Starting c25k...again :) updates as I go.

Toria718

A little backstory on me. I am 34, a mom of 3 (youngest is 2) and have been married almost 14 years. I am currently 203.4 lbs at 5'6" and have anxiety about being social. I don't post a whole lot so this is an experiment for me. I have a 3.1 mile trek around my house that I am going to be using, and although I know that I will not finish the distance in the app's timeframe I will still finish the total distance every time.

I usually lose my initial motivation and stop whatever I am doing to keep myself healthy and accountable to myself. If you add in some laziness, slight depression, and a couple pregnancies my weight fluctuates 30 lbs or so before I give up (usually from illness or injury) and gain it back because I like to comfort eat. The lowest weight I have achieved as an adult is 182 lbs.

I gained inspiration from another post started about a year or so ago, the person was very funny and honest about their experience including the good, the bad, and the injured. They were doing the same exact thing and I'll include a link at the end if I can find it ( Accidentally unstarred it when I closed out of his post). I thought posting my updates for the mfp community to see is a great way to push my personal boundaries and hold myself accountable to my own goals.

So without further ado here we go!

Week 1 Day 1
Total distance/time: 3.1 miles/54 minutes
App distance/time: 3.1 miles/30 minutes

I decide enough is enough and I need to get my tush on the move. I find what I can and get my gear on (2 sports bras...you ladies know, 2L hydration bag that clasps across my chest, earbuds, phone, and running shoes). As it is 72 degrees (in October...in NW Pennsylvania!)The warm up was an uneventful 5 minutes. I hear the cue to start running and I think it is a breeze, however I also know that I am not a teenager anymore and need to slow down as I do not want to injure myself. That's when I realized that, crap, I left my chapstick at home and then, double crap, I left my inhaler at home.

Luckily the whole 30 minutes of the apps run time today was easy as far as breathing (minus the chapped lips.. ow) and energy go. What I didn't expect was the time it would take me to finish the last part of the distance. I didn't want to keep running and wear my body out as I still had about 1.4 miles left. So I walked at a brisk pace to keep my heart rate up and then an even more brisk pace when the rain started to come down. With water running down my hat (yay I remembered to wear it!) I walked as quickly as I could and finished the last mile (going uphill) at a pretty similar pace as my jogging. By the time I got home I was completely soaked but happy that I finished my goal of the day.

If you lasted through all of that I appreciate you more than you can possibly know.
I know as the days get shorter and colder it is going to suck being outside running. That is exactly why I am posting this, I need to live outside of my personal comforts to grow as a human being, be confident in myself (omg what a new concept to me), and to show my children that anything is possible with enough hard work.

See all of you after my next run on Tuesday!

moonangel12

Get it girl!! C25K is fun - to know how far you have come from one week to the next! It will be neat to look back on your notes as you go!

(I am like you with the gear... especially as it gets cold and dark... hat, gloves, light, mace, compression sleeves if needed, neon outer layer, etc. I totally forgot my inhaler for the 5k this weekend! Thankfully the weather was on my side so i made it OK). I use a cheat light in the dark, hand free and rechargeable.

Toria718

Crap forgot the mace too lol, also a cheat light is a great idea, I think my husband has a headlamp somewhere around the house.

Lindsay375

So random point...I’d really suggest measuring yourself and spending a bit of money on a properly fitted sports bra. A well fitting bra is one of the best things I did for myself. I use reddit ABTF (a bra that fits) calculator. Also saves laundry that you only need to wash one!

Toria718

Definitely a good investment hopefully can get a awesome new one soon. Finances currently don't allow me to get one, so for the time being a 2 bra situation or bra + work out shirt with a bra built in. I love the less amount of laundry part of your idea the most lol

moonangel12

Whoops! Typo on my post above: cheat light = chest light (evidently an auto correct special because I had to correct that more than once!). Flashlight in the front and a red triangle on my back!

Toria718

Ooh gotcha, I was confused for a while. Lol I should have guessed that but had to run to soccer evaluations with my son. Chest makes much more sense lol. I'll need to look into that, great suggestion:D

Toria718

Week 1 Day 2 Done
Total distance/time: 3.1miles/46:45
App distance/time:2.1 miles/30:00
I was put on a new medication this week and a side effect is fatigue. I could not wake up for the life of me today but finally was able to get myself feeling better around 5:30 PM. I knew I had a post to write today (couldn't get lazy this quick lol).

With my gear on, remembering my chapstick this time but needing to leave my hydration bag( I don't know where that went) I started up my c25k, zombies run, and map my fitness apps along with my music. Phone was fully charged and I headed out into the mild weather. The sun was deceptive today as it was bright but only 63. It felt warmer than the other day with the rain.

