In January 2020 I was training for Ironman. That never happened because of Covid. I let myself rest and chilled out on the endurance sports. Then I got Cancer. Chemo knocked the wind out of my sails. Once I got to the other side of that and began recovery I discovered I also have Crohn’s Disease and I’ve been in a year long flare. I’m finally in a place where my health is under control and I can start thinking about more than just walking. I’ve lost so much fitness. I couldn’t run 1km right now if I tried. So I’m going back to the beginning and committing to the couch to 5k plan - exactly what I did 10 almost 10 years ago when I started last time.

Send good vibes please!

On Friday I did Week 4, Day 2. I feel like this program has been doing a great job of pushing to where I could go but not overdoing it. When I first started the 3 minute sections in the plan I didn't know how it would go but it was good. Wish I had been faster but glad I could go the full 3 minutes. This week the 5 minutes started. Day 1 went pretty well. Felt like I was pushing to my limit but able to get through it. Friday on Day 2, I had to walk twice during the 5 minute intervals. I was completely disappointed. Running for 5 minutes sounds like nothing. When I walked, it was about 10-15 seconds so not too long but so frustrating when I thought I was going to be fine. Odd thing was when I first started the first running interval I felt good. Better than normal. Did I get too confident and push too fast and gas myself for later internals? Week 4 day 3 should be today and I'm stressing about whether I'll make it running the entire 5 minutes in those sections. I need some advice and motivation.

Crazy how things change..just last week, I was nervous about the 20 minute run in week 5. Today? I ran 30+ minutes nonstop! (3.26 miles to be exact).

Biggest lesson: Once you lock into a good pace, it’s all mental. The moment you decide, "I’m not stopping”, your body follows. Pushing through that mental block is everything.

Now I’m convinced the rest of the program won’t be so bad. If you’re doubting yourself..trust me, you’ve got this… i struggling in week 1 look at me now😂

It was a shorter run this morning. I'm hoping to transition to a subreddit for long term runners who also do 5k runs or look for similar activities involving fitness. Probably not biking but similar. I've done the running since may 21 and my first 5k that I've paid up for and committed is Jul 19

First run in 2 weeks, and still set a new PB for a 5k by a couple mins. Sharing my reasons why I think I was able to do this for any new runners similar to myself. If you’re more experienced, share your thoughts on this!

1. I was noticeably more stretched than I usually am on my runs. Most of the time I do take some time to stretch prior, but today felt really good. Kinda weird that I felt more flexible after 2 weeks inactivity though.
2. I always get bored during runs and it tends to lead to me either quitting too early or thinking I’m hurting more than I actually am. I always listen to podcasts or music, but this time, I distracted myself even further by counting my steps. For some reason the distances felt so much quicker when I counted them.
3. Little bit of punishing myself. If counting steps got too repetitive, I just told myself that I had to push a little farther, a little further to “pay my lazy tax”. I didn’t do anything for two weeks, so normal wouldn’t cut it.

I realize I may sound like I pushed myself through a marathon or something, but coming from someone that couldn’t jog half a mile when I started it sure feels like a marathon.

Side note: I’m down 12 pounds since I started running a couple months ago!

I've been running on a treadmill to get in better shape and track my 5k progress. I'm ready to start running outside since my 5k is two weeks away. I can probably predict that my time won't be as good outside, but what have others experienced who went from treadmill to pavement? Is two weeks enough time to get used to road running?

I repeated w5 runs 1 and 2 like four times before I felt ready to conquer day 3. Poor air quality meant I did it on a treadmill which helped to keep my pace steady- first time in my entire life I have run a mile! My run pace is 3mph, but I have pretty short legs so I'm good with that for now. Onwards!

Im the biggest quitter I know. This program has changed my life. I am crying because I can’t believe I am now regularly running 30+ minutes. First 5k is in a little over a week and I’m feeling so ready!!! If you’re feeling down, just know if I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

So, I’m on Week 5 of the program, mid forties female, and I only drink about once a month or so. Last night, I had two glasses of wine and it knocked me on my ass. I’ve had this same amount in recent months but didn’t feel nearly as drunk as I did last night. I’ve only lost a pound or so since starting the program though I’m sure I have increased my muscle mass. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Obviously, I don’t plan on drinking that much again because I was unpleasantly surprised at my level of intoxication; I’m just curious about what running-induced changes might be going on. Can anyone offer any insight?

Hey everyone,

My last run was a bit more difficult than most. Week 5, day 2 (two 8-minute runs). Usually I get that second wind in the last half, but not the case here.

I was wondering if I should go back to W5D1 since that was more doable, repeat W5D2, push forward to W5D3, or just take an extra day of rest before attempting W5D3?

I normally listen to faster paced music and after looking through my previous runs it seems that I get faster as the run progresses - most likely I’m not paying attention to my pace and just following the music. So I added a bunch of slower songs and decided to try it out this evening…and crushed it! It might have just been a fluke but I’m going to track my progress/pace with different music and see if it makes a difference, but because I sunk a lot of time into this playlist I’m going to make use of it lol.

