Week 1, Run 1. Feeling confident (ish).

[Simon_RM]

Very happy today.

After 6-8 months of working from home due to mental health issues which took me by surprise and became overwhelming, not getting much sleep, eating badly, and going to bed at silly o'clock, I decided it was the right time to do something about it and start a new regime!

Set my alarm last night, and was up at 6 (OK 6:10, I snoozed once), slipped on some old joggers (usually referred to as my fat pants), and a fleece, ate a quick banana (discovered fruit!), sipped some water, and feeling anxious, scared, and hoping it was early enough that not many people would see me, I set out.

And I did it! Well, mostly... I did skip one 60 second running section opting for a quicker walking pace due to some icy, slippy ground, but I added a few seconds to my next sessions, safety first.

So happy now and looking forward to the next session, though hopefully with a better planned route.

If anyone's gotten this far down my excited ramblings, quick question, my calf muscles seemed to seize up after the run, stairs seemed an impossible challenge for most of the morning, please tell me this is normal and will get better?

Planning Week 1, Run 2 for Friday morning, and I'm going to keep getting up early and use non-running days to read peacefully before getting the kids ready for school, working out the grey matter on rest days.

Just thought I'd share, sorry for babbling.

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Wow what an achievement, well done that’s the hardest run done

The word on here is slow down, aching hip slow down sore calves slow down

Look up slow Japanese slow running on google,

Drink loads of water and do read the guide to the programmer

Oh and welcome to the best forum for support and encouragement

Stretch your calves a bit you asked them to do something new they will get sore

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Congratulations on starting C25K with run 1 of week 1, to avoid any injury, walk at least for 5 minutes before you run, drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, you can repeat any runs or week's if you wish to, keep ridgidly to the program, no running on consecutive days as that could cause a injury, good luck, onwards and upwards and enjoy the runs. 🏃🏾 👍

[Hidden]

Well done! You have taken the first step on your C25k journey, and the first is always the hardest and the biggest one to take!

Welcome to the forum. There are lots of people here to support you on your journey. Do post after each run, as it is a great way to keep yourself motivated and to keep in touch with others at the same stage as you.

I'm now in week 7 and this is my third run at C25k. I started last spring and got to week 9 when I was forced to stop with an injury. I tried again in September but wasn't healed up. It was my New Year's Resolution to try again, so here I am!

With regards to calf aches and pains, there are a few things you could try. Don't under estimate the importance of hydration to your muscles, even in these early stages. You are asking your body to do a lot, so drink 2-3 litres on both run and rest days. Stretches are invaluable after a run and should help to avoid injury. You need to stretch whilst your muscles are still warm. The following ones are from the NHS website and they are great:

nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/h...

Good luck and keep posting!

[Hidden]

Well done on starting the program and welcome to the forum. Be prepared to become addicted 😂 You’ll get plenty of advice and encouragement here, so keep posting to update us on your progress.

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

Well done on getting started.

This post contains all crucial info that you need to get through it successfully healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Good luck and have fun! 👍🏻😁

Don't worry, babbling is normal here! 🤣👍🏻

[55Milly Graduate]

Well done for getting started - you did it!! Only advice I can give you about aching calves is to make sure you do some stretching post run - it worked for me (walking on tip toes and then on heels for 30 seconds each one worked really well for me) - oh and drink lots of water afterwards - helps in recovery!

As I say - well done for getting started!

[Simon_RM]

Thank you all for the words of support and the advice. Calves are feeling better today, just the aches I had expected now

Looking forward to Friday mornings session now.