C25K

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  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
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    There were days when I was much slower at running than walking. Like bwogilvie said, go really slowly. You should be able to keep a conversation when you're running C25K so see if that would help in figuring out whether you're pushing too hard. Don't be afraid to retake a day or two if that is truly what you need.
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
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    If you absolutely cannot complete without stopping, I agree with the others that you're simply starting out too fast.

    I'm a C25K graduate and today I just ran 4.5 miles without stopping (building to a 10K now). It's a great program.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    The programme is structured that way for a reason, to give you adequate time to recover between runs and help uild your stamina. If you really want to do more cardio between runs, do something low impact like an elliptical or bike... Or just go for a walk instead. You'll burn out and get discouraged a lot faster if you push yourself too hard.
  • sw33tp3a11
    sw33tp3a11 Posts: 4,646 Member
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    I also started this program 3 weeks ago. I love it. I see improvements every time I complete a week. I love running. Who knew?! lol My goal is to run a 5k next year. Good luck!!!
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    bwogilvie wrote: »
    jissellc wrote: »
    Ok so I've become stuck at Week 4. I just can't overcome the 2nd session of 5 mins running without stopping, plus I just came down with the flu or something so that doesn't help. I already run slow (3.5 on my treadmill) but I still have to stop for a few seconds during the 2nd portion of running. Any suggestions?

    Try going even slower, not just on the last 5-minute run interval but from the beginning.

    Walking is a great form of cross training. And as you build up your stamina from walking, running will get easier too.

    Good luck, and take it easy until you've recovered from your flu.

    Ok so I ran at a 3mph speed, and it made all the difference! I was able to run the whole time without stopping. Thank you!
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    jissellc wrote: »
    Ok so I ran at a 3mph speed, and it made all the difference! I was able to run the whole time without stopping. Thank you!

    Glad to hear it! When you get to week 5 and 6, try running faster on day 1 with the shortest intervals, somewhat slower on day 2, with the two longer intervals, and then even slower on day 3, with the continuous run. That's the way to get W5D3 and W6D3 in the bag. After that, the world is your oyster.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    bwogilvie wrote: »
    jissellc wrote: »
    Ok so I ran at a 3mph speed, and it made all the difference! I was able to run the whole time without stopping. Thank you!

    Glad to hear it! When you get to week 5 and 6, try running faster on day 1 with the shortest intervals, somewhat slower on day 2, with the two longer intervals, and then even slower on day 3, with the continuous run. That's the way to get W5D3 and W6D3 in the bag. After that, the world is your oyster.
    Congrats on making it through the run!

    Don't worry at all about the speed; you'll get faster with time. Keep at it. The easiest way to increase speed at shorter distances while you're still new to running is to increase the distance you're running. In other words, once you can run a 5K, keep increasing your distance gradually to decrease the amount of time it takes you to run 5K.
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    bwogilvie wrote: »
    jissellc wrote: »
    Ok so I ran at a 3mph speed, and it made all the difference! I was able to run the whole time without stopping. Thank you!

    Glad to hear it! When you get to week 5 and 6, try running faster on day 1 with the shortest intervals, somewhat slower on day 2, with the two longer intervals, and then even slower on day 3, with the continuous run. That's the way to get W5D3 and W6D3 in the bag. After that, the world is your oyster.

    Thank you so much for the advise! I will definitely keep this in mind for those weeks.
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    SueInAz wrote: »
    bwogilvie wrote: »
    jissellc wrote: »
    Ok so I ran at a 3mph speed, and it made all the difference! I was able to run the whole time without stopping. Thank you!

    Glad to hear it! When you get to week 5 and 6, try running faster on day 1 with the shortest intervals, somewhat slower on day 2, with the two longer intervals, and then even slower on day 3, with the continuous run. That's the way to get W5D3 and W6D3 in the bag. After that, the world is your oyster.
    Congrats on making it through the run!

    Don't worry at all about the speed; you'll get faster with time. Keep at it. The easiest way to increase speed at shorter distances while you're still new to running is to increase the distance you're running. In other words, once you can run a 5K, keep increasing your distance gradually to decrease the amount of time it takes you to run 5K.

    Thank you for your advise! Yeah I was really self-conscious about my speed when I first started. Sometimes I feel that since I run so slow, I might as well be walking. :/
    But I'll keep pushing through it! Thank you!
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
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    jissellc wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    bwogilvie wrote: »
    jissellc wrote: »
    Ok so I ran at a 3mph speed, and it made all the difference! I was able to run the whole time without stopping. Thank you!

