This day last year, 5 days after my 58th birthday, I ventured nervously out to do W1D1, and I remember all too well how much of a challenge those 60 second runs were!
Since then, I've done 220 runs. Since I bought a Garmin at the beginning of March (the start of week 6) I've run 1,373Km.
I graduated at the end of March, In June, I ran my first race, a local 10K, that I completed in 1:04:37
In August, I ran in a 5 mile race organised by the running club I now belong to. 48:21
In September, I squeezed another 10K race into the training I was doing for the Oxford Half Marathon. I was pleasantly surprised to go sub-60 for the first time - 59:25!
In October I ran the Oxford Half Marathon, and was delighted not only to finish it without walking any, but also at my time of 2:12:25
After that I joined a running club and have had a great time running with them.
In December I ran the QE London Olympic Park 10K in 57:57.
This weekend, it's the London Winter Run 10K, when I'm hoping to meet lots of fellow C25Kers.
I'm training now for the North London Half in March, where the finish line is inside Wembley Stadium.
When you think running is too tough, and that you can't hack it, slow down, believe in yourself, and just keep running. The more you run, the better you'll become, and remember all the time that the only person you're competing with is yourself. Don't be put off by other people that are faster than you, or run huge distances, just focus on doing the best you can do. Running is a fantastic thing, and gives so much in terms of physical and mental health, as well as the social aspect of it.
Yep you just have to break things down into manageable, bite sized pieces.
Congrats on your runniversary!!!!! How the time flies. I'm 58 too and like you I thought I'd never get myself fit. I had to go from fat to fit too but so glad I did
We all have inner reserves, we just have to dig deep sometimes to find them.
I ran 5k today as well Steve. We can't stop now we've started. Good though ey
Wow happy runniversary Steve and thank you so much for the encouragement. I'm on week 2 run 3 tomorrow and finding it far from easy thinking that maybe 50 was a bit late to start but I feel totally inspired by your achievements.
Best of luck for the North London Half and may you long continue to enjoy your runs.
Congratulations on your Runniversary Steve, you're a credit to C25K. I'm hoping to get back into it when my Sports Injury Specialist / Chiropractor's sorted me out i.e. finished beating the cr@p out of me!
It probably sounds impossible for those of you still struggling to get to grips with Laura, but it does get easier as you go through the weeks. Well done Steve you've come a long way in a year - 1378km
Nice one, Steve. Happy runniversary. I think you can definitely say that you've caught the running bug. I see you've got the London Winter Run next and a half marathon planned in for March. What are you thinking about beyond that?
Town and Gown 10K in May, and at least two more halves. I'll probably repeat most of the races I did this year, too. Depending on how this year goes, I'm finding myself contemplating what I thought was impossible for me - maybe a marathon in 2017.
I've started going on the long weekend runs with the club. The last three sundays have been 11.5, 14 and 12 miles.
Fantastic achievement and so inspirational, good on you! I'm reading after completing week 3 tonight, totally exhausted from the 3 minute runs... Reading this gives me hope, thanks for sharing! 😀
This is a fab encouragement thanks. I did couch to 5K last Nov/Dec and ran my first 5K in Dec (fun run). I must admit I got very lax over Christmas and have only just got into it again. I ran a PB tonight of 29.19 5K. I have signed up for a 10K in April I hope I will be ready. Should I work towards a time for 10K or just run it without stopping?
That's a fast 5K for a new graduate - well done! April's a decent distance away to prepare for a 10K race. I'd play it by ear; don't put too much pressure on yourself by too ambitious a time target. See how you go building up to 10K. It's not that hard a distance, I found it was more a matter of finding a pace that you can easily sustain and just relax into it to start with. I ran my first 10K a week after graduating.
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