My firm opinion - firmly based on my own past - is that if you survive Day One, Week one, and are not going contrary to advice from a Doc or someone equally qualified to judge, you can indeed graduate from the programme. And I speak as someone who was trying desperately to breathe through both ends of my body Day One, and had a blue 'heading for a coronary' tinge to my face.
This is my third time to have started again from scratch since first graduating - this time, several months working on a ship knackered any chance to keep to me usual schedule. I succeeded those other times, and giving myself three to five weeks more to get to 5k nonstop this time also.
Yesterday, I did three five minute runs with 3 minute walking breaks.
Now, it would SEEM that would be a doddle for someone with several sub 35 minute 5Ks, a handful of 10ks, a couple of sub two hour ten milers and a - very difficult to be sure - FM to run for a total of 15 minutes nonstop let alone broken into sections.
And on the flat at that
But my lord did it feel tough! Aching lungs, heavy legs, twinges from old foot fracture etc. I felt like I was running like a drunk spider - and a spider with only three legs at that LOL.
'Lizard stem' part of the brain kept telling me that I cannot do this - that no way is my body capable of ever running thirty five minutes, let alone more, without having a massive implosion of lungs, muscles and bones. It felt REALLY hard....
And once again I can understand first timers who give up partway through the programme, though I wish they wouldn't.
Because what I have learned by doing is this - our bodies are not merely machines. It really is not - as Day One proves - where you 'cannot run'
It's not a case with your running body that it simply 'works' or 'does not work'. There is indeed a limit on what is physically possible, but when it comes to running - but that is a barrier we work up TO and NOT what we start WITH. In the almost seven years now since I took my first very difficult Day One, Week One, my body has changed for the better. I used to need two kinds of Inhalers, could not run at all, was very unfit and prone to boredom and depression - now I breathe easier, enjoy the activity and social environment of running and have a lot of fun trundling along in the events I run in.
It's never going to be 'easy' for me to run - but it sure gets better And in the 'hard' moments of running it is the overall enjoyment that is the Bank that I can withdraw from so that I don't go 'broke' and miss out on everything, and that is a heck of a lot, I cumulatively enjoy about running. To quit over a passing feeling and lose the constant and long term benefits is something that could only be based on the 'survival at any costs' primitive part of our Brain. The 'Lizard stem' can so often jump in to pre-empt the 'Sensible and intelligent' part, and to recognise it's attempt to hijack us is sometimes all it takes to defeat it
Those running gremlins are 'real'. They try and convince me that it's 'too hard to run', that 'I am too slow and look ridiculous', that I am 'not a REAL runner', that 'for all the work I out into it, I should look/feel a lot fitter/slimmer'... and so on and so on.
The antidote, in my experience, is to just keep on keeping on. Separating the mental effort from the physical effort. Adjusting the physical accordingly - slowing down, keeping on simply putting one foot in front of the other and accepting that I only compete against myself, not a field of genetically gifted runners
Mentally - keep that sense of adventure and interest in mind. You will see and experience a LOT more on even the 'worst' run than you ever will sitting on a sofa. It's intriguing also to see just how much you can run past your 'mental limitations' - and when you do, give the finger to the Gremlins because you earned the right to do that.
And maybe the bottom line is along those lines. You go out, you run - to the reasonable best of your individual ability - and you have earned the right to be a Runner. Nobody else can do it for you, and nobody else can take it from you.
When that really sinks in, what seemed like it would take a miracle - that you run as far and as fast as you now do - has actually occurred, and it is down to you and you alone - not a 'miracle' or 'luck' or 'happenstance'.
Isn't that feeling just on it's own worth keeping on keeping on? Now throw in the health and mental benefits, the fun of running with the 'back of the pack' ( lots of fun, in my opinion far more than speeding along with one or two up front) in events and the stories you will live as you continue to simply run
It's why I keep on keeping on, even when it's 'hard'
Wishing you all many happy miles in your future
Written by
Irish-John
Graduate
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I love the thoughts in this post and they really resonate with me. Separating the mental from physical in particular.Running is not easy. Even when I was running regular 10ks and further, it was tough. You just get resilient that's all. There are those euphoric moments when you feel you could run forever. Recently, due to a long period of very intermittent running, I'm no longer running significant distances, but still remain aware of those short perfect moments during my runs, when the ground under my feet feels great and I'm smelling the air. Then I remember that I run to feel alive.
Good post from you John, I do note the amount of first timers who report weeks 1 and 2 but never here from them again, it's quite a long time since any first time runner has reported week by week on their progress on C25K, enjoy your runs 🏃♂️👍✅
I noticed that too! When I joined the forum just before the first lockdown, I guess there were lots of new year's resolution starters, followed by the lockdown starters and the forum was awash with new starters reporting their progress. It is quieter these days!