    Glad to hear it! When you get to week 5 and 6, try running faster on day 1 with the shortest intervals, somewhat slower on day 2, with the two longer intervals, and then even slower on day 3, with the continuous run. That's the way to get W5D3 and W6D3 in the bag. After that, the world is your oyster.
    Congrats on making it through the run!

    Don't worry at all about the speed; you'll get faster with time. Keep at it. The easiest way to increase speed at shorter distances while you're still new to running is to increase the distance you're running. In other words, once you can run a 5K, keep increasing your distance gradually to decrease the amount of time it takes you to run 5K.

    Thank you for your advise! Yeah I was really self-conscious about my speed when I first started. Sometimes I feel that since I run so slow, I might as well be walking. :/
    But I'll keep pushing through it! Thank you!

    Running is very different from walking and in the beginning it isn't odd to run slower than you walk.
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    Okay, completed Week 5 Day 1 today. I gotta say I spanked it and thought it was so thrilling and feeling like I could run loner but I figured I better not push it. haha
    I couldn't believe I completed today with no problems. I didn't stop once during the running sessions. I was able to run at a bit of a faster pace also, 3.2 on my treadmill instead of 3.0 mph. :)
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
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    Great job! :)
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    Completed Week 5 today, just finished Day 3 right now. Whew I made it!!! I didn't stop once. I am so surprised I could run the whole 20 mins, as I have never ran that long in my life haha. I only went 1.39 miles though, so I went super slow. I really really want to improve my speed but not burn myself out. I managed to run the first 10 mins at a 3.0 speed, increased to 3.1 for 5 mins, then 3.3 for the last 5 mins of the run.
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    jissellc wrote: »
    Completed Week 5 today, just finished Day 3 right now. Whew I made it!!! I didn't stop once. I am so surprised I could run the whole 20 mins, as I have never ran that long in my life haha. I only went 1.39 miles though, so I went super slow. I really really want to improve my speed but not burn myself out. I managed to run the first 10 mins at a 3.0 speed, increased to 3.1 for 5 mins, then 3.3 for the last 5 mins of the run.

    Don't worry about your speed at this point. It really does come with time as you continue. Too much too soon tends to lead to burn out or injury. You'll be amazed at your speed improvement as you work the program and beyond.
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    brandiuntz wrote: »
    jissellc wrote: »
    Completed Week 5 today, just finished Day 3 right now. Whew I made it!!! I didn't stop once. I am so surprised I could run the whole 20 mins, as I have never ran that long in my life haha. I only went 1.39 miles though, so I went super slow. I really really want to improve my speed but not burn myself out. I managed to run the first 10 mins at a 3.0 speed, increased to 3.1 for 5 mins, then 3.3 for the last 5 mins of the run.

    Don't worry about your speed at this point. It really does come with time as you continue. Too much too soon tends to lead to burn out or injury. You'll be amazed at your speed improvement as you work the program and beyond.

    I know I need to be patient lol. Thank you for your advise! I'm so happy I could run that 20 mins I feel like I can conquer the world. haha
  • owenclarke30
    owenclarke30 Posts: 12 Member
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    Week two day one today but had to do it on a treadmill, I have loved running outside but circumstances meant I had to gym rather than outside, the running was easy as in no shortness of breath but my shins feel heavy and sore now
  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    Week two day one today but had to do it on a treadmill, I have loved running outside but circumstances meant I had to gym rather than outside, the running was easy as in no shortness of breath but my shins feel heavy and sore now

    My shins used to be sore around the beginning also. I just ran slower and applied my heating pad to them after running. Hope it gets better!
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    I did this. I completed it a few weeks ago. I am now working on my speed. So while with c25k I did 3 miles, I'm now doing slightly over 2 at a faster pace.

  • jissellc
    jissellc Posts: 76 Member
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    Soooo,
    Feels like forever since I've had an update post. School started again and I have been busy. Anyways, I've been on week 6, I believe, and I can run the full 25 mins however I go so slowwww :(. I only run 1.6 miles during that time instead of the 2.5 miles. I continue to run after the 25 mins until I reach 2.2 miles (takes about 47 mins total). I'm such a slow poke. I've come a LONGGGG way since day 1 no doubt but I want to get better. I guess I'll run a little more each week? I know that to run faster, you should go more miles but I'm not sure how to go about this. So as of right now it takes me 47 mins to run 2.2 miles. How many miles do you up a week to increase speed?
    Thanks everyone!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Just finish the programme, many people don't do the 5Km in 30 miutes by the end.

    Once you've finished that, you can move onto a longer distance plan and you'll find that your speed improves as a result of that.