On W2 - What speed on treadmill?

[undesiredusername]

Hi Everyone,

What a lovely forum this is.

I am on W2 and have been doing the C25K on a treadmill (plan to head outside over the next couple of weeks).

Was wondering if anyone else out there is using a treadmill? If so, what speeds are you walking / jogging?

I have been walking at 5.2kph and jogging at 6.3kph, which was fine for W1, but I found W2R2 really difficult tonight. My muscles felt tired, and not really up to the job! (in fact I didn't actually complete all the runs). Not sure if it's because I had a really busy week at work, or if I'm going to fast for my level of fitness?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Julie

[gary_bart]

The beginning can be very hard. Be gentle on yourself; you've got enough months left in the year to do weeks over if need be (this is something I have done, myself).

From what I can remember, 5km/h was the beginning of the "brisk" zone for walking, and 7km/h to 8km/h was where it became pretty much impossible to walk (without training at race walking). Now a lot of people here have succeeded by starting at a running speed that is as slow as walking speed, so in your case, if you're suffering too much at over 6km/h, you might want to see if you can find yourself a second jogging speed that's slower than this. Then what I would do (but you must suit yourself) would be to start out at the new slower speed, and gradually tap on the + button till you hit 6.3. In fact you can try things like 6.4, too, for short times.

You'll hit some resistance level, so back it off from there, and work yourself back down to "slow jog 1" quite quickly, and try to get your breathe back whilst in a running gait. If you do get some puff back, adjust the speed upwards again. Mess around between your new "fixed points", and occasionally be bold for a few seconds.

All of this must be read in the context of paragraph 1.

[Bonniesingh Graduate]

Well done for starting the programme . I think the idea is to very gradually increase the length of time you can run/jog, so speed is not an issue at all. If you are running , you are running,however slowly. I run VERY slowly , but that is better than sitting on the sofa. If you run at less than 6.3 km/hr you are still running . Slowly you may get quicker, but it doesn't really matter. Just try to complete the minutes in the podcast, however slowly . Good luck. You are doing great!!

[CrazyCat1973 Graduate]

I currently only use a treadmill (as I don't have the confidence to bee seen out wobbling around!!)

I started Week 1 at 4.5 kph walking and 6 kph jogging

since I've got through the weeks I now do 5 kph walk and 6.5 kph jog

I'm now trying (and failing miserably) to do Week 5 run 3

start slow, you'll find your own comfort level, speed doesn't matter. My plan is to complete the programme then increase my speed over time.

Good luck

[undesiredusername in reply to CrazyCat1973]

This was great advice CrazyCat. It made me realise that I hadn't left enough of a gap between my walking speed and my running speed.

I know what you mean about the wobbly buts. I went outside tonight - I actually found it easier than using the treadmill. I felt slightly embarrassed when I passed 2 of my neighbours, but they both gave me a big smile and I felt encouraged.

I hope you managed to get through W5R3 : )

[AdamB Graduate]

Can you get off the treadmill and get outside to run? If so, you don't have to worry about what speed you are moving at. All you need to do when running outside is to tackle the running sections as slowly as possible - and then slow down. Speed doesn't matter at this stage.

It's sometimes a mistake to even try and calculate how far you ran. Just concentrate on how long you ran for. That's the only thing that matters right now.

[undesiredusername]

Thank you all for your encouraging replies. I found them really helpful. I have stopped worrying about the speed, and have slowed it down.

I started W2 from scratch again on Tuesday (on the treadmill). I found dropping my walking speed to 5 kph really helped. This evening I finally went outdoors and made it through the W2R2 barrier.

I had no idea what speed I was going ... and it didn't matter. I really liked being outside - there's plenty to look at and you don't get as hot as on the treadmill.

[gary_bart in reply to undesiredusername]

Well done for being brave and going out there. I know (many of us do) that this is a really difficult step to take, but, as you can see, it's worth it - and then some. It looks a bit like this is now going to be your preferred running place (at least until the cold gets too cruel)?