B210K – W1R1: So after all the encouraging blogs... - Couch to 5K

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B210K – W1R1

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate
19 Replies

So after all the encouraging blogs on here recently about starting this programme I decided I will give it a go too and so went for it this morning. Committing to it on here publicly means I have to do it and can’t shy away…

As it was four sets of 10 min runs with 1 min intervals I thought it wouldn’t be too bad, after all, running for just 10 mins and then stopping – we graduates can all do that right, if we can already run for 30 mins straight?? Boy was I wrong!!

The first two sets were OK, nothing brilliant and not as fast as I know I can go; maybe the Christmas excesses are still taking their toll but how long really can I keep using that as an excuse??! The 1 min walks though go so quickly and by the third and fourth sets I really started to feel it for some reason, so much so that I had to increase the times of the walks and the final set was just so slow – the slowest I have ever run!!

I stopped my watch for every walk so the stats show 5.8km run in 40 mins – not brilliant but it is the furthest I have run and for the longest time so still a positive in there somewhere I think…..plus I am not aching and I haven’t got an injury so all is good!

As for the programme, I went with another B210K on itunes as I had trouble in the end downloading Samantha. It gives audible sounds and a voiceover when you are half way through and then at 2 mins and 1 min from the end. Music was crap though so I will either try again to get Samantha to work or go with my own music and just use my watch for timing.

So that’s me started. I hope to improve on this over the next two runs of W1 but its now going back to evening runs after work so not sure how that will affect me. I will stick with it though and hope more will join the new B210K gang for 2013!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone and happy running!!

Sue x

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SBG356 profile image
SBG356
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19 Replies
DeliaItaly profile image
DeliaItalyGraduate

Great work Sue, and excellent timing! What a star! xox

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to DeliaItaly

Thanks for your encouragement Delia!

Sx

lucylocket10 profile image
lucylocket10Graduate

That sounds like a good if challenging run - but challenging is good isn't it??

I ran the second run this evening and it went better than the first - again I managed to extend it to 4 miles but I ran a minute faster than last time which was good.

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to lucylocket10

Thats brilliant Lucy! Am hoping my next run will be better than today's....

oona profile image
oonaGraduate

Right Sue, that's it! I've been faffing around for ages - should I start training for 10k or should I get my time down for 5k first? Reading your blog has done it for me - I'm going to have a go at W1R1 tomorrow! Wish me luck! Good luck to you for R2. :)

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to oona

Fantastic Oona - welcome to the B210K Club!!

Since graduating I have just been running to try to increase distance and speed and get to that elusive 30 mins 5K but I'm not there yet so I didnt want to get despondent and thought that maybe another goal would be a good idea. I think it will be tough for me but will take it slow and see how it goes.

I will be thinking of you tomorrow and be sure to post about it here!! :)

Sx

Glad you've decided to give it a try, bet you did over 6k with those 1minute walks :-) enjoy your next outing.

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to

Thanks Phil and yes maybe I did but wont count any walking - that's cheating in my book!!! :D

shelleymcb profile image
shelleymcbGraduate

good luck. if its any consolation I never managed to finish the week 1 runs. I just couldnt get that last 10mins. I tried 4 times then went on to week 2 & had no problems with the rest of the plan. also hated week 6,r1 of c25k so maybe I just cant settle into intervals :)

hope you enjoy the rest of the plan. shelley x

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to shelleymcb

Thats really interesting Shelley....thanks for sharing that as it gives me some hope! I was glad for the end of the intervals in C25K too so maybe I am the same. :P

Its good to hear from others that have completed this plan and get advice and tips; all are very welcome!

