Hello
I started C25K last September and eventually got up to week 9 in January when I tried to run a bit faster and did myself a mischief! Long story short, it took weeks to get back to normal and since then holidays and Covid have been ample excuse not to run and now the weight is creeping back on...
I don't feel I'm a natural runner and the only real pleasure is the feeling of accomplishment when I've managed to complete a run. Is it worth me even trying again?
Welcome back !And absolutely worth giving it another go.
Have another read of the programme guide .
healthunlocked.com/couchto5....
Keep it slow this time and enjoy !
Thank you, will do.
Welcome to the forum and well done on your decision.
C25k is designed to be undertaken at a gentle jog......an easy conversational pace. Counterintuitively, it is an easy conversational pace running that builds your stamina and endurance, not fast running. It is also more enjoyable and less likely to cause you injuries.
SLOW DOWN!!! is the mantra for learning to run.
This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5....
and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.
Enjoy your journey.
Thank you. I will try not to worry about how slow I'm going this time and see how I get on.
Hi Reluctant57, yes it really is worth trying again (perhaps see the heatwave out first!). I have attempted/completed c25k several times, and have only just graduated again - and I really am enjoying running so much more this time around. The reason: all the kindness and wisdom on this forum as experienced runners urge us to build strength and stamina by running at a nice, enjoyable, slow pace. It is tempting to run faster but you have felt the results of that, we really do have to try not to run before we can walk (jog). I am enjoying taking it slowly, taking in my surroundings better, believing that I am developing and improving, and finishing my runs happy rather than miserable breathless and exhausted. I hope you will start to enjoy running too - let us know how you get on.
Thank you Collops. I have read up on all the advice given here and now feel in a better place to give it another go. Will keep you posted!
Yay! Best of luck
Running shoes on... ( not today though unless you are somewhere very cool), and join the hundreds of us, who have repeated C25K... you will enjoy it!x
Thank you for your encouragement, will give it another go.
I also injured myself during a week 9 run (the final one), also trying to be fast. I completed the run but had done great mischief to my ankle that required two physio visits to fix.
After a month of enforced rest I started again and took it more carefully (and slowly). On my second attempt I satisfied my natural urge for speed by speeding up a bit during the last minute of the run, when my body was fully warmed up.
Nearly two years on I'm a regular runner who thinks nothing of going out and running 10km at lunchtime (though definitely not today). I've even done a half marathon distance before work a couple of times.
Absolutely do try again, and be more careful this time.
Thank you for the advice and encouragement Nowster. Don't think I'm up for anything more than 5km but glad to hear of your success.
That's what I thought to begin with. Then I eventually got to 10km...
I am certainly not a 'Natural Runner' - I work HARD to run! 
I lumber along with screwed lungs, screwed feet and certainly not a lean and lithe body mass
It is HARD for me to run - but I do It is a lot of fun, the physical, mental and physiological benefits are definitely worth it, I want to stay mobile if I reach my old age , and it' certainly more interesting than binge watching Netflix
As for 'starting again' I am currently doing just that. For the third time. And it does kind of suck to go from 'Full Marathon Capable' ( though sooo slow lol) to 'Sweet Jesus - when is the timer going to beep?"
Running isn't for everyone - but maybe it is for you, only you can decide that. However - the fact that you are even questioning about running again seems to be an indicator that you want to. And maybe this will help you decide - Running never has, nor ever will be, 'easy' for me - but it sure as heck gets 'more enjoyable' and 'more fun' and crossing finishing lines in events is definitely a high, plus I have n't had to use either of my inhalers in years, my mood overall is better when I run regularly, and I no longer live with the fear I will be totally screwed healthwise if I reach an old age
What fun to hear your Doctor is pissed off that someone with my self inflicted past life totally unhealthy habits now has not only a clean sheet but a very healthy overall system - 58bpm resting pulse, 108 over something BP etc. In their words 'Damn - maybe I should have drank, smoked, eaten sh-- Big Mac menus, lived in the tropics with regular dysentery and worse and been shot at, spat on, beaten and bruised ( my former social life lol) and then taken up running at age 56!! instead of clean and healthy living and worse off than you according to the charts at 52!"
Bottom line - I started running out of desperation and fear, and now I keep doing it because I reached the point the rest of us do. It is so much more than 'just the running' - it becomes part of a lifestyle that is more fun than anything I have been involved with before, goes way beyond just a 'hobby' or 'something I do to keep somewhat fit'. There are infinite levels to explore and experience - for instance, I am a VERY slow runner, but worked on distances and now enjoy the events that are more than 5K, but I can also enjoy the 5K ones I have traveled to so many places and met so many people I never would have were I not a Runner. And while running - it's so often where I see something definitely worth seeing All that beats the hell out of mouldering at home
Anyway - you are in early days yet, just as all us Graduates were too. If we had thought we were 'Natural Runners' we would never have felt the need of this programme, so please don't think it is only for 'people who can run'. It is, in reality, a programme that is for 'people who never believed they COULD run' It works, believe me
Wishing you many happy miles in your future
Thank you Irish-John, you have really cheered me up.Having read lots of posts by people achieving seemingly huge distances in short spaces of time and enjoying it, I really thought what's wrong with me then? I've since calmed down and realised that it doesn't matter if it's slow and hopefully I too will find it enjoyable rather than seeing it as a penance!
Thank you R It took me five years to build up to FM distance I figured if I did 5K the first year, 10K the second, Ten miles third, HM fourth - it would be a good way to build stamina and a good motivation to aim for improvement Honestly though - I have had far more fun at the sub-HM distances than I did at either HMs or FMs, glad I did them but a tad more intense than the 'give it a go' athmosphere at the lesser distances It's all a learning experience, and keeping it fun will keep you in the Run
Hear hear Irish John. What a lovely post. Thank you ❤️
Thank you Birra
Ho reluctant57, no you definately can't give up!!!!! I know how you must be feeling to get going again.I'm a newbie and got to week 9 run one , fell over hurt a rib, but managed to finish week 9. The following week I put my back out (which was nothing to do with running) and then good old covid knocked on my front door.
So, I'm just about thinking about getting going again. I think I will just walk for the first week and then start perhaps with a 10 or 15 minute jog.
I have started doing stretching etc for my back this week, so hopefully it won't hold me back.
But come on reluctant57, let's hit the road together. Remember the tortoise got to the finishing line before the hare 😊😊
OK Birra1, if you can do it then I reckon I can too.😊I'm thinking of starting in the air conditioned gym and just taking it really slowly this time...Thank you for your encouragement, and I hope your back is OK.
👍
I look forward to reading your posts..Good luck 🌞
im on my third attempt. i did the exact same thing as you. got to my consolidation, tried to go faster and ended up with an injury. had to take weeks to recover and lost all that fitness.its always worth getting back to it and have a goal in mind. if youre doing it for the sake of exercise, then maybe it's not for you. you can try other sports, such as swimming or boxing. if you dont enjoy it, you'll struggle to keep going.
if completing the programme made you feel good that you could now run 30mins and you wanted to progress that into doing an event, for example, then you definitely should go again.
i have my mind on doing the marathon, but im fully aware that wont happen for a good while. and thats ok.
Good advice, thank you dfclondon. I do aquatone and I love cycling, but unfortunately the lanes round here are not bike friendly so I felt I needed to try something else.
Trying again tomorrow after 2 weeks rest
Home again, running again
Starting again...again...again...
Second time of trying
Back and running again!!! 
