I got on the scales this morning and was horrified at the number and so I decided it was time to actually do the podcast that has been on my iPod for ages.
So today I tackled W1 R1.
I am so unfit. Running for a minute made my heart feel like it was going to explode out of my chest. By the third minutes run I was trying not to throw up.
My Fitbit must have wondered what was going on. I know my body did!
I cannot imagine ever being able to run 5k. I may be on week 1 for a few weeks. Did anyone else struggle so much on the first run?
Yep. First week I fell over with exhaustion, was sick, lay on the floor... its all character building stuff. But as long as you keep pressing play you will progress. If it takes you a couple of weeks to overcome W1, that's fine. If it takes you 6 weeks to overcome W1, that's fine too (but it won't).
I couldn't imagine running 5k during W1 either. I couldn't quite believe it during W5 either, but every week I ran further, and by the end of W9 (W11 in realtime) I did.
The hardest part was starting, and you have succeeded in that, so well done. Be sure to get loads of rest, drink loads of water and tackle W1R2 in a couple of days. It isn't going to be easy, but it is simple. It will be hard work and you will have aches and pains and snot and sweat and other grimness that Laura doesn't mention, but the reward will be worth it.
Hi Boomakes, well done for getting out there! I just finished wk2r3 today and I totally felt the same way you did on wk1r1 (and again on wk2r1).... I literally couldn't manage the one minute runs without feeling like my chest was going to explode, my legs were going to give way and I was going to vomit or faint. I posted a very similar post to yours at the weekend, but just two little runs later the 1.5 minute runs felt easier....not easy, but less tough and I think I could have run for a bit longer tonight on each section.
If you need to stop and walk a few seconds early then do, listen to your body, it's still 30 minutes up off the sofa whether you run or brisk walk it!
Well done on starting, just take it slowly and you will get there. I don't think any of us imagined we could ever run 5K and I still wonder whether I can sometimes (even though I have done it a few times now). You will be so glad you started this and so amazed and proud of what you will achieve. Let us know how you get on you will get loads of support on here.
Haha we've all been there and suffered that. Everyone's said it already but we were all in the same or similar position and after 27 sessions or thereabouts it's possible to run for 30 minutes. Crazy but true. Don't worry about the overwhelming feelings of sickness you've only 26 more runs to say you've graduated. That graduation run is worth the countdown on its own. I'll look forward to your posts over the next few weeks.
Nah!! - I found W1D1 to be quite easy!!! But that is only because when I first saw what W1D1 of C25K entailed, I chickened out and did this 7 week training programme first mayoclinic.org/healthy-life... . But I was also 68YO at the time
I have just started week 1 too, but thank God it wasn't that bad at all for me, I managed to stay upright and drank lots.. I had envisioned the cramps and searing muscle pain I once experienced on a school 'fun run'...it sure did put me off the thought of running.. I couldn't walk for a few days after. These memories however, were counteracted by the logic that proper training should help my body work correctly/ recover, and I am also very curious to see myself run for a length without keeling over, he he. I will be truly delighted if I make it. Having my young son has made me feel very 'static' and restless, so having done the first two runs made my mood much better. Good luck x
Hi! Congratulations on your first run! Yes! I felt the same W1R1 All it seemed to do for me was show me just how unfit I was, and I didn't think I was under any illusions before I tackled it BUT, like you, I got to the end and then to the end of every successive session, just as you will it's an amazing program and you've set out on an exciting journey. Good luck with W1R2
Hahaha, it is normal I am sure as we all went through this. But isn't it amazing ? Next run will be even more surprising. Trust and amaze yourself. You are on a roll.
Well done for starting. I certainly felt exactly as you did. Just take it slow and it will get easier. I still can't believe I can run 30 minutes and you will be the same.
I thought weeks 1&2 were the hardest. I ran 25 minutes yesterday, which might just be a lifetime first, and it felt easy compared to the first 2 weeks. Don't give up - I think getting started is the biggest physical and psychological hurdle. Don't think about each run too much in advance. Get your trainers on and leave the house, and the run will take care of itself.
