Week 8 completed...whoop! whoop!

[serendipitygal]

and what a week it's been I have added more minutes on to the end of each run, so ran 32 run 1, 32 minutes run 2 (Sunday) and then 35 minutes today. This has occurred because I am using mapmyrun app and was able to see that a road off the route I have been running was actually a (rather large) crescent so I have added that on to my cul de sac route

today, I also reversed my route which meant I tackled a long incline during my first run and then 2 hilly cul de sacs at the end- that was tough but I plodded on.

i am only covering 4.7 KM in my 35 minutes so i guess I will need to do 38/40 minutes to make a 5k, but I am thrilled to bits.

Who'd have thought it ey? Me running 35 minutes

Now....I NEED to try and get my diet right and shed some weight. Yes, I am trimmer and my bottom is rounder and higher but I really want to lose 2 stone for February/March as I am giving my daughter away in Italy next May

i really fancied doing a shorter run (20 minutes) on the days I am not doing C25K- Or running for 5K...what do you all think? I have resisted the urge as don't want to injure myself or over do it, but if i went spinning on my alternate days, I would be using legs so <shrug> but, I fell out with the gym in December and have no inclination to go back as I am enjoying running so much and being outdoors (a first for me)

Any thoughts would be most welcome

Thank you everyone x

[MarkyD Graduate]

Hi SerendipityGal, well done for completing W8 - and you're really going for it with 35 minute runs. You'll graduate next week certainly

Running is great for weight loss, but you'll need to run a bit longer than 30/35 minutes for the calorie burn to be enough. Yesterday I ran 12km and my sport watch told me I'd burned about 1000 calories. I'm on a 1,800 calorie diet, and you can see that 1000 calories in a run is going to make a difference. The 300-400 calories in a 30 minute run (whilst helpful) can easily be overwhelmed by having 2 pieces of toast when you get home

So, I recommend a gentle diet to complement the running. Nothing too aggressive - if you want to lose 2stone by March, you need to lose just 1lb per week starting today. Start measuring & writing down your weight every week (I do mine on a Saturday morning before Park Run) and find someone to hold you accountable - your daughter for example.

Many folks on this forum adopt the 5km/longer run/shorter run approach to their running week. You could do a 5km ParkRun, and then gradually build up your distance (no more than 10% at a time) on the second run, and then do a recovery run on the third occasion - I'm redoing W1r1 (but jogging/sprinting rather than walking/jogging). Having different runs like this also stops it getting too boring or repetitive.

Good luck x