There is always a surge it seems around January 1st Ironically - given the usual winter weather over there (and where I am) it's possibly just about the worst time to start!
This is a brilliant post Irish-John you are going to help a lot of new starters to the programme but also a lot of returners who this will resonate with too 👏🏻.
You are so right ‘keep putting one foot in front of the other’ ‘you are only in competition with yourself’ and ‘you will have adventures and see more than you ever round sitting on the couch’. Very inspiring to anyone struggling out there. ☺️
I must confess, I was more inspired when I started by those who struggled and found it hard going than the lucky one's who didn't I could not relate whatsoever to the 'Gazelles' lol. It was one post in particular - some lady who had just graduated but who graphically described how she actually felt at the end of her Run - that suddenly got me to realise that 'Running is not easy" WOW! LOL - I had always thought 'Either you can or cannot'...now I wondered if I 'possibly could'...and the result is seven years of absolute fun, even if hard won at times
I know what you mean, I felt like I was the type asking lots of questions ‘why can’t I breathe?’ ‘Why does this body part hurt?’ ‘Will this become easier?’ ‘Will I ever enjoy a run?’. I’m coming up to my one year runniversary and I have had a couple of setbacks (6 weeks of feeling rubbish and two weeks of calf strain) but I honestly couldn’t wait to get back out for a run. I’ve changed from ‘I enjoyed that run’ once I’d finished it to ‘I look forward to a run’ earlier in the day (which I didn’t think I would ever feel). I couldn’t have got here without all the amazingly helpful people on here though. ☺️
Same here 🙂 There is no way I could make it without the friendships and support I find here. I always say that while I might run ony own, I never run alone 🙂
Love this post! I thought that having tough runs was a sign of being a bad runner and once I got more experienced, they’d stop. They didn’t! There’s often no logic to it. One day you’re flying over hills for miles and miles. On the next tiny little short run, every flat step is a struggle. It’s just what happens to all of us and I think we get better at writing it off as “just one of those days” rather than taking it really personally and thinking we can never run again.
I can totally relate to your “drunken spider with three legs” description! I think recently, coming back from injury I’ve described myself as a drunken octopus and a broken doll where all the limbs have been screwed back on a bit loosely and unreliably. Sometimes we just need to find the mental toughness to say “I don’t like how this feels but I know I need to do it so I can feel better in future”. Things have got better but it’s been hard, and it is still hard. It will be worth persevering though.
Lots of people here worry about not feeling motivated or positive enough but I think those things are a bit overrated and the discipline of just starting when you don’t really feel like it is what you really need to find. One think I found helpful was to take the pressure to enjoy every step off by accepting that it was ok to feel tired, bored, grumpy etc but I was running anyway because I am a runner and that’s what runners do. For some people, it works to turn negatives into positives but for me, flat out acceptance that my run is currently rubbish and I’m having a horrible time works much better. I have a good old moan in my head about how much I hate running (despite knowing I really love it), how I can’t possibly run another step (as I am running another step), how I’m so lacking in motivation that I’ll never finish the run (even though I was clearly motivated enough to get my kit in and start). A wallow is good for me, and I can often run through it and out of the other side to enjoy the run. There’s always the satisfaction that I achieved something good, and looking back some of the runs I’m most proud of have been real stinkers!
Thanks for posting so honestly and helpfully about this. Really glad you’re back here again ❤️
Thank you Miss U🙂No matter how "bad" the run, I've never regretted one as much as those I didn't at least start. A very few times in the middle of a run I have simply stopped and walked home because for some reason it felt absolutely awful without knowing why.
But that has only happened three times, just a blip on the screen. 🙂
The gremlins however often makee FEEL like quiting, but I know the difference 🙂
Absolutely! I’ve had few I’ve cut short, or started with three options for distance and taken the shortest one because I knew that was the best for me on that day. None that I’ve regretted. There’s always something to learn or celebrate, even if it was just that it ended! I think back really fondly of the times I nearly puked in a hedge after eating too close to running, and the awful ten miles in the rain where I never warmed up and the time passers by kept stopping me to ask if I was ok walking back from an aborted hot run where I’d taken no water! Nothing teaches you what the right thing is like making an absolutely wazzock of yourself getting it wrong!
It’s funny, when we learn other new things, like musical instruments, we accept that it will be sometimes be hard, we’ll make mistakes and it will take practice and some of that will be a bit dull but that will make us able to play the pieces we want. When we start running, we suddenly expect ourselves to know what we’re doing straight away. Gremlins tell us we’re too slow or we won’t get there but every time be battle through a tough run, it gives us more ammunition to fight them off.
