Twice in a very few days I’ve been told not to do as I did! So naughty 👿!
Firstly, I didn’t take a rest day & I ran on two consecutive days! I now understand the reason for not doing as I did with the higher risk of injury, so I won’t repeat that one!
Then today, on W5R3 I did the warm up walk & started off on the 20 minute run, but at the end when Laura says ‘you’ve done it, now go back to a warm down walk’, I decided I was enjoying it too much & carried on running for a few more minutes!
I’ve been advised to resist the temptation of doing more & that I really should stick to the plan.
I couldn’t see any harm & if anything I thought it will be good as I attempt to get to 5K in a few weeks .
What are the reasons for this?
Isn’t it good to do a little more if it is manageable?
I need advising why my latest misbehaviour is not good 😌!
Thank you 😉 x
Written by
hells_bells2207
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I don't think anyone considers a grown adult to be naughty if they don't follow the plan, but if you get injured whilst doing so, you will probably feel very foolish.
The plan works as it is and while you may get away with doing more............you might not and I can show you posts from those who regretted doing too much too soon.
We are all capable of doing way more than our bodies are conditioned to do, but not without increasing our injury risk. Sticking to gently progressive training plans is the safest way to push our limits, whilst gently increasing our resistance to injury.
Injury often strikes out of the blue and can stop you for days, weeks or even months.
The choice is yours, but if you keep posting here about exceeding the plan, we will keep pointing out to others that it is not the wisest route forward.
This FAQ Post, while basically addressing speed, attempts to explain why the structure of C25K works to develop your running body healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
The same principles apply to intensity, duration and frequency of running.
Don't delete your post! A bit of 'naughty' humour never goes amiss as far as I'm concerned.
But you've been warned.
I shall re-iterate ... beginner runners are at their most vulnerable to injury when they are ... beginners. It takes 1-2 years (yes years) of regular (regular) running for your body to adapt the stresses and strains of it. Stick to the program, respect it and it *should* treat you well .
3 runs a week, eg Mon/Wed/Fri or similar. Run to the times as advised, NOT distance.
Totally agree John_W I was only thinking yesterday that it’s taken just over a year to feel more comfortable and less niggly, and that the body is always adapting. 😊
Hi, I assume you are referring to the replies that I sent to you ?Firstlyno-one is 'Telling you what to do or not to do '
You can make your own decisions.
I am simply offering advice .
It's great to see your enthusiasm but please don't let that be your downfall.
C25k is a proven plan, proven by the millions of people who have successfully completed it, and in the most cases, without injury.
There have also been those who have ignored the plan , the rest days and the timings and probably a fair few that got away with it but also many who ended up injured .
As I said in my previous responce about rest days , overuse injuries often happen out of the blue and can put you out for days, weeks or even months .
The best way to avoid that is to stick to the plan ,
Why would you take the risk if you want to be the best runner you can ?
There have been many gone before you who thought they knew better untill they ended up injured .
Don't join them !
There are 122,000 members on this forum and we are here to help and support them in the best way we can and that includes giving proven sound advice .
And as already mentioned by IannodaTruffe , if someone posts about ignoring or exceeding the plan then we need to and will continue to point that out .
Hope that answers your question and enjoy the rest of the program SAFELY
My joking clearly did not come through in this post. I joked about being mischievous & being told what to do, however it seems that I was taken seriously by a few.
I apologise if being too flippant.
I’ll probably go & delete the post.
I only wanted answers as I didn’t know why I couldn’t run 23 mins instead of 20. That is all.
You can run 23 minutes, no problem. But that mindset might carry over to other runs, so you'll continue to extend each run cos you feel good and it feels manageable BUT ... the load (the forces) on your body may be too much and suddenly your knees/ankles/calves/hamstrings/buttocks/achilles tendons/plantar tendons are sore and you're unable to run for a month or so.
The phrase "too much, too soon" is well used by runners for a reason.
Excellent advice to help you hells_bells from Instructor57 and IannodaTruffe, both experts here on C25K. Whenever a new runner comes on this forum I tell them among other things never to run on consecutive days as that could cause a injury, so for the remaining 4 weeks keep to that advice, if possible try and keep to the same days that you run, that would mean that at some point in the week you would have two days off running, you could do some other exercises such as cycling, going a walk or even yoga.