Listen to this one! It will keep you uninjured, give your body time to adjust to your new lifestyle. It'll make the tough runs easier and that'll help your confidence
Me!!! My first run was very much like yours and I felt a complete let down. But I went out and did the second run 2 days later and it was a little easier. Run 3 was a little easier too. I'm not saying it was a stroll in the park so to speak bur I could see a smidge of progress. What got me through was following the advice from this page - slow the jogging right down. It certainly worked. At times I feel like I'm jogging slower than I walk but I don't worry about it.
I've now completed W2 and although I'm a right mess at the end, I can complete 6 lots of 90 seconds. Such a sense of achievement. Jury's out on W3 until I've had a go but if I struggle I'll keep repeating until I can do it.
Keep going, you're doing great. Just remember not to go to fast. And please let us know how the next run goes.
OMG! I was convinced I was dying most of the time in the early weeks as well, but, as I am typing this now I clearly survived 😀 I am now on W6R2 and totally hooked (I'm 52, asthmatic, and a tad overweight so if I can do it.....) Follow the plan and take it slow and steady and if it gets too hard take it even slower. Don't worry about what comes next just do the run you are doing and be proud of yourself for starting. Good luck!
Ha - oh, yes. Just about everyone. My other half was on the verge of calling out an ambulance for me. I just about collapsed and was flat out on the sofa for a good hour, not even able to talk for the first 5-10 mins. It does get better!
Just remember to take things slow. My 'runs' were slower than my walks some days. Energetic dogwalkers regularly overtook me (even some not so energetic dogwalkers!). Stick with it.
Get out a tape measure, too. You will see a significant difference in your shape as you tone up long before you see any difference in your weight. That will come too, but not for a while, so don't dispare. Welcome to the club.
Well done Hidden on already completing the biggest challenge.
Hi. Fellow newbie here. Had an awful w1r3 yesterday - heart pounding, couldn't catch breath, even my knee has started whinging - i tried to go too fast....
Run 2 had been good, but i did that one at a much much slower pace. Others have said this already, try to slow it all right down. As we're unfit, jogging must be a huge shock to the system. I'm considering doing week one again before moving on. Good luck, we will both get there in the end.
After completing W1R1 I thought I was going to collapse. I was flushed, hot, faint, and didn't trust my legs to hold me up. I actually felt light-headed, and it's took me 30 minutes to feel somewhat normal. 12 weeks later (I took my time with the programme) I graduated. Trust the programme, trust yourself, and go slow. Good luck!
I started C25K in Sept 2014. I had undergone major surgery earlier in the year, and felt I needed to do something to get back into shape. Running for more than a minute felt like a great achievement. I followed the program to the letter, hanging on Laura's every word. When I started the program I was certain that I would hate running (as I had hated it at school all those years ago). Strangely, I found myself looking forward to the runs, and each run of the program felt like a wonderful achievement. I think it's because each week I found myself achieving what had seemed previously to be impossible
By the end of the program I was totally hooked. Being able to run for 30 minutes continuously felt amazing. I wasnt yet running fast enought to achive 5km in 30 minutes, but that's not important, 30 minutes continuously is just fantastic.
I've continued to run every week ever since. I run for 35 minutes on tuesdays and thurdays in the morning at 6am before work, and on sunday it's my long run which I have gradually increased in length. Currently 22km on sundays. Not fast, it still takes me 2hrs 22minutes, but that doesnt matter, I enjoy it, and that is all that counts.
I cannot thank Laura and C25K enough. When you say first day of the rest of your life you really don't know how right you are. Very soon you will be feeling so much better in so many ways, and you will be a running adict like so many of us Listen to the advice of folk on here. Time and time again people will tell you to run more slowly, and that is absolutely right, start the run as slowly as you can. Keep coming back here and tell us how you are doing. We want to know how you are getting on. We want you to get as much enjoyment from this as we do
Welcome aboard ! I find myself nodding and saying to myself " Yes, I felt that , yes I thought that, yes I did that " all the way through your post and the brilliant replies above.
You wont regret it, you are making one of the best decisions you will ever make for your physical and emotional well being .
