Have been back at C25K for a few weeks now, being very careful to run at a steady pace, stick to the schedule of running only on alternate days, stretching pre and post, drinking a seemingly endless supply of water every day and eating a healthier diet.
Results so far include completing each run with no considerable issues, having numerous people comment on my weight loss, and fostering an unhealthy obsession with looking at running shoes.
I’ve promised myself if I get to the end of week 5 unscathed I’m treating myself to a pair of proper running shoes and some technical kit for when the runs start to get longer and harder. 4 more runs til I get to that point…….
Also becoming a bit obsessed with how far I can get to in 30 minutes, which I know I shouldn’t be concerned about. However as my first goal following graduation and consolidation is to run some ParkRuns locally I’m starting to plan the bones of my next programme to enable me to do this. I’ve covered 4.2 km including the warm up walks in week 4, so at that rate I’ll be a bit short of 5k come week 9 but should be there or thereabouts in a month or so afterwards.
My only struggles really so far have been the first few minutes of each run seeming to be harder than the rest of it, heavy legs etc, but seems to disappear after about 10 minutes, and always seeming to hit uphill sections when I’m already knackered 😂
Looking forward to getting week 4 in the books tomorrow and moving onwards snd upwards into week 5 on Sunday/Monday
Written by
bradders0807
Graduate
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You’re doing so many things right which is brilliant to read!
I find it helpful to have short term, medium term and long term goals, and even big scary dreams that might never happen! Goals don’t have to be fixed. You can bin them if they’re not helping you, or change the time frame, or set new ones when you tick them off. It’s never too early to celebrate.
I ran all of my couch to 5k too fast and then struggled when I came to increase distance because I hadn’t really nailed how to run at a comfortable pace. That’ll be so important as you carry on running. It’s worth really focussing on that through c25k because it’ll stand you in such good stead going forward. Just beware that focussing obsessively on your distance covered might get in the way of that. Couch to 5k is really about time on your feet rather than distance. That small mindset change could help you keep it steady and at a conversational pace.
That 5k will come when you’re ready, and when you’re running it regularly and comfortably, you’ll most likely notice that your times get faster. That’s been my experience anyway!
Congratulations! I used to have a little treat at the end of every week as a mini celebration! The one at the end of week 5 was a biggie-week 5 has the best run of the whole programme (in my opinion!) in it…get ready to smile for days!!
Ahhh, the male running ego. It runs strong in us (apols for the pun).
From the point of view of someone who's just completed Week 4, comprising 3 outings of 16 minutes total running time each session (48 mins of running in the week), but understandablly viewing it as "5 minutes", then you could be forgiven for thinking that 30 mins of continuous running would be harder.
But... is 5 mins (or more correctly, 16 mins) 'harder' than the 1 minute (or more correctly, 8 mins) in Week 1?
Which is harder? 5k or 10k? Half marathon or marathon?
You're equating duration with difficulty and that doesn't necessarily follow.
Remember that this is a progressive exercise program, i.e., you do progressively more each week. By definition, what you've done in the preceding weeks prepares you for the next step up, so by the time of Week 9, youll be physicaly ready for it by dint of everything you've done in the previous, 8 weeks.
So here's something to consider.
Forgetting about pace & distance, if you run at the same *effort* level for 30 mins, ie same breathing rate, same level of comfort etc ... eg, a conversational pace, then by the time you get to Week 9, 30 mins should feel no more difficult than Week 4.
But if with every week you're trying to go quicker & quicker, looking to squeeze more distance into each outing, then I can absolutely guarantee you that Week 9 *will* be much harder than Week 4.
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Week 3 complete!
Week 4 
Unfounded Week 4 Anxiety
Week 4 Runs 1 and 2 Done, Future Looks Bleak
