for my information!

[LouisaJayne]

Hello anyone who reads this. I'm not a blogger by nature but thought i'd put some things down for me to look at later and compare now to when I look back

I started C25K way back in september 2012 and graduated in Jan 2013. I've not quite reached the 5k distance yet but that's mainly because I run in miles lol on my next run i'm going to run 3.2 miles just so I know i've smashed it lol

I have struggled with calf pain and had to do lots of resting. I also think I suffer with pushing myself too much how easy is easy and am I being too easy? should I by now be able to run 4 miles? I feel that now I can run 3 comfortably so should I push myself to 4 or 3.5? or should I concentrate on running 3 faster?

After graduating I tried the C25K+ and that and a big hill in my new route kind of put the kybosh on my calves, so now i'm back to running the same 3 mile distance and a little scared to venture on to other things.

But despite all that uncertainty I LOVE running it's the best thing that i've ever done for myself I can leave the house stressed, plotting where to bury the body parts of the person who's upset me the most and by the time I get back I love them again and all is forgiven. The last couple of weeks have been injury free and I feel so good at the end of the run and I look forward to the next one.

TTFN xx

[fillyfoo]

You sound just like me! I love running with a passion that I haven't had for anything since my pony as a kid! (can't afford horses anymore) - it has stopped me drinking a bottle of wine after a stressful day at work and is absolutely the best thing I have ever done :-).

I'm still slow, and I still often have to walk for a few paces every couple of kms, but I love it and it's good for me too (not a combination you often get).

Keep smiling and keep running

[gdeann Graduate]

Congratulations! I noticed no grad badge, feel free to request one! Sounds like your doing fantastic post graduation! Gayle

[greenlegs Graduate]

Yes, as Gayle says, request a grad badge. I'm a low post-gradder too, so always glad to see another!

[vixiej Graduate]

Hi, you are doing great. I wouldn't worry about speed or distance, unless you feel like upping them.

When I graduated I was going to then go for 10K, but I had a lot of things going on in my life, so I changed my mind, decided to just run how I feel like running, but mixing things up from time to time to make sure I stay fresh. E.g. one run I decided to tackle a small hill (I'd always been terrified) and when I'd done that, I would sometimes add a few minutes to a run, if I was feeling particularly good - it wasn't long before I was pushing myself 'in the moment' to run for an extra few minutes and suddenly I was running 5 miles and not bothered about hills. Mix in the occasional speed podcast. You get the idea. I just played around with the running, depending on how I was feeling on the day. I rarely run fast, I like to do two 'easy' longer runs a week (heart rate less than 155) and one that mixes up and pushes the heart rate a little, just to keep me feeling like I'm working a bit.

There is no right or wrong way. There are some great podcasts post 5K, you might like to try, but really, as long as you are enjoying yourself, who cares, just have fun and do it because you can