Nearly at the end!

[ange123]

Well I've been struggling to find the motivation to carry on running lately. I suppose it's a mixture of cold, dark, rainy weather and feeling like I have a million things to do for Christmas. So I've only been fitting in one run a week. Week 7 also became my nemesis - I repeated a couple of week 7 runs but as a result I was starting to get really bored. I went out again last week intending to repeat a week 7 run but suddenly realised that 28 minutes is not a big deal! So I ended up doing W8R1.

It wasn't easy but then I guess it's not supposed to be! I was immensely proud of myself. And using Endomondo showed me that I can do 4.2k in 28 minutes. Well on the way to 5k in 30 minutes! I was totally shocked. I always intended to just be able to run for 30 minutes - the actual distance didn't concern me too much. So I always assumed that I was really slow and that 5k would probably take me much longer than most people - I had 40-45 minutes in my head. So to realise how close I am to actually doing it in 30 minutes is amazing! This is the biggest sporting achievement of my life!

I went out again last night and did W8R2. Much harder - I think I was totally out of fuel having not eaten very much yesterday. And I developed cramp in my left calf (the only place to ever cause me trouble - must be my weakest point!) after only a couple of minutes which hurt like hell, but I made myself carry on and it did ease off a bit after a while. So ultimately that means there's only 4 runs left until I complete the program. Never thought I'd say that! I'm also quite scared of finishing - what do I do next? I've heard a few things mentioned like Stepping Stones etc but I don't really know what they're for or what they involve.

Any recommendations?

[Spud Graduate]

I had the same problems with Week7 so did the same as you & pushed through to Week8 - that seemed to get me through a mental barrier and there was then no looking back to the end and graduation!!

You are so close to getting that green badge to officially stamp your biggest sporting achievement - just keep going

Good times too - a few weeks after graduating, I am still looking at 35 mins for 5k.

I haven't moved onto the Stepping Stones yet - I am quite enjoying consolidating with 25-30 minute runs to my own music at the moment.

[ange123 Graduate in reply to Spud]

Congratulations on graduating and thanks for your comments. I was thinking about doing the same - consolidating and maybe finding I'm getting a bit faster or maybe just finding the 30 minute runs a bit easier each time. The only thing that concerns me is losing motivation because there'll be no structure any more and nothing specific to aim at.

I estimate I'll be doing 5k in about 34-35 minutes - but it's yet to be seen! One more 28 minute run then the final week...eek!

[Nevertoolate Graduate]

I lost motivation for a while after graduation and found the C25K+ podcasts really helpful. There are 3 -Stepping Stones, Speed and Stamina - have a look on the C25K NHS page to download. They still have Laura telling you what to do, the music is marginally better I think and they help to get faster and fitter. I was using the Speed and Stamina ones because the Stepping Stones one didn't fit my pace. With their help I made 5k in just under 30 minutes this week!

Good luck with finishing, you're nearly there - and then the real fun begins!

[ange123 Graduate in reply to Nevertoolate]

Great advice thank you Congrats on the 5k in under 30 minutes too - that's fab!

[rolphie2 Graduate]

Well done not long to go now you will be runnig 5K before you know it. I have joined a local beginners running club since graduating and have to say it is great fun running with other people and everyone at the running club is really supportive and there is a great range of abilities so don't feel like I can't run and I suspect you are already faster than me! However have also read on here that the 5K+ podcasts are very good. Also can recomend Parkruns as a good way to keep motivation up as again there are runners of all abilities and everyone is really supportive and friendly. Good luck for your next few runs let us know how you get on