Can't agree with all the above enough, the only thing that kept me going after that first dreadful run was the realisation of just how unfit I was not being able to run for even a minute, now I can run for over an hour. A word of caution: stop weighing yourself. Your scales will not be you friend during this process, they simply do not relate to what you are doing. I get so many compliments about how much weight I have lost and how wonderful I look, I have even dropped a dress size but the scales disagree. If I were only weighing myself, I would have given up ages ago. I have changed shape, I look leaner and feel fantastic, my skin has improved and I'm not nearly as moody as I was; all of which is far more important than a number on a stupid machine so don't let those pesky scales put you off.
You've done absolutely the hardest part by deciding do your first run. Just go as slowly as you possibly can, then slow down a bit more. Even if you're overtaken by toddlers, wheelchair users and nannas on crutches it doesn't matter. Speed doesn't matter, it's all about building stamina. Very best of luck, you can so do this!!
Heehee you won't be the first! We had a lovely lady on here who was overtaken by a duck. At first she was quite upset, but then saw the funny side thank goodness.
Who cares if you spend more time on a week? You are still lapping the couch people. Guilty secret alert, I watch Obese a year to save your life and the trainer says "get comfortable with being uncomfortable." That pops into my head when I struggle. I have MS and during week 1 I couldn't imagine running for 5 mins never mind 30. At the weekend I ran down the Southbank from Battersea into the City, a 6 km run. It still amazes me I can do that! Keep going, we are all here for you
As the wonderful Rignold says... you have done the hardest bit... starting!
Keep posting, the support is great, we will encourage, cajole, sympathise and give you a shove if necessary.... and tell you off if you go too FAST!!!!!
It is hard, in the first week I thought I would never get any further... and was so proud when I made week 2 ; your body and your mind will really wonder what the heck is happening!
But, stick with the programme, slow and steady and as Rig say...
No one says it is going to be easy...but it is going to be soooooo worth it!
It's a killer isn't it?? Then by the third time you go that run you notice you're getting your breath back quicker. That's the beginning of your fitness increasing. Repeat week 1 if you want but to begin with each run will be hard as the programme takes you to your limit each time. Then you think you're going to die. THEN you realise that , yes, it's frightful but blimey, now you are running for 15 minutes! That wasn't happening s few weeks ago! Trust the programme. You are in the best place and well done for starting!
Well done, BooMakes! Getting out of your front door is the hardest step. I bet you find W1,R2 just a little bit easier than R1. You can do it! If I can, anyone can, I promise you - and everyone here will help and encourage you. Think of us all cheering you on! (We are!) I am redoing the programme after a long break, and I have lost so much fitness that I found it a challenge, so I truly sympathise. I am far from being a natural runner but I really enjoy it, though I have no aspirations to win races or run huge distances.
Good luck, and remember we're all here to share your triumphs and concerns.
Hi, and welcome to the big and friendly world of runners!
Firstly, most of us have been there! I have, my wife has etc, etc, and we are all still around ~ it can and HAS been done by hundreds, if not thousands of us.
As far as repeating W1 goes, just do it if you need to. I have repeated weeks, dropped back a week, and put in extra runs or time. I graduated...eventually.
One final piece of advice/recommendation: watch the Yiutube video, 'running for my existence'. just look at what Rog achieved, and continues to do. If you need inspiration, you fine it here; and if you need support on anything, you will find it in abundance on this site.
I did my first run yesterday and it was a big struggle. I feel you, totally! I have a lot of weight to lose and really need to tone up and get fit. My struggle was leg pain and my breathing was very hard as I do have mild asthma which has never bothered me unless I have a proper good old belly laugh I do feel ok this morning though a little achy in the legs but I think that is to be expected. I have seen what others have accomplished on here and its encouraging to see they started exactly the same but stayed with it and now can run more than they thought they ever would and better still enjoy doing it. Keep at it and I am sure you will have great results. I look at it this way, if I give in and say no it's too hard - when will I ever do anything to help myself again? Im new here and the support is already fantastic
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Never ran a day in my life!
rest day but wanted to run.
How important are rest days? 
Race for Life 2018 - my first race, first bling
Alternative exercise on rest days?
