yesterday. It felt super easy, which was great. I briefly thought about jumping ahead to W2 (which is where I was when I quit) for my next run, but I think it'll be better to stick with the program.
 
Great job everyone! It's so awesome that everybody is making an effort at activity, no matter how small the step is-it all counts! You can do it, TT, don't give up!

Chucked the deuce to Week 7, Day 2 today! So excited that I'm chugging through this week. I can't believe I'm almost finished with C25K for the second time. Feels awesome. I had to run on the indoor track today, which was pretty boring. But it was SOOO stinkin hot out and even though it wasn't much cooler in the indoor track (has glass walls that make it like a greenhouse!) at least there wasn't the sun beating down on me. I was sweating like a crazy person afterwards. The run itself wasn't too bad. I find that when I'm running, what slows me down isn't necessarily cardiovascular so much as it is just fatigue. My legs literally get tired of carrying me. Earlier this quarter I was doing lots of strength training after my runs, but as the quarter has gone on my teacher has made class actually go the entire time (I run between my two classes on MWF) so I don't have time for that anymore. I'll probably do some more with that once I go home for the summer. Plus we did lots of hip-opening exercises in yoga yesterday, which made my legs really loose and feel like jelly. Looking forward to finishing up Week 7 on Friday!
 
Whee. So, after a month break I'm back at it. First week was kid being born, then the next week was a certain procedure, then the following two weeks were me looking at the incisions, feeling the pain, and saying "like hell" to running. I really thought two tiny little incisions would heal quicker, but I guess the location really does matter. Who knew.

Anyway, I was at Week 4, but I backed it up to Week 3 just ... because it felt smart. I was a bit surprised; Week 3 Day 1 felt easier than it did last time around. I guess that's a good thing.

Sadly, I wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider in the last month; my pace is still super slow. But hey, it's activity.
 
I did W1D2 yesterday. I slowed myself down a lot (jogging about as fast as I walk), which I'm hoping will be better in the long run. Now I just need to figure out the best time of day and find a route that doesn't cross as many roads.
 
twelvetigers said:
I am a lazy *ss and it was raining today. Talk about falling off the bandwagon... I started twice and haven't been able to keep up with it either time.
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We've had three straight weeks of rain, with no change forecasted until at least wednesday. It's really cramping my desire to be outside at all. Determined to get back at it though. 😳

ETA: Okay, went out today. Would someone like to come to my house and drag me out by the hair on Saturday, rain or shine?
 
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After doing W1 two weeks in a row, I accidentally took a week off for finals. Whoops.

Not sure if I'm going to start up again until June -- I'm working full time again in May, which means being on my feet all day, almost every day. Going running before or (especially) after that just doesn't sound feasible physically. So, see y'all in June? 🙂
 
I did one of the Week 4 runs yesterday... Intervals: easier than just running forever! Nicer on my out of shape lungs. 🙂
 
Has anyone tried audiobooks while running outside or at the gym? I'm transitioning from the elliptical to real running but the problem is that I get bored so easily. On the elliptical I read while I "run" and it's my reward for working out that I get to read my fun books. Reading doesn't work while running outside or on the treadmill so I've been debating buying some audiobooks to listen to when I run. Anyone have experience with them?
 
YAY for everyone who's been running again! So exciting to see!

I did week 7 day 3 yesterday! It was hard because I had a lesson on a horse on Thursday who is heavy in every possible way-he requires SO much leg to get moving and to keep him going straight or bend around a turn, but then once he gets going he gets strong and heavy in your hands. So my arms and legs were pretty much shot. So it was a slow 25 minutes, but 25 minutes nonetheless! I'm really excited for this weekend so rest! I'm going to go on a little walk today, mostly because I have to drop something off for someone up at school but also just to stretch my legs and have a nice leisurely bit of exercise. Looking forward to Week 8 starting Monday!

Keep up the awesome work guys!
 
So today I had one of the best moments in my weight loss journey so far.

First, it's important to know what the impetus was for my weight loss efforts in the first place. The barn I ride at for the equestrian team has a little string of green ponies. Some of the smaller girls on the team get to ride them to get some miles on them and give them some experience so hopefully they can be childrens' ponies some day. If you're small enough, you can get quite a bit of extra riding practice riding these ponies for our coach.

