Anyone else doing C25K?

SageMolokai

I am and I'm a little stuck on week 5.

niblue

Week 5 (and particularly day 3) is a big step in C25K. If you're struggling it might be best to re-do week 4.

guinevere96

Ive recently started couch to 5k, currently on week two, and ive definitely heard week 5 is the hardest to get through. But once you can do it, the rest is a breeze apparently. Keep it up and don't give up!

jusbowers

I've just started on my 4th time through C25K, I use it after injuries have kept me out for a while to build back up to my normal distances and pace, and yes week 5 is hard.

If you really don't feel ready for it go back to week 4 and do that over, as many times as you need to so that you do feel ready for it.

I can say though that the W5D3 run gets you over the psychological barrier of needing a walk break, once you have proved to yourself that you can run the 20 mins then you know that you can go 22, 25, 28 and 30 minutes without having to stop.

You don't have to run this at a fast pace and anything over walking pace is good.

And if you don't manage it this time then carry on with do-overs of the week until you can because the only way you will fail to do this is if you quit!

Good luck, before you know it you will be running your 5K!

cln714

I completed the C25K program about 5 years ago after several false starts and I've been running ever since.
I tried, what seemed like, 100 x's before I finally did it. When I decided to go at it one last time I really tried to figure out what was holding me back and to eliminate those hurdles the best I could. I set some rules for myself and went to it.
These were my rules.
1) Do all my workouts at the gym track.
- I found myself relying on the weather too much before. Running outside was and still is my preference. If it was bad one day I hold off for the next day. Sometimes it would be a couple of days. I would skip workouts and then want to repeat that week. If I didn't start the week strong, I would fall apart.
2) No repeats!!
- The repeats were killing my motivation. Some workouts seemed REALLY hard. Some whole weeks were really hard and made me feel like I wasn't ready for the next week - but I pressed forward. Oddly sometimes the next week would seem not as bad. Even after all these years, some days and some weeks are just more difficult for whatever reason. Just keep going.
3) I set the C25K as a priority.
- I set the days I would run and stuck to it. I considered this non-negotiable. This became really important to me and I knew sticking to a set schedule was the only way I could do it.

Completing this program literally changed my life. It's changed the way I do everything. I used to be terrible with delayed gratification. Now I have learned how to tackle difficult projects and challenge myself.
Since completing the C25K I ran my first 5K and joined a running group. Since then I have run countless 5Ks, several half marathon's and even one marathon (although, that was NOT pretty). I continue to run a few times a week.

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

mellyrunsfar

This is how I started running. It works like a charm. Good luck everyone!

MissTattoo

I've repeated W1D1 like 3 days in a row. lol but I don't want to push too hard because that's when I give up. I'd like to be able to complete day 1 without stopping.

sparklyglitterbomb

I recently completed C25K and here is the big secret (at least in my world): you CAN do it and most of the battle - especially W5D3 - is in your head.

Slow down, have faith in yourself, and you will get there.

I fretted over W5D3 for DAYS before I tackled it. When I finally told myself "It's only 2 minutes more running than you did a couple days ago without a short break" it made it a little easier to start.

You've got this!

guinevere96

MissTattoo wrote: »

I've repeated W1D1 like 3 days in a row. lol but I don't want to push too hard because that's when I give up. I'd like to be able to complete day 1 without stopping.

I repeated w1d1 4 times and I got it It was hard but it really set the precedent for the rest of it so far, once I realized I could do that, I breezed through the next few workouts

SageMolokai

Thank you everyone! This is the third week I've attempted week 5. I can get through W5D1 easily, day 2 is really hard, day 3 seems impossible! Thank you all for the support and advise. I might try redoing week 4 like several of you suggested if I can't complete it this week.

