I graduated today at a Parkrun! And 5 things I've learnt from doing C25K...

[RD001]

So pleased! I graduated today! Thank you to everyone who is on this forum as it is a great supportive environment. Thanks especially to Atalaya for giving me the idea to graduate at a Parkrun. People today were very supportive and a chap who had finished (probably at least 10 mins before me and was walking to cool down) ran the last 150m with me to help me to finish! So kind!

So, for anyone who is thinking about whether this is for them, I have my top 5 reasons for doing C25K:-

1. You definitely improve your fitness - stairs are much easier and you have more energy for everyday living (even cleaning the house!!)

2. You lose weight (well I did - nearly a stone in 9 weeks but I am obese - BMI 33 now 31)

3. You encourage your family to get fitter. My 13 yo daughter has been out with me on many occasions and it resulted in a win in the 800m at Sports Day (I'm definitely taking some credit for that one). Also the cool down meant that we talked - a rare thing to do with a teenager addicted to Netflix!

4. You realise that you CAN run and it is not just for an elite group of people.

5. It improves your general self esteem and makes you realise that you can achieve a lot more than you gave yourself credit for...

As a treat for myself I've purchased the Garmin 610 and look forward to continuing with the running. Not sure what my future plan is yet so if there are any graduates with advice I'd like to hear from you!

Thanks

Rachel.

[Hidden]

congratulations, thats a lovely post to read, and makes me want to finish c25k even more now, thank you! i'm mid week seven, and the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine a bit brighter

[RD001 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

You can do it!! Only 1.5 weeks - a final push and you'll be there.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

What a brilliant way to graduate. Congratulations, fellow runner. Welcome to the graduate club.

[poppypug Graduate]

Brilliant Rachel ! Many Congratulations to you on your Graduation and to do it in style with a Park Run too !

Thats definitely a Double Brucie Bonus !

Great that your daughter has caught the bug too - Fab !

Hope you have asked for your badge, Wear it with pride

Well done ! xxx

[RD001 Graduate in reply to poppypug]

Thanks v much Poppypug! You're so supportive on this site. Thanks again from me and the countless others you help xx

[poppypug Graduate in reply to RD001]

Thank you ! That's really kind of you xxx

[Hidden]

Superb RD BIG BIG congratulations a well deserved reward for all your hard work

And dare I say another new convert to the additive world of running

[RD001 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks v much Rob! I agree it's kind of addictive. I'm thinking about the 5-10k programme now. Did you do that?

[Hidden in reply to RD001]

I was working my way upto 10k but did my own thing really ..

[RD001 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I'm away in Mallorca soon and don't want to lose my fitness but it was so hot this morning I'm not sure how I'll manage. Maybe do my own thing there and then look at something more structured as that would suit me more I think. Thanks ever so much for your post.

[Madge50 Graduate]

Well done you, what a buzz! Future plan? Just enjoy what you have achieved, at the moment, however, park run is addictive, you're in now, so it's too late.........you'll be working towards your 50 runs shirt, then the 100........then the 250........

Happy days! And congratulations once again.😄

Mx

[Coddfish Graduate]

Congratulations on completing and also on your first Parkrun

[RD001 Graduate in reply to Coddfish]

Thanks v much x

[Irishprincess Graduate]

Many congratulations to you. It really is a great achievement and you should be well chuffed. And to graduate at parkrun is an added bonus too.

What to do next? Why not just run for fun for a few weeks just because you can, but then the world is your oyster. You could do the speed and stamina podcasts here, you could do the whole programme again but running faster in the run bits and running slower in the walk bits or you could vary your runs each week, like many do, and run 1 5K, 1 fast interval (about 3K) and one longer run. Make sure you don't increase the total weekly distance by more than 10%. This is a great way to increase your distance if that's what you want to do.

Or you could try a few little hills!

Just do what you want to and most of all enjoy it!

[RD001 Graduate in reply to Irishprincess]

Wow! Thanks! So much food for thought! I like the idea of being quite unrestricted - but just for a short time as I need a structure to life!

[Hidden in reply to RD001]

I felt like that too and just listened to the week 9 podcast for the first few runs after graduating. Then eventually you start to feel like you can just do what you want and that you want to just run with your own music or even without headphones. You don't have to try and go faster or further (unless you really want to) - just keeping running is the main thing. Congrats

[Pigivi]

Congratulations!!! Nice reward too well done and it's great to finish c25k with a Parkrun (did my very first one today too!)

[RD001 Graduate in reply to Pigivi]

Well done us!!

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Congratulations! I hope you're feeling very proud of your achievement.

[Hidden]

Well done ! Graduation...5k in the bag....AND a park run ! That's the way to do it, very impressive. Whatever you do, don't stop there you have obviously got lots of potential so look forward to hearing that you've beaten your park run time in a few weeks.

[ridingstar Graduate]

Very well done, I think just enjoy running for a few weeks and stick with park runs they are addictive Happy running !!

[RD001 Graduate]

Thanks Ridingstar. I've been to spinning tonight. Tomorrow will be a test to see how exhausted I feel