Hi,
I just did my first 'run' today. I'm a keen walker and do 4k every day, but I've never done any running. So day 1 was a complete fail! I didn't manage 60 seconds of running, probably only 30 seconds. I had to miss out one run completely, and apart from the first one, none of my walks were brisk!
So, do I just repeat week 1 until I can do it properly?
Were you doing it like this?
youtube.com/watch?v=9L2b2kh...
Ah! Now I see the problem - it's my shoes.😁
Not your speed ???
Well, I walk faster than the Japanese guy runs, so I can't see the point of running slower than I normally walk. My real question is whether I'm supposed to keep repeating week 1 until I can do it. I can't see any advice on the website about this. The assumption seems to be that everyone can manage to run for 60 seconds.
so... why couldn't you JOG for more than 30 seconds ? What was stopping you?
You're missing the point of that video - and yes, it's slower than many people's walk.
You're trying to 'run' when in fact you'd be far better ... jogging. We call it conversational pace - a pace at which you can chat easily. If you can't do that while you're 'running', then as a beginner, no matter how many miles you're currently walking (which is great btw), then you are simply going too fast. Carry on like that and you'll get discouraged very quickly , possibly give up and think C25K is rubbish.
It's not - but it's about finding the correct pace . And that pace is S L O W.
the assumption is that if you go at the correct pace, then you'll be able to 'run' (jog!) the 60 seconds, not just once but 8 times, as Week 1 Run 1 asks you to. And W1R2, and W1R3.
And yes, you should repeat W1R1 until you've managed it. W1R2 and W1R3 are the same structure.
Well it nearly killed me, so no assumptions here!. Also it is OK to "run" slower than your brisk walking pace, so did I.
It's a completely different action .
To answer your question, yes complete all the elements/sections before moving onto the next.
Don't be concerned about speed, or be sceptical about the programme it works really well.
This is a very supportive forum too, you'll get lots of good advice 😊
The mantra here is Slow Down, do read the guide to the plan and slow down some more I’ve run in the past so expected it to be easy, my first post states “I sounded like a sick steam train and Willow was bent double gasping for breath” I thought it might even be the end of him
We ran slower next time and slower again the time after that until we found a pace we could keep going and slowly, with extra rest days, repeating runs we managed to graduate, the rest is not relevant at this point but towards the end of the programme we realised our easy slow pace was actually faster than our out of breath first few runs
It’s not easy, it’s hard but the rewards are amazing
Good luck in your running adventure
Thanks for all the advice. I'll try again and find the speed that will allow me to run for 60 seconds.
You need to slow down to a pace that will allow you to JOG for 60 seconds ... 8 times 
That's what W1R1 is (and W1R2 and W1R3)
Let's call that 8 minutes in total. Which is useful to think about compared to the maximum 30 seconds that you were able to manage.
So you need to slow down enough to enable you to 'run' (JOG!) 16 times longer (8 minutes divided by 30 seconds) than you originally managed. That should give you some idea of how much slower you need to go.
You are not 'running for the bus' or 'running to rescue things from a burning house'. Nope... you should be jogging: nice, easy, comfortable. And if that means going slower than your brisk walk, so be it.
GOLDEN RULE: if you are out of breath, if you can't comfortable talk (Google the 'talk test', while you are 'running', then you are going too fast and should slow down until your breathing is comfortable.
One of the biggest failings with C25K and the numerous apps, if that they don't explain that for a beginner 'runner' (no matter how fit they are in other exercises), they need to go really really slowly.
Far too many people have images and memories associated with running that mean 'speed' (Bolt, Farah etc) when in fact, C25K should really be done by jogging. Once you can do 3x 30 minutes of jogging (JOGGING!) continuously in Week 9, THEN you can start to think about how to progress your pace or distance.
How does this look to you:
youtube.com/watch?v=ep3vRgO...
Crikey, you could do some damage to a trotter running in those 🤯, he covered a lot of ground with apparently no effort at all.
He's running in sandals 😱. That's the sort of pace I do, but I have short legs so have to do more steps to cover the distance. 138 less half your age? I don't think I could run that slow 🤣 (107spm), I average 124-132
Even with sandals, he was running faster than me! We had a windy afternoon here, and I ran into the wind the entire time. It felt like I spent 30 minutes on an incline. Ugh. But...week 1 is done!
Hidden you only fail C25K if you permanently head back to the couch. Read this before you start and plenty of inspiration posts on this forum. Enjoy your running.
Week 1 Day 1 - Oooooofffttttttt!
Week 1 Run 1 completed
Week 1 of Couch to 5K
Beginner
Week 1 done (in 4 days)
