Good morning,
I’m hoping to get some advice here…I completed c25k last year (17 March 2022). I then went on and ran Brighton 10k on 10 April 2022. My legs were so incredibly painful afterward and then I got covid that I never returned back to my running I’d enjoyed and worked so hard on for months.
I now want to get back to it, should I restart c25k from w1r1?? And how to I stop my lower legs hurting again? I’ve had my gait done already.
Thanks for reading ☺️
Well done on completing c25k and running the 10k! I’m sure there will be some great advice from experienced runners that will help you out. 😊
It seems like you did the 10 k less than a month after doing your 5k. It’s a big jump from 5 so you probably needed to build up fitness and capacity? Did your legs hurt during the c25k journey or only after the 10k? I’m working towards a 10k in May after graduating (for the second time) in September last year… everyone is differ ct of course but to me it looks like you may have rushed into the 10k.
As you only completed it last year you may not need to start at the beginning but given the pain in your legs I’d be really mindful of getting injured and take it slow. Maybe start at w1 and see how you feel?
Good luck!
Welcome back!
Good to see you here... so many of us have repeated C25K again for all manner of reasons..
It is a great way to ease back safely and enjoyably...
Initially, reading your post I fee our advice would be... take it gently. ...
To Graduate from C25K and then run a 10K the month after is quite a huge jump.. Not sure if you Graduated at the beginning of April and ran the 10K at the end of March but many of our 10K plans, including our own Ju Ju's. HU's Magic plan are at least a couple of months..
Our newly formed running legs need plenty of nurturing and our exercise on some of our rest days needs a tweak too, to keep them safe!
My advice to prevent any more injury... or aches and pains... would be as ever, slow and steady, and do please give the essential information another read which does help us so much to stay injury free,
healthunlocked.com/couchto5....
Gently does it?
Thank you. I had signed up to run a 10k and my training hit a couple of bumps along the way which is why there ended up being only a month between completing c25k and running my 10k.
I was hoping the pain in my lower leg was due to much to quick but it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole and then question if I needed compression socks, different trainers etc 🤦🏼♀️
Hello and welcome to the forum!And it's great to see you want to get running again !
The one thing that's jumps out at me from you post is the time from completing c25k and then going on to a 10k as already mentioned by Oldfloss and ReyC
I would strongly suggest that this was the likely reason for your painful legs .
A classic case of too much too soon .
The very first thing I would suggest before re starting would be to have a read through the program guide.
healthunlocked.com/couchto5....
After what has been 12 months off then I would certainly suggest starting again from week 1 run 1 and completely re doing the program.
Once you have completed the program again then spend several weeks consolidating the 30 minute runs .
healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
From the timescale you have given it looks like this was not done last time .
Then after consolidation if you want to increase your distance again then do it gradually, ideally by sticking to the 10 % rule of not increasing the distance on your longer run by more than 10% of your previous week's total .
Or by following a 10k training plan such as the the one in our 'Bridge to 10k' forum.
healthunlocked.com/bridgeto...
Falling into the trap of doing too much too soon is an easy mistake for new runners to make .
It takes many months for your body to get used to the rigours of running .
Enjoy your comeback , take your time and hopefully stay pain free .
Good luck.
Welcome back! It’s really common for a bit of over enthusiasm lead to a burn out. It’s brilliant you’re starting up again. You’ve got that experience from before that will hell you out this time, and you know you can do it. Start slow and cautiously, build up gradually and you’ll soon be back where you were, hopefully without the leg pain! Really good luck to you 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
I did c25k 4 years ago and built up gradually to running 10ks during lockdown, but then stopped because of injury / covid and bereavement and am just finishing c25k a second time. I started from week 2, so I'd say start wherever you feel comfortable, but don't miss too much of the early runs, because I'm guessing they're there for a reason. Also, (as has been said in other replies), just take it easy, go slowly and build up gradually. I have calf pain, too, and have found compression socks really helpful. Good luck!
Everyone else has already said what I was going to say so I'll just say welcome back and good luck with it. you're not alone, there are a few if us here at various stages of our comeback. We'll get there ☺️👍
Good luck RC87 😁👍
This has been my experience. I first completed C25k in 2015. It took me a couple of years to contemplate the step to 10k (by which time I was 60) but I made it without difficulty. Problems came when trying to add onto that with insufficient time. I then had to stop running in 2021 due to arthritis in my hip. I had a hip replacement and started running again. After doing C25kW1 I realised I didn’t need to follow the programme and moved quite quickly back to 5k. In 2022 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, tried to keep running but found the chemo was draining me. I am out of treatment and working back through C25K, this time needing to follow all the steps.
Restarting after injury
Restarting C25K
Restarting c25k
Restarting! 
Just to let you all know Second time Graduation Day for the Pap.
