Hi all. I just thought I'd say hello and share my progress, as I've been avidly reading the forum the last couple of weeks since beginning Couch to 5k. Well I should say restarting Cto5k as I attempted W1R1 in May, but shamefully couldn't finish it, I was SO out of breath and felt so sick by about the 5th 60-second run, I just stopped and sat down on a bench til I could breathe again, then went home! I'm ashamed to say I was so discouraged I couldn't find the motivation to try it again after that. But....a couple of weeks ago I got absolutely sick of hearing myself talking about doing it rather than actually doing it - and I'm now about to start week 3 tomorrow - and actually find myself becoming rather addicted! It's very odd but I have found all the runs so far achievable this time round. I can only say I purposefully went extra slowly on w1 this time, knowing how hard it was the last time. It's really shown me how important it is to pace yourself - I clearly wasn't listening to Laura the first time!
So that's me - hopefully tomorrow will go OK
Written by
sarah-b
Graduate
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Best of luck Sarah, you can do it! My advice would be to carry on keeping the pace under control - that's what works for me. I was dreading stepping up to the 3 minute runs, but when I done my first one on Monday I was really surprised at how well I coped - just make sure you keep the pace down. It's definitely do-able, and only 2 repetitions - you'll be done before you know it! Good luck!
It's hard to start this first time, let alone giving it another go. Great to hear you are giving it another go, and succeeding now.
Keep at it. It will be tough at times, but do it at your own pace, and you will succeed. Keep blogging as well, it helps to share the good days and the bad days.
Thanks very much for all your replies - v much appreciated! Well, I did W3R1 this morning, and completed it without too much agony! It was actually not that hard, though I was definitely starting to feel it towards the end of the last 3 min run. However, I'm sure I can feel some progress.
I was thinking they should really do this programme in schools - just thinking back to my old PE lessons (about 15 years ago now, I'm now 30) where they made us run 1500m with absolutely no training or build-up to it whatsoever (while the PE teachers sat down in the middle of the field sunbathing and shouting at us, might I add!) There were the really fit sporty kids of course who sailed through to the finish line in no time, then there were the kids like me who were just not naturally sporty and just ended up feeling humiliated by how hard it was and how long it took! Which of course just made me hate it even more. If there was something achievable/enjoyable like this in PE lessons, surely it would get a lot more kids feeling enthusiastic about getting and staying fit from a young age.
Oh I still remember the dread of cross country PE lessons! Laura is much less scary than the dragon who taught us and her little snippets of encouragements is definitely helping me get through the podcasts.
Oh I so remember this too. I think this would be excellent in schools because it gives you something to aim for & a sense of achievement. Mind I suppose you'd have the smartie pants taking the micky but there must be a way around that.
Laura is definitely a lot more encouraging than any of my PE teachers. Shame really! I think I would have really started to enjoy it if there was some structure to it with an end goal in mind. Ahh well - better late than never.
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Week 3 run 1
Week 4 Run 1
Week 8 Run 2
Week 6 Run 1 👍
Week 1, Run 1