As my phone was in my pocket, somehow able to still have the touchscreen work, it kept changing my run and walk times on me. Ultimately I had one more cycle of run/walk than I was supposed to. That likely added to the longer distance for the app, but overall I worked my tail off and took 7-8 minutes off my overall time.

I felt a slight twinge in my right knee but the smell of the Concord grapes in the fields distracted me lol. Had to cross the road because they were tempting. I didn't want to steal and I didn't want to gorge on fresh grapes. I still had over a time until home and a belly full of grapes makes for an uncomfortable run.
Thanks for reading! Next run on Thursday.

amandarawr06

Amazing! This is great!

I did c25k in the spring/summer and it really is a great program!! It took me about 48 minutes in the beginning and slowly but surely I got it down to a 30ish time frame! You can do it too! Just keep at it!!

Toria718

Thank you for the encouragement feel the water retention today but can not wait for tomorrow!

busyPK

Great job and keep it up!

lukeruss

Great work. I just finished the program and am moving on to the 10k. I have really fallen in love with running doing this

Toria718

Thanks for the support! Another run today and can not wait to update

amy19355

I have been inspired by the C25K program as well.
One of my buddies who runs all the time gave me a tip that changed my whole outlook on running and made it accessible to me for the first time.
It was about my feet; if I can hear my feet hit the ground I am working too hard.
What this meant in practical application is that my feet barely leave the ground and my stride length is quite short.
The benefit I am getting from this is pain free knees and lower back.

I have been jogging on the treadmill at the gym and setting my own walk/jog cycle timing. ATM, I can sustain 2 minute of jogging at 4.1 mph.

I am chasing after the 15 minute mile target right now.

Oh - and good running shoes make a HUGE difference. I went with Brooks brand in their “cushioned “ line.

Good fitness to us all!

Toria718

Week 1 Day 3 Done
Total distance/time: 3.1 miles/46:45
Heckin yeah took 8 seconds off lol

App distance/time: 2.03 miles/30:00
.07 miles shorter distance

Had a very busy day so my run did not start until after 8 PM in the dark at 57 degrees. I put on my reflective vest and for safety only 1 wireless earbud.

I started off strong, didn't have any zombies chasing me at first from zombies run! Made it through the c25k part of my run with out a problem minus my cold ears. The last mile is uphill and the road is slanted so I overextended my knee and pulled something behind it. This is not uncommon for me but it is irritating all the same, supposed to be taping my knee but need more tape. Happy my overall time is less than before but going to give my knee an extra day to rest up so next run on Sunday.

@amy19355 wish I read your suggestion about the stride before I ran lol probably would have helped a lot

Toria718

Week 2 Day 1 done
Total distance/time: 3.1 miles/46:18
App distance/time: 2.07 miles/31 minutes

Spent my weekend at my camper so I was ready to run tonight. I find that once I get in a groove of running I get cranky if I feel I missed a day. I slept funny on my neck and it is a bit sore so that messed with my running more than I thought it would. It hurt to hold my head high and I kept looking at the ground. I think it affected my breathing a bit.

This was the start of the 90 second run with 2 minutes of walking. With my luck all of the running was in the uphill sections of my route and the zombies from zombies run! decided to show up ( if you haven't tried it, the app is awesome and really helps to throw in the higher speed running to push yourself) not sure if I'm gonna get in trouble for mentioning it but it is fun.

Anyways I had to slow down because my heart rate was 173 for the 90 seconds and I was getting burned out halfway through my route. I walked a bit ( 15 seconds ) during the last running section as I was out of steam...does that count as a fail of a day? If so I'll do another one of these days to make it up.

All in all it was a great run and I took time off my total again. Another update coming on Tuesday!

moonangel12

I had one of those luck of the draw runs during C25K where all of them hit uphill sections, even on the return route! No idea how that happened

I wouldn’t consider it a fail - you showed up AND you finished, but I know there were a couple weeks that I stretched out into two because my body just wasn’t ready to progress... it’s all good!

Toria718

Week 2 Day 2 done
Total distance/time: 3.11 miles/47:29
App distance/time: 2.03 miles/31:00

Omg I didn't want to run tonight. Friend came in from out of town unexpectedly and I needed to scramble to clean my house. After visiting and a late dinner I was ready for bed.

As my time tonight shows I went just a tad slower than normal because I am pooped. That being said as I had most of my running clothes on anyways and I didn't want to mess with my days I forced my shoes and safety reflective gear on and headed out the door.

Apparently my headphones decided not to charge and cut out on my halfway through the distance. I ended up turning the volume up all the way and listened as best I could to the cues. With the zombies run app I had 4 hoards running after me so I had quite an uptick in speed ...maybe that's why I have a longer time...my walking slowed down a bit more after sprinting.

Anyways another late run coming on Thursday. Thanks for reading!

trwww

love this!