CincyNeid

I used C25K about 2 years ago and I've been running ever since. Good luck to you guys.

sparklyglitterbomb

SageMolokai wrote: »

Thank you everyone! This is the third week I've attempted week 5. I can get through W5D1 easily, day 2 is really hard, day 3 seems impossible! Thank you all for the support and advise. I might try redoing week 4 like several of you suggested if I can't complete it this week.

try slowing down.. even if you think you could walk faster then you run. It will help a lot. You will speed up as you keep building your base.

briscogun

I completed this earlier in the year and a few things that helped me:

• Don't look ahead at what's coming. When I did W5D3 I had no idea what I was in store for that morning. "Run 20 minutes? Are you kidding me? Okay, why not...?" Boom. Did it. I didn't have time to thing about it.
• Give yourself permission to fail. I got through Week 5 fine, but Week 6 started to get hard. I just couldn't quite finish the runs, coming up like 45 seconds short here, a minute there. So I repeated the whole week after trying to plow through. Best decision I made. Got through the rest like a champ.
• GO SLOW! This is NOT about distance, its about moving your feet for the prescribed time. JUST. KEEP. MOVING.

Most of the time the issues were in my head, not in my feet. My brain would try to tell me I can't run 20 minutes or 28 minutes or whatever, but guess what? I could. The feeling you get from doing something you never thought you could do is AWESOME!

Just keep after it! You'll get there!

TMLfan1982

I started C25K in February and now I run 5k 2-3 times/week. My time is typically around 34 minutes. But my first 5k was round 40 minutes.

The biggest hurdle to W5D3 is all mental. Slow your pace down and take a route without hills. And maybe give yourself an extra day of rest before attempting W5D3.

Koldnomore

Run slower. You do not need to run fast. Don't worry about the time it takes, this will improve with distance. The more you run, the faster you will run naturally

ericatoday

I didnt discover the app until it was too late when i started it i could already do week 7 so i got rid of it. But i think its awesome. If you have trouble just your next run redo your last run. I can now run 5 5ks a week with no problem. Good luck just keep at it.

caitlinrn83

w5d3 is absolutely the toughest, because it's as much mental as it is physical. Go slow, turn on some music, and just keep going. You'll amaze yourself.
I finished c25k earlier this year--that run was the breakthrough run for me. Don't look at the clock, don't compare yourself to anyone else, just keep moving!

SageMolokai

You guys are all great! I need the encouragement and I really appreciate the responses and advise.

AshleyMFitness16

You all encouraged me to take another stab at C25K. I've tried it before, and always give up. I do run other than that, but I have yet to run a 5K without breaks. I'm going to try it again! I've always gotten frustrated that I don't go the recommended distance in the time - are you all saying the distance isn't as big of a deal, just to run the minutes??

srecupid

I paid for the premium app weeks ago but haven't started it yet. Eventually I will

caitlinrn83

SmashleyM914 wrote: »

You all encouraged me to take another stab at C25K. I've tried it before, and always give up. I do run other than that, but I have yet to run a 5K without breaks. I'm going to try it again! I've always gotten frustrated that I don't go the recommended distance in the time - are you all saying the distance isn't as big of a deal, just to run the minutes??

YES!! at the end of the program, I could run the full 30 minutes, but I was consistently hitting somewhere between 2 and 2.5 miles, not a 5k. I jumped right into the 5-10k program, and i hit 4 miles this morning. The whole point of the program is to build up your endurance and get you used to the time on your feet. The speed and distance come with time.

4jamaica

I keep having an issue of the app "restarting" or moving to the next section, even when I "lock" the app. Does anyone have any hints for getting the app to stay "on"? I've tried tucking the iPhone in my sports bra, putting it in a pocket at my hip, zipping it into a water bottle/accessory holder-- all such placements failed. Even if I hold my phone, unless I'm concentrating intently on where I am holding it, I somehow manage to skip ahead or quit.

I didn't mind this issue until recently when I began the long jogs. I just finished week 6 and hate my log stats for day 3. Why? Because the first time I ran W6D3, the app skipped 3 minutes into the running portion. I was unphased and started again only to have it skip just a few minutes into running. It happened a third time after maybe 2 minutes. I was at my wits end (and already winded) before I could get through the whole 22 minutes without a skip/quit. The second time I ran it, I got through 18 minutes before taking a sip of water and ending up skipping. I just couldn't face starting from scratch so I ran 5 minutes without the app and have been in a foul mood.

