Completed C25K, it didn’t feel like I thought it would...

[NevereverrunB4]

My final run was yesterday. I managed to complete all three 30 minute runs this week but each one was really hard. I’ve had sore legs again after each run for the first time in a while. I’m covering about 5.15km during the entire workout including the 5 min warm up and cool down.

I guess I thought that by the time I reached this point and graduated it would feel easy running for 30 minutes but I still don’t feel very confident. I have to constantly battle that voice in my head telling me my legs can’t make it this time.

So my question I suppose is, where do I go from here?

[Hidden]

Wow you did it, where to go next easy! You choose there's nothing the matter with sticking to regular runs of your choosing just run because you want to and you'll enjoy it more each time 👍👍

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Congratulations on your graduation, fellow runner.

This guide to post C25k running may be helpful healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Stretching immediately after every run, nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/h... while muscles are still warm and supple, pulls out contractions, avoiding carrying tensions into the next run and also improves recovery by improving blood flow.

Keep running, keep smiling.

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Congratulations on completing C25K, well done, now go and celebrate your wonderful achievement 🏃🏾 👍 🎓

[Wenderwoo Graduate]

Congratulations 🏆👍😁🍾🥂🎉

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Congratulations! While the plan works, nobody describes it as easy. Celebrate well, give yourself an extra rest day, then consolidate until it becomes much more comfortable before choosing your next adventures.

[limberlou Graduate]

I planned my wk9r3 to coincide with my daughter’s, as we’d started together and I drove up to hers the night before to be rested. We’d really looked forward to finishing together And it was dreadful!!! It was an unfamiliar route, even though it was early it was a scorching hot morning ( couple of years ago), people got in our way, I couldn’t breathe properly ( hay fever), and I cried partway round. Really struggled to finish. Ended up shouting at my daughter that I hated running and never wanted to run again once we’d finished. I was so upset. Had a really miserable day and drove home again later that day.

2 days later I decided I’d try for my first consolidation run. Went out on my familiar run and ran for 30 minutes and then just kept going as it felt good. Ended up running for my first 5k in 40:11. Way better than my graduation run.!!! 😁

Since then I’ve had happy runs, hard runs, easy runs, long runs and a couple of painful runs but most of them have been good runs and I’m glad I didn’t give up.

Have a rest day and then just go out there and run and enjoy it. You dont have to run fast or long. But just go and enjoy running for the sake of it

Good luck 💕

[NevereverrunB4 Graduate in reply to limberlou]

Thanks for that encouragement 😊. I don’t know what I was expecting - maybe that I would miraculously be amazing at running? 😂 in truth each week has been a challenge so it shouldn’t be a surprise that week 9 was too

[limberlou Graduate in reply to NevereverrunB4]

This is my 3rd time of C25k ( after injury and illness) and I’ve just got back from wk9r2 abs could have thrown the towel in from about 7 mins onwards several times. But I remembered how I loved those longer ( slower sometimes) runs in the spring and summer... watching all the leaves and flowers unfurl along the Tarka Trail and the occasional Peter Rabbit hopping across my path and the baby geese and egrets squawking along the river side and I kept going. 🥵

And I’ve just remembered one day last summer when my daughter popped round just as I got back from a run. “ been for a run?” she asked

“ only 5k” I answered. 🤣🤣 ONLY 5k.