Great Site!: Wow, so pleased I have found this... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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Great Site!

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate
36 Replies

Wow, so pleased I have found this site. Earlier this year I completed the Camino de Santiago - 77klms walk from France to Spain and have been looking for another challenge . I have been thinking about upping the ante so to speak and getting into running but had no idea where to start. Having read the posts I am so motivated now to get started, especially when I mentioned it to my husband on my birthday this week (61) what I was going to do and his response was 'you're too old to start now'.

Well, that was a red flag to a bull, so I spent my birthday money on getting some decent running shoes and preparations are now under way to get started!

Week 1 to start on Monday morning at 5.00am (I live in Qld where it's way too hot to start any later). I will be reading as much as I can as I really want to make a go of this.

Diane

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CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrim
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36 Replies
Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234Graduate

Hi Diane

It is a great challenge - and a great feeling of achievement when you finish the programme. Welcome to our C25K group.

Bazza (68YO) - Another Queenslander - who runs at 4.30AM in the summer heat!! :)

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to Bazza1234

Thanks Bazza, where are you in Qld, I'm on the Gold Coast

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234Graduate in reply to CaminoPilgrim

Just outside Beenleigh

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234Graduate

BTW - you will find most activity on this site early morning and early evening our time!!

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to Bazza1234

Thanks Bazza will check in around those times

Go for it Diane ! Take it slow and steady and you WILL become a runner. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to

Thankyou, thinking I may start tomorrow and not wait until Monday!

moonmar profile image
moonmarGraduate

I started when I was 56 and one month. And I have a feeling by far that we are not the oldest on this forum.

The last time I had run was for a bus, and before that at school at 15. Hated it then. Now I feel withdrawal symptoms if I haven't put on my trainers.

I will never run a half marathon but I can recommend you go for it. It is a great feeling.

And this forum is so, so helpful.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to moonmar

I can see the support will keep me motivated, thankyou

Gary-S profile image
Gary-SGraduate

Well done !!

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to Gary-S

Thankyou!

ju-ju- profile image
ju-ju-Graduate

A very big welcome to the group. You are certainly well prepared to start running after all that walking!!! I wish you all the best, enjoy it, and get your husband to do it with you???!!

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to ju-ju-

Thankyou for the warm welcome, I can't get my husband to walk with me so no chance of him running, but that's o/k, I can do this on my own

gingernut49 profile image
gingernut49Graduate

I didn't start until I was 63! I'd thoroughly recommend the NHS Couch to 5k podcasts rather than trying to use an app. You can find these on nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/... and you just download them like any other music file and put them on your mp3 player (mine is my phone) and off you go! I graduated in April 2013 and I still run around 5k three times a week.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to gingernut49

Thankyou, I have downloaded the podcasts onto my phone so I'm really looking forward to getting started. It's good to hear that you have kept running - I'm hoping this will be a permanent lifestyle change for me.

That's interesting, where did you walk from and to? I live half the year in a little place called Cordes Sur Ciel in France, that's one of the staging posts on the route..

Loads of us here are not in the first flush of youth so to speak, you're never to old to start taking care of yourself...good luck with the programme, I look forward to reading your posts.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to

Thankyou, I started in St Jean Pied de Port in France and walked to Santiago. What a beutiful country Spain is. My cousin lives in Alicante so I have been to Spain a couple of times but this was such a wonderful way to see the countryside and meet such lovely locals in all the villages we walked through.

in reply to CaminoPilgrim

Surely that's more than 77 KM? Did you mean 770? I love Santiago, I go there often for weekends.. every bar you go to gives you a little tapas with your wine or coffee, including pastries for breakfast, I don't think I bought a full meal there ever! Cheaper than staying at home! And the cathedral is something else...

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to

Woops - bit of a typo there, yes it was 775 kms! I loved Santiago too, so many places to enjoy the food. How lucky are you to live so close by, I would be joining you I think if I could visit on the weekends...

in reply to CaminoPilgrim

I don't live close by, but just a short flight with those nice people at RyanAir from Stansted...I looked up your route, or at least the one I think you would have taken, you passed through some pretty places.. how long did it take you?

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to

Hi Curlygurly,

It took us 39 days. When we started we were doing an average of 19 Klm's per day. After a week we realised we needed to increase the average as we had a flight booked back to Oz so we increased it to 23-25 Klm's per day. A couple of days we did 30+Klm's to catch up. absolutely beautiful countryside and lovely villages. I would recommend this to anyone that loves walking. It was so lovely to be cut off from the world with no TV, no news, no newspapers.

ginbin profile image
ginbinGraduate

I'm 66 and began running about 18 months ago and have done seven 5ks since March. I hated gym class in school but the C25k program makes running fun. Laura is a good coach. Make sure you take the "rest" days...you need them to rest your muscles. I'm sure you'll be hooked like the rest of us in no time.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to ginbin

Thankyou, I will visit this site as people are so supportive. I'm so looking forward to progressing through each week. I'm sure I will find it challenging but I'm in no rush and want to avoid any injuries.

ginbin profile image
ginbinGraduate in reply to CaminoPilgrim

If you are on Facebook, you might want to check out this group's sister, C25k-ers. A lot of us post there as well.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to ginbin

Thanks Ginbin, my first 2 days of week one have gone well!

petraj profile image
petrajGraduate

That's brilliant that you're all fired up for starting C25K! My husband poo-pooed me wanting to start running too, but I did start (back in April or May) and I'm still enjoying it just as much, and running 3 times a week. After a week or so of doing the programme, once he realised I was pretty serious about it, he stopped saying anything and became 'almost' supportive!

Have fun doing it, as other people have said 'Don't go too fast.. pace yourself!' and I look forward to reading about your progress on here. x

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to petraj

Thankyou, good to hear that you didn't let your husband put you off, hope I can do as well as you x

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to petraj

Thankyou, good to hear that you didn't let your husband put you off, hope I can do as well as you x

Ullyrunner profile image
UllyrunnerGraduate

You go girl! Good luck with the programme.

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to Ullyrunner

Thankyou!

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234Graduate

Diane

Just to boost your enthusiasm a bit - you might like to go to one of your local Parkruns on the Gold Coast (and you have some beauties!!) 7AM every Saturday morning - and see what people ( who haven't even done C25K) are doing . You don't have to run the 5K - plenty just walk it -- but I actually used the Parkruns to do one of each week's C25K days . I ran/walked my way through C25k via a number of Parkrun sites.

Have a look here parkrun.com.au/

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to Bazza1234

Thanks Bazza that's a great suggestion. As you say there are a few parkruns on the Gold Coast so I will certainly check them out and include it in my training. Will be good to run once a week with other enthusiastic runners.

Welcome Diane, I'm a few months older than you and graduated a few weeks ago. It took until this week for me to acheive 5k (I graduated running for 30 minutes but was week short of the fab 5). You'll be fine, and you're right! This is a fantastic, friendly, supportive forum - we are lucky indeed!

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate

Thankyou for the welcome, I am amazed how many people have responded to my initial post, feel very supported and once I get started I'm sure I will have a few work colleagues I can get interested in running.

Pigivi profile image
Pigivi

Welcome! never too old!!

CaminoPilgrim profile image
CaminoPilgrimGraduate in reply to Pigivi

Thankyou!

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