Just completed week 1 runs + a couple of questions

[sreevesfrancois]

I am a 23 year old male who has had little to no motivation to exercise during the week. Last week my mum told me i spend too much time on the couch and therefore decided to do something about it. When searching on the internet for fitness plans I stumbled across couch to 5k, read a few blogs, through it would be a good idea to try out something new and downloaded the podcasts.

I did running in games in secondary school but more as an alternative to other sports rather than as a passion but in the last 5.5 year have not done any. From time to time I do go on walks with my local ramblers club but not every week and apart from that I seemed to be doing little proper exercise.

I did the 1st session last Thursday and it felt so good when I was done. Couldnt figure out how the endomodo worked for the 1st session so havnt got any recorder times.

Then on Saturday I did my 2nd run- finally got endemondo to work! The music on the podcast started to get a bit repetitive but kept with it as its amazing for telling me when to start/stop/walk etc.3.17 miles in 37 mins

And today I just completed my 3rd run.Tried a different route which was nice. 3.45miles in just under 43 mins. The problem I have is guestimating my distance/time ratio and therefore at the end of the 20 mins session i end up quite a long way from home resulting in having more of a 10/12 min warm down walk rather than the 5. But as I can manage the session I guess there is no problem here.

2 questions I would like answers to:

At the moment I am wearing a t-shirt with my hillwalking jacket over the top- keeps me warm and has good pockets for my phone/ipod/keys. Is this suitable clothing or would it be better to go for t-shirt and fleece? (I cant aford to buy any belts etc atm)

5 days in and ive done 3 runs- am thinking of moving on to week 2 (Yikes!!) on day 7. Thats 1 day rest in between each run. Is this ok or should I have a 2 day rest once a week so that a week of 3 runs really does equal a real full week?

[gdeann Graduate]

First off welcome! What a nice young man you are for listening to your mom! One day rest is perfectly okay if you feel like your body is cooperating. As we went into the longer runs, we needed to take a couple days between runs at times, but I am also a few years older then you. If you can afford it, a nice top made of wicking fabric works well. Instead of cotton which keeps moisture near the skin, they will wick away the moisture. Again, welcome and congratulations in starting! Gayle

[Monemy]

Hi there, welcome!

Whatever clothes you are comfortable in will do fine, I know lots of people here buy heaps of technical clothing but I just wear what I've got (I'm a student, low budget ^^)

And so long as your body isn't complaining, running every other day is perfect. Allow yourself more rest if you get any pain.

Good luck with the programme!

[Slideman Graduate]

I agree with the previous comments. I either wear a vest and shorts if it's warm, or a body-hugging long-sleeved shirt under a loose top if chilly. But nothing cost much (good old Sports Direct!).

I got to Week 6 just having 1 day rest between runs but had to take an extra day between my last 2 runs due to a bit of soreness in my right calf.

The most important thing is that you keep progressing through the programme and I promise you will reap the benefits.