New to Couch to 5k

[xhannahlbx]

Hi all,

I am new to this as after a very hard few years caring for my father with early onset dementia I have decided that I need to take control of my fitness.

My father passed away last month age 61 and I want to do something that will help my emotional and physical well being as well as make him proud .

Over the past few years I have neglected my health / weight and I do not feel great about myself .

My goal is to reach the 5 k and take back my well-being and eventually enter a marathon to support Alzheimer’s research UK for everyone affected by this disease .

I will be starting week 2 tomorrow although I have a burst of energy to run today ( although I did run yesterday ).

Is there anyone else just starting this journey , would love to hear stories

[BahamaMama1 Graduate]

xhannalbx - well done you. It sounds like you have had a hard time and taking some time back for you is really important.

I lost fitness after caring for elderly parents and it was rotten to add that to all the other rotten stuff that was happening at the time.

I have felt my fitness leap over the course of this program and it has been wonderful. Enjoy the ride!

[xhannahlbx in reply to BahamaMama1]

thank you ! It is really hard isn’t it having that balance and also caring so much for someone - exhausting ! I hope to do him proud though and hopefully do the 5 k run in November for Alzheimer’s research ! X

[MissUnderstanding Administrator On a break Graduate]

A very warm welcome to you! Dementia is such a cruel illness. Thinking of you. Hopefully Couch to 5k will bring you some distraction and some positivity. The Alzheimer’s Society is a great charity and I’m sure they’ll be thrilled with your intention to fundraise for them. ❤️

Really good luck to you. There’s loads of lovely chat and support here. You might have already found the programme guide but if not, worth a read….

healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

Can’t wait to hear how you get on!

[xhannahlbx in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Thank you so much for your lovely response ! I am on week 2 day 1 today so I will be stepping out soon for this , wish me luck !!

[Dogforlife]

hi well done you for doing this I know it’s hard when you lose someone so close make them proud more importantly do it for you xx

[xhannahlbx in reply to Dogforlife]

thank you for your lovely reply ! This is what I want to do as I know he would be so proud , he was up until the end bless him x

[Pika246]

Hi,

I started today after my Mum, who I’ve spent a lot of time helping for the last couple of years, moved into a care home. There’s still a lot I have to do and things to sort out but I’m determined not to let my health and fitness slide any more.

I’m sorry for your loss.

What a great way to honour your father. I hope you’re still enjoying the programme.

[xhannahlbx in reply to Pika246]

Hiya ,

It is great to see you are doing something positive too - I would say over the past few years I have let myself slip weight /fitness wise .

It is great to take it back for yourself and for your mom !

Good luck with everything x

[Mummybear171923]

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your Father but I enjoyed reading your post and seeing your motivation for running and I wondered how you are getting on?

I've never really been into fitness but I had my second son three months ago and I want to be fit and healthy to enjoy their lives as well as my own.

I am about to start week 2 today and I am a little nervous about the increase in running time. How did you find week 2?

Wishing you well on your runs x

[xhannahlbx in reply to Mummybear171923]

Hello there ,

Well I have never really been a runner so I would say I found week 1 challenging haha!

Week 2 was definitely better and I was finding I could do a light run for longer .

I am now on week 3 ( did my second run today ) - This week is definitely a step up from week 1 and 2 as you have a couple of three minute runs ( again I take it veryyy slow ) .

I have found it harder on my knees this week but that might also be due to the fact I did put on a lot of weight over the past few years as it wasn’t a priority.

My advice is just light jog and concentrate on breathing on a flat surface , I listen to upbeat running music and Yasmin as my coach she is very upbeat haha.

X

[Mummybear171923 in reply to Mummybear171923]

Thank you for your reply 🙂

Well done on your second run of week 3. Hopefully you knees don't give you too much bother. I had groin pains after my first run so did a run every three days instead of every two just to give my groins a bit of time to heal. Meant week one took just over a week but my groins have been much better.

I did the first week 2 run earlier and actually found it OK. The only issue is I bought lovely new running trainers which gave me blisters so hopefully they heal before my next run.

Three minute runs seem long so hopefully I will manage next week on week 3. I did a new playlist last night which definitely helped so will look for some more songs to add to it.

Thank you again for your reply and keep up the good work x

[xhannahlbx in reply to Mummybear171923]

oh gosh did they ! I got some ASICS ones for a reasonable price and they have been comfy .

There is nothing worse than blisters !

Spotify has some good playlists too ! x