15 year old graduate, and National Judo hopeful

[Urumi2709]

Written by recent graduate

{ YAY! I just completed my first W9 R3 and have applied for the "Graduate" badge. I took along my iPod and recorded the time for my first run.

I'm currently 15 (16 in a few days ), a 6'3 giant, and a regional Judo winner and am looking to move up, but I obviously with that comes some training. I originally started the Couch to 5K plan both for fitness and because I was having endurance problems during extended Judo competitions. So I started running and playing more sport and thanks to C25K will keep on running!

However, on my first run I'm proud to say I recorded a time of:

27.01

Feeling good, but also knackered. Next is to move onto C25K+, although is it okay to take a week break? Also any tips you might have for post-graduation and for increasing stamina for high intensity exercise will be much appreciated.

Thanks }

[Pigivi]

Well done!

There should be no problem in taking a week break - as you're young and fit it won't affect your fitness at all. I only got to green belt when I was 12 - then switched to basketball

You could probably add some hills or do fartleks. What about trail running? I think it may be useful for Judo - as when one runs on trails muscles are trained in a different way - and the challenge of uneven terrain helps in building balance and stability ​(more on trail running here: ​runnersworld.com/trail-runn... )

[misswobble Graduate in reply to Pigivi]

Upper and lower body need strengthening for all sports. I do workout dvd's at home but I dare say you go to the gym to lift weights and all that jazz, cardio, abs, strength etc, all grist to the mill. Swimming, cycling and good old fashioned walking are all good. The fitter and stronger you get the longer you can sustain exercise. Also the importance of a healthy diet can't be overstated. You are what you eat! That was never truer for an athlete

Good luck with the + podcasts! I use them a lot as I kept them on my mp3 player so when they pop up I run them

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Congratulations. So many of us oldies wish we had discovered the joys of running at your age. We find that regaining some of the vigour that we had in our youth is highly addictive and motivational. To sustain and build that at your age is a wonderful thing. Good luck.

Keep running, keep smiling.