Is it cheating?

I`m cheating too

I enjoy making my own playlists and love running to them.

Sorry C25K I love you and will always be grateful to you for getting me started xxx

Me too

I left Laura at week 7. Sometimes I listen to the radio. Chris Moyles in the morning and The Archers later on - I know, Iam achingly trendy (!). I also have my own playlist

Im afraid I just couldnt stand the dance music any longer than week 6 and got my old groovy music downloaded. Some clever folks on here have downloaded Laura to speak over their own playlist....no idea how you do it though,and you will need a fancy phone!

Like others, from about week 7, I switched. I grabbed an app for my phone, set up the intervals in line with the C25k plan and run to my own music.

It's great to run to your own styles. Only downside is that you don't have Laura spurring you on at crucial points.

Currently using RunKeeper for iPhone, it's a free app and works well although the website has been a bit flaky recently.

I don't use them either - I'm really picky about music and they drove me nuts. I've only heard Laura once!

I put together my own playlist and synced it with Laura, now i get her nice talking and great music. Win win.

I also got fed up of the music and needed something more motivating as the runs got longer and harder. I'm now using the Nike+ app which is built into my ipod nano. Not sure if you can get it for iphones or other devices too. You tell it how long you want to run for, you select your own track or playlist on your ipod to listen to and when you hit start you get a voice update over the music telling how long you've been running for every 5 mins and also when you're half way through, a bit like Laura. Towards the end of the run you get told when you've got 5 mins left, 4 mins, 3 mins etc. I find it's a really good tool.

I've also downloaded free music from Podrunner to run to (http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/podrunner-workout-music/id124686671). The tracks are listed by BPM which is really useful if you like to run to an actual beat, rather than running with music in the background. I find running to a beat helps be stay in a rhythm longer and so run further and longer than I normally would.

Thanks for all your responses, I got as far as buying a running MP3 album from Amazon and then decided I couldn't cheat on Laura (who would I argue with, who would spur me on etc!!), I won't feel like I have fully graduated until she says so (sad I know) but am saving my running music for after graduation - 9 runs to go!!! Plus at the end of the run today (W6R3) she told me I was a real runner & that made up for all of the awful music!!

I know what you mean laj1987.

Though I like some of the music on the podcasts, most of it is pure torture (as if the running is not hard enough!)

I would love to use my own music, but I know I would miss Laura. I find her comments and tips really encouraging. Knowing how long I have been running for would be ok, but not the same. Who else would tell us we are real runners now? Dilemma continues, but I might try audacity to see if I can have the best of both worlds.

Not at all!

It is a good idea, and I thought about doing it myself but never got round to it. Some of the songs on the podcast are tolerable, while others are not the best.

The problem with me is that I can't decide what tunes I would have on it!

Yesterday I did wk7r1 without Laura! I took my iPhone as usual, programmed MapMyWalk to tell me every 5 minutes that passed, and used Jog.fm for the music. I did miss Laura, but having the 5 minute time checks was good so I knew how much longer there was to go. Jog fm worked with my own music, choosing songs at random according to my pace.

Something must have worked because I had my fastest time around the route and was home before my 5 minute cool down was finished properly. Maybe it was the music, or maybe it was the thought of getting home out of the rain..... but whatever it was, it worked!