Hi all. I wanted to share my thoughts from my experience of C25K to date just in case any of this helps anyone else!
Routine - I only started thinking about how far I was running by about W6, before that it was more about keeping to a routine and running for the amount of time. The routine was everything - I'm now running on set days:- Friday, Sunday and Wednesday. Rest days are really important so my body can recover, although I do long walks with the dog every day, and also do 20 mins on an exercise bike on Mondays. Because I have been doing a 30/40 minute dog walk before my run I stopped doing the 5 min warm up walk, but found the 5 min cool down to really help recovery.
Routes - After trying to run through the woods with my dog in W1 I have since ran laps of a 1.5Km circuit in my village. This has enabled me to gradually increase the distance - I'm now on nearly 3 laps at W8, doing around 4.5Km. with this circuit I am never too far from home (useful in case of injury) - and the circuit includes the Doctor's Surgery!). I now want to make sure that by W9R3 I can get as close to 5Km as possible, so have downloaded an App (trying Runkeeper) to measure it more accurately. Because I am running on footpaths I usually run at 6.30am, so the streets are empty (both because of Covid and being self-conscious!)!
Clothing & footwear - The advice tends to be not to purchase loads of new stuff before you start: in fact thinking you need to do this can turn into an excuse ("I haven't got the right gear so can't..."). I used whatever I had to run in initially. Starting C25K in January, with several minutes of walking, meant that I wore several layers (it was -5C some days!) but now have reduced that as its getting a bit warmer and I am now just running. I had been using some old trainers but was getting some pains in my calfs, so at W4 I bought some new Asics trainers with more of a cushioned sole, and haven't had a problem since.
Motivation - I really look forward to my next running day, trying to achieve my next target. I get a real buzz when I get back from a run. Psychologically this helps me a lot at the moment. I am really pleased that I decided to challenge myself with this and can look back positively on this lockdown. I have shared my progress with family and work colleagues - that in itself is a motivation not to give up.
During the second lockdown I decided to grow a beard. While this was something I had never done before, it wasn't exactly difficult: for me C25K is something to be proud of.
What I've learnt in the last few days
W8R2 I hate treadmills.
Things I have learnt about running
W8R2 but nobody I know cares
Not far, but so enjoyable.
