Well, here goes! Having reached the age of 45, I've reached a real low in my fitness levels - I literally cannot walk upstairs without my heart beating faster and feeling like I need a few deep breaths.
I've been wanting to get fitter for ages, but I have a desk-based job which means that I barely move all day. Then when I get home and have tea, I just sit on the sofa for the rest of the evening. I feel unfit, sluggish but ready for a change.
I really hope that it means it when it says "Couch" to 5K, because you can't get much more couch potato than me at the moment!
Looking to do my first run on Tuesday morning (then Thursdays and Sundays) - I'm an early riser, so I'm happy to get up a bit earlier and do my run before work.
Wish me luck! I'll report back on Tuesday and let you know how it went....
Written by
AikenDrum
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Good Luck! You're going to love it (most of the time! ;)) Lots of us here were the very couch potato you describe... I'm the same, desk job, on my bottom in the evening, was knackered going upstairs with the washing, couldn't chase my kids... It works, I promise! Stick with it, lots of lovely people here will support you all the way x
You have come to the right place , we all very much or less started the same as you with no exercise since the dreaded PE at school
Take it slow and steady, and please post on here after your run as it really helps in keeping you focused and motivated and its really good to look back and see how far you have come .
All the very best of luck to you, you can do this ! xx
Well done and good luck. I did the programme a while back, and didn't know about this forum then. How I wish I had - everyone is so encouraging and supportive. You will love it (most of the time!).
I got to the point this summer where I was six to seven stone overweight on a 4ft 10 frame and could barely walk up the stairs as it hurt my arthritic knees. I knew if I didn't do something drastic, I'd pretty soon be disabled for life. So I started a serious diet with Slimming World and began the C25K, very very slowly. Since September, I've lost 3.5 stones, graduated from the C25K at Xmas and can now easily (tho still very slowly) run a non-stop 5K. If I can do it, there's absolutely no reason that you can't!! My main advice would be to run really slowly to start with, especially on the early weeks when the running time increases quite quickly. And feel free to repeat weeks if you need to. I took four months to graduate but i got there in the end! Good luck and let us know how you get on. x
Welcome you will be great..you will love running..and before you know it you will be someone's inspiration for c25k enjoy.. best inform your partner soon to be bored silly with run talk.. my man now rolls is eyes glazes over when I start x
There's a lot of us who could have written your post!
I didn't have the NHS app with Laura coaching or this forum until week 4 so you have done good ground work starting here.
I found the programme hard at first. Very hard. A lot of it was anxiety and being 'seen' by people. I just couldn't breathe! I actually stopped, donned my lycra whilst walking the dog (no-one else probably even noticed but it helped my mind!) and upped my walking pace for 2 weeks and then started again.
Had a wee blip on week 4 but am starting week 7 tomorrow and have had no thoughts of stopping. I've even read running websites etc!!
The main thing is knowing that you want to/ have to do it.
Go out slow. Everyone says it but we really mean s l o w.
Just try and finish each section and run.
Once you get going the progress is unbelievable.
Post on here, take and ask advice as needed it can really help.
You have got over the first hurdle and that is acknowledging you need to do something about it and doing c25k is a great way of proving to yourself that you can do it. 6 weeks ago I decided to do something about sorting both my weight and fitness level out, 6 weeks ago I stupidly thought surely I could jog for 60 seconds... How wrong was I !!!!!
With the support of everyone on here ( not mentioning names till week 9 is over!!, but they know who they are)and Laura's guidance yesterday I completed 25 minutes non stop (wk6 run 3).
Tomorrow is week 7 and looking forward to it.
Just do as Laura says and do it at your own pace just make sure you post how you have done on here, we all Have one thing in common that by the end of the 9 weeks we can run for 30 minutes none stop.
Welcome on board and congratulations on taking the first step in deciding you're going to do this.
You really can, and you'll find this forum and these lovely people the most supportive and encouraging aspect of your journey (I guess you've got a feel for that already with all these messages)
Good luck in the morning and let us all know how you get on!
Well, I did it! I am now sitting on my sofa with a pleasant ache-y feeling in my legs!
The run itself wasn't too bad - I can't say I really enjoyed it, but half-an-hour out of my day seems like a worthwhile investment. During the run, I could feel it most in my calves (which ached), which I put down to lack of use of those muscles. However, my feet felt really crampy, and that didn't really stop until I was back home. I might try a different pair of trainers next time, to see if that makes a difference.
I'm hoping that everything will "bed in" a bit over the next few weeks so that I can run a bit more freely. I don't feel like a natural runner at the moment!
To sum up, I'm pleased that I did it, and I'm keen to keep it up - my next run is on Thursday. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement, it really does help!
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For those just starting Couch to 5K
