Week 8 Finished (Does this get any Easier !!!) - Couch to 5K

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Week 8 Finished (Does this get any Easier !!!)

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate
22 Replies

Hi Everyone

Just got back from running my final run for Week 8. I just could not get out of bed early this morning and was seriously thinking "No not today" !! (Oh Really), what was I thinking...I tried to close my eyes & mind and go back to sleep cause it was so cosy and the house was so quiet, just perfect for sleeping but I couldn't stop thinking about everyone here, all out doing their thing (running) and then my mind snapped into gear, "Oh yes you WILL be going, - GET UP" - so a big THANKYOU :-) to all as I really needed you today and you were all there supporting me even though you didnt know it at the time....

Had a good run on the way down but on the way back again I seem to get tired and just plodded along, my feel felt like blocks of cement again up & down, up & down, dont know why.

I turned on my sportstracker app (thanks sara xx) and clocked my 2nd run I did the 5m warm up walk at the beginning but just kept on going running all the way home during the 5m warm down walk so here are my stats:

Distance: 5.13 Km

Duration: 36.44

Avg Speed: 8.4km/h

PS: It seems that from my house back to my street its 5k's so should I walk around the block for the warm up walk or give it a miss completely and just start running...does everyone do the warm up walk....?? Any advice would be appreciated.

For me this is more of a mental challenge I think.... When I get tired I tend to Nurse myself...instead of pushing through...At the end of this run I was getting tired in my left leg and my feet felt heavy and I tended to shuffle along I dont know what I look like as in my posture but I feel like I stoop over and shuffle along to nurse myself to keep going so I tried to stretch out my stride and straighten up and I did manage to run a bit faster on the last 5 minutes of the podcast (see what I mean...about the mental thing) maybe I was just keen to get back home & finish...hahaha...but I dont think I could keep up that pace all the way down and back. I also find that I get tired after a run day specially if I go very early morning and I think I wear myself out mentally....or is it just my age I am 52 not a spring chicken anymore, is anyone else like this, I am a bit of a stress head !!

Delia if your reading this can you please tell me if are doing anything else for weight loss, what are you eating dear, lettuce leaves....hahaha cause I just read that you have lost over 7kg while doing this program and I have just completed W8 and only lost a couple of kg's my shape has changed and I do look better but the weight loss on the scales is just not there....why not...I want it to be....!!! :-(

Well I hope everyone has good runs and a great weekend. Looking forward to reading all your blogs. Take care xxx Pinkus

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pinkus profile image
pinkus
Graduate
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22 Replies
DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate

Of course I'm reading this Pinkus -- btw, why the name Pinkus? Anything to do with the inventor of the Pill ;-)

I'm not on a diet Pinky, and I always I eat a big plate of pasta for lunch (especially after running week 8!) lots of fruit during the day and a protein based dinner plus potatoes and veggies. I have only cut out sweets and cakes although I do eat dark chocolate which is meant to be good for you. Oh yes, bran flakes and milk for brekkie, banana post run and far too much coffee and tea with sugar throughout the day.

Well done for the run, sounds veeeerrryyyy familiar! Love delia xox

Btw we should be graduating next week....

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate in reply toDeliaItaly

Hi Delia I love the colour pink, its my favourite colour so I wanted something with pink...hence pinkus....I find that carbs are just no good for me, if I eat them the night before the next morning they are still sitting in my tummy, I think I have a slow metabolism and they take so long to digest and they make me feel very tired and slow so I dont have them hardly at all and when I do I certainly know that I have eaten them. Thanks for the advice on the warm up/down which i will continue as I dont want an injury at this stage of the game. Really enjoy reading your blogs. xx

psarapsych profile image
psarapsychGraduate in reply topinkus

Hi Julie, firstly, your stats are BRILLIANT - 5kms in 36 mins - not bad going for a shuffler - that means you are doing 5kms only 6 minutes longer than 30 - duh Sara!!!!! BUT THAT IS EXCELLENT :-). It's really odd but sometimes I think I'm going so slowly and then all of a sudden I've been told I've done 1km in 5mins 33 or something. Anyway, the point is not necessarily the speed BUT to just reflect back to you actually how well you are doing, even if you think you are shuffling to the slowest waltz(!!!), you are only 6 mins over - that's not a lot of time to shave off IF you want to get the 5kms done in 30mins.

