Newbie saying hello!

[Qwerty16]

Hello All,

I'm brand new to running and have been starting and very quickly stopping a variety of types of exercises off and on for a while now. I'm in my 30s and have not done any regular exercise since I left school. I finally decided enough was enough a few weeks ago when I (belatedly!) came across Couch to 5k, but more importantly came across this forum.

Reading through how supportive you have all been of one another is really inspiring and has encouraged me to give it a go and I have just completed week 1! It sounds silly but I'm actually really proud of myself. I know I have a long way to go but I'm going to try really hard to stick to the training plan and progress to week 12.

I'm a little self conscious running in London and wondered if people had any tips for getting past this?

Thanks!

[Hidden]

Hello and welcome ☺

Well done on taking your 1st steps as they are often the hardest, this is really the best place to come for inspiration, motivation and anything really ☺

We all felt selfconscious at first but that does ease with time and really most peeps will be oblivious to you , so yeah be proud and keep at it , it is surprising how quickly the time will go ☺

Good luck and keep posting with your progress and any questions ☺

[Qwerty16 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll let you know how I get on!

[Bexd12]

Welcome  I’m only a few weeks ahead of you (Just started week 3) and I felt exactly like you, with each run I feel so proud of myself for getting out there and completing each one. If you find my post on being self conscious, there is loads of lovely comments that may apply to you. I have found that gradually working up to it worked best for me. I started off in the evening where there was few people around, and then for my next run somewhere where I know that it will be a little busier, then eventually it doesn’t matter if there’s one person or 10 people and so on! I was so scared to go out in ‘public’ but I find that nobody even looks at me at all, and I’m too concerned about my breathing that I don’t notice anyone around me either  Have you got a dog/friends dog that you can take with you? Sometimes having someone (even fury) can take your mind off your surroundings!

[misswobble Graduate in reply to Bexd12]

Welcome to C25k ☺ Stick with running. It will get you healthy. Just go nice and steady, following the podcasts/app and you'll be fine. Slow is the best way to do the job safely. It's quicker in the long run as you get to run 3 on week 9 without injury lay-offs due to overdoing things

🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

[Qwerty16 in reply to Bexd12]

Taking a friends dog is a really good idea actually. Thanks for the tip! I'll make sure to read your post too.

[Dunder2004 Graduate]

Well done for taking those first, in retrospect often the hardest, steps.

I am sure you will be just fine.

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate]

Well done for getting out of the door! Most of us have discovered that other people are just not bothered about us runners. As you run more often you'll gain confidence. Have fun!