At one of my horse shows this past winter, I didn't do so hot and my coach told me to come to the barn for some extra riding time. She looked me up and down and said "You're too big to ride the ponies, but we've got a couple bigger horses that need ridden." I'd never actually had someone TELL me I was big, and to have somebody who had no reason not to be honest tell me that kind of struck me. It hurt me and made me really angry at the same time-and I'm SO glad she was honest with me, because that anger at letting myself gain weight caused me to have the motivation and perseverance to get on board and get the weight off.

Well, today I was at the barn helping with a birthday party. After the party was over, I was sitting around waiting for the next lesson to arrive so I could help them tack up. My coach was teaching a lesson and saw me just sitting there, and she said "Hey, do you want to ride Theo for me?" I had to ask her who she said to ride again, because I thought I hadn't heard right-but yep, she wanted me to ride Theo, one of the green ponies.. I've never been so delighted in my life, because not only do I know I've lost weight but other people are NOTICING, and I'm able to do things I wasn't able to do before.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Theo and I had an excellent ride 😍
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Great post, Ellie! I'm happy for you and glad you got to have a such a wonderful moment. 🙂 Theo looks like a sweetie!
 
I have nothing smart-alecky, uplifting, or even particularly interesting to say. I just wanted to note that dang it, I'm still going. 🙂
 
Awesome story Ellie! Well I just finished the first day of week nine and I'm still alive 😱. Never thought I'd make it this far and ran almost three miles straight. Here's a video of my pace 😀(I just had to post this video...the beauty of the horse in motion)...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcAeSWCMyrg
 
In an effort to be more fit, I'm trading off days between the 30 day shred video and C25K. Ooh boy, feeling it today! I went running anyway but legs are burning now. Officially I'm done week 3, but I think I'll give it one more work out at week 3 before I bump up to week 4. My body just hasn't quite adjusted yet.
 
Ok so week 4 day 1 was hard, but not as hard as I though it would be!
Congrats Ellie! That's so inspiring! Especially because I look into the weeks ahead and go "AHHHH 😱 There's no way I could do that!

But so far so good! Although week 4 day 1 was even harder because Pandora wasn't working so I had to spend all this time making a playlist, I can't run without music!
 
Breezyte said:
Ok so week 4 day 1 was hard, but not as hard as I though it would be!
Congrats Ellie! That's so inspiring! Especially because I look into the weeks ahead and go "AHHHH 😱 There's no way I could do that!

But so far so good! Although week 4 day 1 was even harder because Pandora wasn't working so I had to spend all this time making a playlist, I can't run without music!
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Me neither! I get bored with my songs, too, and then need to find new ones for playlists. 🙁 I wish I wasn't such a brat, but I find that I NEED MY MUSIC.
 
So I got through week 3 and hurt my knee. After some time off to get that feeling better I decided to start over. Then finals week happened lol. Moral of the story, I did wk 2 d 1 today and it felt so good to get back out there. I'm going to have to figure out how to schedule running around my new work schedule. I work 11 hour shifts 4 days in a row with an hour drive each way. It's going to be a challenge but I am thinking I am going to have to run early in the morning before at least one shift and run the other days on my days off.
 
Yay, Lissarae! Glad you're back up here with us on the wagon!

I finished Week 8, Day 1 today. It was a very odd mix of feelings. I felt SO.GOOD. starting out. For the first 20 minutes I trucked along really well, no cramps or stitches or anything. I think I got a little cocky because of that, and by the last 5 minutes I started to get a cramp in my right side. By the time there was 2 minutes left it was excruciating. None of my usual techniques for getting rid of side stitches worked, and I ended up running (really shuffling/tripping) the last minute with my hand squeezing my side for all I was worth to get me through it. It was really bad. I managed to get all 28 minutes in, even though those last couple minutes were a bit wimpy.

Also, as of this morning I'm down 19 lbs. I was hoping to hit 20 this week but I should be able to do that for sure by next week!
 
Finished week 4 today! I'll probably take tomorrow off and start week 5 on Wednesday. It hasn't been bad at all so far, but I am eyeing W5D3 a little warily. My poor wittle asthmatic lungs don't like long periods of activity!
 
Finished Week 3 today. One more day to go before I'm back to where I was before going under the knife. Rawr.

But, you know ... I'm still slower than a sloth doing wind sprints.
 
I convinced myself to go do W2D1 despite the cold snap we have here. I get exercise induced asthma symptoms when I run in the cold, so it wasn't the greatest experience and I was very slow. But, I did it! 😀

One more run in the cold, then it is supposed to be warm Friday. Can't say I'm not looking forward to that.
 
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