We are so much tougher than we think we are 🏃♀️❤️💪
Thank you for such a brilliant post - I can truly identify with so much that you have said . I completed my last week 9 run last week — I have never done anything like this before - I didn’t post about it - it took me about 5 attempts on that week 9 run 3 run and I didn’t feel I could call myself a runner because when I am out the “runners” all pass me by . But I guess having got this far I am now a runner in my own way too so once again thank you 😊
Thank you O 🙂 Snails are tough don't forget 🙂 They get where they are going and even the blade of a razor in their path can't cut them (true fact) and if stepped on, their shell self heals (also true)Better a Snail on the road than a Slug on the sofa 😁
Having graduated last September, I hung up my trainers and left the treadmill in the shed where it gradually started to attract dust. In March this year, I felt like starting again so went straight into Week 5 Run 1 (I can do this. I'm a graduate after all!) Big mistake!!! It was S-O-O-O hard and I was S-O-O-O disheartened! Instructor57 suggested Week 1 Run 1, ie. going back to square one as he explained my aerobic fitness would have gone, not to mention my protection against injury. That was the best advice I've ever had! I'm now at the end of Week 4 again and finding it fairly easy going thus far, having regained my strength and combatted the initial breathlessness. Can't really say I'm relishing the idea of a 20-min run which will be coming up soon but, having read your blog, I'm sure now that I'll make that too and go on to graduate again - E-V-E-N-T-U-A-L-L-Y! Have a good day, Irish-John!
Ok, enough of the running stuff; what is this about Russian Annie ? 😂
Just to complement your post John, here are some thoughts from the perspective of an even older guy! In 12 days time I will hit my 5th runniversary. Starting C25k, following a spinal fracture at age 66, seemed pretty crazy at the time. I expected to fail. Every ache and pain from muscles and tendons which were being woken up from years of slumber, seemed to me to be the end of the road. I had read too much! Every twinge seemed to be a portent of some fundamental and insurmountable problem with my legs which would stop me in my tracks. I had a vivid picture of what could go wrong, but when I actually focussed on the here and now, I could see that by the next run day, I was usually good to go again; not perfect, but good enough. Run 3 of week 5, the first continuous run, had me quaking in my tatty old trainers until I had a good chat with myself. What was the worst that could happen? Might I spontaneously combust or lose a limb half way through…..? Unlikely, so I did what we should do, kept it really slow and it was fine.
I have needed a physio from time to time, but otherwise the progression, 5k, 10k, sub 30 minute 5k, 10 miles and HM continued. Above all, mixing things up to keep it interesting was important. My enemy was and is the need for speed. Running too fast too soon is a big risk, for older starters anyway. Throwing this old jalopy of a body of mine around corners, foot to the floor, never ends well! Long easy paced runs mixed with a couple of shorter slightly quicker runs each week has kept me injury free for 12 months now.
Bottom line; the reality is nowhere near as bad as the worries we carry in our heads. Never let the gremlins win! 👊
Your post makes perfect sense as always IJ (ps, I haven’t forgotten about Annie !).
Great points Beach 🙂👍🏻 I am always annoyed that with all my experience it's still a case where I can easily and unconsciously run too fast.
Not conducive to an enjoyable run whatsoever if I don't catch myself in time 🙂
I've never, despite some kamikazi-like efforts at times, been able to get the "5 in 30" 🙂 Closest ever at my very peak was 33 and change.
It's still fun though. Just being able to run, being able to enter events - great fun - and that ambiance, being able to generally be more active because fitter etc etc is huge It is really a case of just going out the door every second day or so ( never two in a row though) and accepting the effort is worth it
Our Minds probably need as much conditioning as our legs and lungs for this running lark lol
Agree with all of that. Running your first 1k as the slowest of your run is a really big deal. Having a voice in my ear (NRCHM PLAN) to remind me has really helped.
PS - Russian Annie, that's quite a tale and as I'm planning on being in the UK im the Autumn maybe I will get the chance to meet with some of my VRBs and tell it 🙂👍🏻
Thank you for that John, absobloodylutely right! I’m only beginning week 5 but needed to hear all that, as I’m struggling and battling with my head some days, but wow….it feels good when I defeat it! I know my body has more in it, but those gremlins sure are a bugger some days!
But I’m determined, I want to do this for all the reasons you stated above. But it’s nice to know you’re not alone in the battles on the way.
No-one said it would be easy and for me definitely so far, week one was the worst! And if it was easy we wouldn’t feel that glow afterwards and would just take it all for granted!
Crossing the "Finish" line is such a great feeling, especially those runs that are hard run :)And so often, I approach the line thinking Thank God, done soon...and after crossing think "I want to keep running!' 😂
What an amazing post Irish-John . I very much relate to this and it sums up the mental challenge we all have within us!But..... I keep on keeping on!!! Thank you for this.
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Let myself down 
Nocturnal running 🌃🌌 surreal, peaceful
W5R2 - struggling
Too much time to think
Was it me?
