Feeling awesome, I graduated yesterday! Grateful for the support this forum has given me :)

[rgt99]

Hey everyone!

I've been lurking in the forums, occasionally reading what other people on my week are feeling.

Never really felt the need to post until now.

I'm an 18 year old male so the general age demographic that seems to undertakesthe couch to 5k program is a bit older than me, atleast judging from this forum. But i would still like to share my journey as I've come to this forum quite a few times when i felt unmotivated.

Personally my fitness has never been anything stellar, i was always a slacker at sport in school and the last few years i stopped partaking in sports altogether. However i wasn't too unhealthy, just on the chubby side.

But my first year in university I found myself in a bit of a shallow place mentally, and that led to a lot of stress eating. I would stay up late and order chinese takeout and would find myself eating bowls that should serve two people.

The past few months i decided to make a change in my life. It started with eating healthier and logging my food.

Then i started c25k. I was looking for something I could do in my own time, because the gym intimidates me. Most guys my age have such different body types to mine and seeing them in the gym doesn't help my self esteem in any way.

The first few weeks were quite difficult, and by week 2 I had pretty bad pain in my achilles area. I decided to take a break and do a few weeks of lighter exercise indoors before I go out and run again, and that turned out to be a great decision. A few weeks later I found myself cruising through runs and actually enjoying them. By week 5 or so I started noticing that my fitness levels had improved and I didn't actually need a day of complete rest inbetween runs(note that this varies from person to person and if your body tells you you need rest, you need rest). I used the days i wasn't running to either go cycling on a nearby cycle trail or do a bodyweight workout at home (pushups, squats, that sort of thing).

Coupled with a relatively clean diet, I'm proud to say I've gone from 88 kg to a little under 80, and feel a lot better mentally from when i started. To be honest the mental health boost was so much more motivating than the changes in my body.

I really enjoy running now and am planning to do another week of 30 minute runs and then sign up for my local parkrun!

Good luck to anyone else out there working through the program!

[misswobble Graduate]

Fantastic! Well done 💪👍😃. It’s great that you embarked on Operation You! Getting slimmer, fitter, healthier inside and out. Running is a great distraction exercise and really helps with low mood and decision-making. Running is a great time to mull things over in your head I find 😃

So, keep on running. Once you start running further, and are out there for longer, your weight will continue to reduce. Providing you eat and drink healthily of course 👍

Couch to 5k+ Stepping Stones podcasts, Ju-Ju’s 10 is The Magic Number programme then Sami Murphy podcasts are the logical next steps. All free and many hours of running - slowly and carefully of course. Parkrun is a blast too 👍😃

[rgt99 Graduate in reply to misswobble]

oh thanks for those resources, i find myself really liking the guided podcast thing so i'll check those out

[misswobble Graduate in reply to rgt99]

They are voiced over by Laura of the original podcasts so you’re in good hands. It’s Audiofuel too but don’t let that put you off The speeds are very varied but bear in mind slow is good for the legs. They speed up though be assured 👍🙂

[Oldlady57]

Congratulations graduate. Fantastic achievement on both fronts. May your successful journey continue 🥇🎓👏👏

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

What an inspiring post from you 'rgt99', you are correct in saying that 18 is on the young side for people starting C25K. Statistics tell us that the average age for starters is between 40 and 50, then between 51 and 60, however, every age is welcomed. It was 5 weeks before my 72nd birthday when I ran week 1 run 1 and graduated 3 weeks after I turned 72, my first full 5K was just last Saturday. I hope you enjoy your graduation badge. To get it and the word Graduate on the right-hand side of your username, leave a message on the October Graduate post in the pinned posts on the right-hand side of the Healthunlocked C25K Homepage,

[Hidden]

Well done rgt99! Awesome work💪You should be so proud of your achievements🙌You must be feeling so much fitter & stronger... & I bet you’re looking sharp too! I truly believe running is an escape from our every day lives, a place to let go of stress & worry! Stick with it, I wish I’d found it sooner! Enjoy your first parkrun🏃‍♂️ & keep motivated... The world is your oyster & you have the determination & freedom to do anything you dream!

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Congratulations! What’s impressive is the age really... well done deciding to do this so young, I wish I’d done it a few years ago.

Enjoy consolidation and you’re gonna love parkrun.

[rgt99 Graduate]

thanks everyone for the lovely comments!

[Amandana]

Woohoo rgt99!! Stick with it!

Thanks for sharing your story, helps spur us to keep at it through those tough times, and so glad to hear that your finding c25k is helping with both your mental and physical health!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Many congratulations on your graduation fellow runner.

This guide to post C25K running may be helpful healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Please don't think that you are immune to the advice not to run every day. Even with youth on your side, you are still a new runner and many fit youngsters have gone onto regret their decision to do more than their body is conditioned to do. (Testosterone has scoot to answer for).

When you run you create microtears in your muscles which repair and strengthen on your rest days, not while running. No rest, no strengthening, therefore increased injury risk. It takes many months for that risk to reduce significantly, so please take care.

Keep running, keep smiling.

[TailChaser Graduate]

Wow! What a fantastic post rgt99. You’ve made such a brilliant decision to do this, I hope it brings you many years of health and happiness.

My 16 year old is currently half way through the course. He hates school sports and is not competitive in sports at all. However C25k is the most positive I’ve ever seen him when it comes to any exercise other than swimming. He now volunteers at Parkrun and is looking forward to running in it in 4 weeks time (never thought I’d say that!). We have a history of diabetes in my family and I saw that in his future until now. He has just started thinking about university and I will show him your post as I think it will help inspire him to keep going once C25k is over.

Thank you ever so much for posting, your story will help many others. Hope to see you on the Bridge to 10k forum soon, and you’ll love Parkrun!