Thanks for your encouragement! :)

Sue x

janda profile image
jandaGraduate

Well done Sue. It's great that you have gone and started on the programme. The first week is really pretty hard (so is the second when I think about it!) so don't be hard on yourself. You have done really well, especially as this is your best distance yet!! I really find that bit an incentive to getting me running better. Not sure the app you have sounds so good but Sam Murphy is not that great: Pink Madonna, Cranberries are the ones I recognised but sure there's more I could figure out. I tend to just get on with it and the music seems to get filtered out. Good luck with whatever you decide to do with this programme.

smhall profile image
smhallGraduate

First, well done!!! Second, thanks...thanks alot. You have given Gayle the idea of B210K...guess what we started today.

I have to completely agree with you!!! This was a terribly hard return to running intervals!!! I had become quite accustomed to my little 5K runs and the last 10 minutes of this was almost the death of me!!! I am happy to report that Gayle had a much better go of it!! She had the NERVE to smile at me during the walking bits. Can you believe that...she could smile!!

We are just going at it with our MP3 players for music and our trusty Garmin watches (thanks to you!! :-) ) for timing. We just let the watches keep track during the walking parts, too. Since you consider that to be "cheating" you may need a different approach. When we uploaded to the Garmin site I was sure to label the runs as B210K so that we would know that there was walking included in the times.

Good luck!! I am sure that you will do as wonderfully with 10K as you did 5K!!

Keep Running!! :-)

Steve

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to smhall

Good to hear you are both on this now too Steve - the more the merrier!! :)

Yes, interesting isnt it and also what Shelley says about that last 10 mins.....glad I am not alone in nearly dying!! :D Well done to Gayle though - but SMILING??? That is just not on......

I have been thinking about how best to use the Garmin if using my own music and decided that I would need to keep it on during the walking too and just count the whole lot; I suppose if I do that for them all then its still a like for like comparison. Yep mine are titled B210K W1R1 etc too.....

I am thinking I may need to take longer than the 6 weeks as it is quite a step up but I will see how it goes; who knows, I may surprise myself!! :8

Best of luck for your next run!

Sue

IronMatt profile image
IronMattGraduate

Hey, hey! Congratulations for getting started on the B210k runs! *applauds*

It is harder than one would expect, isn't it? Well, at least you have the support of the rest of us (just as we have awesome support from you), so you know it isn't just you. Stick with it -- you can do this! And, like with Couch-to-5K, it actually does get easier as you go along.

Glad you've joined the club! Looking forward to reading more from you in the coming weeks!

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to IronMatt

Cheers Matthew! As rollertoaster said in her blog, which you endorsed, its about the endurance rather than the distance covered so will concentrate on that. I did that with C25K so funny how I am not with this.....

IronMatt profile image
IronMattGraduate in reply to SBG356

Yes, I completely agree. Focus on how long you can run for, not on how fast you can go. Speed and endurance are separate (though related, of course). Seems to me that both Couch-to-5K and Bridge-to-10K are all about the endurance. (I guess "Couch-to-30mins" and "Bridge-to-60mins" are less snappy as names, even if they are more accurate! ;-) ) Focus on the endurance for now; you can build the speed later.

That said, I keep telling myself the same thing... and failing to take my own advice. Like you, I had no problem ignoring speed during Couch-to-5K; the only time I measured it was once in Week 7, just to have some idea of my baseline. But, also like you, it seems harder to not focus on speed now, even though I know that's the right thing to do. Must try harder. :-)

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to IronMatt

Funny how we know what is right, we tell others what is right but we cant seem to take it on board ourselves :D Must try harder too ;)

IronMatt profile image
IronMattGraduate in reply to SBG356

Well said! *applauds*

I thought about it some more and realised what the difference may be. In Couch-to-5K, Laura spent the first few weeks repeatedly telling us things like: "It's just a light jog" and "Don't go too fast, or you might get discouraged" and "At the end of the day, it's about kilometers covered, not speed". So we naturally had encouragement away from this compulsive measuring of speed and distance. Samantha is a lot more hands-off with her instructions, so there isn't any active dissuasion going on.

What do you think?

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate in reply to IronMatt

I think you are spot on!! Another reason to bring back Laura for an NHS B210K podcast :)

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