On the weight thing... let your body sort out it's muscle building first. Bodies take time to re-arrange themselves after a lifetime of habits. Also muscle weighs a hell of a lot more than fat. BUT a tip: work out whether you are a protein or carb person... I lost 18kgs about 7 years ago and have never put it back on (apart from a 3-4 kilo swing up an down). I discovered that when I ate less pasta, bread and rice I had more energy and my body sort of 'appeared'. Sooo... I set myself on a 'healthy for life' type eating so I knew I wasn't depriving myself but just gave up pasta. I also am very careful about how much bread I eat. In Oz they have something called Cohen's Lifestyle Plan which is a similar sort of thing to my homespun plan - I got quite a bit of inspiration from Dr Cohen's work (originally a Cardiology Specialist in south Africa). Anyway, see how you go, play around with it but let your body catch up with all the changes.

Good Luck, Sara :-) xox

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate in reply topsarapsych

Thanks Sara love for your support, Yes I just cant do Pasta, Potatoes,

Bread. all the good stuff as I have a slow metabolism so definetly a Protein person will look into the Dr Cohens.....Hope you had a GREAT run xxx

psarapsych profile image
psarapsychGraduate in reply toDeliaItaly

Delia, you are amazing - 7kgs by just giving up cakes etc AND you eat pasta, you must have a really good metabolism????

DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate in reply topsarapsych

I think this pasta is fattening lark is a myth. Italians have started getting fat since certain hamburger chains arrived in Italy! But crikey, 18 whole Kilos, that is such a lot of weight to lose... and I do know that cutting down on carbs in general does lead to weight loss, but I don't think I i could bear to give up pasta, bread and potatoes ;-) You are anmazing Sara!

psarapsych profile image
psarapsychGraduate in reply toDeliaItaly

Mutual appreciation society :-). I don't know D... I loved pasta, it was my staple food BUT I think other nations eat pasta differently from Italians. When my sister lived in Rome I was interested that the pasta dish was just small and often eaten almost like a starter - perhaps in the UK we just eat too much???

But D... I WISH I could eat all those wonderful things... potatoes are okay but pasta and bread just blow me up and... well tmi I think!!

The Austrians do all this Knödel thing which is just yummy stick to the ribs food but they eat at lunch time and then not much after that, really healthy living. Sounds like you do the same??? Hugs, Sara :-)

DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate in reply topsarapsych

Yes, big lunch, small dinner !

Besinos delia

DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate

YES YOU MUST WARM UP AND DOWN PINKIE or you may do yourself an injury, i.e. cramp, pulled tendons etc. xox

psarapsych profile image
psarapsychGraduate in reply toDeliaItaly

Absolutely Julie.... Do what Delia says otherwise it will catch up with you. The Warm up actually (for me anyway) gets my body moving in a more fluid manner so by the time I come to run it's just much easier to change the pace - please, please take Delia's advice, Sara :-) xox

Soozz profile image
SoozzGraduate

Hi Pinkus, I hated week 8, it was the week everything went wrong for me but I battled through even though I stopped on R3 and only nailed it at the third try. But I graduated the next week and you will too!

I absolutely agree with Delia, you must do the warm-up walk (and warm-down) - you can so easily hurt yourself otherwise.

Do you know about MyFitnessPal? I only lost about 5lbs while doing C25k but since graduating and introducing MFP I have lost a total of 23lbs! Sorry, I am hopeless with kilograms!

Keep going, you can and will do it! Best of luck.

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate in reply toSoozz

Thanks Soozz will check out My Fitness Pal....you are going really well keep it up, hopefully my loss will show on the scales soon. xx

fatmumslim profile image
fatmumslimGraduate

Keep going Pinkus - you are not alone. I'm due to do W8 R3 this afternoon and so far have found this week HARD going. I can also recommend MyfitnessPal. Good luck - with week 9!

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate in reply tofatmumslim

Thanks fatmumslim for your encouragement I will check out MyfitnessPal and see what I can do. Good luck with your final run for W8 I hope it went well for you. xx

Crafting_girl profile image
Crafting_girl

Hi, Pinkus! Congratulations on completing week 8! And you should be chuffed with your pace - that's brilliant. Definitely keep on going with the warm up and cool down so you minimise the likelihood of picking up an injury.