All solutions appreciated.

jusbowers

4jamaica wrote: »

I keep having an issue of the app "restarting" or moving to the next section, even when I "lock" the app. Does anyone have any hints for getting the app to stay "on"? I've tried tucking the iPhone in my sports bra, putting it in a pocket at my hip, zipping it into a water bottle/accessory holder-- all such placements failed. Even if I hold my phone, unless I'm concentrating intently on where I am holding it, I somehow manage to skip ahead or quit.

I didn't mind this issue until recently when I began the long jogs. I just finished week 6 and hate my log stats for day 3. Why? Because the first time I ran W6D3, the app skipped 3 minutes into the running portion. I was unphased and started again only to have it skip just a few minutes into running. It happened a third time after maybe 2 minutes. I was at my wits end (and already winded) before I could get through the whole 22 minutes without a skip/quit. The second time I ran it, I got through 18 minutes before taking a sip of water and ending up skipping. I just couldn't face starting from scratch so I ran 5 minutes without the app and have been in a foul mood.

All solutions appreciated.

There's lots of different apps for C25K out there depending on whether you want music, motivational chatter etc so maybe if the one you are using is playing up then try another, I use zen labs for C25K and set runkeeper going at the same time so my stats are uploaded from runkeeper to mfp etc.

Breadbar

I'm heading to the gym this morning for w4d2 - great encouragement here. Celebrating my 65th soon and this is my present to myself!

girlinahat

slow down.

I started c25k a few times and every time I felt I needed to repeat a week I got disheartened and gave up.

slow down.

so I read a few tips and the one that stuck was to slow down

slow down

going slow got over that mental block of not having a walk break, even though my actual speed was no more than walking speed (shorter strides gave it the running feel)

slow down

I now run twice a week for forty minutes non-stop, and longer at weekends - and that's another tip - to run faster you need to run further - the further you are able to run the better your aerobic strength, the faster you run ad infinitum.

slow down

if ever I feel I want to stop and walk, I don't, I just SLOW DOWN

DarkNightBrightDays

I just attempted W1D1 and didn't get all the way through probably shouldn't have taken the dog for a long walk first. I definitely need some new trainers or my heels are going to regret it lol. Also, I think I burned more cals trying to get into my damn sports bra than the running

zamphir66

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm wondering if there's an app specifically for 5K (and the other distances.) In other words, an app that will notify you and give you your time at exactly the 5K mark. I

I know that MapMyRun has splits you can look at after the fact, but I would like to get feedback right away.

I suppose I could map out a 5K in my neighborhood, but dang, isn't technology supposed to do this for me? Lol.

TMLfan1982

zamphir66 wrote: »

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm wondering if there's an app specifically for 5K (and the other distances.) In other words, an app that will notify you and give you your time at exactly the 5K mark. I

I know that MapMyRun has splits you can look at after the fact, but I would like to get feedback right away.

I suppose I could map out a 5K in my neighborhood, but dang, isn't technology supposed to do this for me? Lol.

I use the Nike running app. I receive verbal notifications at each km with distance, time and avg. time/km.

sweets1973

I finished this a few weeks ago I struggled with week 5 but I carried on didn't bother repeating any just pushed on with I also found it easier when changed to running out door

zamphir66

TMLfan1982 wrote: »

I use the Nike running app. I receive verbal notifications at each km with distance, time and avg. time/km.

I are dumb. It just occurred to me that I can probably switch MapMy... to km rather than miles. Duh.

robininfl

I was already running so started at week 5 and couldn't quite do the last longer stretch so have stepped back for two weeks and will move back ahead once the week 4 runs are solid. That sounded wrong, LOL. I mean once I can do those at a reasonable pace.

Slow progress is fine with me. I've had injuries before from increasing too fast, and no desire to repeat that.