Thank you.Yes I walk far every day with our big bear of a dog.
I also do yoga every week.
Good plan with same days of the week.
You know I've been where you are! I did pretty much the same errr misdemeanor, and was rightly put back on course by IannodaTruffe just as you have been 🤓... I listened it's good advice, nope it's great advice, the endorphins we create, they're urging us to run... But!! Bottle that excitement and use it for your next run, you're well on your way don't scupper those chances hells_bells2207 ....
Fellow owner of a sense of humour that has been misunderstood here. On my first Parkrun, not long after I graduated C25K, I completely got carried away. 'Ooh, I can overtake that mum with a pushchair/old guy/ little kid etc...' and I did!! However, I ended up damaging a ligament and was out of action for 6 weeks. I am now (a few months) older and wiser, still have only run once on consecutive days and that was because the first of those days was just a short 15 minute run.Look after yourself, keep at it and most of all hold onto that 'enjoying it too much' feeling.
PS sometimes I think that certain people here don't appreciate my jokes about fartleks (yeah, juvenile I know, it's a Swedish word for running fast then running slower, literally playing with your running. Once you graduate C25K you should try it, it really is fun )
Us naughty girls gotta stick together (at the back of the classroom with an illicit bottle of scrumpy and a ciggie (no, not a ciggie, OUR RUNNING SHOES!!!!)
🤣 + 😂 @ 🏫 🖊 ✏️ 👟 🥪 🥂 🪑 📚 📖 📐 I was always getting told off for eating my marmite sandwiches in class trying to hide in the desk while doing so!! Also got into trouble for eating them on the school coach on the way to school! A few emoji’s to sum us up!
Overrunning a little bit is natural when you feel in the zone.
What you have to remember is that you've only been running for a few weeks now and you're still getting used to it.
More importantly, your body is still getting used to it. Muscles strengthen faster than the support structures that surround them. Ligaments, bones and tendons have much less of a blood supply than muscles, and grow much more slowly.
I got cocky. I saw the 5km in 30 minutes target in the final week of C25K, and thought I was close enough to it to push a little in my final graduation run. I picked a route that was mostly downhill and went for it. (There's no requirement at all to do 5km in your graduation run.)
I made good time, then had to skirt a deep muddy puddle. The lateral forces from that turned a slight niggle in the ankle area (which I'd ignored) into a full blown ankle sprain. I was only about 300m from the end of the run, and I (foolishly) continued on to finish the 5km. My time was something like 30:00.5. I then walked home (which took about 30 minutes from that finish point).
I rested the following two days then went out for an easy run on the Monday. I ran OK-ish but the walk back home was very painful.
Over the rest of the week my ankle swelled up. By the end of the week it was painful just to walk half a mile on the flat. The following week I saw a physio who diagnosed an ankle that was sprained in two places, and a hint of shin splints. She then proceeded to apply excruciating deep massage on the damaged ligaments.
Lots of rest, ice, elevation and exercises. I was showing improvements on the second physio appointment and was given the go ahead to restart running after another week or so if I was pain free, but I had to be very careful and limit myself to very short running intervals, shorter even than in C25K. I was lucky and was only out of action for about four weeks, but it took me another two months to re-do C25K.
I built back up slowly, did my first 10km run in February last year, 10 miles in April, and a Half Marathon distance in September.
I'm not telling you to stop enjoying yourself. Far from it. But do be aware that it takes up to six months of regular running before the body's growth has properly balanced itself, and if you push too hard, too fast, something will eventually go ping.
"If you fall out of that tree and break both your legs, don't come running to me." 😜
PS. I am also hypothyroid (100mcg levothyroxine daily), discovered about 5 years ago after I nearly passed out in a work meeting. There are more of us than you'd expect in the C25K community here.
Thanks nowster for the replies. I had partial pituitary failure (hypopituitarism) when I was 20. Also severe PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).
Periods stopped age 20, thyroid stopped too.
I am in 200mcg Levothyroxine & my own levels are still low; the GP is debating putting me up to 225~ 250mcg!
