Week 1!

[Toastercake]

Just finished run 3 week 1 of the NHS couch to 5K program! It is hard for me to find time to run as I am limited to running in my garden. I can also only run when my parents are out as they are judgemental of health related activities. So proud of myself and I can't believe that I actually managed to do it! Looking forward to week 2! How long did it take everyone to complete the programme? Does it actually take 9 weeks or is it more?

[drl212 Graduate]

Hiya TC! Congratulations on completing Week 1. Well done and you should be proud.

I did complete the programme in 9 weeks. I know some folks that struggled repeated a run or repeated a week.

Listen to your body. It will tell you if you are going too fast.

To borrow from some of my betters: Slow and Steady!!!

[Toastercake in reply to drl212]

thanks so much for your reply! Well done for completing in 9 weeks, I am aiming to do the same

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate]

I can’t remember how long it took me to complete Couch to 5k because it really doesn’t matter. Unless you’re on a deadline, the goal for the programme is to get to the end having had some fun along the way. The most important thing is that people take it at their own pace and enjoy the runs.

Just to add, I don’t know what’s going on with your parents and why you’re not allowed to exercise. I’d just encourage you to reach out for real life support to stay happy and healthy whatever that looks like.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

drl212 says,,, Slow and steady... it is the mantra that for all the years I have been here , I am famous for... or should that be infamous.

But that mantra works for so, so many of us... even though everyone's slow is different !

It is hard that you are having to run within a set time schedule...but you will find your running routines that suit you and your lifestyle.

Many have taken a very long time to complete this programme, many have done it in nine weeks... these are your runs and you take as long as you need within your constraints

Maybe when your folks see the new, strong, improved you... they might wish to think again? Keep posting too, we are here to listen, support and encourage you, in whatever we are able to. all the way !

Well done you!

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Bravo! I love your attitude of doing what you can do and Week 1 is a pig (in my view the hardest week) but you've completed it. I can remember doing some weeks of a re-run of the programme round the house and it was not particularly fun!

I am concerned about your circumstances and why an 18 year old in the UK isn't able to do the programme outside home. However, I too had reasons I needed to be rather covert about C25K and I feel you are taking the right approach in focussing on getting underway. As more and more of the sessions turn into continuous running, you may find you need to find a way to expand your running environment (although we have had people do the full programme running round their apartments when they've lived somewhere unsafe for running outside (heat))

The 'week' in C25K is the three repetitions, with a non-running day between each - some, if nothing gets in the way, might be able to do that, others find a more fixed schedule of particular days of the week works best for them. Sometimes you might not complete a session so that one needs to be done again. It took me a lot of attempts to work up to what you've already achieved... in retrospect half my first C25K feels as though it was Week 1 and the rest flew by as I was able to run 'every other day' for some of it, although there was also break due to illness.

In my years on this forum, my observation has been that there's a wide variation in how long it takes to complete the programme and in particular, besides those who have unavoidable things thrown in their path, there are those who need time to accept psychologically that this is something they can do and make time for. It's a programme that can be used for a wide variety of reasons but the NHS support it with a view to people being sustainably active for the benefit of their health so it's not so much how long it takes to get to continuous running for 30 minutes but whether you keep doing it afterwards. Posting on the forum helps!