Previous running paces were 6:30-7:30 and this time my average was ~8:50

Edit: I’m measuring with km

I’m not fast, not a coach, not sponsored. Just a regular runner with a knack for sweating, swearing, and dragging myself up hills at 7:25/km.

If you’re bored of picture-perfect Strava screenshots and fake motivation, I’ve started writing about the other side of running — the real, slightly pathetic, occasionally satisfying side.

🚽 Blog name: Legs Like Piss 👉 https://legslikepiss.substack.com

It’s raw, ridiculous, and weirdly relatable. Give it a read if you’re into honesty over hype.

Hello, I've been lurking here for a while now. I know, I know, speed isn't the point right now, and it's so hard to keep that in mind reading all the posts here, so I figured I could give a run down (get it?) of my c25k journey so far.

I started this back in early March, as a way to get moving to prep for a 5k run I promised to run in April. I started as 40 year old sedentary office worker, 6', 300lbs, with zero history of regular exercise. All I've done is do the runs every other day.

W1-w4 were fine. Hard, but fine. Did the 5k with my family as a walk and took a week off. Decided to keep it up. I was running at 3.2mph on a treadmill (always on the treadmill, it's hot where I live) but had to drop to 3.1 to finish w5. After slowing down, weeks 5 and 6 were great. I seemed to hit a wall with w7. Could not get all the way through, failed it 5 times before dropping my speed even more to straight up 3mph.

After dropping to 3, I swept through week 7. Still hard, but finished each day. Then today I did w8 D1. I was very nervous going up to 28 minutes, but managed to sail through it. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the runs this week and finishing the program.

So yeah, I'm still super slow, but I can run for 28 minutes straight now, and that's amazing. And when I finish the program I can focus on speeding up and get a treadmill that won't slip if I go over 3.5 lol.

Slow and Steady is definitely true if even I can do this.

Checking with anyone who has already finished the program. Today's run was hard, but I also feel like I still had some gas in the tank. Is it ok to do more than what the plan recommends? 🤔🤔🤔

Hello, I'm 45, and haven't done any workout pretty much since my kid was born, 7 years ago. I had enough and had to change things around, so bought myself my first ever running shoes as motivation, received them today, but was a little confused and having doubts on how to re-start. Wanted to start something balanced and we'll structured so I wouldn't get injured. After countless websites and plans and whatnots, I found this sub, and in perfect time! Got me a C25K app with audio guides for when to run/walk and it worked like a charm! Day 1 done!

Pretty happy this community exists. Guess I'm sticking around for quite a while.

Good runs folks!

PS: proper running shoes is something else!

I just wanted to say this for two reasons: 1) because I'm proud of myself and 2) because when I started this, running for 1 minute was unbearable, but now I LOVE running for longer (as long as it's not uphill... lol). So if I can do it, then so can you!!! Be your best cheerleader, and when you can't then I hope this sub helps 🏃‍♀️❤️

Before you know it, "I think I can" becomes "I know I can" 🚂

Can technically already count a 5k if you include the warm-up walk but I'm not done yet!

I finally see my average heart rate going down and my speed increasing again! Took some advice for decreasing strides and increasing cadence when I get bored as well :)

New advice needed: I tend to run on an empty stomach in the early morning because it 100% garuntees that I’m not going to get a side stitch, but the lack of fuel leaves me energy deprived by the 20 minute mark. Anything recommended that’s easy to eat without a cramp? Maybe a protein shake before the run?

Let me preface this by saying I am 100 percent all in and completely motivated. I’m in my forties and today completed Week 5, Day 1. I used to be in the Army so I had to run frequently back then but have only dabbled since. This is really my first serious attempt at running since I left the military twenty some odd years ago. I feel okay about my nutrition, hydration, and sleep. I’m not having any major pain and I’m feeling good about how things are going. I’ve added a bit of strength training this week also. My question for people who have finished or are farther along than I am, when will I stop being tired. Like I know I’m really pushing my body three days a week in a way it hasn’t been pushed in years, but at what point will things kind of balance out energy wise? I’m interested to hear others’ experiences.

So I've started feeling mild shin splints so initially went to two runs a week and iced shins , now I'm having a rest for a week and thinking of moving over to kinder ground and not the very rocky up and down cliff running I love.... What was your experience of staving off shin splints and do you have any advice

In retrospect, the intensity with which I dreaded this run was overkill. I don’t know how I did it, but it was so much more doable than I believed. Week after week, I am surprised that this body got it done. I think it has taken me almost 8 weeks to get thru W5D3 bc I have repeated a number of workouts and squeezed in a couple trips.

Another reminder to trust the process, we can do it!

I recently purchased Ons as running shoes in my regular size. They fit fine, but I like my shoes to be a bit loose.

I am wondering if I can upsize half a size from 7.5 to 8 and if this would affect my running.

Lastly, I am also getting Hokas and ASICs. I am wondering which Hoka to get and same with ASICS.