The long term complications from the above, especially not having monthly’s are immense.
I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis young & now have more advanced osteoporotic spine & hips (& it will be in other areas not scanned on Bone Density Scanner!
I have shrunk (two vertebrae fractured & therefore collapsed). Over the last decade I have fractured a bone on average annually.
I’m aware running can help with osteoporosis, as many exercises can.
My hypothyroidism is possibly Hashimoto's. The six monthly blood tests haven't indicated any need to change the dose in the last three years.
The PCOS and osteoporosis are bound to be linked, just like post menopause. Given you're a nurse (like my partner is and my sister was before she had to retire) you'll already know that.
Look after those bones! I hope you're not being naughty and heel-striking when you run. 😜
Exactly that they are linked. When I was younger, girls would say ‘you are so lucky that you don’t have periods’.
NO WAY; there are so many complications & medical problems from this lack of Oestrogen & other hormonal imbalances.
I was on a weekly tablet, Alendronic Acid for my Osteoporosis for 5 years.
It made no difference whatsoever to my bone density & the condition actually got worse, not better.
I am now on Denosumab, a six monthly injection; this has led to problems in itself!
If I need a tooth out there is a risk of Osteonecrosis, so I’d have to be in hospital just for a tooth extraction. If the ON occurred I’d be needing weekly treatment in hospital.
Incredible! All of this, from periods stopping age 20!
Hiya, I shared your enthusiasm when I started C25K, I work long shifts do it’s difficult to run on a working day. I therefore started the plan running everyday I was off of work, often consecutive days. I felt good. I then thought at the end of each week I’ll run an additional taster of the next weeks time run (say 3 mins in prep for week 3), adding up my run time. And by week 4 I thought what the hell and ran for 9 mins thinking I’ve got this. Then I suddenly felt like I’d been shot in my left calf and it stopped my in my tracks, I had to hobble home and could barely walk, I’d snapped my calf muscle from trying too much too soon. I spent 5 weeks on the injury couch then had to start very slowly again. I know it’s tempting but the plan works, I learnt the hard way. You’re going great by the way, keep on running, you’ve got this. P.S, also a nurse, I get your sense of humour 🤪
Hi Hells Bells,Please don’t feel foolish about your post, you asked a good question and I’m sure many others that use this supportive and constructive forum have been wondering exactly the same thing about extending their runs as you.
There will not be a single member, not one, myself included, that hasn’t been tempted, or hasn’t gone ahead and done more than is recommended, simply because they feel great!!
Some of us may have got away with it (by sheer luck) whilst others get demoralising injuries that stop them in their tracks for weeks or months, undermining all that hard work. You have spent your amazing working life taking care of others, its now time for you to take the very best care of yourself.
Looking forward to sharing interesting posts with you in the near future. We will ALL be whooping for you when you complete the program : ))))
I LOVE this post. You're naughty, I've got a bad attitude. We would have probably sat together at school😆😉/ detention. It's so reassuring to read that folk continue to enjoy the programme later on down the line, although I appreciate that everyone's experience and bodies are different. Great question too - I can imagine lots of people find themselves in similar should I/shouldn't I situations and so it's super helpful to not feel alone in that and to receive advice and guidance from the forum. Happy running and have a great day!
Thank you so very much MimiRunsToo , This comment really cheered me up & believe me I needed it following lots of reactions.
I am definitely going to take ALL the advice on board.
I no longer will run on consecutive days (I only did it once), not during this program anyway, not until I’ve been running a year or more.
I also now see why I should not have carried on running when the 20mins was up; at the time I thought if anything it will help as I will get nearer to the 5K goal we all aim for in these nine weeks.
I now see the reason for the advice given & will stick with the program strictly now. When it’s explained to me, I’m fine & will do as advised, but if I don’t know something & don’t know a reason for or against, I’ll not learn unless told.
So in a roundabout way, it did me good to be given what felt like firm advice at the time.
One piece of advice came across as he was cross with me. This I took so personally & I could think of nothing else all evening!
Even though I am a joker & have gallows humour (occupational hazard) I am equally so incredibly sensitive & take everything so personally & to heart.
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