I'm off for week 8 run 3 tomorrow - I'm enjoying this week much more than last, so I'm sure you're saving the best for last. Looking forward to hearing how you get on next week :-)

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate in reply toCrafting_girl

Thanks crafting_girl I am not sure about my pace but will keep going and will keep on with the warm up/cool down. I hope you have a great run for your last run for this week. Look forward to hearing about next week too. xx

mcc65 profile image
mcc65Graduate

Hey Pinkus, well done you. I found the final run of weeks 7 & 8 the hardest and it took me more than one attempt to finish them both. But once I did I felt so pleased and excited 'cos W9 and Graduation were there for the taking and I did my graduation run on Sunday :o)

You are doing a really good pace, I'm a very slow runner and while I can now run for 30 minutes my next goal is to work up to the 5k.

I'm frustrated by the scales too! I'm 46, not as unfit as I was and need to lose several stone. In the first few weeks I lost about 9 lbs but since then the needle has stubbornly refused to budge. However, I can see my shape changing and people are commenting on how much weight I have lost so it is working - I just wish that needle would move :o)

If you go to the questions page there is a question on there about weight loss with a link to a blog (typing this on my phone so can't copy the link for you) that explains about why the weight loss stalls - it is very interesting.

Good luck for W9 and can't wait to read that you have graduated :o)

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate in reply tomcc65

Hi mcc75 thanks for the encouragement I thought after all this running bizzo that I would have it a bit easier for W8 but not so....anyway must look ahead to W9 and concentrate on graduation....yes the weight loss or lack of it is very very frustrating for me so I will check out the link thanks for letting me know. Hope you are going well whatever you are up to....xx

mo-mentum profile image
mo-mentumGraduate

Hi Pinkus! It's amazing how the support of others drives you on.

I find it reassuring that someone else feels the cement feet too as well as the posture thing. I'm only on week 7 but the mind talk you describe is familiar. Not sure if you read the post by jazz15c this morning, but i think there will be a point at which everyone starts to feel a bit more athletic and a little less like it's a battle.

In terms of weight loss, I've dropped about 5kg but have stabilized now. The key thing to realise is that running will build muscle tissue, which is more dense than fat tissue - so it's not about the weight loss entirely. Delia can eat a lots of pasta and get away with it because by running and building muscle her metabolic rate is higher - yours is too.

I don't think i would dare run without a good stretch warm up and a 5 minute walk.

Make sure you share when you get to that run where you feel like jazz15c - I'm keen to know how bright the light is at the end of the tunnel.

DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate in reply tomo-mentum

Hi there! Just to say that I really recommend pasta - it isn't fattening! It's delicious and gives you energy. It also should not be overcooked. I believe it's in-between-meals-junk-food that makes us fat! I'm lucky that I live in a culture where people still sit round a table twice a day to 2 proper meals. Italian hubby works in the UK (I know a mad set-up!) and has really put on weight since he's been there because of so much (I think) protein at meals plus sugary (but delicious!) cakes and pastries.

pinkus profile image
pinkusGraduate

Hi mo-mentum yes the support from this group is just amazing, its so inspiring it really keeps me going and wanting to finish to the end and beyond. Do you know how I would find out my metabolic rate....I cant eat Carbs they dont agree with me, I always feel full and bloated as they just sit in my stomach even the next morning so I tend to stay away from them. I will read jazz15c post and see what its about. Thanks for your support and Goodluck with your running and hope you have a good week. xx

mo-mentum profile image
mo-mentumGraduate

Hi Pinkus

I've never tried to work out my metabolic rate, but there are a number of sites (just Google 'what is my metabolic rate?') that will calculate how many calories for your sex, age, height, weight and activity levels you should burn a day. I've never really been in to worrying about how to measure it in the same way i don't count calories in - i just eat what makes me feel healthy and follow the principles that Dr John Briffa shared with me on a 'survival course' i went on. In a nut shell, his theory on diet is that of the millions of years man has been on the planet 99.9% of the time line he has eaten berries and nuts in a grazing manner while moving to hunt for meat. After a sucessful hunt man would gorge himself on meat. Processed food such as bread, pasta, cakes etc have only been in mans diet of the 0.1% of his time on earth so we are not evolved to digest them in the same way. So while i love pasta (al dente Delia!) and bread even more, I try to make sure i eat more veg, fruit, nuts, fibre and fish than processed stuff. So if i go out on a long walk in the hills I now take a bag of fruit and nuts to snack on rather than a Mars bar! All that said i think if one is being active there is no reason way a little 'reward' (dark chocolate in my case) cannot be had every now and again. Happy running Mo xx

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