Toria718

Thank you! @trwww, I am doing my best to stay dedicated as I want accomplish my goal of finishing for once lol

Toria718

Week 2 day 3 done
Total distance/time: 3.1 miles/46.18
App distance/time: 2.04 miles/31:00

Long day...run started at 8:30 pm. It was dark, cold, and rainy...so practice for when it is snowing lol, oh why did I decide to get motivated in the fall?

I really needed this run though, my computer crashed and I spent the last 2 days trying to fix it. I got to let out some frustration. I had a YouTube documentary playing while I was running, I don't think that's the best idea. I seem to run better when my music is playing, I run to the beat. I did an experiment to see how I performed with YouTube vs my running playlist. Music definitely won.

However I had more pep in me and during my last mile, after the c25k part was done, I was able to alternate run/walk every 1/10th of a mile. It doesn't seem like much but 2 weeks ago I was just about dead after the c25k part ended. So I absolutely see some progress.

Thanks again for reading, next run on Sunday as it is Halloween weekend at camp and I plan on having a grand time, thanks for reading!

Toria718

Week 3 day 1 done
Total distance/time: 3.1 miles/44:34
App distance/time: 1.91 miles/28:04

Woooo! I had a fun weekend!
Halloween at camp with my kids was a lot of fun, I didn't track too closely and had a few pieces of candy. I did have a lot of (for me) adult beverages (0 calorie Arnold Palmer and peach vodka). I did a lot of yard work and karaoke but still was itching for a run when I got home today.

Today the program was 90 sec run/90 sec walk and then 3 min run/3 min walk and repeat. I had so much energy that I was able to get into a really nice groove and my split 1/10th mile pace went up from 4.8 mph to 6.1 mph. Since the app time was shorter today I had a bit longer of distance to do my .1 mile run/.1 mile walk to finish.

I don't know if the carb load from the last 2 days has helped my energy (my guess it has) but I feel amazing after this run and can not wait to see if my time on Tuesday is roughly the same as today. I am excited that I took about a minute and a half off my total time! Tuesday's run program is the same so i can compare apples to apples as close as I can.

Wish me luck!

littlegreenparrot1

Well done, you're doing so well.

I find it really helpful to have something to work for, helps move me out the door in the dark! It might be worth looking to see if there are any 5k fun runs near you around the time you'll finish the program. There are often fancy dress ones around Christmas time, you might even get the children interested if their old enough.

moonangel12

I second the 5k! If I don’t have a goal, I definitely flounder.... There is a Christmas one near us that coincides with the local parade so you are encouraged to dress up and have fun with it My husband and children are tagging along for this one - family of 6 for only $60. The kids have done some 1 mile fun runs, this will be their first longer distance.

Toria718

The 5k is a great idea! Thanks guys for the suggestion! I believe there is a Turkey Trot in my local area on Thanksgiving day...that's close lol Christmas ones are probably a better timing:)

moonangel12

Do both!

I didn’t think I was at all ready for the one I did at the beginning of the month but surprised myself that the only walking I did was the massive hill in the middle of it... you never know! Still slow as molasses, but that’s OK 👍

Toria718

I just may and then update on here I think I can pull it off. Definitely will be slow lol.

RunStart34

I am glad your posting to keep you accountable. I am really motivated by reading your post.

Toria718

Thank you @xhuerax it is one of the main factors I use to get my tail off the couch, especially when it is late and cold. I want to accomplish a goal for once in my life without quitting first. I also hate making my life, even a part of it, public. I don't do social media and even refuse to play multiplayer games on my son's xbox after I heard someone talking the first day we got it. So this whole thing is actually 2 lessons towards the same end, being a healthier person physically and mentally. Self confidence is the absolute goal no matter the scale number.

Toria718

I just typed a whole thing and hit done instead of post...ugh.

Anyways long story short...dead phone, ran without my program, ran about halfway without stopping and walked the rest. Took a minute off my overall time before. Irritated with myself for forgetting to charge my phone.

Super tired, see you Thursday for the official week 2 day 2 post

Toria718

Week 3 Day 2 done
total distance/time 3.1miles/43:55 minutes
app distance/time 1.94 miles/28 minutes

Another late cool night, this time though I got the dreaded pain in the right side while running. Ended up needing to change my breathing to match my gait starting with the left side. 2 strides inhale, 2 strides exhale, thankfully the pain did not last too long.

What lasted longer is the pain in my ankle from falling off the side of the road when a person kept their high beams of their truck on and I couldn't see. I am used to my ankle giving out and it twinging a bit, but this time it curled under me and I didn't have my brace on so it feels a little tender right now. It will be fine by morning, it always is.

Overall I am very happy with this run, I took around 40 seconds off my overall time and .03 miles more in the app section of the program. My asthma did not even flair up...what do you know lol.