I am feeling so bad at having not kept up my blog posts on here especially when all of you have been so kind to share your experiences. My last and only blog was after my W1R1 so I really need to put this right! I have so much to say so grab yourself a cup of tea and a biscuit!
So far the C25K plan has been amazing and in all honesty fairly kind to me. I have not suffered from any blisters, or stitches nor have I had to repeat any runs. I did have to change my route a couple of weeks ago as I wasn't enjoying running on the main road near where I live as some of it is a 50mph and with a narrow pavement felt very vulnerable. In addition to that there is a field running alongside it with sheep in and one sheep seemed to stare at me every time I went past! I even found myself one day saying "what you staring at?!!!!) haha!
So I now run on the meadows near me and its so much better. It was water logged for ages which is why I had to wait for the weather to get better.
I still dont feel like I am losing weight which is annoying but am hoping that this will change once I start running for longer. This might partly be due to the fact that I cant do diets so my food intake hasnt changed at all. Hey Ho!
My last run which was yesterday was W5R2 and god was that hard work! Up to now I have always added on 10-15 seconds of extra running onto every last run of the session just to push myself a bit harder ready for the next session to sort of make it easier. And to be honest I have always found myself thinking well I could have pushed myself further if I tried.
But......... yesterday was soooooo hard! Did anyone else find this run extra hard? Running for 8 minutes just seemed like a life time and for the first time in the whole plan I couldn't push myself anymore at the end. I am now dreading my W5R3 tomorrow where I know I will have to run for 20 minutes. I really cant believe that I can do it. So far I have trusted Laura all the way but 20 minutes non stop just seems like a huge leap forward from 8 minutes!
I suppose I will have to see tomorrow if it can be done but am worried that I might be defeated for the first time since I started. Failure is not an option for me as I am a really competitive person so I am hoping that will be enough to carry me through. Stay positive girl!
Well I must sign off as I need to get ready for work but will make sure I come back and let you all know how I got on
One last point......!!! Every time Laura says at the end "so its goodbye from me", I always have to say in my head.... "and its goodbye from him"!!! Does anyone else do that?! Me thinks I am now showing my age!
Well now it really is goodbye from me!
Written by
Wooddairy
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Well done for getting started hayley! I think if you need to repeat a run you just do it when you need to. Laura doesnt advise you on things like that as the plan is designed to just keep you going through all the podcasts in one go but its certainly no shame if you have to repeat some as I am sure many people on this forum have had to do through injury or just finding some weeks harder than others. The important bit is that we all get there in the end I hope your shoes are nice!
First of all - well done you. You have a made a postive step towards improving your health and fitness! That's usually the hardest step, just getting up and doing something!
A few comments if I may?
You say you haven't lost any weight - you obviously won't if you continue to eat the same amount of calories. But if you are reducing your calorie intake, your weight might not change as muscle weighs more than fat. Try measuring yourself - boobs, arms, legs etc to see if your body shape is changing. My weight loss was very slow but my body did look and feel more toned quite quickly. I now have hips and a waist!
You say you have been adding a few seconds at the end of each run to help the transition to the next week of runs - this is a very good idea! I also tried to push myself a teeny bit more once Laura told me to stop running. Please continue to do this - it does help.
W5 R2 was tough for me too - 8 mins does seem like a lifetime! But I think you are being too hard on yourself. When you started did you think you could manage 8 whole mins in one go? I know I didn't! Just remember it's not a failure if you have to repeat runs - I know it is disappointing but at least you TRIED. That's more than a lot of people do! Don't push too hard as you might sustain an injury which might make you give up. Remember slow and steady.
The 20 mins of W5 R3 played on my mind for days - I practically convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to do it. But then when I was actually doing it, I thought to myself "well, you did 8 mins in one go, you can at least try to do 10 mins - that's half way at least". Then when I did the 10 mins, I just carried on, making each 2 or 3 mins my next goal. You'll be surprised how much of C25K is mind over matter. Yes my legs did hurt and it was hard but I tried my best and I got there in the end. The sense of achievement of unbelievable!
I hope some of this helps and all I can really say to end is - GOOD LUCK xxx
Thanks for the encouragement Jana83 and you are absolutely right I am probably being too hard on myself but thats me! Its good to know that your legs hurt too and you found it hard because sometimes when you read other peoples blogs there is a tendency to think that everyone else found it easier than you did! Just reading that sentence has given me some encouragement so thank you! I will have to say to myself too that its only one run! once its done its done!
You could also think of it as stitching both those 8 minutes together - well that's 16 of the 20 done, so you've really only got to find the extra 4 - which is only half of the previous 8 - you can do that, no bother! (Oooo...get me - didn't even take O level maths cos I was so bad at numbers!!)
Find whatever works best for you - break it down into smaller goals then just a bit more. Remember, we've all been there and had the same apprehension but in the end we all did it, and you can too.
Best of luck - and if you find it tough, just make yourself think about this blog and what you're going to write on here when you've succeeded - that worked for me on more than one occasion!
Thanks for your comments dottiemay, Thats a really good way of putting it! I will certainly be thinking about this blog and making sure I have something positive to write about! I feel better already Thanks everyone you're all grrrrrrrrrrrreat! as Tigger would say!
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Stay positive girl! 
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